Nam Phuong, 19 Phan Chu Trinh street, Hanoi

"Packed for lunch and dinner with foreign visitors, tourists, ex-pats and local Vietnamese, Nam Phuong, a Vietnamese restaurant situated in a large French villa on the northeast corner of Phan Chu Trinh and Ly Thuong Kiet, delivers both Northern and Southern cuisine, as well as traditional Vietnamese musicians nightly, with a sense of calm.... Reservations are definitely recommended for this popular spot, as previous patrons include Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi, French President Jacques Chirac and Peruvian President Fujimori, among others. Request a table downstairs, as the upstairs is just as comfortable, but lacks the music," reports Bretton Dimmick in The Vietnam News.