Hoi an Odyssey Hotel

Luxury Hotel and Spa

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The Son Bistro Hoi An

Bar, Restaurant, Vietnamese

The Son Bistro Hoi An is one of my new favourite places to sit in Old Town to do work, have a beer, and watch the masses of Hoi An Tourists pass by. It is on the small street in the middle of Old Town that leads down to The Hoianian, and so, as The Hoianian is often busy outside and their WIFI sometimes too bad to work, I sit outside here instead. The street gets quite busy, especially at weekends, and so there is plenty of opportunities for good quality people-watching. It can also get quite busy here too after 5 pm so get there early if you want to guarantee a prime spot.

The Son Bistro Hoi An is a family owned place, and the husband and wife team that run it are very friendly and are often around in the evenings talking to customers. The staff here are also very friendly and the service is quick and reliable even when you are sitting outside. There is also an inside section, which is very pretty and cozy, but I have to be honest, I have never sat in there; the outside is just too nice a place to sit. They also have an aircon section upstairs if you are feeling hot after a hard day’s walking, but I have never even ventured upstairs as I don’t really like sitting in aircon too much. When the weather is nice they a have a good selection of tables to sit at outside, both high and low, so this is where I prefer to spend my time. I do prefer the regular height tables, though, as the low tables are difficult to work at with a laptop, but all give a great view of the passing throngs of people.

They also often have a couple of musicians playing music in the evening which gives the place a lovely relaxing feel and has even prompted some people to start dancing in the street on occasion. Not me, though, obviously :).

One final thing that I really like about The Son Bistro, which not everyone would look for in a review of a bar or restaurant, is their toilets. It may not be important to everyone, but it is to me. The toilets are spacious and clean and almost “inviting”, if that’s a word you can use with toilets. Obviously I wouldn’t recommend going here just to experience the toilets, and I don’t have to when it has so much else gong for it, but it’s nice to know they’re there.

The Son Bistro Hoi An busy night outside
The Son Bistro Hoi An inside sofa

The Food

As with most places I sit at, and work, and watch the world go by, I haven’t really eaten here, and so don’t have much of an opinion on the food. I did, however, eat here once, as my friend and I were both a little hungry and wanted some snacks. He went for the seafood noodles, and I went for the beef skewers. Although not the cheapest food around, the price wasn’t too bad for being in the centre of Old Town. I think the noodles were about 130,000 VND and my skewers around 110,000 VND or something like that. I can’t comment on the noodles, but my friend said they were quite good, and my skewers, while a little small, were tasty, and the sauces that accompanied them were good. I would certainly consider eating here again, even if just for something small again, as the quality was good.

The Son Bistro Hoi An Beef skewers
The Son Bistro Hoi An seafood noodles

The Drinks

The Son Bistro Hoi An has a good selection of drinks from cocktails, to wine, to draught beer, as well as a welcome selection of teas and coffees and soft drinks, and the prices aren’t too bad. There is something for everyone here, and so a good place to sit for a drink with a large party with eclectic taste.

For me, though, the beer is the real hero here. As well as some solid craft beers from the local 7-Bridges brewery, they also offer Huda on draught. Not only that, but they also offer the draught Huda as a Happy Hour special. The Happy Hour might not be the best around, as it only offers buy 2 get 1 free, but it is reasonable for draught beer, and is also generously lengthy–I believe it runs from 2pm to 7pm, although I will have to check that again.

Overall, The Son Bistro Hoi An is a place I like to spend time, and is a place I go to regularly (probably a little too regularly) and would recommend it as a welcome pitstop on your tour around Hoi An Old Town. Maybe even make it your destination for dinner. I haven’t yet, but I may well do soon.

Directions

As mentioned before, it is in a prime spot, just up from the river on Le Loi street, which has The Hoianian on the corner.

See all Bar Reviews

The Hoianian Wine Bar & Restaurant, Hoi An

Bar, Restaurant, Vietnamese, Western

When the weather is fine, the Hoianian bar is one of the best spots in town to sit outside and watch the world go by. It is a lovely little place with two floors, a balcony terrace upstairs overlooking the street, and tables outside lining the side street along the length of the building. It is right in the centre of old town and next to the river, so it gets a lot of people passing by in the daytime and the evening. If you are a people-watcher, like me, then there aren’t many places better. This is what you might call prime-people-watching real estate.

Sitting outside people watching is a tiring job

Outside is where I like to sit when it is sunny, but if the weather is not so good, or you are in a larger group then you can sit inside. Downstairs is a cool place to relax, with a bit of a bohemian feel, with sofas and chairs, but also some tables to eat at. There are more tables upstairs, which can also cater for larger groups, although I would suggest booking if you want a group table in the evening as it gets quite busy.

Upstairs Dining

The Drinks

This is a wine bar as well as a restaurant, and drinking outside in the sun is the reason I mostly go here. Another reason, which goes together well with the first reason, is happy hour. The happy hour at the Hoianian is a rather generous seven hours, from 12:00 pm to 7pm. Most bars and restaurants in Old Town offer happy hours like buy one get one free, but most bars and restaurants seem to limit their offers to cocktails. Since I am not much of a cocktail drinker, they don’t hold much appeal to me, but the Hoianian sits much more comfortably within my wheelhouse–with a happy hour also featuring wine and local beer. Now, that’s a happy hour I can get behind, and one which does the name proud. The good thing is, the prices aren’t overly expensive anyway. A bottle of Larue at full price is 39,000 VND, so the buy-one-get-one-free offer is a no-brainer. Glasses of wine at full price range from around 140,000 VND for several South American options, so with buy-one-get-one-free, you are looking at around 70,000 VND, which is not too bad at all. I haven’t tried the white yet, but the reds that I have tasted were surprisingly good for happy hour fare.

A tiny downside to sitting outside the Hoianian is the service. It can be a little hit and miss. When it is very busy, it is usually ok, with staff coming outside to check on customers fairly regularly, but on days when it is not so busy, it can sometimes be a while before staff venture outside, and so you might have to go indoors to place your next order. This is certainly not a deal-breaker for me, though, and is a small price to pay for an outside table.

A couple of other minor things that irk me a little, but not enough to stop me going, are the WIFI, which tends to be a little hit and miss and not always very fast, the backs of the outside chairs are a little uncomfortable, and they don’t always open the outside seating area until later in the evening. I suspect this is due to staff limitations when it is not busy, but it can be rather disappointing when you want a mid-week al fresco beer before it gets dark.

If the weather is nice, then, and I can get a table outside during happy hour, The Hoianian becomes one of my favourite bars in Hoi An. It is just a great spot to sit and soak up the sun and the Hoi An atmosphere, and with the great happy hour prices, there is just nothing not to like. Well maybe the service and the WIFI.

The Food

As of yet, I haven’t managed to eat at the Hoianian. It is on my list of restaurants to visit, but for now I can only comment on the Hoianian as a winebar. I will update this section as soon as I can.