Hanoi is well-known for its rich culture and distinctive French-Indochina architecture that inspires many others to emerge and enhance the city’s beauty. While its nightlife is flourishing with the rapid growth of cocktail bars, pubs and clubs, the jazz scene is having its own place in the heart of Jazz lovers or drinkers with the taste for good drinks and good music. Here are the 3 best bars, pubs in Hanoi to swing the night away in the funky melody and rhythms of Jazz.

Binh Minh Jazz Club

Behind the dazzling and magnificent Opera House lies the oldest bar of Hanoi’s jazz scene, and the most iconic. Quyen Van Minh, the founder and owner, son of a saxophone player and guitarist, first encountered jazz on the American radio in secret some 30 years ago and immediately fell in love. He taught himself jazz saxophone and became the instructor of National Conservatory of Hanoi, running Binh Minh Jazz Club concurrently.

Starting at 9pm every night, Minh and his students (including his son) churn out jazz from Latin, Funky and Blues to Vietnamese folk melodies with a jazzy twist. The vibe, the dim light, the impromptu and the walls crammed with framed pictures,… all would bring to you the first and very sight of Hanoi’s jazz scene.

Location: 1 Tràng Tiền, Phan Chu Trinh, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội

Le Club Bar

Hidden inside the renowned Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Le Club Bar holds great potential for one-of-a-kind experiences. Overlooking the hotel’s garden and courtyard, this airy venue offers Hanoi’s legendary cocktail lounge with an elegant and tranquil 1920’s colonial ambiance that calls to mind aristocratic entertainment venues or cabaret.

The venue that hosted the first gala meeting of the Nouvelle Entreprise Cinématographique and played the first movie ever shown in Indochina in 1916, is now the ideal cocktail bar in Hanoi for live jazz performances from 8pm Friday to Sunday, with soul, jazz, and funk performed by acclaimed jazz vocalists – from local talents to New York divas. In short, this is the place to go if you want to experience F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘Roaring 20s – The Jazz Age’ and Jay Gatsby’s parties.

Location: 15 Ngô Quyền, Tràng Tiền, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội

BAR +84

Notable for the laid-back, ‘old-fashioned’, nostalgic vibe, BAR +84 is a popular destination for art and music lovers. The dark green, colonial-style facade and its archaic doors is the quirky invitation to the rustic interior of basic wood furnishings and boldly rendered walls adorned with “Godfather” frames all over. The street-front garden courtyard, the vibrant bar and live music spaces on the ground floor, the rustic-chic aesthetic of the upper-level wine lounge and cellar; together create such a cozy, artsy and charming atmosphere that can only be enhanced when music pervades.

When the sun goes down, BAR +84 effortlessly transitions from a daytime cafe spot to a pub and nightly music venue that houses Rock N Roll, Acoustic and Jazz, but standing still an agreeable place where people visit to enjoy.

Location: 23 Ngô Văn Sở, Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội