WINNER's Lee Seung-hoon visited Hanoi in early July and asked fans on social media, "Where's the best pho in Vietnam?" The answers converged on a single shop name — one in a working-class part of the West Lake (Tay Ho) area,Phở Hồ Lợiis. With no real sign and open only in the morning, this shop drew sudden attention on a word from a Korean star. Hanoi's pho is alreadyAn upscale spot on the Michelin list for its 17-hour-simmered chicken brothhave even emerged, but the reason Hồ Lợi draws people is the opposite: its lack of frills. Here's a breakdown of where travelers actually go, what they pay, and how they enjoy it.
"Where's the best pho in Vietnam?" — sparked by one question from WINNER
It began at “KBEE & ASEAN K-Food Fair 2026,” a Korean brand fair held July 2–4 at Hanoi’s National Convention Center. Timed to this event, which drew over 20,000 people in three days, WINNER’s Lee Seung-hoon and Kang Seung-yoon came to Vietnam and headed straight to a local pho shop right after arriving.
The two polished off steaming bowls at the long-established Phở Thìn in the My Dinh area and filmed themselves for an Instagram post. In Vietnamese, they added, “Where's the best pho in Vietnam?” Born in 1992, Seung Hun calls himself a “son-in-law of Vietnam,” a Vietnam-savvy figure who has won local fans with fluent Vietnamese and local references. To his question, the comments returned the same shop name as if stamped from a mold. It was Ho Loi.
A signless neighborhood shop: the true story of Pho Ho Loi
The shop sits deep in an alley in the Phú Thượng area on the north side of West Lake. It began in the 1990s as a small business a proprietor named Lợi started from a single bowl at a street stall, and from there it took root across generations as a Hanoian "regular haunt." It barely appears in guidebooks and puts out no prominent sign. Even so, local customers line up from morning—a classic "known to those in the know" spot.
Its selling point is a clear broth drawn slowly from beef bones. According to the original article, the simmer runs 18 hours, with grilled ginger and onion added to keep off-flavors down. It's a refined, northern-Hanoi style of flavor-making that doesn't lean on excessive seasoning, served with thin-sliced beef and freshly fried quay (fried dough). It isn't a shop that competes on flash; it has kept customers coming on the strength of its broth alone.
From 30,000 dong a bowl: a guide to the menu and prices
The price you're curious about is reasonable. A bowl is generally 30,000 to 80,000 dong. In yen, since 10,000 dong is about 60 yen, it runs from around 180 yen to under 500 yen at most. It breaks down finely by cut and preparation; the shopfront guide is as follows.
| Menu | Details | Price (dong) | Yen guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| pho bo tai | Raw beef (rare) | 45,000〜50,000 | about 270–300 yen |
| Pho bo gau | The fat of pork belly | 50,000〜55,000 | About 300 to 330 yen |
| Pho Bo Nam | Brisket | 50,000 | About 300 yen |
| Pho bo sot vang | Beef braised in red wine | 60,000〜65,000 | About 360 to 390 yen |
Vietnamese pho holds a class of its own worldwide, and in the 2026 TasteAtlas global rankingPho was ranked the world’s No. 2 noodle dish. Getting an authentic bowl for a few hundred yen in its home ground is reason enough to make the trip out to West Lake.
Locals and fans on the pull of this bowl
Gather the voices about Hồ Lợi, and the talk turns less to the taste itself than to "the reason people keep coming back."
- Fans replying to Seung-hoon — nearly the whole comment section recommended Ho Loi, with lines like "If you want the best in Hanoi, it's here, no question."
- Local regulars—the morning crowd is such a fixture that it’s likened to “lines from the rationing era,” and customers keep coming even without a sign.
- Pho lovers—many cite the pairing of clear broth and freshly fried quay as a morning pleasure unique to this shop.
Seung Hun is said to be visiting Vietnam for the eighth year running and knows the country well enough to eat banh mi the local way. Because the answers gathered around a question he posed, the shop's name shot up in credibility.
How Travelers Use It: Building a West Lake Morning
For residents and travelers alike, there's a concrete way to make use of this shop. Three points to keep in mind.
First,Turning “mornings only, no sign” to your advantageis. It is open from 6 to 10:30 a.m. An itinerary that only gets moving after noon will find it firmly closed. Put another way, because it sits off the tourist track, folding it in early in the morning lets you slip in before the peak of the line. West Lake is also famous for lotuses, so paired with an early-morning walk or photos, the pho becomes part of the sightseeing itself.
Second,A celebrity buzz is a signal to 'go sooner rather than later'One reading is that. Since Sung Hung's post, new customers have flooded the shop. For places like this, the quiet is itself part of the value, so an early weekday morning, before the crowds set in, is the sweet spot. Right after something goes viral may be the last moment the local atmosphere remains.
Third,How to spot a local shopKeep one in mind. The lack of a sign or of a mention in tourist guides can actually be the flip side of being rooted in the neighborhood. Whether most of the seats are filled with locals—that, they say, is the guide to picking a shop you won’t regret,A local rule of thumbapplies precisely to a neighborhood spot like Ho Loi.
Pho Hồ Lợi: Basic Information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Shop name | Phở Hồ Lợi (Pho Ho Loi) |
| Address | 28 Ngõ 209 An Dương Vương, Phú Thượng, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội (Phu Thuong, Tay Ho District) |
| Hours | 6:00–10:30 (mornings only) |
| Price range | A bowl, 30,000–80,000 dong (about 180–480 yen) |
| Specialty | Beef-bone broth simmered 18 hours / thinly sliced beef / freshly fried quay |
| Access | From Old Town to the north shore of West Lake. A taxi or Grab is the practical way |
Summary: worth heading out to West Lake the next morning
A Korean star's offhand question pushed a signless downtown pho shop into the spotlight overnight. Ho Loi's strength is not buzz but substance—an 18-hour broth and the support of local regulars. If travelers are to move now, three things are worth checking. First, that it is open only from 6 to 10:30 a.m. Next, a price from 30,000 dong a bowl—a few hundred yen. And the location on the north shore of West Lake, a short hop out from the Old Quarter. Move your morning plan an hour earlier and head to West Lake by Grab—that alone puts a bowl of Hanoi that no guidebook lists within reach. On your next morning walking Hanoi, try putting this shop at the head of your itinerary.
