{"id":4182,"date":"2026-08-02T18:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T09:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/?post_type=news&p=4182"},"modified":"2026-08-02T18:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T09:45:00","slug":"hanoi-friendly-service","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/hanoi-friendly-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanoi, rumored to be unfriendly, ranked world's second-best for hospitality \u2014 why, and what travelers actually feel"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a ranking of \u201ccities with the friendliest service\u201d compiled by the UK price comparison service MoneySuperMarket, Hanoi placed second out of 107 cities, drawing coverage from media around the world since July. Edinburgh took first place at 59.0%, with Hanoi close behind at 58.6%, and Liverpool a close third at 58.3%. Hanoi is the only Southeast Asian city to make the ranking, and no other Vietnamese city shows up near the top. Before visiting Hanoi, travelers often hear the reputation that \u201cstaff don't smile\u201d or \u201cyou get no response even when you order,\u201d and plenty of Japanese travelers head there braced for that. We dig into why the result was the opposite of that reputation, from the perspective of what travelers actually feel on the ground.<\/p>\n

Just 0.4 Points Behind Edinburgh, Hanoi Ranks Second Out of 107 Cities<\/h2>\n

The survey analyzed more than 100,000 Google Maps reviews of restaurants, bars, and tourist facilities across 107 cities worldwide, and calculated the share of reviews in each city that mentioned \u201cwarm staff hospitality.\u201d It covered roughly 1,000 reviews per city, across 30 to 50 venues. Hanoi's score of 58.6% means nearly three out of every five reviews touched on good service. With British cities Edinburgh and Liverpool bracketing the top of the list, the fact that a non-English-speaking Asian city broke into second place was reported with surprise by overseas media too.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rank<\/th>\nCity<\/th>\nCountry<\/th>\nShare of Reviews Rating Service as Friendly<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>\nEdinburgh<\/td>\nUK<\/td>\n59.0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nHanoi<\/strong><\/td>\nVietnam<\/td>\n58.6%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nLiverpool<\/td>\nUK<\/td>\n58.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nParis<\/td>\nFrance<\/td>\n57.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nDublin<\/td>\nIreland<\/td>\n57.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nMontreal<\/td>\nCanada<\/td>\n56.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nVienna<\/td>\nAustria<\/td>\n55.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nAbu Dhabi<\/td>\nUAE<\/td>\n55.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\nBirmingham<\/td>\nUK<\/td>\n54.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nBristol<\/td>\nUK<\/td>\n53.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>
Top 10 cities in the ranking published by MoneySuperMarket (all percentages as published)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One thing to note is that this isn't a measure of \u201chow friendly the city is overall\u201d \u2014 it's strictlythe wording of reviews left for food, drink, and tourism-related venues<\/strong>that was tallied up. The chaos typical of Hanoi \u2014 traffic jams, honking horns \u2014 isn't included in this number. Narrowed down to the impressions travelers get at shops and hotels, though, the rating comes out high.<\/p>\n

Where Does the \u201cUnfriendly\u201d Reputation Come From, and Why Is It Being Overturned Now?<\/h2>\n

The impression that Hanoi's service is cold usually comes less from actual ill will than from cultural differences. Service in northern Vietnam is built on a matter-of-fact style that handles the task at hand, rather than the kind of hospitality that greets you with a smile and warms things up with small talk. Behaviors like not repeating your order back to you, or not saying \u201cthank you\u201d at checkout, can look brusque by the standard of Japanese service. But locally, in most cases, that's not indifference \u2014 it's simply a different way of gauging distance.<\/p>\n

That foundation has been shifting over the past few years as tourist numbers have grown. Hanoi's city government has been moving to extend how long travelers stay and how much they spend through nighttime dining and entertainment, and that aim also shows up inPolicies Where the City Goes Straight After the Money Travelers Spend at Night<\/a>. As more visitors come, shops naturally get more used to serving foreigners. There are now cases of Old Quarter eateries making it into the Michelin Guide too, as withThe Case of a Four-Generation, 96-Year Banh Cuon Shop Recognized in the Old Quarter<\/a>. Chances to be seen from the outside, covering not just taste but how a shop treats customers, have increased. Behind the reputation's turnaround is this rising awareness of \u201cbeing watched.\u201d<\/p>\n

What 100,000 Reviews Actually Praised Wasn't Polish \u2014 It Was \u201cHow Close People Feel\u201d<\/h2>\n

When reviews talk about the service, what's being praised isn't polished, by-the-book handling. It's more often an unscripted warmth \u2014 \u201cI was lost and the shop owner guided me with gestures,\u201d or \u201cwe didn't share a language but they laughed along with me anyway.\u201d Hanoi's strength isn't uniformly polite service; it's how easily a moment of personal closeness can suddenly appear.<\/p>\n

The symbol of this is small businesses like street-side banh mi carts. Once before,The Moment a Customer and a Vendor Connected Over Some Change<\/a>became a talking point, and the soil that grows stories like this is close to the real substance of Hanoi's high service rating. Looking at outside voices too, travel forums are full of posts along the lines of \u201cI'd heard people were unfriendly, but the street-vendor lady was the kindest person I met.\u201d On social media, expats living in Hanoi post things like \u201cnortherners are just shy \u2014 once they warm up to you, they're very caring.\u201d The real temperature of hospitality is better measured in back-alley businesses than in upscale shops.<\/p>\n

Where Japanese Visitors Trip Up in the Old Quarter, and Why You Don't Need to Brace Yourself<\/h2>\n

That said, there are certainly moments that confuse first-time Japanese visitors. The three most common are these.<\/p>\n