I can't quite remember how I heard about Bobby Chinn's restaurant in Hanoi, it may well have been seeing his name attached to a TV food show and researching from there. A couple of blog reviews made the place sound interesting in its quirkiness and good in flavour.
The restaurant setting is beautiful, a quiet area in north Hanoi accessible by taxi. The entrance and the downstairs bar are very warm and welcoming, and it would have been nice to have more time to rest here and enjoy the hookah and a few cocktails.
The quirks start with the illuminated magnifying glasses to read the menu. The menus themselves are written with hilarious banter and make for good entertainment. The next quirk (should you choose to accept it) is the "you are beautiful" sidedish, that comes as menus to take home and the staff regularly telling you (or your partner should you order it for them) that they are beautiful, right up until the written form with dessert and the final goodbye gesture at the door on leaving.
The food itself is delicious, and I had no faults. If you want something special to end your trip in Vietnam/Hanoi, I recommend this place very highly.
12-2016
In cleaning up very old collections of travel documents, I came across the menu...
It's a shame this Hanoi restaurant is closed in favour of a (not well rated) London version.