Tadioto is a small bar on Tong Dan Street near the Sofitel Metropole, Hanoi's historic grand hotel, and its clientele has always reflected that proximity: journalists, diplomats, writers, aid workers, and the kind of expatriates who have been in Vietnam long enough to have opinions about it. The bar was opened by Nguyen Qui Duc, a Vietnamese-American writer, and has functioned as a gathering point for Hanoi's intellectual and creative community — the kind of place where conversations run late and people know each other.
The cocktails are well made and the beer selection goes beyond Hanoi lager. The interior is intimate — perhaps twenty seats — and the atmosphere is genuinely quiet compared to the Old Quarter bars, which makes conversation possible. It is not a place for large groups or people looking for a party; it's for people who want to drink something decent in a room where the ambient noise doesn't prevent you from hearing the person across the table. Come after 9pm when it's settled in for the evening.