MEDLEY: A selection of Standing Bar snackage. Photo by Phạm Vân Nga
Carlos Ottery
Nestled in the heart of Hà Nội by the serene Trúc Bạch Lake, in a spot noted for its searing blood-orange sunsets, it’s difficult to pin down Standing Bar precisely. Rugged boozer with vast selection of Vietnamese craft beers? Tapas joint? British gastro pub? Izakaya? In some ways, it's all of these things and more.
It looks and feels, thankfully, more like a traditional European pub than a bar, and it takes its inspiration from the Japanese tachinomi - standing bar (literally tachi meaning stand, and nomi meaning drink), casual drinking holes which are, even in the present day, places to, quite literally, stand and drink.
The venue is the creation of louche Brit and raconteur Dan Dockery, who has lived in the capital nearly his entire adult life. It is difficult to say whether a foreigner could ever truly be called a genuine Hanoian, but Dockery is as close as they come. Deep into his third decade in the city, this fluent Vietnamese-speaker is something of a proselytiser for Hà Nội, which he affectionately dubs 'the world's largest village.'
CRAFTY BEER TIME: Dan Dockery wields a couple of pint at Standing Bar. Photo courtesy of the venue
Not quite fitting the mould of your average businessman – his demeanour is more like that of a pirate spending a few days in port, sharing stories in the local tavern. But businessman he is. The Englishman has started more ventures than you could shake a stick at, taking in bars, Vietnamese restaurants, motorbike tours, music festivals, stand-up comedy, outre sporting events, craft liquor and more. At six years old Standing Bar is one of his newer projects.
The Việt Nam he arrived in back in 1997 was a world away from what it is today.
“It was a frontier destination, and I always wanted to go. When I arrived, there was nothing. No supermarkets. No ATMs. No taxis except for at the airport. We took cyclos everywhere. There were no traffic lights. Oh, I vaguely remember one set that just permanently flashed amber. There wasn’t really a proper airport. It was just a shack where planes landed,” he says.
“It was the Wild East. People were so easygoing. There was a nice pace to everything. There was an open slate to make things happen. And we did make a lot of things happen. I had always planned to come, just not for 25 years.”
PINT TIME: Standing Bar has one of the largest selections of craft beer in the country. Photo courtesy of the venue
With its selection of 20-odd exotically named rotating craft beers (Cheeky Blonde, Storm Eye Raw, Little Fun Hazy), it’s easy to assume the venue is “all about the beer”, but the food is standout too, falling somewhere between Spanish Tapas and Japanese Izakaya fare, leaning heavily on the charcoal grill.
Standing Bar’s international menu has pretty much anything you can imagine that goes well with a drink, a plethora of small plates and sharing platters made to share. The menu is dominated by yakitori skewers, but there’s anything from Vietnamese món nhậu such as trâu gác bếp (hearth-smoked shredded buffalo), Spanish tapas like ajillo (seafood cooked in oil & garlic), Italian-style nibbles like antipasti or olives, to Japanese fried snacks such as karaage or korokke.
“The concept is based on the Japanese Tachinomi. It’s the kind of place where white-collar workers come out to have a quick bite to eat, smash a few beers, and then go home for dinner with the missus,” Dockery says.
“Generally, they are very small and don’t have seats. You have two or three pints. You don’t get comfy. These are places you don’t go just to eat, or just to drink. If you eat, you drink, and if you drink you eat.”
At a recent visit, our party ordered fried dried squid, eel wrapped in betel leaf, spinach croquettes, cherry tomatoes wrapped in bacon, chicken liver, pork shashlick, broccoli and smoked bacon salad, baby new potatoes, and a selection of craft sausages made in-house.
There is something about eating sizzling food straight off a hot charcoal grill that’s hard to beat. And there’s not a single dish on the menu that goes wrong here. It’s perfect for sharing, but three dishes here (or more if you are hungry), and you have a full meal at a great price. Most dishes are priced between VNĐ60,000-120,000, and diners will find themselves trying to work through the entire menu, a tricky feat as new dishes constantly come in and out depending on the season.
It's worth noting, particularly for the lazier among us, that despite the name, Standing Bar does actually have seats, an issue over which Dockery is at pains to explain.
“Well, I opened it and was quite clear about the concept. It was a place to stand, and we had no seats downstairs, though there were a few upstairs where people could sit and look at the lake or whatever,” he says.
“But people kept bringing the seats downstairs, and I would say ‘No, no, you can’t. It’s a standing bar.' But, well, after a while, people are like, ‘What’s up with this guy?' So, yes, people got their seats."
The craft beer concept started to take off in the capital in around 2014, and idea was for a propaganda venue for craft beer. Not tied to any brand or brewery but just the concept of craft.
"We wanted to set up a freehouse where the taps always change. We could have a new lineup the next day. So I started hunting down anyone who was making beer. If the beer was good enough, we put it on tap," he says.
"Of course, the Vietnamese are very proud, so they want good stuff to be made here. And expats and tourists are keen to try anything made locally, so it is partly about elevating it, and letting people know that there is beer being made in Việt Nam of really high quality. If you are taking craft in Asia, then Việt Nam is right up there. In the last Asian beer championships in October, Việt Nam was in third place on the medal table."
Relaxed vibes in a gem of a spot overlooking the lake, this is a proper pub selling premium beer and food. Whether it is a quiet pint on a weekday afternoon or a more rambunctious Friday night that is in the offing, this friendly Hà Nội venue is a must-try for visitors and locals alike. VNS
Standing Bar
Comment: Craft beer specialist, offering grilled sharing plates and more
Address: 170 Trấn Vũ Street, Trúc Bạch Ward, Ba Đình District, Hà Nội 100000
Opening hours: Mon to Fri 3pm to midnight Sat and Sun midday to midnight
Tel: 024 2219 1486
OVietnam