Most of the signature cocktails at Moon Men are built from Vietnamese ingredients and memories: young green rice (cốm), sour sấu fruit, dổi seed, pandan, salted apricot, shiitake, ginseng and royal tea. Many of the liqueurs and syrups are made in-house rather than bought ready-bottled. If you only try one drink to understand the bar, start with The Padlar or The Cyclo.
This guide walks through the menu section by section, with the short story behind each drink, so ordering is easier next time.
What makes Moon Men’s cocktails Vietnamese?
Moon Men describes itself as “a ship floating among the clouds”, and the light box above the door reads Go through the cloud, go up to your dream. The room mixes Vietnamese folk materials with contemporary design (more in Vietnamese folk meets contemporary design), and the menu follows the same idea: take things people in Hanoi grew up with — an ice cream stick, a bag of salted apricots, the first sấu of summer — and translate them into cocktails.
The house-made side is what sets it apart. On the menu you will find a cheese liqueur, a gentian liqueur infused with royal tea, vermouths, elderflower, curaçao and white cacao, all made by the bar team. That lets each drink taste exactly like the story it is trying to tell.
The Old Quarter collection: the neighbourhood in a glass
According to the bartenders themselves, this collection took six months and hundreds of trials before it reached the menu (read more).
- The Cyclo (265,000 VND) — a liqueur from one bartender’s grandmother’s family recipe, with pandan. It holds a childhood memory: riding a cyclo through the Old Quarter and buying bánh chín tầng mây (“nine layers of cloud” cake). The drink arrives on a tiny cyclo in front of an old photo of St. Joseph’s Cathedral. The Cyclo’s story.
- Rattan Boat (295,000 VND) — inspired by “a boat on the clouds”, lightly smoky, a nod to the mountains of north-west Vietnam. The glass sits inside an arch of cotton “cloud”. Read more.
- Summer Delights (270,000 VND) — sour sấu, a tingle of Sichuan pepper and dổi seed, rounded with ginger honey. A drink for Hanoi’s summer.
- The Letters (275,000 VND) — light smoke, lychee and chamomile on a whisky base, finishing with a touch of licorice sweetness.
- Fromage Fusion (275,000 VND) — a house-made cheese liqueur, rich and a little smoky, with chocolate and citrus lingering. Read more.
Signatures: from Tràng Tiền ice cream to ginseng
- The Padlar (225,000 VND) — a memory of Hanoi’s Tràng Tiền ice cream: young green rice syrup, cream and lemon. Served in a ceramic cup on a rattan basket with green cốm.
- Umami Old Fashioned (250,000 VND) — shiitake woven into the herbal notes of gin and Choya; you can order it cold or hot. Read more.
- Under the Sun (235,000 VND) — jasmine, soy milk and Bailey’s.
- King’s Fashioned (395,000 VND) — a house gentian liqueur infused with royal tea, served in Baccarat crystal. It stands for “Nhân” (humanity), part of the bar’s guiding spirit.
- Ginseng Manhattan (395,000 VND) — ginseng, representing “Earth” in the Moon Men concept. Built like a Manhattan, tasting like something else entirely.
The Oddball Family: one fruit per family member
Gia Đình Kỳ Quái (The Oddball Family, now in version 4.0 and served in rock glasses) tells the story of an eccentric household, each member with a personality and a familiar fruit (read more). All 225,000 VND.
- Bố Cọc Cằn — ambarella. A stern but funny father who likes “air bathing” at sunrise.
- Mẹ Khổ Qua — bitter melon. An emotional mother who writes novels without a plot.
- Anh Quật Cường — kumquat. An unbreakable older brother who keeps souvenirs from every adventure.
- Chị Đảm Đang — hibiscus, cleanly sour. An older sister obsessed with wild plants and strange flowers.
- Tôi Mơ Màng — salted apricot. The youngest, who spends whole days watching clouds.
Zen: bánh pía and roasted peanuts
- Pia Mộng (250,000 VND) — rum with a cordial made from bánh pía (a flaky Vietnamese pastry, often filled with mung bean and durian), a little vanilla and grenadine, topped with a small bánh pía.
- Khói Lạc (260,000 VND) — roasted peanut and basil with American whiskey and soda. Simple, lightly smoky, barely sweet — like a Hanoi summer.
First visit — what should you order?
- Something that tastes of Hanoi: The Padlar or The Cyclo.
- Sour and fresh: Summer Delights or Chị Đảm Đang.
- Whisky drinker who likes smoke: The Letters or Khói Lạc.
- Curious about the unusual: Umami Old Fashioned or Fromage Fusion.
- Not sure: order a Bespoke cocktail (320,000 VND), tell the bartender what you like, and let them make one for you.
From 5:00 to 8:00 PM some of these are 150,000 VND — see the list in Happy hour in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. If you are coming for the view, read where to watch St. Joseph’s Cathedral light up. The full list is on the menu.
FAQ
Can the signatures be made alcohol-free?
Yes. The bartenders can turn most signatures into an alcohol-free version, and a mocktail made to your taste is 180,000 VND.
How much are cocktails at Moon Men?
Signatures run from 225,000 to 395,000 VND, the Old Quarter collection 265,000–295,000 VND and the Oddball Family 225,000 VND. Prices exclude the 8% service charge.
Does the menu change?
Yes, with the seasons and new collections. The menu page is always the latest version.