Caffeine Hunter

Hanoi · Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem

VULAB Specialty Coffee

A bright white room at Vulab Specialty Coffee with black track lighting, a curved grey and white counter with tan leather stools, brewing gear on tiled shelves and open French doors onto a green courtyard

VULAB sits a few steps from ACID8 down the same Xom Ha Hoi alley, and it was founded by a pharmacist and a doctor who wanted to serve specialty coffee. The owner runs the bar like a laboratory with a rotating menu, and the staff will happily explain a brew or show you how a siphon works.

The room is bright and compact, with white and grey tones, round tables and a small courtyard planted with greenery. Coffee is roasted in house and graded in tiers from common to legendary, with origins from the Vietnamese highlands to Panama, Costa Rica and Ethiopia, brewed on siphon, AeroPress, moka pot and phin.