Discover Nhậu Culture - The Backbone of Vietnamese Social Life .

You can find many ‘walking streets’ in major cities that are lined with ‘quán nhậu’ restaurants. Source Google images

What is Nhậu Culture?

Simply, Nhậu is the act of eating and drinking alcohol with friends. The concept of drinking alcohol in Vietnam without a spread of dishes, and cans of beer literring the table is uncommon. There is always food, it is always shared and you cannot nhậu without at least 1 other person with you.

A nhậu session can last hours and begin at almost anytime of the day and for any reason. For example, a friend and I have a day off with no obligations, so we may meet around lunch and đi nhậu (Go nhau) to catch up, talk nonsense, drink a few beers and winddown after a busy schedule

When I first came to Vietnam, I found this aspect of the culture to be completely contrary to my own. Often in the west, drinking is after a main meal and probably another snack later on in the night.

What particularly struck me is the sense of camaraderie and community during a nhậu session. Even language barriers are temporarily dismantled via the ritual of nhậu, which makes a newcomer to a large nhậu feel welcome.

How to Nhậu?

Nhậu is either done at home or in restaurants known as Quán Nhậu, Quán translates to ‘small neighborhood restaurant’. Often these places are dedicated to the art of nhậu and feature small plastic chairs, foldable tables, are open-air, exhibit brewery sponsorsed signage and are typically family run.

It is common to see an older women around your auntie’s age (Cô) barking orders to bustling staff accompanied by their eldest child.

The typical Quán Nhậu setup. Source: google images

Nhậu is normally drunk with beer (bia) and or rice wine (rượu gạo) but people also drink whisky and vodka. You take a seat at a table (a fantastic ankle stretch for the tight foriegner used to a higher seat) and order your beer by the crate. Your beer consumption is tallied by your server (so if you dont end up drinking the whole crate, its fine).

Normally a local Quán Nhậu has a sponsorship deal with whatever the regional beer of choice tends to be in order to save on costs. So you will encounter only the brands associated with that brewery. I.e. for central Vietnam it is typically Huda (Owned by Carlsberg) and especially in Da Nang and Hoi An it is Larue (Owned by Heineken).

A variety of dishes are then ordered, normally some greens such as stir-fried morning glory with garlic (rau muống xào tỏi), bbq items such as chili salted bbq prawns (tôm nướng sốt cay) or bbq pork belly (ba chỉ nướng), and maybe something light and fresh such as a seafood mango salad (gỏi xoài hải sản) or shredded dried fish salad with fresh leaves for making wraps (gỏi cá lạc).

The highlight of a Nhậu is the customery way in which Vietnamese drink together. When you pick up your glass it is customery to clink glasses and or chant 1, 2, 3 cheers! (một, hai, ba, dô!) before sipping, Everytime!. That means whenever someone around the table wishes to quench the urge of taking a sip, it is customery for that person to invite everyone on the table to cheers before taking the sip. I’ve noticed the hands of individuals lightly resting their grip on the glass in momentary preparation for the cheers as they either have just noticed someone preparing to do so or the intention has risen in themselves.

This style of drinking, to cheers every sip, is quite difficult to adhere to even after numerous Nhậu sessions. The idea of cheersing every sip may seem over-exagerrated to some but infact this drinking behaviour encapsulates the social values that permeate Vietnamese society.

Nhậu as a Microcosm of Vietnamese Social Values

I previously mentioned in another blog post how Vietnamese social values are partially influenced by confucianist principles about social harmony, filial piety and respect for heirarchy and community. These social values are an integral part in the way in which families instil morality in their children. These values are vividly reflected in the ritual of nhậu, which serves as a microcosm of Vietnamese social behavior.

Customs belonging to the ritual of nhậu are also rooted in these values and therefore can be thought of as a condensed version of the parts that constitute the Vietnamese social-behavioural paradigm. For example, When I asked a dear friend, Mr Vu, about why do we cheers every time, he stated something along the lines of “We do this to make sure everyone is included and that everyone is a particpant and a contributor to the experience” from Mr Vu’s perspective, frequent cheers embodies the importance of communal harmony. Mr Vu further stated that “if we all drink the same amount we can all be drunk together and at the same level, therefore no one is missing out”, in other words, Shared drinking levels reinforce this sense of cohesion, reflecting the cultural priority placed on equality within a group.

Every sip you are expected to cheers with everyone at the table. Source: google images

Another ritual highlights the Confucian respect for hierarchy and community, this is inviting another table to take a drink, particularly older men, foriegners or newfaces. On many occasions I have been pressed by my Vietnamese friends to goto the other table of strangers and invite them to take a sip with me. It is also common, as a foriegner to experience this from neighboring tables whereby a man may come and ask a few rehearsed questions in english and then cheers the foriegners to take a drink. While some foriegners may view this as simple friendly behaviour, it is a demonstration of the confucianist value of respect for neighbors and by inviting them for a drink you are honoring them and their presence here.

Observing a nhậu session reveals Vietnam's social values through performative cultural expressions of food and drink sharing. So if you do have the opportunity to travel through Vietnam and have an interest in experiencing different cultures, a Nhậu session should be on your list.

Where to Experience Nhậu Culture?

I have a rule, the better or larger the plastic chairs, the higher the price of the Quán Nhậu. Nhậu ranges in price, you can have more ‘luxury style’ with white table cloth and grilled lobster all the way to small plastic tables in someones front yard eating boiled eggs and the cheapest rice wine.

Unsurprisingly the best Quán Nhậu tends to be in more suburbal areas, away from main roads, city centers and popular tourist destinations. Copy and paste the words ‘Quán Nhậu gần đây’ (quan nhau near here) into google and some good suggestions should pop up around you, there are Quán Nhậu’s almost everywhere.

For central Vietnam, I can provide you with some great places. If you are in Hoi An, I would reccomend Xanh Quán on 138 tran quang khai street , here is one of Hoi An’s best kept secrets when it comes to trying local cuisine. They are famous for serving a monstrous bbq local catfish fish that is unique to Hoi An with local herbs and eaten with a simple crushed green chili, salt and lime dip to pair with the tender fish.

If you are in Da Nang, you must try Quán Nhậu A Xữ on 113 Ha Ky Ngo (The picture near the top of this blog post). Locals from all over the city venture to this unassuming street to dine here. Service is fast, the seafood is some of the freshest I have encountered and the atmosphere is buzzing with packed tables everynight. If you want a true Nhậu with all the sound effects, this is the place to go, (often a lot of street performers stop outside this place to perform to guests adding to its buzz).

When you visit Vietnam, Nhậu culture is something that cannot be missed if you want a true and authentic cultural experience, thats why I’ve created the Viet Nhậu experience here in Hoi An, where I guide guests through the richness of Nhậu along with local rice wine tastings. 4 local Quán Nhậu’s, 4 handcrafted rice wines, 1 unique experience.

Đi nhậu with Rogue Vietnam!