Pizza Belga Review

Pizza Belga is reputed to be the best pizzeria in Hanoi. My wife and I tried many restaurants, and each one had something to offer.

For example, 4 P’s has great pasta, Pizza Amalfi has a great 4-cheese pizza, NYC Pizza has the best pizza by the slice, and La Bodega has a nice location, so let’s see if this place has something interesting to offer and if it is as good as its reputation suggests.

The locations

The sign from Pizza Belga in Âu Cơ Street

There are two locations for Pizza Belga; the original seems to be located at the end of Tay Ho, quite far from the center, actually at 225. u C Street. The second one is located in the Old Quarter at 47 P. Hàng Bè.

We were sitted next to Captain Hadock and Milou from Titin

We tried the original place in Tay Ho with a reservation, and surprisingly, it was empty of customers. The place is way out from the center, but for people living in the Tay Ho Area, it’s still close enough.

The place is on the main street leading to the airport and is surrounded by some regular businesses or houses, a bit isolated from other western restaurants.

The place also has a rooftop area for people not scared of the summer heat in Vietnam or simply for people who enjoy the outdoors at night.

The menu

The menu is a vertical book with many different sections; it is original but not the best ergonomically. They have a section for starters, pizzas, salads, pastas, drinks, and desserts, with the pizzas being at the end.

Salads, pasta and desserts in the same place

The starters are basically cold cuts, cheese, or small pizzas. The salads are actually pretty big and large enough to be eaten as a main course, as is often the case in Europe. Note that also a smaller salad version is available for people ordering pizza.

The great thing about this Pizza Belga is their selection of Belgian beers. Beers in Vietnam are cheap and great for the price, but Belgian beers are on another level when it comes to taste and refinement. Vietnamese beers are made to refresh yourself, whereas Belgian beers are made to be savored.

The Experience

Not long after ordering, a portion of olives as a snack and two glasses of water with lemon were offered to us. The waiter and waitress spoke perfect English and asked us which of the foods had to be served first.

The quality of the service was higher than what I was expecting, probably because of the location and the Western standard expected in this area.

With their cold cuts composed of chorizos, rosettes, parma ham, and some sort of mortadella, they also give olive oil with balsamic vinegar, a classic.

We tried two of their salads: the goat cheese, which was good, and the beetroot, which was delicious. The beets were served with caramelized and roasted walnuts and a cheese sauce.

Pizza Belga serves their starters—more precisely, cold cuts and cheese—with pizza dough. Interesting, right? Since they are usually served with bread.

In this case, it is not a problem since Pizza Belga has the best pizza dough in Vietnam, in my opinion. It is very close to what I’ve experienced in Milan; the dough is crispy, salty, and doughy at the same time, with a slight taste of charcoal; it is simply delicious. It reminded me of my childhood, where I had the best pizza ever from a local mall in Noisy-le-Grand, believe it or not.

The Pizza looked so delicious, that we forgot to take a picture

The pizzas are simply delicious, and they are very generous too. The size is smaller than a large pizza you would find in some places, but the amount of cheese is essential and never too much like in a Deep Dish Chicago-style pizza.

Our haf of 4 Cheese Pizza and Calzone was great, better than 4P’s in my opinion. The dough being one of the most important components of a pizza, I believe this one is the best I had in Vietnam, period.

For this time, we skipped desserts since we wanted a different location with a better view, but I am sure we will be back very soon.

Verdict

8.7 out of 10

Pizza Belga is simply the best pizza in town, in my opinion. If you like Italian-style pizza and food and Belgian beers, this place won’t dissapoint you.

The quality of the food was excellent, from the starters to the main courses. The service was great too, with waiters and waitresses speaking excellent English.

We paid around 900,000 VND for everything, which was less expensive than places like Il Grillo and way better in experience and taste.

This pizzeria also has a delivery service with small pizzas starting around 125,000 VND for a 25-cm margherita and 160,000 VND for a 4-cheese pizza.

At this price, I think it’s one of the best deals for pizza delivery. The only question is: will the pizza still be good after 15 minutes on the road to our home?