There are hotels that simply host history, and then there are hotels that seem to absorb it into the walls.
Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi belongs firmly in the second category. Opened in 1901, the hotel has lived through more than a century of the Vietnamese capital’s transformations, from colonial Indochina to modern Hanoi’s rise as one of Asia’s most compelling cultural cities. Now, as the hotel marks its 125th anniversary, it is celebrating in a way that feels entirely in character: with French dining, international chefs, a little theatre, and a dining room that has seen generations of power, glamour and conversation pass through.
This month, Le Beaulieu, the Metropole’s signature contemporary French fine dining restaurant, will host two culinary events built around Michelin-starred guest chefs. It is the kind of programming that reminds travellers why great hotels are not only places to sleep. At their best, they are stages for a city’s taste, memory and ambition.
On May 29 and 30, Le Beaulieu brings back its Rendez-vous series with a four-hands dinner featuring Chef Hiroyuki Matsumoto of Restaurant Prunier in Tokyo, which holds one Michelin star. Matsumoto will cook alongside Le Beaulieu’s Chef de Cuisine Charles Degrendele for a menu that brings together French culinary tradition and Japanese precision.
It is a meeting of two institutions with serious heritage. Le Beaulieu dates back to 1901, the same year the Metropole opened, while Prunier was established in 1934. Both restaurants are rooted in French dining, but both also represent the way classic gastronomy keeps evolving when placed in the hands of chefs willing to refine rather than simply preserve it.
Matsumoto’s own training gives the collaboration a certain weight. He honed his craft in France, including at La Côte d’Or, the legendary three-Michelin-starred restaurant. His cooking is known for its command of authentic French technique, but with a lighter, contemporary touch. At Le Beaulieu, that sensibility will meet Degrendele’s own interpretation of modern French fine dining in Hanoi.
The dinners will be served from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and are priced at VND 4,900,000++ per person, or VND 7,400,000++ with wine pairing.
Then, on Sunday, May 31, Le Beaulieu turns toward the south of France with a special Provençal edition of its Sunday Brunch. Guest chef Louis Gachet of Le Feuilée in Provence, also a one-Michelin-starred restaurant, will bring Provençal-inspired dishes to the table alongside the kind of lavish brunch spread Le Beaulieu is known for: French classics, premium seafood, artisanal cold cuts, French cheeses and more, accompanied by live jazz.
It is not difficult to imagine the scene: Hanoi outside in its humid, restless beauty; inside, the old-world calm of the Metropole; plates that gesture toward Provence; music moving softly through the room. This is luxury not as spectacle, but as atmosphere.
The brunch will run from 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Prices are VND 3,500,000++ per person, VND 4,500,000++ with free-flow wine, or VND 5,500,000++ with free-flow wine and Champagne. Children under six dine free, while children aged six to 11 are half-price.
The events are part of a broader year of anniversary programming at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. For 125 years, the hotel has been one of Southeast Asia’s great luxury addresses, known not only for its architecture and service but also for its role in the social and cultural life of Hanoi.
In a city where the past is never far away, the Metropole’s anniversary feels less like nostalgia than continuity. The hotel is not merely looking back at its own legend. It is using food, chefs and hospitality to show how heritage can still feel alive.
Reservations are recommended, with limited seating available. Bookings can be made by phone at 0243 826 6919, by email at MetropoleHanoi.LeBeaulieu@sofitel.com, or through the hotel’s website.
