Bar in Hoi An, Vietnam
Before and Now
100ptsWalk-in friendly spot on Old Town's best street.
About Before and Now
Before and Now on Nguyễn Thái Học is one of Hoi An Old Town's most walk-in-friendly stops — no reservation needed and easy to fold into an evening already in motion. It suits the early-to-mid evening window best, before Old Town foot traffic thins. Return visitors looking for a low-effort second visit will find the location does a lot of the work.
Quick Verdict
Before and Now sits on Nguyễn Thái Học, one of the Old Town's most walkable streets, and getting in is genuinely easy — no reservation required, no queue to manage, no booking app to wrestle with. If you've been once and liked it, coming back is as low-friction as Hoi An gets. The real question is whether it earns a return visit on its own merits or whether the street does most of the heavy lifting.
What to Know Before You Go
The venue database has limited detail on Before and Now — no published menu, no confirmed price range, no hours on record. That means this portrait leans on what the address and setting imply: a spot in the heart of the Ancient Town, where the evening foot traffic is dense and the atmosphere builds as the night does. For a returning visitor, the draw is likely the combination of location and a relaxed format that suits the later hours when Old Town slows from tour-group pace to something more local.
As the editorial angle here is late-night viability, it's worth being direct: Old Town Hoi An has an informal curfew energy , things wind down earlier than in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. Venues on Nguyễn Thái Học tend to benefit from lantern-lit pedestrian traffic in the early evening, but that crowd thins by 10 PM. If you're planning a long night, Before and Now is better positioned as a stop earlier in the evening than a final destination at midnight. For genuine late-night options, you'll need to look outside the Old Town core.
For context on what's nearby and how the broader Hoi An bar scene sits, see our full Hoi An bars guide and full Hoi An restaurants guide. If you're comparing across Vietnam's bar cities, Drinking & Healing in Ho Chi Minh City, The Haflington in Hanoi, and Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu offer useful benchmarks for what a more fully realised bar program looks like. Closer to home, explore our full Hoi An hotels guide, full Hoi An wineries guide, and full Hoi An experiences guide to plan the rest of your time in town.
Quick reference: Walk-in friendly, Old Town location at 94 Nguyễn Thái Học, leading earlier in the evening.
Compare Before and Now
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Before and Now | — | |
| Hoi An Brewing Company Tap Room & Riverside Beer Garden | — | |
| MANGO MANGO | — | |
| Mai Fish Restaurant | — | |
| Mr Bean Bar | — | |
| Soul Kitchen | — |
A quick look at how Before and Now measures up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Before and Now good for groups?
It works for small groups without the planning overhead. The Old Town address on Nguyễn Thái Học is easy for everyone to find, and no reservation policy means you can add or drop people last minute. For larger parties wanting a more structured setup, Hoi An Brewing Company's riverside beer garden gives you more space and flexibility.
Do I need a reservation at Before and Now?
No reservation needed — walk-ins are the default here. That makes it a low-friction stop on a Hoi An Old Town evening, especially compared to busier sit-down spots on the same strip. Just show up.
What's the crowd like at Before and Now?
The Nguyễn Thái Học address puts it squarely in the tourist-heavy Old Town corridor, so expect a mix of travellers and some locals. It draws the kind of crowd that's exploring on foot rather than making a destination booking. If you want a more local-leaning atmosphere, Mr Bean Bar is worth comparing.
Is Before and Now worth the price?
Pricing varies at Before and Now; confirm via check the venue's official channels.
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