Many street-side restaurants in Hanoi have been complained for causing chaos on the streets as they try to lure customers.

Dozens of restaurants on Tran Dai Nghia and Dai La streets in Dong Tam Ward, Hai Ba Trung District have sent their staff out in the late afternoon to "invite" customers. The staff, who are mostly young men, attempt to stop every motorbike to invite the passers-by to come to their restaurants.

This has caused serious traffic jams on these streets, annoying many people.

Nguyen Thi Quynh, 24, said that she goes to work every day on Tran Dai Nghia Street and is often harassed by these people.

"I face them every afternoon while on my way home from work," Quynh said. "Often they stand in my way to stop my motorbike, holding the handlebars. They are at first polite to invite me to have dinner at their restaurant but when I refuse, they snarl at me."

The same scene can also be seen on many other streets which gather night foodstalls and restaurants including Truc Bach, Ngu Xa, Phung Hung and Gam Cau. These areas is home to dozens of stalls selling grilled foods and hot pots which scatter along the street from the afternoon until late at night.

 A staff is inviting customers to his restaurant on Truc Bach Street

"The street is always noisy and chaotic through the evening," Tran Van Han, a xe om taxi driver working near the area said. "It's very difficult to travel on the street at that time. I often get very angry and shout at them when being stopped by them but they never change."

Han also said that he often hear quarrel between staff of these restaurants when trying to attract customers.

Deputy head of the Police Department at Dong Tam Ward, Nguyen Van Ha, blamed the poor attitude of restaurant owners for the problems.

"We've come to ask these restaurants to stop this behaviour, but they soon resume," Ha said. "We are going to require them to sign a commitment and will fine them if they violate it.”