This restaurant has been my family's favourite for as long as I can remember. It's peculiar for a…read moreNorth Shore family to willingly travel so far for a bite to eat, but that's a reflection on how good the food is here. Heck, when I was little we saw former prime-minister David Lange eating here and my dad had a chat to him - I think that tells you everything you need to know of the awesomeness that is Vietnam Cafe. Now take everything I say with one qualifier - this place is a hole. It's in a dingy old building which looks in dire need of a clean and a paintjob. It doesn't have any discernible decor apart from a mirror on the back wall. Parking's a bit of a bitch. The toilets should be avoided at all costs. But man, all that is totally outweighed by the standard of the food which was and still is the best of any Vietnamese restaurant I've visited in Auckland. The pho is always perfectly done, the pork spare ribs are tasty, and haiananese chicken is a favourite dinner of mine. If you like good honest Vietnamese cuisine, you won't find many better than this if you can stomach the lack of decor. The presence of a Hansan in my neighbourhood as well as local night markets have meant my visits here aren't as frequent as they used to be, but when I do you know you're in for the best.

I had just moved to Auckland from LA so this place was my first "ethnic" experience here. We did a…read moretake out of a curry, a vermicelli bun, and fresh and fried spring rolls. The food was delish, and well priced. I'm still adjusting my taste buds to Kiwi standards but I would go back to this place. Also there is a big Asian super market across the street which is a big perk.

Wow! I can't describe how delicious the pho is. It's not favor water it's actually tasty. The…read moreveggie soup with noddles was water watering soooo delicious!!!!! The wait staff is kind and helpful as well which makes it even better. 10 stars!

4 or 5 stars ? I'm not sure but this place is definitely up there !…read more There are 2 chefs , one Malay and one Vietnamese with the menu being split with some Malay dishes and some Vietnamese food . Geographically speaking Vietnam is more closer to Thailand ,but when the heart wants what the heart wants it makes more sense to put those two cuisines next to each other . Don't you think ? There is a mish mash of dećor but it's more than ok . A large selection of beers and a Vietnamese beer I don't think I've ever seen before . It's pretty clean and tidy . I had a old faithful of prawn toast which was so nicely cooked and a pancake of prawn and pork , the pancake was bigger than my eyes but it was very light and came with lettuce leaves to rip up , fold and dip into that yummy sauce . I imagine I'll be dragging people to this place now that I've fallen hard/crazy in love with Vietnamese cuisine .

Most expensive and worst pho that I've ever had!!…read more I asked for crispy chicken pho. I got chicken nuggets in the broth, so they were soggy, I've only ever gotten a fried thigh/leg before. The broth was very bland and the hoisin sauce was watered down (super odd). It cost $24 for the soup and a drink. Save your cash, you couldn't give this soup to a homeless person in Vietnam.

I recently visited Try It Out, a Vietnamese restaurant located in Otahuhu, and unfortunately, I did…read morenot have a good experience. While the staff was friendly and the service was fast, the food was disappointing. The pho I ordered lacked the depth of flavor that I usually expect from this dish, and the bánh mì sandwich was dry and lacked the usual tasty fillings. Overall, I was disappointed with my experience at Try It Out, and I cannot recommend this restaurant for those looking for authentic and delicious Vietnamese cuisine in Auckland. However with that being said, the restaurant is run by Vietnamese. Just like the other reviewer mentioned, if you visit without comparison with those from the US or OZ, then you should be happy with the portion and the no frill service.

After nearly a year of living in Hamilton, I finally came to eat here for lunch the other day. I…read morewas home sick from work and I just wanted some pho to soothe my aching throat. I have never been to Vietnam, so cannot comment about the authenticity of this food. I can only compare it to the many Vietnamese restaurants I patronized while living in California. To start with, service was a bit slow. Just one server for the whole place during a weekday at lunch. No worries. Started with the summer rolls. They were fine. Nothing special, but not bad. The dipping sauce was standard, decent, but nothing to write home over. Next, the pho. It looked beautiful and my hopes were high. Maybe too high. It fell far short of what I was hoping. If I'd never had pho before, it might have been fine. But I found the broth flavor to be lacking. There were WAY too many onions (raw yellow, red and spring onions) and it was topped with crispy fried onions. There were also far too many bean sprouts. I'm used to it being served with jalapenos and lime - they had red chilis and lemon. No problem. There was not enough basil. The noodles were in one big glob on the bottom of the bowl, as if they couldn't have taken just a few moments to separate them and swirl them around a bit. My husband had the beef bun. It also looked nice, but left him unsatisfied as far as flavors go. He said, "I'd give it 4 stars for Hamilton and maybe 2 or 3 if we were eating it in the US." So, there you go. I will go back to try to bahn mi sandwiches. They looked good and I hope that they are. This trip was disappointing, but I do think they deserve another shot with the sandwiches. Will update review once I try them.

Cute spot for a funky Vietnamese feast. My lychee soda was refreshing and tasty. My bun (vermicelli…read morenoodle, Viet salad, spring roll and lemongrass beef) bowl was generous and delicious. $23 all up

My partner and I were long time customers so it was extremely disappointing that the management was…read moreso rude when they cancelled my order with no explanation and instead told me to eat elsewhere. To be fair, the baguettes and summer rolls are some of the worst "Vietnamese" dishes I have tried. The only nice dish was the halo bowls but after their response, never again.

One of the best VIETNAMESE food we have found in Auckland. The portions are generous and the…read moreservice is first class. The location is in the quaint township of Birkenhead with its variety of individually owned stores. We tried the beef pho and lemongrass chicken bun. Both were very good and authentic. To top it off we also had the iced coffee. In all we definitely are coming back. Should try their Banh Mi and other dishes. The atmosphere here is hip and the decor very inviting. Great for a little eatery with great food!

Yet another eatery has just opened up in the CBD, serving none other than delicious Vietnamese…read morefood! My SaiGon serves all the Vietnamese classics - beef pho, rice paper rolls, fried spring rolls, noodle dishes, vermicelli salads, grilled pork and of course, banh mi. After seeing a picture of their beef pho on Instagram, I just knew I had to try this place out! I went there last Friday for a takeaway dinner. The girl at the counter was friendly and helpful in terms of recommending her favourite dishes to me - there are many! I eventually decided on not one, but two dishes (I was pretty full afterwards) and ordered the Rice Paper Rolls with pork and prawn ($10 for three rolls and a peanut dipping sauce) and the Vietnamese Chicken Salad with peanuts, herbs etc. ($12). I must admit I did wait about 15 minutes for the food. Finally, the girl and the chef came out and apologised. They said they make their rice paper rolls fresh from scratch, hence the longer wait time. That was okay with me, because the food looked amazing! I couldn't wait to get home and try it! Both meals were incredibly tasty. The rolls were chunky, with lots of filling and they tasted very fresh. Instead of the usual Vietnamese dipping sauce, the rolls were accompanied by a peanut sauce, which was just as good! The Vietnamese salad was also very nice - it was quite spicy, which I wasn't expecting at all! However, I polished the whole thing and was already thinking about when my next visit to My SaiGon would be (food obsessed I know)! They also serve cans of soft drink, coconut water and Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk. I am still yet to try this coffee - hopefully one day it will be soon... Just a side note... the shop is tucked away in a small food court just up the lane from New World Metro on Queen Street, so it is quite easy to miss, unless you walk up Swanson Street. However, I do highly recommend venturing out to find this place - it really is a hidden gem!

awwww man. The service this time was horrible... they forgot to many things…read more.. We ordered the combination vermicelli, summer rolls, grass jelly drink, and milk soda and egg drink which were all good. The only dish that was a let down today was the special beef combination rice noodle soup... which is my regular there... they forgot the egg which was a crucial part of making the soup even more delicious than it normally is. i so asked the water to which he quickly brought out. Then being the fussy noodle eater i am, i originally asked for half half egg noodles and rice noodles which he forgot too and only put egg noodles. I ask him again and he also apologized and quickly brought it back out... AND also they forgot to put beef tripe in..... but i didn't bother asking them for that as i already pointed out too many faults... Today i took a star from them because they weren't at the top of their game... Don't get me wrong, the food was all very good and tasty (even though some elements were missing, it was still hella tasty)... just the service was lacking... he didn't seem to really care that that one order was ALL wrong (i think he just wanted to go home and relax lol) also whenever we walk out of here, we smell very strong of Vietnamese herbs from the Pho (noodle soup) hahaha Pho Purfume, anyone?

There are two Try it Out Restaurants in Auckland, this is the better one if you ask me. Although…read morethe Otahuhu one just got a spruce up, I believe they still have a 2 foot crater in their carpark. We always order the spicy squid as it's a must have.. I also enjoy the crispy chicken and the spicy and sour soup. Plenty of amazing dishes to choose from, suggest you go with a group try it all out. Servers speak better english on Torrens Rd as well, not always necessary but sometime helpful.

In my on going quest to find the best Chicken Bahn mi that the Auckland area has to offer, I came…read moreacross this delightful cafe in an area that was previously -shall we say on the down turn ? Anyway thanks to Aucklands housing crisis and gentrification we can thank some cleaver clogs for buying houses in a best house worst street scenario . Because now there are some good cafes in this area . But I digress , back to the Bahn mi - the bread roll was lightly warmed and the chicken was cooked having been marinated in lemongrass . but the pate , oh my the pate !! So flavourful with the right amount of spice and the pickled vegetables had sweet parsnip and so much coriander to give it that zing . I loved every minute of eating this sandwich , I tried to eat it slow (instead of my normal inhale all food in site mode ) so I could give it a good review . There is a full menu with lots of the usual suspects of beef pho , Vietnamese summer roll and fried spring roll . But there are also fries , wedges , waffles and French toast . They have Roasted Adiqtion coffee and a selection of cold drinks . Eat here now !!!!

We found this place through Yelp while we were around the neighborhood. We were surprised of how…read moregood the food was. We had the spring rolls and two bowls of the pho. They were just excellent. The broth was really tasty. It was definitely worth our time to stop by. Don't miss it if you're around the corner.

I was in a great need of a hot soup to recover from my hangover. We were in north shore so I've…read moremanaged to persuade everyone to go to Pho Bien for a Steam Boat (hot pot). We ordered a medium Steamboat (55) which says it's for 2~3 people. Well, this was an overestimation as four of us couldn't finish it. We received a boiling bowl with two sides of spicy and non-spicy broth but they soon got mixed together when food was put. We started by putting in the meat and seafood followed by vegetables (as veges get cooked faster!). Noodle went in last as you should enjoy it with the broth full of beef and seafood flavour. The waiter was happy to top up our broth as we ran out. The great thing about the Steamboat is that you can taste a variety of food including mushrooms, prawn, fish cakes and so much more at once. You can also control how long the meat/veges are cooked as you can simply pick them up and eat it when you like it. Everything was delicious and the soup really healed me :p The ginger and lemongrass condiment wasn't my thing so I made my own by mixing chili sauces.

Got the Large steam boat (4-5) for dinner with the family for a birthday. Was huge- 2 platters well…read morestocked with an arrangement of seafood, meat, vegetables & noodles. Definitely recommend buying the medium size unless you're starving or feeding boys/men. Got a group table in the outdoor portion of the restaurant. It is a neat wooden patio just next door to the four walled main interior with a makeshift material roof and front wall cover that does well to protect from the elements. Luckily they had a tall heater in the middle so we were protected from the cold night temperatures as well. Was surprised by how busy it was- both sections were fairly full and it got more packed as the evening went on. I can see why- the steam boat was a fun way to eat dinner and there was great things to put in - octopus, mussels, tofu, thin sliced beef, cabbage, rice noodles- to name a few. Liked the split steam boat bowl with two different soups- one spicy, one plain- and to be able to have two steam boats going at the same time and no extra waiting. Great sauces on the side to mix- with a green paste, bbq sauce, hot sauce and very spicy red peppers, beware. Definitely recommend the steamboat. Curious to try the cooked dishes and their dessert menu at another time.