restaurant 88

we always pick restaurant 88 as the place to go out and eat on occasions. however the last service was really disappointing. we ordered three well-done steaks, however only one came out well-done. we also ordered a medium steak, which came out medium-rare.

the chef did not take the complaint well, instead threw the blamebackon us, stating we were the only table ever to complain.

this will now make us re-think where we would go on our next occasion.

when you think vietnamese food, you imagine fresh herbs & zesty flavors. and that's exactly how to describe the food. a very unique and different take on dinner than any other restaurant in wellington. most defiantly will bebackagain.

this place is incredible!! having just gotbackfrom a trip to vietnam i wasn't holding my breath for food as good as i'd had there. but this place completely delivered. i had the ca (fish dish) which came with a gorgeous papaya salad (zingy, spicy, perfect) and rice. was faultless, the flavours were out of this world. had the creme brûlée to finish which was great although i wasn't a fan of the black sesame ice cream it came with. i tried a friend's dessert - waffles with coconut ice cream. divine!!! (and a very generous portion). great service too. get yourself here!!

loving the duck grabs! such a tasty dishes even its the entree one ! the young coconut water was also amazing as well beef shaking was also really ! always went to this place last year like every weekend honestly! but this year was too broke to go to ! willing to comebackagain when i have money lol

a great restaurant. having a booking we were seated immediately upon arrival and the service was a+. we dined as a large group for a staff christmas do. six of us opted for the banquet of which was delicious! great having the opportunity to sample 'a little of a lot' on the menu. every one in our group were feeling very full and satisfied by the end of the meal. the rest of the group also thoroughly enjoyed the amazing taste sensations of their chosen meals also commenting very positively. only concern was with how hot it became with a 'full house' - possibly could have done with some more windows open? however, we're already planning our next tripback- maybe next time i'll have the mixed grill.

a great restaurant with great service and great food. we shared our meals and ate everything. mongolian beef drunken chicken and the beef salad were delicious. i would definitely gobackand try more.

it's been many years since i came here - not long after it started i think.backthen it was ok, but not startling, and for that reason it lapsed out of memory. the street frontage is pretty underwhelming - it could be any old office building except for the lime green 88 on the door.

however flicking through the zomato reviews i realised it scores very highly - higher than i would i have imagined - 4.4 suggesting either its very good or its patrons are stupid. it seems to be the former.

anyway last night on a friends recommendation, it came down to a toss up between a cheapy in petone or restaurant 88 - 88 won.

i confess to hating trying to find a park in the area but yesterday we found a dream park very close to the restaurant.

it is exactly as i remember it. high ceilings, slightly clattery and not particularly warm - it was a cold night. but the decor and general ambience was pleasant and had the actual temperature been a little higher it would have been cosy.

a bottle of rabbit ranch pinot noir arrived quickly and we decided from the menu to go for five entrees rather than entree / mains.

vietnamese caramelised sticky baby-back ribs: lovely, gooey long cooked - delicious.
roast duck wraps with plum sauce: my favourite, the wrap was excellent but in combination with the dipping sauce was inspired.
stuffed chicken wings with pork and prawns: good, pleasant, slightly predictable.
vietnames fresh spring rolls: fresh yes, but the wrapping rather rubbery - the thought "vegetarian condom" came to mind, but nice, and again with the dipping sauce quite moreish.
"glorious" vietnamese crispy mini pancakes: so interesting - a strange mix of flavours and textures.

by the end of those five, we were completely full. any possibility of going further with main or dessert had disappeared.

service was great, lovely wait staff - very very helpful and such good advice. nothing too much trouble, very efficient and accurate.

overall highly recommended for an informal dinner, i could imagine older kids loving it. a good alternative to and probably slightly better than chow down the road

date night: yes
kids: yes
big groups: yes
parking: hmmm but probably ok
foodies: yes

lunch with wife
service - outstanding
food - best i have had outside vietnam and better than a few when i was there last so highly recommended.
value for money - not cheap, but not expensive pretty much the same middle of the road price as most.  where is the value? when you eat the highest quality and freshest food like i had today you feel it was real value.
recommendation - yep, highly recommended and please just try it yourself i will probably be there when you go!  excellent place to have found and goingbackagain soon.

a great little gem on tory street, that gets real busy in weekends, so a booking is highly recommended to avoid disappointment!the service is always impeccable, with well train staff, who have an eye to detail, although, i must admit that the "would you like another beer" use to be systematic in the past, but not so now, where the waiter/waitress is happy to take your glass away without asking if you would like another one, so that would be the only "stain" for an otherwise great service. i never go without having the fresh spring rolls as a starter (call me boring), but they have also to my great despair removed a grilled steak served with a mushroom sauce and potatoes that was to die for, alas, it hasn't made itbackon the menu, surely i can't be the only one missing that!! so for the main, i do not have a favorite, not that there is anything wrong with them, but nothing match the steak! i have tried their dessert, but nevertheless, i highly recommend this place!

nice place, seated quickly when we arrived. drinks and food orders taken quickly and food arrived at a good pace. however the food was very average at best, not very interesting and rather overpriced. those of us that had food like ribs got a finger bowl of cold water :-(
would not gobackagain, compared to their sandwich shop this restaurant for both food quality and price is a big let down

dinner kicked off with a good start, all tender and juicy in the form of caramelised babybackribs, slowly baked in a deliciously sweet tamarind sauce. there was sourness in there as well and with the slightest touch of a fork, the meat came off the bones effortlessly.

dined here on a saturday night with 4 friends who live in welly (i live in palmy) who had recommended it...and boy was it worth the recommendation!!! this is without a doubt the best restaurant i've ever been to. the food was completely delicious, so fresh,fragrant and flavourful.it was really difficult to pick from the menu as everything sounded so delicious! i had the caramelised sticky babybackpork ribs, prawn two ways and the creme caramel with black sesame ice cream...a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!!!black sesame is now my new favourite ice cream flavour! everyone at the table raved about their dishes and we all had to try each others food...it was all just so delish! the service was wonderfully attentive though non obtrusive and especially good seeing as the restaurant was fully booked and they were very busy. the decor was authentic and really added to the whole experience. the layout was great as you didn't feel too crowded by other tables and could easily carry on a conversation as the music was not too loud. the price was extremely reasonable and everyone had a truly wonderful night. i can't wait to return. be sure to book as restaurant 88 is crazy popular (for good reason). i've recommended this restaurant to all my friends, family and co-workers...now i just need an excuse to getbackto welly so i can dine there again!!!;)

this year's birthday celebration was low-key – i had a group dinner with close friends at restaurant 88 last night where we got to catch up over drinks and the delicious vietnamese cuisine. we started off with drinks at 5.30pm and i tried their saigon 333 beer which was nice and somewhat sweet to taste. a few of us got entrees and i got to sample some stuffed chicken wings with pork and prawn, and caramelised sticky babybackribs as we await more friends to turn up. yummy!

fantastic!! decided to try it after reading the reviews and was not disappointed. went with some friends and we loved it! the food was fantastic (we shared a selection of entrees), the service was great and the staff were very helpful in recommending some options for us. will definitely bebackto try out the mains.
highly recommend

had a great evening here with 10 friends.

the food was great and a real delight to get a coffee in an asian restaurant that tasted great as well. rest of table enjoyed desserts and commented on the great selection of wine.

no grumbling when we used our entertainment cards and was happy to do split payments.

great night and know the whole table said they were comingbackagain.

good all round.