saigon 60's

this was my first experience for vietnamese dining in rotorua. my rating is based on food quality, wait time, affordability & service.

the greeting at the door from staff was inviting, allowed us to choose a table (i dislike sitting by the door). it was clean, warm & cosy. unlike other establishments where the menu can be overcrowded & i often find myself ordering based on a picture of the dish or someone else’s preferred dish, the menu here was easy to read & well laid out. we ordered the vietnamese spring rolls, chicken pho, summer spring rolls & seafood stir fry. vietnamese spring rolls were great, served with a sweet chilli sauce, they complimented each other well, but that’s to be expected. the chicken pho broth was delicious, i even suggested it to family, i’m not a fan of coriander but it didn’t over power the dish so i was even happy to have had that. the summer rolls were good & the peanut sauce they served with it was yum. the seafood stir fry was an extra $1, and was expected. prawns, mussels, crab meat & squid rings were very average served with your usual stir fry vegetables. all was served hot & within 10 minutes of our order being taken. very happy with the service. i would recommend & return. i hoping to try their beef stew next visit.

we went back multiple times because the food was fresh, delicious and well balanced. the place is such a nice reprieve from heavy rich foods that are more prominent in the area. service is also good and food arrived quickly.

an authentic and tasty vietnamese restaurant!

we ordered
spicy beef pho, classic beef pho, spring rolls, and vietnamese iced coffee.
the highlights would be
- the texture of the classic pho noodles: they were not too doughy, and did not break easily (meaning it wasn't overcooked), but instead were light and springy.
- the tender and thin slices of sirloin
- the deep flavours and fragrance of both broths

i thought the spring rolls could have contained more filling, because they were quite skinny and were therefore too crunchy.

the iced coffee was good but a bit expensive at $6.50 for a small cup (most of the cup was ice as well)

noodles portion quite small, taste average

pho and spring rolls were nice and staff were friendly. however the restaurant only had a fan going which didn’t provide much relief on a hot summer day, not even cold drinks could cool us down and we couldn’t wait to get outside. other thing was that the restaurant did not have any toilets available for public use so we had to rush our young child to the nearby information centre.

the raw beef pho here is absolutely amazing. live in auckland but have come here three times whilst on holiday. definitely would recommend anyone who wants a refreshing bowl of pho to come try saigon.

last weekend is rotorua we found this place by chance, and i was surprised by the cosy family atmosphere of the place. i looked around and noticed with how much love everything was arranged and decorated there. the food was excellent too. i had a roast duck pho soup (my first experience with vietnamese cuisine). the place is so clean and tidy. no wonder it's popular with locals (i saw quite a few people ordering while other places around were quiet in this touristless time). well, guys you have to visit this lovely cafe!

great authentic pho, the vegetarian 🌱 pho taste really good with whole lots of veggies. my other two friends ordered classic beef and pork pho, they said it’s just perfect 👍

i feel this is quite a polarising restaurant. the words used to describe the flavours to me by a local was “heavy” and “gamey”. my chefs special pork pancake was perfectly crunchy with a strong fish sauce on top, almost to the point of oily but balanced by the zing of the citrus in the salad.
my wife’s classic beef pho definitely had a few extra flavours in it i couldn’t quite identify. as an asian she found it authentic and delightful, i found it different and somewhat unexpected. not your run of the mill chain restaurant, i felt it was a bold take on vietnamese style.
the staff were helpful and informative, the restaurant seemed full of difficult people with strange requests that were all handled well and politely while we where there. busy on a monday night post covid!
it did feel crammed and not much in the way of privacy, other than that a great food adventure.

if i could give this restaurant a 0 star rating i would. i ordered the beef pho, for $14+ i was expecting a beautiful broth and tender beef. instead i got overcooked noodles, a broth that smelled gamey, and 3 stingy pieces of colourless beef. my partner ordered the grilled pork on rice, which was $15+, what we got was a very small portion of fatty off-cuts of pork - which would have been bearable if the meat didn't smell like leather boots that had been in the rain for 3 days.

there is no way that any fresh meat that is cooked in clean oil, in a clean pan can have that stench. my partner has a higher standard for food than i do, so i tried some - i have never in my life rejected food or left a plate uneaten - but the food was so terrible that i felt compelled to tell the owner.

i told her very politely, that i don't want to offend her, but there is a smell in the meat and that we cannot eat this. she then became very defensive and unfriendly, she said that it is the "new zealand pork" that has a bad smell and refused to amend anything or offer even a portion of a refund - even though one dish was not eaten at all and the other was maybe only 1/3 consumed.

will never come back here again - and will tell my colleagues, friends and family to avoid this place like the plague if they visit rotorua.

don't eat here unless you want a terrible experience with stinky meat, overcooked gluggy rice, overcooked rice noodles and terrible service and business ethic.

had the beef pho, lemongrass chicken and summer rolls which were all super tasty, especially the beef pho, way better than all the vietnamese restaurants that i’ve ever had. beef pho soup was full of flavour and the beef was super tender. highly recommended.

after reading the previous reviews it got my hopes up too high. it’s not as close to to eating on the streets of hanoi as i would’ve liked - i was disappointed with the banh xeo - it was made with shredded cabbage (not a single bean sprout to be seen) and big slices of thin pork belly (bacon-like cut) rather than pork mince.the dishes are little on the pricey side, but well presented, fresh, big portions and the place had a nice atmosphere and prompt and courteous service. egg coffee is quite yummy but seems like it has been adapted to local tastes - possibly flavoured with a caramel sauce.

beef pho soup is very authentic and very good, the prices are affordable. the vegetarian dishes of theirs are also good. visited on saturday at lunchtime, almost all our dishes arrived within five minutes. waitress is quite helpful.

visited this particular restaurant on a rainy morning in the city. really tasty, authentic vietnamese food. having the noodle soup with their egg coffee took me back to our time in hanoi. service was great and welcoming. give this place a go if you are after true simple vietnamese foods.

stopped by for late dinner. the place was really quiet which was exactly what i needed, but was wanting it being a bit busier! beef pho was very nice, the taste was great though far a bit much noodles. would come once again to try out more dishes.