saigon 60's

this was my first experience for vietnamese dining in rotorua. my rating is based onfoodquality, 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 thefoodwas 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 andfoodarrived quickly.

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. thefoodwas 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!

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 greatfoodadventure.

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 forfoodthan i do, so i tried some - i have never in my life rejectedfoodor left a plate uneaten - but thefoodwas 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.

wow honestly, they really exceeded the expectations of ours. beautifully presented food, huge proportions we could not eat it all. service that is great and place is tidy. menu is very kid-friendly with large variety.foodis very good, they seems to have a great deal of vietnamese patrons which sort of speaks for itself truly.

like other people stumbled across this particular location as not apparent from the roadside. very great value. had an excellent night,foodwas wonderful the staff was knowledgeable and very friendly. highly recommend the restaurant
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super new authentic vietnamesefoodfor a fantastic value. the staff is very helpful. would like to endorse for this. should test the vietnamese egg coffees.

food that is awesome, super friendly staff, and great prices. was filled with asian families which is generally an excellent sign. quite an excellentfoodspot
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it is very hard finding great usual vietnamese meals around here. so this place really surprised me with the tastyfoodof theirs and awesome service. good, full-flavored although not bitter. this particular place may be worth being checked out! i will definitely go back.