A bit ambivalent about this place. Don't get me wrong, the food is good, but for the price you sort…read moreof want a wow factor as well. The place- spacious, mixture of two and four sweaters as well as some private rooms if you reserve early. Parking is a b*%#h in Parnell as you all know. The food- good quality traditional Japanese food. Most of the stuff on the menu is pretty traditional. None of those twists or flair as you sometimes get from places in the city. The flavor is well balanced. Seafoods are all fresh. Would definitely recommend the oyster and beef tataki if you are into raw meat. If you really want to go all out, order the wagyu beef. The service- no real complaints. Polite as it is in many Japanese restaurants. They do charge for tea, considering what you are paying for the entire meal, it's kinda annoying to have to pay for greentea. The price- I would definitely put it as $$$. Nothing really is under $20. Overall, it's a good restaurant, good quality traditional food.

Thank you so much for looking after my group last night for my birthday dinner! The food and…read moreservice were impeccable. The freshest sashimi served in a breathtaking presentation and very patient wait staff made for a most memorable evening. I will see you again!

Good food and reasonable prices. Some of the cheapest and most filling food I've had in all of…read moreAuckland. Great view of the park...it's nice to be away from busy Queen St. Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to get a great bang for their buck.

I went to Hansan for dinner on a cold, rainy night, the prefect weather for a steaming bowl of…read morenoodle soup. We ordered the fried chicken wings with lemon grass to start and the curry beef stew with fine egg noodles and combination beef noodle soup and a lychee shake. Service was incredibly fast. The chicken wings were nice and crispy with lots of lemon grass. Both main dishes were tasty but the curry beef stew had the edge for me. Tender beef pieces in a flavoursome spicy soup. My dining partner however preferred the beef noodle soup, different preferences I guess. The meals were very large and we didn't actually finish them, definitely great value. The lychee milkshake was also delicious.

Best Bahn Mi in town!!! One of the things I took away while travelling around Vietnam is... you…read morecannot get past a good Bahn Mi and District 5 have brought the essence of Bahn Mi to New Zealand - i cannot stop raving about this place hahaha! My favorite would have to be the lemon grass chicken Bahn Mi - it's so delicious, also add a bit of chili if you are feeling adventurous!

FINALLLY the Vietnamese trend has hit Auckland! It's easily my favourite South-East Asian cuisine…read more(followed closely by Malaysian, in case you were wondering) because it's fresh, flavoursome and 9 times out of 10 relatively cheap. District 5 is the newest kid on the block and has opened in that strange space next to the Vero building. It was coffee shop for a while and then was unoccupied for ages, which was strange cos it's prize real estate. Anyway, they've done a great job of making the small street-side space somewhat private, with a large blue concrete wall blocking out passers-by. Inside the kitchen is in a box that resembles a building site container and there's a small courtyard with seating for those who want to eat in. Menu-wise, they've kept things simple - choose between rice paper rolls, pho or a rice noodle salad (each with different protein options). I ordered a rice noodle salad with their lemongrass chicken. The place was packed but my food was ready to go within 10 minutes. I'll admit, I had a few errands to run before I sat down and ate but the salad was still delicious. The dressing was fresh and zingy - just the right amount of chilli - and they didn't skimp on the chicken. I could've done with more fresh herbs and the carrot and lettuce was shredded rather recklessly. Still, for an on-the-go lunch options, AWESOME! Welcome to the block District 5!

Very happy with my dinner option tonight. This location has a ton of competition with lots of food…read moreoptions in the area. Very good value (portion for price) and the quality of fish was surprisingly good. Adding to this is a friendly staff that works quickly without taking away from the overall atmosphere. Nice job... too bad I'm a tourist or this would become a regular spot. Good luck guys!

Thai Passion is one of our favourites. The food is excellent and they are always busy. I would…read morehighly recommend them to any one. Good balance between sauces and meat, with flavours to die for.

The food was actually quite nice and the service was good. But the thing that upset me was an…read moreolder lady who was serving rice with the meals, I asked if they had noodles to go with the meals and she said no, I said no worries, I'm happy with rice, then she came up to me & gave me the dirtest look, saying that normally Thai food is served with rice, like I was stupid. I was fine, but she was really bothered by it. Looking at the menu, I saw that they had noodle dishes. The problem was I was not really bothered by not having noodles, it was just her attitude which spoilt a good night for me.

It's been almost a decade since returning to Auckland, and I was pleasantly surprised to see new…read morerestaurants everywhere. We decided to try this place because why not.... big mistake. Very underwhelming "Vietnamese" food. Ca phe phin is very light, not as strong as the true Vietnamese coffee us Vietnamese are used to. Quick and attentive service. One and done basically.

On our second night in Auckland, my sister and I went to Cafe Hanoi for dinner while my husband…read morestayed in the hotel to rest. The entrance to the restaurant wasn't easy to find as it was down a little lane that wasn't marked from the main street, so despite having the address and using Google maps, we walked around in circles, in the poring rain, for at least half an hour. Soaking wet, we finally found the restaurant and sat down for a much needed bowl of pho. The food was good, although not the best pho I've ever had, and a bit pricey, but it was warm and filling. I would have liked to have gone back to try other items on their menu (the menu looked quite good), but unfortunately I did not have the opportunity. [Yelp collections: NZ/Fiji 2023; New Zealand 2023]

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!

I think I may just have found my new favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Auckland. Cafe Viet has…read morebeen open for about 5 months now and after discovering it on Yelp, I decided to pick up some take outs from there last night. We ordered: - Bang Bang prawns - crumbed and deliciously crispy on the outside yet juicy and tender on the inside. The coconut dressing was a bit too sweet but we would order them again sans dressing. - The crispy spring rolls with nuoc nam dressing - the best spring rolls i've had in Auckland. The diced meat (pork and prawn) was given the usual treatment - wrapped in spring roll paper and deep fried - but was gave these bad boys their point of difference was that they were wrapped in fresh paper with crunchy carrot, lettuce - a spring roll in a spring roll. GENIUS. - Lemongrass Chicken - beautifully fragrant and tender. It was served with cold vermicelli and a crunchy, fresh salad. A must order dish in my opinion. - Pork Claypot - the only dish we weren't sold on. Unfortunately they had not rendered any of the fat off the pork belly and we found the sauce to be a little too sweet. It came with a decent serving of rice and salad though, which was a nice touch. Looking forward to going back for a lunch date and trying their Pho Bo. Although, judging by how busy it was when I picked up take outs, i'll be make sure I make a booking before I do!

I stepped into Cafe Viet with my dining companion who simply loves vietnamese food. He was super…read moreexcited about this place and couldn't keep his eyes off the menu. We started with Fresh rice paper rolls w prawn & braised pork (12). This was delicious and refreshing, but I felt the rice paper was a little tough to bite. Then came the Bang Bang prawns (12), deep fried with green rice. I loved how huge and crispy they were. You soon get a bit sick of the "deep fried" part though. Our mains were Grilled lemongrass pork (22) and a Beef rice noodle soup (15). There were so many various thing on my pork plate which included pork steak, meatballs, rice vermicelli, salad and prawn crackers. This was fantastic as I am a fan of trying out different things at once! Pork was tender and salad accompanied it perfectly. The vermicelli here is too thin so that it forms like a soft blanket which was interesting. However, meatball was too salty even with the rice vermicelli. I tried a spoonful of the noodle soup but did not enjoy the strong spice/herb flavour. We decided to share the Viet coffee (4.5) with ice as it was an evening. Coffee was dripped into a glass which had a sweetened condensed milk. The flavour was quite different. Very new. It was almost like an liquor with not so strong coffee taste. I wasn't sure if I like it or not.