Review Le Vietnamese Kitchen - Auckland Central

The food was tasty, especially the crispy duck. A good selection of food on the menu. The service felt a little cold but served its purpose.

Just amazing the food is to die for . Now we go every Saturday. Eat leave and then think about the next Saturday coming. The ribs pork salad chicken and raw kingfish omg now I'm hungry

Was walking around Ponsonby looking for something to eat. Saw this place and decided to give it a try. Was going through the review and saw that the masaamun beef cheek curry and the duck fried rice was good so ordered that. The dishes here aren't cheap, with 2 dishes and a rice for $4 costing over $70 for lunch. However though, the massamun beef cheek curry melts in the mouth and very good taste with rice. The fried rice was full of flavour too and cooked perfectly paired with a fried egg on top. So the quality is good here, but probably for an occasional treat and not a every weekend thing.

The beef cheek massaman curry, the duck fried rice, the duck salad, and the Hanoi noodle were all excellent. The customer service was decent. Nice, cosy ambience . Would be back again

Everything is great. Beautiful presentation, delicious food and suitable space for family and friends

Today’s so beautiful day, I and my friends come here and enjoy Vietnamese’s traditional food. The food is great with a strong hometown flavor. Thank you for the restaurant's food!

Nice nice nice 👍 Was invited to this lovely place by a friend for a catch up dinner, we had very good time there. Beautiful tasty food with decent portion and thanks to our lovely waitress so that we chose the perfect wine for our dishes. Didn't get her name but she was from Italy. Thank you for your service and patience. Will definitely go back for another occasion.

Beautiful and exquisite small restaurant, when there are many customers, the service staff will appear a little less, but you can still feel their enthusiasm and good vibration frequency. The food is delicious and the desserts are special. I will come again.

Food was really tasty.. staff was good, atmosphere was quite authentic vietnamese way but the toilets were dirty and full of mosquitoes and heaps of flying insects .. really bad . I bought it to the attention of the management who sprayed something but that did not fix the issue. They apologised and said they are having an ongoing issue and don't know how to fix it..

Great tasting food and good portions! However, it was too busy and the waiters didn't have time to take our dessert order. We waited 20 minutes after we finished our main meal, but despite trying to grab their attention, they were too busy to hear or see us. So we just left without getting to try their dessert menu.

Customer service was awesome. The American guy was so polite, friendly and gave us hints on some delicious dishes. I'm happy they had a few Vegan options. We got dumplings, summer rolls, black rice dessert and the sago. All 4 were delicious and presented beautifully. Thanks for and awesome dining experience.

I love Le Vietnamese Kitchen, gorgeous food, great cocktails and wonderful service. Every dish taste immaculate. I'm hungry just thinking about the meal I had last night. I come every year for my birthday and it's always so wonderful.

Went for a quick dinner but the food was delicious! Portions are large and serviced by really friendly staff! Small and cozy place.. highly recommend!

Bit pricey but worth it as food is excellent. Happy to handle allergies and special requests. Good atmosphere and not too packed when we went on a Wednesday. Pork belly is highly recommended

Nice food, a bit on the pricey side, but the servings sizes were good. Nice cocktails and the atmosphere was good, their back area was more cozy than the front. I'd come back again for sure.

Food was amazing, beautiful flavours. Pretty pricey for lunch... Heaps of vegan options, mostly well balanced but a bit lacking on the protein side (bit more legumes would have been an easy fix!) The place was empty at lunchtime, yet two of us were not allowed to sit at bigger tables in the backyard. We'll c'mon, you could be a bit more flexible, unless you had a tour bus booked in. But overall, very nice... I'll be back for a treat.

We went here on a whim because we were craving some pho- everything was so delicious and fresh tasting. We had specials- beef pho, chicken bahn mi, and some different appetizers. Exceeded my expectations. Would definitely return.

Flavoursome and well balanced dishes. Loved the wagyu & lemongrass skewers, crispy half duck, and especially the five spice chicken. I’m glad we went with the waiter’s recommendation of the chicken - so tender and juicy, and the sauce was incredible! The coconut prawns were good but not spectacular. Service was fast (on a Tuesday evening) and the restaurant has a nice ambience.

I didn’t expect coconut prawn comes like this way, big wow from me. Lots of crispy shred coconut. cut a dice, eat with a piece of Viet mint. Lack of service, but food is good.

Woah based of these reviews... I’m wondering if we nearly went to the wrong ‘Le Vietnamese Kitchen’.... all I can say Is ‘DO NOT ORDER’ anything we got: coconut prawns entree - quite literally just flavourless things, no seasoning, we had to ask for some salt just so we could taste something, honestly super shit; chicken and prawn dumpling - don’t even waste your time, our whole table by this point were wondering if the chefs even give a shit based on how crap these taste; and lastly the tofu.... I love tofu and when they say spicy, Chris tofu if sounded super amazing... literally got given about 5-6 massive, and I’m talking massive hunks of flubbery cold sloppy tofu chucked in a small puddle of sugar syrup. Like woah, I honestly do not get how a place like these can even keep its doors open, I honestly would have never in all my life ordered three meals out at a single restaurant and have every single one have ZERO TASTE - I’m just shocked.

Visited last Thursday for dinner. The food was excellent and so were the cocktails. I would highly recommend everything I tried which was the shaking beef, vege pad see ew, twice cooked pork belly, crispy squid and kaffir lime chicken, as well as the kaffir fever cocktail. All absolutely delicious. The only thing that could have been improved a little was the service, the staff weren’t friendly but they were still attentive.

Outdoor dining was a disaster! Too many fries flying around the food... Food tasted good. But SMALL portion, not ideal for sharing (even though we ordered the "big dish" for sharing! OVERPRICED)... I felt many staff were nice but the guy serving our table was a bit rude with zero smiles.

Went there last month the price was abit expensive. The place needs some cleaning and hygiene.

I re booked a table here as last year i had a great expereince my review last year was 4.5 star and the photos of the food were very different from what i was given on my most recent visit. So i thought it only fair to update the review. As ZOMATO does not let you post more than 1 review .... Anyhow service was ok except they dont let you choose where you want to sit. When we arrived there were only a total of 3 tables full. So we asked if we could sit at a 4 persons table even though there were only 2 of us. We were under the impression this was not ok. The food in my opinion was 2-3 stars lacked flavour. The peanut satay sauce was really sad, it didnt taste very authentic. The papaya salad should be renamed the bean sprout salad. The chicken possibly slightly undercooked. The vietnamese rolls were so bland. I was really disappointed as the previous visit was amazing. Perhaps they have changed owners within the last 1-2 years i dont know.

Delicious food, enjoyed the fresh spring rolls, twice cooked pork belly (this is a must!!) and beef pho bowl. Authentic and delightful flavours. Better to sit out the back as a much nicer atmosphere.

Really delicious food! Great Vietnamese flavours with a fusion twist. Best to order plates to share! Pork belly is just as good as Mekong Baby and service was great too. Will definitely come here again.

The kaffir lime chicken was the most delicious dish- flavours very fresh and chicken extremely tender. Serving size was good. Coconut prawns were large and cooked to perfection. Service very attentive

Came here due to friend’s recommendation. Food was delicious. Not your typical Vietnamese food. The coconut shrimp was pretty good, you got four pieces of shrimps. The pho’s broth was average, but the sour sauce made it better. The fish was pretty good. Portion was a little bit smaller than I expected.

tasted pretty average tbh and the 'vietnamese herbs' that was served was just coriander hardly vietnamesey its kind of weird you have to buy rice separately and comes in a tiny dish that was a hard money grab<br/>$80 for two people was it worth it?<br/>probably not will i go back? probably not

The food and drinks great and service superb. Best picks spiced tofu, duck salad, calamari, twice cooked pork belly (will order this first, next time). Waitress commented we were having quite a feast, we certainly did and we’d do it again here

This was my second time coming here as we had a foodie meetup here this time. <br/>Got the mango beef salad, twice cooked pork belly, crispy squid & Mekong chicken curry. My favourite dish is probably the twice cooked pork belly - the pork is super crispy on the outside but soft & juicy on the inside & full of flavour. The mange beef salad is refreshing to have with all the other meat dishes, however, there were only a few strips of beef. The Mekong chicken curry was full of flavour and quite spicy to be honest which made it hard for me to eat. The crispy squid was really good too & we ordered jasmine rice for each person which arrived like 5 minutes after our curry arrived? (Unsure how they expected us to eat the curry without the rice & we also asked the waitress for our rice too)<br/>The customer service was quite average as our water wasn’t filled very often & we were sat outside even though we booked too. <br/>Also, we were nearly over charged - they tried charging us for an extra 4 dishes we did not order & when we told them at the counter when paying the lady at the front was extremely rude.<br/>The food was good but probably won’t return quickly due to the lack of customer service from this place.

Loved the atmosphere and food here. Got the pork belly, goat shoulder curry and five spice chicken. In the order from best tasting to least. Pork belly here was amazingggg and better than Mekong baby which is competition enough. Crispy on the outside and tender meat inside. Goat meat was succulent accommodated with delicious creamy curry (no photo attached as we were too hungry). Five spice chicken was cooked well also with crunchy bukchoy - portion is quite generous yet very delicious. Coconut sago dessert was okay, would go for the panna cotta next time. Will 100% return.

Amazing food! Cannot rate it enough!<br/><br/>Wasn’t expecting much when we got here but I left a happy lady! <br/><br/>Service was prompt, staff were knowledgeable of the menu.

Pretty average food and quite expensive for the portion size. I also politely tried to tell the manager Sophie my experience and she was extremely defensive and said it wasn’t their “fault”, I wouldn’t recommend.

A couple of vegetarian options here, but there could be a few more. I had the noodles & they were fresh tasting and filling. The rice paper rolls were pretty basic though, and slightly expensive for the small portion. The cocktail selection was good, and mine had a nice level of alcohol. I'd go back again to try other things, but would love more vegetarian variety please!

Wandering around Ponsonby looking for a dessert place. We ended up coming here to try theirs. We tried the caramelised mango sago as well as the coconut panna cotta. I personally thought that the coconut flavour in both dishes were a bit lacking. We were also assuming that the caramelised mangoes were part of the sprinkles on top of the sago. <br/><br/>Saying that both dishes were tasty, albiet not the flavours I was expecting. The textural contrast of the sago was nice. The panna cotta was smooth and tasty. Desserts were nice and while looking through the menu there were a few dishes which sounded tasty.

Fantastic food! There were so many glorious, fresh, vibrant flavours done to perfection. There were also many interesting options as well as a good vegan/vegetarian selection, this is a good restaurant choice for a group with different eating habits that won't break the bank. The atmosphere and vibe was well suited, interesting and very relaxing. Friendly and efficient staff. Have already gone twice, something that usually only occurs when I give a five star rating, can't wait to come back.

Food is amazing. Service - extremely subpar and rude waiters. It took over an hour to bring out our (wrong) orders, they forgot our cutlery, condiments and drinks.

I love the cosiness of this place. Prompt and friendly service. We ordered skewers, Ha Noi noodle, market fish and fried noodle. The skewers were really good. My friends liked their fish and Hanoi noodle. I found my fried noodle interesting but after a few chews it started to feel a bit salty and bitter. Couldn’t finish it all but in general it was a great experience.

Excellent food, excellent variety and perfect for shared lunches. We ordered side plates of crispy coconut prawns and Hanoi-style pork belly and a green pawpaw salad. All shared between the two of us. Yum!

This place is really nice, the front is a bit quieter than the back and probably better fit for a date night. Staff are friendly, food is quite good. I liked that it was a sharing menu, which worked well for both of us. The goat meat was quite bland however, didn't taste very flavoursome, the chicken main dish was very good though.

I loved the ambience and the interior, lovely place for a quiet meal. <br/>I had beef pho. The soup was delicious, the taste was light and “clean”. The beef was tender. However, the soup lost its flavor when eaten together with the noodles. We had to put sriracha and the vinegar with chilli for extra seasoning.

One of my favourite Vietnamese restaurants! The food is always good and fresh. <br/><br/>The restaurant is located opposite Ponsonby central so if you’re in the area it is worth checking out. <br/><br/>The service is also great, highly recommended!

Had dinner at Le Vietnamese Kitchen the other night with my friends to celebrate one my friend's birthday. Everyone had an awesome time.. food was amazing, the ambiance was wonderful and the people were so nice and friendly! Our attendant was yohanna (or was it johanna) and she was amazing! She help me set up the surprise birthday cake for our friend and was there the whole if we needed anything. Thank you for a wonderful dining experience! will definitely come back and recommend to all my friends!

One of my favourite Vietnamese restaurants. Food is always yummy with good portions. Ambience is great. Staff are always friendly. I would recommend the Pho and hanoi rice noodles.<br/><br/><br/>

The chicken and prawn dumplings were delightful, especially with that sauce, damn I ate everything dipped in that.<br/><br/>The pawpaw salad and the squid together, is just a great union like the marriage of shrek and fiona, shit is just meant to be together.<br/><br/>And the chicken pho, just get it as well. It's only 16bux and big enough for 2 peps to share.<br/><br/>Service was good food came so quick.

Another excellent Vietnamese cuisine restaurant. Perfect place for a Saturdate 😊<br/><br/>We ordered the famous pho Angus beef, sticky pork & prawns salad and Wagyu beef and lemongrass scewers. Everything was very authentic Vietnamese, every mouthful was full of flavours it kept us digging for more.<br/><br/>The restaurant is cozy and nicely decorated. Staff were very friendly and attentive.<br/><br/>If you are after authentic Vietnamese I will gladly recommend this place. I'm looking forward for my next visit<br/>

3.5/5 rating. I really liked the decor and the dining furniture at this restaurant. It really adds to that Vietnamese cafe style on a hot day.<br/><br/>The food is good. Portion sizes are decent and the flavours were there. The salad had lots of fresh ingredients. However the spring rolls lacked that Vietnamese flare and wasn't crisp enough. They didn't really seem like Vietnamese spring rolls and leaned more towards the Chinese style spring rolls.

Had a group of 15 and although the banquet looked good and would have been perfect there was the option of a la carte. All of the wait staff did a fantastic job in what is a tough situation, drinks come out fast and got all food and drink orders perfect. Food was ok, had the calamari which was good... coconut prawns were ok and the twice cooked pork belly was good but needed heaps more sauce and served in a bowl not a plate.

We came here on a Thursday lunch and ordered 2 banh mi from express lunch at around 12:50, before us have a table of 7 and so they let us wait for 40 mins until they finsished the large table. My boyfriend was so angry as the waitress didnt even apologized for the delay of the food and not even meal check us but she did with the large group. She just asked when we came for pay and we just only want to get out of there asap<br/>Food wise: it’s good<br/>But the waiting time and the service let us down<br/>I dont feel like i gonna recommend this place to anyone, even though food is not bad. It’ll be a down time instead of having good time

Yesterday lunchtime ,I experienced really poor customer service from this place. Me and my friend walked into this place ,there was this dark hair pale skin  waiter behind the counter looked at us without saying a word, no smile, unfriendly face. There were no other customers at that time, but he brought us the menu long after we sat down. As we started to eat, few other customer came in  , he face was lighten up with a  big fake smile, chat with the customers and brought the menu and water immediately.  A female waitress came 3 times asking have we finished when we are still eating . Unbelievably rude. This is the biggest joke：a restaurant offers Asian cuisine and being racist to Asian customers.

Venue and service nothing less than what you'd expect from Ponsonby - very good. Prices were reasonable, beef pho, pork belly and green veges were all full of flavour. The 5 spice chicken is presented really cool too. There is a back indoor 'garden' area which was really nice for our table of 9.

The first time I had the twice cooked pork belly here it was incredible; crispy on the outside and melting on the inside, the second time the pork was quite tough and stringy. The food here is packed with flavour but they're kind of repetitive from dish to dish. I'd like to see some more variety in the flavours used. I would say the prices are expensive as the portions are small. The place has a great ambience.

7 April 2018, first time come with older sister in law and 4th brother in law and Jin and husband. Staff friendly, meal come faster than rice. Pork belly with salad at side is taste good. All think is too salty so we order more rice.

Amazing food! Each bite is so flavoursome and all of the ingredients are so fresh. Would recommend the vegan spring rolls and shaking beef with rice. The wagyu melts in your mouth and the dipping sauce with the spring rolls is perfect. The meals are consistently good, as we have been quite a few times now.

One of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. The terribly rude waiter with a serious attitude problem made our clients uncomfortable. The restaurant has no air conditioning, it smelled awful and was FILLED with flies. It took them almost two hours to bring out the wrong food and there were no apologies. When I complained about the poor service while paying, the rude waiter made a snide remark to myself and my work colleague - “I doubt that was even a business meeting *scoffs & eye rolls*.” For the first time in my life I asked for the manager because I was tired of talking to the crappy waiter. The manager hesitantly apologised for not getting us the food we ordered and the nearly two hour wait after other diners nearby agreed it was inappropriate. Never coming back here again, my work place has informed all staff not to bring clients here for meeting again.

Food was good especially the pho but wow the service today from the female at the front counter around lunch time was appalling which ruined our experience. It seemed as if she did not want to be there. Ruined it for me so much that it makes me want to not go back. I was with 2 of my friends and I actually kept my comments to myself until one of my friends mentioned how grumpy the woman was.

We ordered the Kaffir Lime Chicken, Fresh Spring Rolls, Green Papaya Salad and Pork Ribs from the Small plates menu. <br/><br/>The food was good. Nothing that left us feeling #mindblown. My favourite of the four would have to be the Green Papaya Salad. Very close to the real deal. <br/><br/>We also ordered a Fresh Coconut Water and a Cinnamon Sparkle to drink. The Cinnamon Sparkle was fantastic. However, there was a 20 min wait! <br/><br/>The service was quite disappointing. We struggled to make conversation because we were concentrating on getting the attention of the wait staff. It was a good 10-12 mins before we were poured a glass of water!! There seemed to be a decent number of wait staff towards the back of the restaurant, but just about 2 staff members to the front. <br/><br/>The decor is beautiful. I love the light/lamp shades in the centre of the room. It is not too bright and not too dark.<br/><br/>We would like to come back on a quiet night and give this another try.

Food good. Service terrible! We are locals but our experience was so bad, we will not be back. No offer of a drink the whole night and dirty plates sat in front of us until we paid the bill. Don’t even get me started on the staff working there?! Two of our dishes did not arrive (without explanation) and we were charged for these. Many other restaurants in the vicinity serve great food and have great service therefore we will go elsewhere.

I have been looking at the empty plates for more than half an hour, i also have been serving myself as noone gives a dang about our table. If you can’t handle the custs, you should explain the situation and turn some people away... Terrible service and about 3-4 tables have already gone as noone served them. Saddest place to be on 2nd of Jan. i feel sorry for the people who work as they have lost the smiles and they simply do not know know what to do. I am starving but where are my foods??????? Sigh.......

Really FRESH and FRAGRANT spices and flavours! Ordered: fresh and deep fried spring rolls, fish of the day and Mekong chicken curry. The fresh spring rolls- They look so simple and plain (don't be fooled) but the combination of veges and the sauce were the perfect balance! The fried rolls however had average filling and weren't very tasty. The Fish of the day was the BEST (highly recommend). The fish itself was marinated in sweet sauce and sat in a leaf of veges/chilli and rice noodles. The taste of all components in ONE bite was soooo flavourful!! The curry was also flavourful with different spices which complimented the chicken (my friends loved it)<br/>

Twice cooked pork belly yummmmmmmmm!!!<br/>Oh the cocktail was gooooood too. <br/>We are just about to have dessert let’s see what’s going to happen now.....

Went here with my partner, had the spring rolls platter and two mains, specifically the platter was deliscious and mains were good to follow. A good place to go in ponsonby if you're after a casual bite. The ambience in the restaurant is a bit off considering the type of food however it's nothing to deter punters away

Visited this establishment several times really enjoyed the squid, should have ordered two, tender and slightly crunchy, yum, tried the pho which i have tried many times in many restaurants, but i give up on pho , i have been searching for pho nivarna , sadly i have not found it, either not enough herbs or the stock not having that wow factor, anyway i digress, also had the the pork sliders , the buncha which is another favorite when done how i like it , salad, herbs, cut up fried rolls and a dressing in a bowl (mekong ponsonby food hall), great dish this one just didnt work how it was served, but the flavours were good, overall very tasty food and i would return, oh also the staff were efficient and friendly.

We had the rice paper rolls, pork belly, kaffir chicken and the pho. The sauces with each dish were fabulous and really individual. The food was so fresh and tasty with really great value for money. We were also able to 'walk in' on a Friday night which we weren't expecting!

There was quite a hit and miss between the good dishes and not so good dishes. I had a flaming prawn once, and all I tasted was kerosene or whatever it was that they used for the flaming. <br/><br/>However, I have enjoyed their rice noodle dish though. <br/><br/>I feel like the prices are bit high for the quality too.

Vietnamese Kitchen is sort of fusion (or rather unauthentic Vietnamese) food.  Beef tartare was not available on the day. Fresh spring rolls were thick & in 4 half pieces; coconut prawns & crispy squid were just OK; crispy half duck came out a bit cold; stir-fried yellow noodles with prawns & squids were rather salty. <br/>(Food - 3/5; Service - 3.5/5; Ambience - 2.5/5)

We ordered the Hanoi Style Pork Belly, Twice Cooked Pork Belly, Crispy Half Duck, Duck Lychee Salad, Goat Curry and Shaking Beef. <br/>The Hanoi Style Pork Belly was nice and smokey, but perhaps a bit too tough to chew and wasn't succulent enough. <br/>The Twice Cooked Pork Belly however; amazing. It looks like tofu, but it's actually Pork Belly chunks dressed in a crispy coating, soaked in a sweet soy sauce--sooooo good. <br/>The Crispy Half Duck won the show for me--absolutely amazing. There's about 6 big pieces of duck meat in a crispy fried coating, married with a slightly sweet sauce. The flavours all worked really well in the mouth, and the duck was tender and wasn't tough. Beautiful. <br/>The Duck Lychee Salad was more of a Green Papaya Salad; couldn't really find the duck at all. The dressing is also quite empowering in vinegar, so unless you like vinegar, don't opt for this. <br/>The Shaking Beef was good too! Hidden under a blanket of spinach, the Shaking Beef looked amazing. Cooked really tender so it was a bit chewy, and I'd say lacked a little bit of seasoning. Nevertheless it was enjoyable and the sauce helped lift the flavours and texture up. <br/>The Goat Curry was that exciting; the meat pieces melted in the mouth though, and apparently the eggplant chunks were amazing. I wasn't lucky enough to have picked out the eggplant though. This curry is more on the spicier side rather than creamy. Would strongly recommend this with rice!<br/>The portions were all on the smaller side though, but it's good if you want to try more dishes!<br/><br/>Service was really good, the guys were really attentive with filling our water! And the waiter remembered all of our orders without jotting a single thing down! Impressive haha! <br/><br/>Price: 8/10<br/>Food: 8/10<br/>Ambience: 9/10<br/>Service: 10/10

Been twice. The food is inconsistent between visits. First visit was exceptional. Socond visit was not as nice but chose a different set of dishes so it seems that it depends on your chioce off the menu. Our first visit the Calamari was tender and melted in your mouth. On the second visit it was like rubber. The fjrst vusut I had roasted duck leg and it was an outstanding dish. The second visit I had pork an it was over cooked and rubbery not pleasant to eat. Service was superb on the first visit and could not get the waiter to understand us on the second. Atmosphere was great and pleasant.

This would be the second time I been here! It is almost a conflicting interest when I am giving the score for this place. It could be a lot higher but out of 3 people who had dined, 2 of us got diahorrea. <br/>Needless to say the food was delicious, hence the score I gave was still above average. <br/>I know they change their menu quite regularly but I will praise the dishes I really enjoy this time. The vegetarian spring roll was awesome, and so was the lamb rump! <br/><br/>Food 4/5 <br/>Service 3.5/5 nice in general but was slow on asking if I needed more drinks, and also left an order out (well corrected as we got that dish 20-30 later for free) <br/>Instagramable 4/5 ask to be seated out back, it's cool and will get u a nice photo!

Amazing taste with great presentation. Went here 3 days ago and all three of us were impressed with the dishes we had. Especially the calamari&pineapple salad was rich in flavour! We just loved the sauce so much and had to dip other salads/veges into it =p. The waiter and waitress were very informative and helpful too =)

Walked in and the staff were super strange... my friend had made the booking, and they seemed very confused that I'd arrived by myself when the booking was for two... I had to spend some time explaining that I had simply arrived before her.... surely this wasn't the first time this had happened to them?! ...that member of staff then loudly relayed what I had said to another member of staff. I then had a similarly hard time explaining that I'd prefer to sit at the bar and have a drink while I waited for her instead of sitting alone at the table ...which was then loudly relayed to other members of staff. Food was nice. Atmosphere was ok, sat out in the yard which was lacking a little ambience and was haphazardly made to look nice but was a bit patchy.  Service at the table was ok.

Nice n quiet place n I really loved the passion fruit mojito n coconut prawns. food has been presented amazing, I should give higher scores but I am still staving cause when ordering my dish be told the plates are very big n could be shared. Then ok, but we finally realized the plates were big really but potions were very small. We couldn't order more cause 3 dish already took the whole place on table. Hungry face emoji

Ordered: Mango beef salad<br/>Food: 4.9/5<br/>Service: 11/5! Amazing staff. One went above board to make a special egg coffee requested by my friend who loved it when in Vietnam.

Great spot on Ponsonby Road - the Kaffir chicken is what keeps me going back! The Rice paper rolls are all great too. The Small plates are great value for money. Staff are all super friendly.

Really cold greeting upon arrival. Beef pho fragrant and tasty, summer rolls nice, also had the beef curry dumplings which were interesting. Shame about the huge pile of rotting lettuce on our plates. Why would you even put that on the plate! Told the waitress, got zero response. The food was ok but i wasnt dazzled by this place. Not worth the $60!

Le Vietnamese kitchen is my fav place ATM, I took a few friends visiting over from Sydney here and not one bad word was said.<br/><br/>I always come up for the Pho it's the tastiest pho ive had in Auckland hands down.<br/><br/>We also shared a lot of dishes such as the seafood bouillabaisse which is delicious and the Caramalized pork and the sliders.<br/><br/>5/5

Vietnam and France have always had a strong relationship and French flavours and techniques have influenced Vietnamese cuisine for a long time now. Le Vietnamese Kitchen on Ponsonby Road combines traditional cooking techniques with a French influence and this results in a stunning cuisine. Decorated in a traditional Vietnamese style with French colonial accents, the wicker lanterns hanging from the ceiling give the place a warm glow and an exotic atmosphere.

I came to Restaurant today with my friend. We tried Pho. Wow Pho is so best and delicious in Auckland. Friendly staff and good service.We will be back next time.

Wow what a great little find this place is, just walking past today Thursday 26 Jan 2017, so just had to try a cold summer roll - pork & prawn ($9) - very authentic, cost a bit more that I usually pay but u do get a side salad and they are stuffed with greens and good portion of prawns and a delicious pennut & fish sauce - I'll be back on a cooler day to try the Pho😎<br/>Service 4/5<br/>Decor 5/5<br/>Cleanness 5/5

The quality and quantity of the food are a fair match to the price you end up paying per dish. Not too expensive but not too cheap either, just enough to showoff or feel like you splurged.<br/><br/>In terms of ambience/ atmosphere, we sat out back in the yard and it was relatively low-lighting, intentional ofcourse, but I felt that it should've then had more upbeat music without slowing the moods.<br/><br/>Either way, I'm no interior artist, I went there for food and I was not disappointed. We ordered the Kaffir Lime Chicken for entreè which was just delicious with the peanut sauce. For our mains, we had the Mekong Chicken Curry, Five Spiced Chicken Thighs, Crispy Pork Belly and a Lamb Dish. I personally felt like it was so hard for anyone to compete against each others dishes as all tasted beautiful<br/><br/>The staff were great and they suggested amazing cocktails which we enjoyed. <br/><br/>Apologies for the lack of quality of photos, lighting was great but also I got too excited to eat!

For a while, Le Vietnamese Kitchen had been seducing us, especially after Innie-the-ponsonby-eatery-extraordinnaire recommended it — and what better time than the Husk's team end-of-year Christmas lunch? Expectations and temperatures were high as we braved the midday sun carrying our Christmas gifts all the way up a steep hill and along the street to amused stares (ponsonby parking is dumb). Needless to say, we were all in real need of an icy-cold drink and some shade when we got there! Familiar wicker lanterns welcomed us along with splashes of tropic décor and blue-and-white crockery - an amiable waiter took us through to the courtyard where ornate statues and strung lights opened up to the clear skies. The plastic covering and lack of ventilation, however, made the place feel like an oven (to motivate cocktail sales we jokingly presumed) and it worked. Their exotic cocktails and imported beers were something to behold. The spring rolls were pleasantly-crisp (though the dipping sauce could do with a little more punch) and their meats were well-seared and juicy to the last bite. The food presentation got the most points — wicker and clay made a beautiful contrast with the rich colours of their sauces and fresh herbs. Needless to say, our phone-cameras were pretty busy before our mouths got busy. Recommended.<br/><br/>Check out our individual comments here: husk.co.nz/lunches/le-vietnamese-kitchen-2014

Visited this place a few days ago and loved it!! My boyfriend and I were wondering on Ponsonby road looking for a place to have dinner and I'm so glad we walked into this place. <br/>I think the food was superb. I had the soup pho with the beef- it is, hands down, the best pho I have had so far. Will definitely be back to have the same dish again!<br/>The service was also fantastic. When we walked in we were seated fairly quickly, and everyone who served us were very kind, and we felt looked after without feeling like people looming over us. If our glass was empty they offered to refill it, and I noticed that all of the other tables (the place was full btw) were also attentively looked after.<br/>The place itself had a lovely atmosphere- we were seated near the bar so I could see the bartender/mixologist make the drinks in a professional manner, and the place is a pretty place in general.<br/>We had a great dinner here, I will definitely be visiting again!

Think the owners of LVK are also Tok Tok.<br/><br/>The place literally has no one in it during the day - AT ALL! <br/><br/>The food is good and pretty well priced, but people will be put off due to it being dead empty.<br/><br/>Definitely worth checking out.

We had a wonderful evening at La Vietnamese Kitchen. Attentive and friendly staff. Food was excellent. Enjoyed the sauteed aubergine and the duck leg! Nice relaxed atmosphere.

We came here to eat when we were on ponsonby on a whim with no expectations-- and the food was delicious!! We ordered the pork baos, the fried squid, mango beef salad, Crispy pork main and the Lamb main. It was packed with flavour and everything was cooked perfectly. The waitress forgot to put our order through so there was a bit of a wait but she apologised genuinely.

The first meal I have ever eaten where I could not fault a dish. Everything we ordered was perfect and the service was amazing. I rate myself as abit of a pork belly fan and this is easily the best pork belly I have had on ponsonby road (the twice cooked pork belly) to date if not Auckland. Will definately be back for seconds ❤️❤️❤️

We had the kaffir chicken sliders n prawns followed by the twice cooked pork belly shaking beef and mango salad Couldn't fault a thing! Best Vietnamese food around and the service was great

When we arrived in auckland, this restaurant seems like a good place to eat since the rating is great! When we went there, there is absolutely no one in the cafe! It's quite weird coz the food is amazing! I was shocked coz no one is there but the food is great! Would definitely go back.

Visited twice earlier this year and was very impressed - based on those visits I would probably give Le Vietnamese Kitchen a 4-4.5/5. My third visit was unfortunately slightly disappointing. We ordered the roll tasting plate, flaming prawns and shaking beef - we had ordered most of these dishes on our prior visits and loved them. The dishes seemed smaller than previous visits and the taste wasn't quite there. I'd give the food 3/5 if it was based on this visit alone. Will probably be back to give it another go, but wouldn't be in a rush to do so

I went with my husband on a lazy Sunday Lunch.<br/>The food is undoubtedly awesome. We had 2 starters , one main dish and 2 desserts. We tried fish, prawns and Chicken. Everything was presented so well.<br/>Must try the desserts here 😍.<br/>The place is nice and cozy but the tables were not clean.

Over 50 minute wait for lunch on a Sunday... and we only ordered 3 big plates. With only 3 other groups around us when we arrived. Also other people got their meal first and we arrived before them. I asked the waitress how long our dishes were going to be and she said 5 mins. But it actually took 15 mins from when she said that to us. So I questioned this again with a different waiter and he said it was because the lamb dish we ordered takes a while to cook... but the lamb dish came first and we didnt get the other two dishes. It didnt make sense. I would have preferred that the staff apologised to us for the long wait and checked up on us during our time there.<br/>For the portions, not worth the wait but food is tasty. The five spice chicken was the best, it was tender and juicy. The lamb was small for a "big plate" and I dont understand how it was the reason our food took 50 minutes. And the market fish was too sweet and hard! It was overly deep fried. I don't think I will come back.

RUNNERS UP: (Le Vietnamese Kitchen) this funky restaurant is located in the heart of Ponsonby just under the famous GeorgeFM radio station. This place is pretty fabulous! Sooo without further ado - Im gona get straight to business and review the food we had. Firstly we enjoyed the summer rolls & fried rolls entrees - both were deeeerish! However I must admit the rocket salad was abit outa place. I prefer the iceberg lettuce to wrap the rolls in. NEXT We then ordered 4 main dishes, all to share - the crispy duck leg, the grilled five spice chicken, the crispy pork belly and bun cha. All of which Id say were amazing! The duck been my favourite of them all, very flavourful and yet very traditional. The dipping sauces were sooo good too. Lastly we all sipped on Caphesudas (veitnamese ice coffee) as our dessert. The Service was quick, however we were seated at a tiny table which couldnt house all our food, there were plenty of empty tables that were larger we could have sat at but instead the waiters watched us take all our drinks & the cutlery holder off our table just so we could fit two dishes at a time. This actually annoyed us all, cause it meant we couldnt even have water at the table cause it was so cramped, so for this you just missed out in being in my (TOP 10 PICKS) I really hope this doesnt happen again and hopefully they can redeem themselves when I return, Cause this place is truly amazing. The ambiance and dark mood lighting make it a perfect place for a date night or group dinner setting. The fit out is Indy/Vietnamese inspired. I'll diffinitly be back. The food is far too good not to come back. I Highly recommend this place peoplw!

Love this place!  Whether it's for lunch, nibbles and a drink outside in the afternoon or dinner, this restaurant really delivers. The food is fresh and packed full of flavour.  The prices are pretty reasonable.  It's great for couples or groups. I'd suggest getting sharing plates and trying all they have to offer. My personal favourites are the kaffir lime chicken, Hanoi style pork belly, crispy squid, duck dumplings and the chicken & coconut salad. But everything is delicious!<br/><br/>The restaurant has a great atmosphere; it's clean; staff are friendly.  It's generally busy on weekend evenings so best to book ahead.

Been there over 5 times for lunch or dinner, really nice place, great food and good service, all in a nice decor. Consistent quality. Menu is very various with a fair amount of vegetarian options which is great. Backyard has a nice vibe to it. Only letdown I would notice: the music is sometime very radio mainstream type which is surprising for a restaurant with such an asian atmosphere.

Where do I start? Gorgeous Pho with flavoursome broth. Luckily there wasn't too many diners in the back I lifted up my bowl to drink all of that soup!<br/><br/>Banh Mi on point with filling, and that baguette!! That Baguette was to die for. Found it hard to share this dish. <br/><br/>Deep dried spring rolls to make your heart sing - filled with mushrooms and so crispy. <br/><br/>I will be back for sure. Presentation and Staff are all perfect.

Love the vegetable rolls for the entrée and pho with chicken and lime leaves as main! I've tasted the Buncha too and I know I'm getting it next time. The ambience is great, the food took a little while but it was a Friday night. Better if you book before you go.

Give a try. Nice restaurant and nice food. I like the prawn on the fire best, not really because of the taste (the taste is ok), it is creative and fun. <br/>The environment of the restaurant is quite good. The staff is helpful and passionate. <br/>Will recommend.

My partner and I both came hear for a visit. Heard from our friends it was a great place to eat, which it was! The restaurant had a nice uniqueness to it. It was beautifully set out. My partner and I had the chicken thighs and lemongrass lamb and I have to say the flavours were amazing. It tasted so good that we both said from our first few bites that we are coming here again. Both our meals tasted divine. We also had the Pandan banana pudding and that was so delicious, reminded me of a dessert my parents used to make with banana and coconut dream. Sooo good!!!<br/>The service was great, they attended to us for every need which was great to see.<br/>Overall I was really impressed with this place and will return for some more delicious food.

Cool restaurant with gorgeous dining space out the back. Sat out the front to people watch with 2 cold beersies. We shared the Chicken Coconut Salad & Papaya Salad during our lunch visit. Both were very tasty and super filling. Have enjoyed a big dinner party also. Service was excellent which is often hard with large groups. Food presentation superb. Good flavours.

We went last night with two lovely ladies. Loved the hustle and bustle and general liveliness of the place. We decided on having starters and holy smoke! We tried just about everything I think simply because they were so light and flavoursome. No room left for any mains or dessert... Next time!

What can I say such a beautiful restaurant, amazing service and food. I was taken here for a celebratory dinner with a friend and it far surpassed my expectations. <br/><br/>I have since taken other people here and will continue to do so because of the food and service. <br/><br/>My favourite is the Bành Mi Devine!

Located on the busy main road of Ponsonby. First impressions are strong, this place is visually appealing, clean and tidy. There is a lot of character expressed through out the restaurant with printed wall paper, neon light typography and tiled table tops.<br/><br/>The courtyard is very nice and ideal for groups with plenty of seating. It is really intimate and the lighting is dim - not ideal if your unfamiliar with what your eating but is a nice touch for date nights. We ordered the Triple layer tofu and the Sautéed aubergine. Both dishes were not what we expected visually.. But taste wise they were full of flavour and with a good spice kick. Make sure you get some rice as there is plenty of sauce to soak it up. The portion sizes are slightly smaller than what we're used to considering the price of the dishes.<br/><br/>We found the service to be mixed, some staff really friendly and some quite quiet. Overall we enjoyed our experience and the atmosphere of the restaurant.

Enjoyed all the food we ordered. Flavourful both starters and mains. Pho was good as well as the slow cooked pork! Enjoyed the Seafood Bouillabaisse. A night to remember for my parents who celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary there.

Yummy!! 👅💦🍜. Came here with a group of friends and not a single person was disappointed with their meal. The service is ok but the rest is absolutely great. The food feels authentic and the cocktail menu is super delicious. The menu caters to all types of diets and tastes which is great for someone spice intolerant like myself! 🙅🏼 I would say that this is a ponsonby gem for sure, also keep in mind this place is great for bigger groups and super cute in the courtyard!

It's quite average in my opinion. The best way to test the authenticity of a Vietnamese restaurant is trying their Pho but unfortunately their ones were quite bland. The stock was just missing the mark in terms of fullness of favours. The place has a nice setting but not the food is not my liking.

Was there for dinner last night, I was craving for beef pho, I read all reviews and decided to come over there, but I was pretty much disappointed with the beef pho, it was very basic, it wasn't really authentic, the fresh spring roll too, it wasn't really tasty especially the dipping, just ok, the chicken salad very delicious, a must try! The dessert, coconut black rice sticky pudding and pandan banana pudding was exquisite !

Very creative and full of flavours dinner. The presentation of the lamb rump looks like lamb lollipops. The lemongrass piecing through the lamb gives it subtle lemony scent. The meat was cooked to perfect medium, well seared around the outside and moist inside. The seafood bouillabaisse is another surprise, the tomato and chill based sauce complements the seafood nicely, with just right amount of heat. If you like south East Asian flavour, Le Vietnamese which is not some average bland Asian food, it is definitely the place to go to for authentic Vietnamese cuisine.

Recently been to this place for the first time. Welcome and service really good and the food was very tasty. Only thing is with the summer heat the place doesn't appear to have air conditioning which made it very warm. And they ran out of a few things on the menu on a Saturday which isnt great since I would have expected kitchens to be well prepared for weekend diners! But we cannot fault the food and service otherwise and would have given a higher rating !

We had our meal at the beautiful courtyard behind😄. Vietnamese seems like a healthier choice than any other cuisines for dinner, I guess? Very yummy food and the service is super, worth a try!

Really great food. I love chicken curry (had that twice now) and the prawns served in a coconut with fire are awesome. The sharing plate of different rolls is also a favourite and they do great cocktails😀 One of my favourite places to eat in New Zealand; the staff are awesome.

My husband and I had read all the reviews, and let me tell you, they are true!!! This Vietnamese restaurant is well worth a try. Balanced flavours, beautiful presentation and great location. The chicken salad is a must and thier Pho is pretty good too

I don't know if it was my luck or just a bad day. Went in on a public holiday for lunch, the place was about half full. The service slow from start to finish, it took time for the menus to come, had to go to the bar to ask for water, food took 25 to 30 mins to come out. The salmon rolls were small in serving size in respect to the price and were nothing to be thrilled about. The slight saviour 30 mins later was the lamb rump, decent amount of meat heaps of flavour but hey wasn't good enough to make up for the wait and poor service. Was really hot in there even with the doors opened up. Never again

Great ambience.. Outdoor seating is quite pleasant<br/><br/>Good food... Perhaps one of the best tofu dishes I've had in a while and definitely worth the value... Portion size is good too...<br/><br/>Definitely recommended

Great service ao far. I'm writing this review here qhile having dinner with my partner and friend. We were served by a really lovely guy who led us to our table. The place looks gorgeous. It's so unique with its beatiful decorating lanterns and bird cage like thingys. Great selection in the little menu so we were quick in placing our orders(4mjnutes). Food came very quick and it was delicious. All in all amazing food great service and great place

From the front, it looks small and dark, but actually there is a beautiful courtyard behind! Both indoor and courtyard area is very well decorated with a southeast Asian touch. Good ambience! <br/><br/>Food wise, The spring rolls (fried) and duck dumplings were delicious!! For mains, we ordered their beef pho (love our noodles) and it had a good beef broth but lacked the punch of the spices that I'm used too. Rate it average. <br/><br/>We also got the grilled pork belly starter but was served chicken. Given that, we told the waiter and they took the chicken away. Next time, the same waiter and a different waiter had to come to confirm what went wrong and we had to explain how we ordered pork but got chicken... And yes we still wanted it... Bla bla bla. maybe 20mins went by and the correct order came when we were nearly done with dinner. Other than that, service wasn't bad. Noticed the chicken and pork dish looked exactly the same with the same sauce (hopefully they didn't just do a meat swap?) <br/><br/>We also saw a table who ordered prawns in fresh coconut and the coconut is lit up on fire. I have seen this is Vietnam so i was impress!!! <br/><br/>Price wise is the average price for eating out in a nice table service restaurant. <br/><br/>Drinks - we got a lychee martini and was delicious :)

I went to this place with my partner.. And had a good experience..<br/>We ordered a chicken entree- and it was really good..<br/>Mains was alright.. But overall we enjoyed our dinner.<br/>Service and ambience was good

Dinner for 6 last night. Someone else ordered so didn't get to try everything. For entrees we tried coconut shrimps,squid, fresh a spring rolls. All great. Mains were spectacular. Tried shaker beef, pork belly, chicken curry , pawpaw salad. All were delicious especially the pork belly and the beef. Ambience was lovely. I'm going again this week. Recommended.

Been here in the past and the return trip was just as good although we already had food at the street food collective and ice cream at Ben & jerrys so we ordered the yummy beef salad and the beef steak pho soup washed down the juice and local Saigon beer. It was delicious and also had a lesson on the chilli in vinegar not to cut it for flavour in the soup. Also ordered the additional crushed chilli for extra spice and hit the spot immediately ! Great venue with another bigger area at the back as we sat right at the front , authentic viet food , friendly and attentive staff so we will be back soon again !

We went there on boxing day. Maybe because it was public holiday, they are short staff, we waited quite long after putting down our order. However, i like the beef salad. Overall their food is a bit sweet.

We came along for a friend's birthday and sat in the courtyard out back. It was a lovely atmosphere, not too loud but not too quiet either. The place filled up quickly but our waiter remained calm and cool and collected.<br/>We started off with the pulled pork sliders, taking the waiter up on the offer to make it 4 instead of 3 because of dividing between the table. I then had the black tiger prawns in a spicy sauce with coconut rice. It was served in a pineapple which was fantastic. There was still enough flesh to cut some off and enjoy with my meal. It was a good thing too because spicy means spicy! But once I added some pineapple it really helped the dish and was just the perfect amount of heat.<br/>Michael had the duck which I didn't really get a chance to try because it was eaten very quickly.<br/>When we mentioned that we were celebrating a birthday, our waiter brought us a dessert of mango parfait with a coconut cream topping. It was incredibly tasty. They sang happy birthday and topped it with a candle too!<br/>I would definitely go back and try one of the many other dishes that caught my eye on the night.

Today was my 3rd time visiting this place! I always want to bring different friends here so they can try it because honestly I love the food here plus 80% I would say of their dishes are gluten free! The staff are always super nice and friendly. If you're coming here for a special occasion get the flaming prawn in the coconut I didn't get this today but last time I came and got it, it was actually on fire!! Which is something cool to see when your food is arriving to the table. Highly recommend - my go to Vietnamese restaurant only thing is it's a bit too loud for me.

We had a nice lunch at Le Vietnamese today, the food was tasty with fresh, aromatic ingredients - Classic home style Vietnamese cuisine.<br/><br/>To our surprise, the flaming prawn dish turned out to actually be FLAMING. This was very entertaining for a brief moment. After the flame went off the plate was hot enough to burn skin which made eating the meal some what of an experience.<br/><br/>Prices are a bit on the higher side, expect $28-$33 for a main size dish (as seen in pictures). If you are comfortable with this price point then worth a visit.

If you are craving modern veitnamese food In a classy setting...This is the go to place! I love the taste of fresh veitnamese cuisine. I went here with a friend and we ordered a few dishes to share. We firstly started with the pho soup. Wow it was delicious with the soup being well flavoured. However I would suggest the temperature needs to be just a tad hotter. The second dish we ordered was the spring rolls. Yum! The ingredients in it was packed with flavour. Again, I would suggest temperature control as it was so hot i burnt my gums lol oh well I guess it was too delicious that i couldn't wait for it to cool down! <br/>The last dish we ordered was a fish dish with vermicelli. I don't exactly remember the Vietnamese names of the dishes but this was yum. What I love is that the dishes are healthy and not oily. Really nice place to share a meal with a friend or a date. Lovely pinot noir wine. Interior is lovely with a cozy garden setting further inside the restaurant. Amazing customer service with smiles from all the workers there.

Vietnamese seems to be one of the current crazes, with this place joining a long list of Vietnamese places like Cafe Viet, Viet Flames, Cafe Hanoi, to name a few... Definitely like the authentic interior, and the food was inspirational, my bahn mi a delight. Interestingly no one else dining at lunch and also no Vietnamese to be seen, but otherwise highly impressed and would really like to try some of the other dishes...

I've only been here 3-4 times and always ordered the same thing LOL! The caramelized pork belly with shallot and egg in a claypot. This dish is really good and I've actually never tasted anything like it, very different! The pork belly is tender and I love the gravy-like sauce with it. I also enjoy the deep fried dumplings and saigon rolls. <br/><br/>Overall, always a pleasant dining experience however I must venture out and try more on the menu ;)

What a wonderful place. I have driven past many times but didn't know what a gem this is.  Went for dinner on Saturday night with wifey. Arrived at 9.30pm, Nice and welcoming ambiance. I thought we might have to rush through as kitchen may be closing. But I was wrong, excellent service and very friendly staff. The food was absolutely delicious and love the wine selection. Flaming Prawns is one of their popular dishes must try. We were the last to leave the restaurant and there was no pressure from any of the staff. Thanks to the wonderful team of Le Vietnamese.

1st time @ Le Vietnamese Kitchen last night & thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it - from the smiling attentive staff to the delicious and beautiful food. Will definately be back again & again.<br/><br/>Thanks Vietnamese Kitchen!

I attended Le Vietnamese Kitchen as part of a large group<br/>and from the get go I was not impressed. I have been to MANY different<br/>restaurants in the CBD with a large group and have never had as bad an<br/>experience as this one.<br/><br/>Service-Very Poor<br/>1. We were not told by the waiter what was going on,<br/>what the banquet consisted of, quantities etc only that all our needs will be<br/>catered to (which in my opinion was not the case).<br/><br/>2. When the waitress was serving us, water was<br/>poured over our table. The waitress apologized and said she would come back to<br/>clean it up. She never did and provided us with no napkins to do so. Plates<br/>also didn’t come out at once and some started the meal with no utensils until<br/>we could ask a waiter to provide more.<br/><br/>3. There were a few that had dietary requirements.<br/>After explaining to the waiter many times, He continuously served us with the<br/>food we didn’t eat. This meant that half the table were given a decent amount<br/>of food and half got next to nothing. <br/><br/>4. The waiter without telling us what to expect<br/>made an assumption by saying “Don’t worry after main you will be more than<br/>satisfied” however again, we were served food we explicitly said we cannot eat<br/>and when asked if we were okay and the answer was “no, we are still quite<br/>hungry” the reply was “seriously?”. <br/><br/>5. To top it off, some of us wanted to order separately<br/>from the menu due to dietary requirements and we were assured that we will be<br/>catered to and the food provided as part of the banquet would be satisfactory. This<br/>promise was not delivered and left a very bitter taste in several guests mouths.<br/><br/><br/>Food - GoodI didn’t really have the opportunity to enjoy the food as it<br/>wasn’t substantial enough for a $35 p/p banquet, wasn’t given to us all at once<br/>and took quite a while for the next small plate to come in. From the very<br/>little amount I did eat, I did enjoy the flavours and the meat was cooked well.<br/>The 1 garlic prawn I had was succulent and full of flavour (I was one of the<br/>lucky ones to even get one) and the Shaking Beef was also quite nice but mine<br/>was a little over done.<br/><br/>Amenities- Poor<br/>The ladies bathrooms were quite messy and mine had no toilet<br/>paper. I visited the bathroom just before I left and the toilet paper had been<br/>restocked but the bathroom was still a mess. I would suggest going to the<br/>bathroom before visiting and not drinking too much as little attention was paid<br/>to them.<br/>Overall I think the staffs inability to deliver on promises, think on their feet and act accordingly let the whole experience<br/>down. Collectively we spent over $1100 on food alone this night and for its<br/>great location, price we paid and otherwise great reviews, it absolutely did<br/>not meet my expectation. A bit of training in customer service and attention to<br/>detail would go a long way to making this restaurant a lovely place to dine.

I've lost count how many places I've come here! As many times needed to try nearly everything on the menu xD Recently I came with my boyfriend and we got the Hanoi Fried Dumplings, Saigon Rolls (I always get this one!) & the Oven Roasted Duck Leg. This time we got seated at the back for once! Every other time has been at the front, so it was a really nice change :) <br/><br/>Everything was well presented and yummy! I'm glad I was able to satisfy the stomach of a picky eater xD The Saigon Rolls are my absolute favourite and I always order it when I come. Now I can add the fried dumplings to my favourites too! It was really nice and crisp but soft as well. <br/><br/>I liked the flavour of the duck - the veges and kumara that accompanied it were a good touch but my boyfriend didnt like this as much xD <br/><br/>There are some things on the menu that are an absolute must try but also some I tried that weren't really worth it or that great according to my personal taste (I dont like their fresh rolls much). Nothing was terrible though! Definitely worth a try :)

I had my farewell/birthday dinner here last night and I'd like to say a big thanks to the Le Vietnamese Kitchen staff for accommodating us! It's no easy feat to host a large group of 30 people with many dietary requirements! Here's the breakdown:<br/><br/>Ambience - Great location on Ponsonby Rd, just across the street from Ponsonby Central. Great ambience, lovely decor and plenty of space out the back for the rowdy ones. <br/><br/>Service - Though not perfect, the service was pretty good. Staff were attentive, friendly and did their best to make sure everyone was happy. The only negative thing I have to say about the service is that there was a lot of confusion at the beginning with people not knowing what to expect with the set menu. It would have been good if everyone was told what we were getting at the start as the dishes came out one at a time. <br/><br/>Food - The food tasted great, fresh, flavoursome and the meat cooked perfectly. The stand out dishes for me were the shaking beef (super tender), massaman curry, kaffir chicken and pork dumpling. I would say the portion sizes were small. We were expecting bigger portions because it was a "banquet style" menu but I did ask around the group and most really enjoyed the food and were full by the end of the meal. I think only 5 out of 30 people weren't full which is pretty good. It's hard to please every single person in such a big group and everyone has a different size appetite! To be fair, the waiters did come around to ask if we all had enough to eat.<br/><br/>I would recommend trying Le Vietnamese Kitchen but probably not for such a big group. Heck it's pretty hard to do a group dinner with that many people anywhere. So thanks Le Vietnamese for having us!

I usually don't talk badly about restaurants or cafes as I hate to spread bad vibes. Unfortunately several friends and I had a meal here tonight for a friends farewell and it was absolutely utterly disappointing!!!<br/>Now don't get me wrong, nice ambience but that's about it.<br/>So I'm going to have to provide some honest feedback on what went wrong:<br/>- Service<br/>OK so we're told that it is a banquet menu for our table. There were diners who had special dietary needs and wanted to order from the menu. The waiter told them the banquet menu will be sufficient, this is where it all went downhill.<br/>- Food<br/>Hardly authentic Vietnamese as commented by some of my friends. Perhaps a brave fusion but wouldn't call it authentic.<br/>Now the biggest issue we had wasn't so much the taste but the LACK OF QUANTITY. We were appalled as to how one piece of duck leg was going to feed 5 people? We literally had to eat shreds of it. Also some people missed out of appetisers because there were not enough pieces on the plate. As a result some friends left the restaurant not full and out of pocket.<br/><br/>-Verdict<br/>Because of this dreadful experience, we won't be back to this establishment. Which is a shame as we had high hopes from others telling us it was good. We believe what went wrong was the fact that it was a large group and the organisation just wasn't strong enough to meet the demands.<br/>Also if your waiters come round and ask "How was the food?" and EVERYONE is silent - THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN. Unfortunately, this first Le Vietnamese experience will be our last.

I had been keen to try this restaurant since it opened and we finally made it down just a few weeks ago. The decor is beautiful and the smells emanating from the kitchen get your mouth watering as soon as you enter. <br/><br/>We were celebrating with a friend of ours so started with bubbles and a couple of cocktails. Whilst we waited for the latecomers in our group we tried the Saigon Rolls, Hue Fresh Rolls and the Crisp Net Rolls which were my favourite of the three. Perfect for sharing and incredibly tasty. <br/><br/>For mains we tried five of the Bigger Plates plus a couple of salads. Highlights included the Shaking Beef, the Caramelized Pork Belly and the Triple Layer Tofu. The variety of vegetarian dishes really made this place stand out and were very well received by our vege guest. <br/><br/>Service was fantastic at the beginning of the evening but waned as the night went on. Unfortunately the staff made it pretty clear that they were keen to go home and sat down for a wine, leaving us outside with no service after we had finished our food. It was particularly wet Auckland night and another drink before heading out into the rain would've been appreciated! <br/><br/>However, overall had a great night and would be keen to go back, even just for the deliciously zingy papaya salad!

Excellent food delivering the authentic Vietnamese taste<br/>This restaurant is small, bustling and noisy, and the food is delicious. Between the 4 of us we pretty much tried all the entrees, they were all superb, and for the mains the standout dishes were the Shaking Beef (tender and tasty) and the Pho soup. Service was quick and efficient. Highly recommended

The best Vietnamese restaurant in Auckland, the services is great but the food is more amazing! Even a normal beef noodle soup is done perfectly.

What better way to celebrate my (LXth) birthday than dining at Le Vietnamese Kitchen with my family last evening. The staff are welcoming and very accommodating. The cocktail menu offers an excellent selection...and the product exceeds the menu description...so a great way to start the evening.<br/><br/>Food arrived in waves, each entree succulent and flavorsome.<br/><br/>Halftime ..... and then we ordered the mains...talk about efficient...7 minutes later they arrived...each dish beautifully presented and delicious to the bite.<br/><br/>A thoroughly nice place to dine. Highly recommended !!

I had heard great things about Le Vietnamese kitchen and finally had the opportunity to dine here this week. Beautiful modern South East Asian decor, the light shades hanging from the roof, both inside and out, are absolutely beautiful. Even the little touches such as the choice in plates made the experience slightly more pleasing to the eye. <br/><br/>For lunch, we had the grilled pork belly to share and we both had pho - mine being poached chicken and the other being the rare and well done beef pho. The pork belly had great flavours, but was slightly too oily in my opinion. The way they grilled it completely killed the texture of a good pork belly. (Thinly cut and completely fried.) The Pho's were good. I enjoyed mine, the broth was spectacular. The beef pho was slightly disappointing as it had a tiny portion of beef and all slices were well-done despite what was on the menu. <br/><br/>Service from the guy - whom didn't seem to care enough about ironing his top that day - wasn't warm but wasn't obtrusive either. Service could have definitely been better. Food was although served in a timely matter.

I had a very good expectations. <br/>I bother my partner to organize a dinner at Le Vietnamese kitchen in our day off that is Monday and he finally did. We went in a quiet night where we were seated in the first area close to the bar and windows. We saw the menu and ask for Saigon Rolls , Papaya Salad and the coconut with the prawns and fire! 🔥<br/>Staff was not very servicial they drop and leave the menu's, I asked for a fresh Juice and Beer for my partner . When the food came the Waitress didn't explain how to handle the coconut dish ( I mean there are stupid customers like me at least to explain cautions) The waitress and Barman where chatting and looking around. At the moment we try to share our coconut dish it taste like gasoline it seems like part of our dish absorbed the fuel they used to turn the fire on.. and it taste horrible. I report the situation and the waitress just said that it was my mistake that I didn't manage well the dish 😕 ... so I wasn't in a mood for a foolish disscusion so simply I put my dish apart. The papaya salad doesn't have like papaya at all. I ask her about the ingredients and she said is a different type of papaya. ( Should said that in the menu) at the end my partner order a dessert and I asked for the Vietnamese coffee and I think that was my favourite part. I felt disappointed so we just paid ( all including the gasoline coconut) and left.

Went to Le Vietnamese kitchen for lunch and had their chicken salad which was so so yummy and fresh! The flavours complemented each other really well for that Vietnamese vibe, loved the chilli and lime combination! <br/><br/>It tasted super healthy and fresh while still being full of flavour. Would definitely come back here for dinner next time! <br/><br/>If you go, get a seat in the back out door area. I only noticed it while I was walking to the bathroom but it looked really cool! <br/>Quick and friendly service :)

I really enjoyed my dinner here! I had the pho and it was full of flavor. We also got some fresh rolls to start and everyone said how delicious they were! My friend had the pork belly which looked amazing and she was very happy with her dinner! The prices were really reasonable too and service was great! I would definitely go back

Was in the area doing some shopping and decided to take my boyfriend here. For starters We got the vegetarian fried spring rolls, fried squid rings and the dumplings. The rolls and squid rings was amazing, especially the sauce came with the squid ring. The dumplings came after our mains and it was okay. The main we got was grilled fish with vermicelli and beef roll. They both was delicious, no regrets getting the main. Love this place and will definitely come back again

Came with 3 friends on a busy night. Took a while to take our order. Food came quickly.  Portions were not big for the price. Average  food.  Luck of fresh herds was obvious. Not impressed at all.

Best Vietnamese food in Auckland so far (: <br/>Hue fresh rolls <br/>Kaffir lime chicken <br/>Beef pho <br/>Pandan crepe <br/><br/>Outdoor sheltered seating <br/><br/>Great service <br/> <br/>

LVK is a neat little restaurant across the road from Ponsonby Central. Our staff were friendly and helpful and Between the 3 of us we started w. the roll tasting plate and Hanoi fried dumplings, then moved onto the Shaking Beef, Mekong chicken curry and caramelised pork belly, all of our meals were tasty and spicy, which was a good thing as it was another cold wintery night. I'm glad I finally got to try LVK, although we found our final bill to be a little pricey, we happily ate all of our food, so no complaints!

I was searching for a new restaurant to try and after hearing about the flaming coconut prawns I decided I had to give it a try. It is located opposite Ponsonby Central.<br/><br/>We arrived around 8pm and the restaurant was semi-busy. The lighting is dim and intimate with a casual atmosphere. The menu is built around sharing plates. We started with the Hue fresh rolls – Nem Hue ($9). They were deliciously filled with prawns, pork belly, peanut, glass noodles, carrot, cabbage and herbs. <br/><br/>For the mains we ordered the Five Spice Beef Mango Salad – Goi Xoai Bo Bap ($16) and the flaming prawns in fresh coconut- Tom Hap Dua Xiem ($34). The salad was full of flavour but the highlight was definitely the flaming prawns in fresh coconut). It arrived lit on fire and the coconut was filled with prawns, glass noodles, shitake mushrooms, spring onions and nuts. I loved the spiciness and only wish that I could get more coconut out of the husk.<br/><br/>The waiters are really attentive and we really enjoyed our dinner here.<br/><br/>Definitely one of my favourite Vietnemse restaurants!

Came here with the flatmates and managed to grab a table without a booking. The food was good (get the flaming prawns!), the beer was cold, and the service was a bit all over the place but for the most part all good. I'll be back

Charming hostess. Table of 3 with no reservation. Seated immediately in cozy warm environment, lively atmosphere. Drinks arrived promptly as did the food. We ordered the tasting rolls plate, pho soup, flaming prawns & chicken curry - very pleased. Our guest from Canada was delighted with his flaming prawns. The rolls were crisp, tasty & light. Will definitely be back.

I love this place. My wife and I have been there often. Among the best Vietnamese dishes I've had in NZ- Banh mi, Pho, papaya salad and shaking beef. The viet coffee is outrageously good and will blow your hair off. The staff is gently attentive and when the food is good it is amazing.<br/><br/>One note of constructive criticism: I went once and ordered the market fish, which was a revelation in a saffron curry with a basket of herbs on the side. The fish that day was gurnard or something like that. However the next time we went I had the same dish with Tarakihi and was very dry and flavorless, so don't order it if that's the fish on offer.<br/><br/>Overall a great addition to the area and much loved by us!

Good location, nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Food was good. We had the mixed rolls plate to start (fresh are definitely the best!), then the beef & mango salad (amazing flavours) and the flaming coconut prawns. The prawns were really nice but the glass noodles in the coconut were a bit overpowering in the combination of spices used. They had run out of mango sago so we had the black sticky rice which had a really interesting combination of flavours. Overall, would definitely be back.

This is so far one of the best Vietnamese restaurant that we have tried. <br/>The design of the restaurant was very Asian feel. Two staff were Vietnamese but they could speak English. If you would like recommendation I think these two staff were the right people to ask for.<br/>The food in menu were not many as compare to those in Asian restaurants. We have tried some which were the curry chicken, pho soup, fried morning glory and flammable coconut prawn.<br/>The food were good but prices were not cheap.<br/>

My family & I went here on Saturday night, everything was perfect. The waiting staff were so friendly, the food was to die for, and our food came out so quickly. The food is presented beautifully and tastes amazing. I highly recommend this Vietnamese restaurant.

Really enjoyed our dinner here! Didn't have a booking but the staff were ever so friendly seated us and gave great service. Prices were decent as well for what we got. Prawns were amazing duck was good but after a while got a bit much as the portion size was larger than I expected

Absolutely nothing to fault. Had the dumplings, chicken skewers, shaking beef and flaming prawns. Also tried 4 different cocktails. Service was excellent as was the food. Nice to go somewhere in Ponsonby without feeling like you're in a pretentious restaurant. Will 100% be back.

Loved this place!! Everything was amazing. Service was good, food was tasty and the atmosphere was great. We had the flaming prawns, chicken skewers, pork belly and a number of small side dishes. Would definitely recommend and we will be back!

Came here for birthday!! <br/>It had a traditional vietnamese theme <br/>The food was amazing especially the shaking beef just wow couldn't get enough of it <br/>The price range is decent for he quality food provided and the portions aren't too bad<br/>Recommend for a quick feed or birthday occasion or function

FIRST IMPRESSION: Small, cosy and authentic.<br/>SECOND IMPRESSION: Seating down the back opens the whole place up, styled well with the theme. Narrow walk-way past the kitchen gets you excited and hungry. Great lighting.<br/>SEATING: The place was packed and we hadn't booked (ultimate test). They managed to squeeze us in before someone else's reservation which was really good of them.<br/>ORDERING: Got asked for our order 6m 53s after sitting down and they were really helpful with details about the menu. Food turned up in another 10m 22s.<br/>COFFEE: Not ordered.<br/>FOOD: Fresh ingredients, light but filling, interesting flavours and perfectly cooked. <br/>PAYMENT: Quick and snappy (they were very busy). Affordable and worth it.<br/><br/>OVERALL: Great place to eat for a healthy tasty meal. Booking early is advised for Friday's and Saturdays.

Right in the middle of Ponsonby bustle, Le Vietnamese Kitchen is a lovely spot for a light meal. The decor is simple and cozy. We sat at one of the two tables outside. Between 2, we shared the crisp net rolls, hanoi dumplings for the small plates. Both dishes came with 4 nos. each and make decent portion sizes. We weren't too hungry after so had the triple tofu. The sauce was smooth with a hint of spice and came with plenty of tofu and peas. Ordered a side of rice which came in a nice little earthen pot. Overall a nice meal and good service from a smiling waitress. Affordable and delicious food. Will definitely visit again.

Over priced, half the dishes were nice, half I wouldn't eat. The seasonal veges tasted and looked like Chinese takeaways. The green papaya salad was pretty good but Spiced chicken was too heavy and way overpriced for a very average dish.

The stuffed squid was very creative. The mango salad was awesome. And the beef and the chicken Pho were both great. <br/>The sticky black rice pudding was the perfect end to a perfect meal.

Came here for dinner with my friend and it did not disappoint! Presentation, taste , service were all on point. One of the best Asian fusion restaurants. Definitely will come back again!

I came here for dinner with 3 friends and it did not disappoint! I would recommend coming with a couple of people just to be able to experience more of the menu!<br/>We ordered 3 small share plates - coconut prawns, Hanoi dumplings, and chicken skewers & 2 larger plates - stuffed duck and shaking beef. The prawns were well cooked and delicious. The Hanoi dumplings were crispy and different to any other dumplings I had tried! The chicken skewers were delicious! The satay sauce was awesome. All these dishes had a nice amount of spice. Not overbearing but enough to set off the taste buds. The stuffed duck and shaking beef were amazing. The duck had a really yummy sauce and served on a bed of green beans. The shaking beef was my favourite dish, chunks of medium rare beef! The service was good, and the food all came out in good time.<br/>The only disappointment was that the portions were on the small side, which sucks when you like one particular thing a lot! It is also a tad pricier than your average dinner but you are paying for some serious quality (and you're in the heart of Ponsonby).

Finding a Vietnamese place that does great fresh rolls has been my favourite thing about the last month! Since trying their food at Street Eats a few months ago - I had meant to go here - and it really didn't disappoint. Service was a tad slow - but that was more than made up for by the excellent courtyard at the back and the very flavourful food! <br/>Must go back to try the rest of their menu

I was searching for a new restaurant to try out when Le Viet Kitchen sprung up at me immediately. Having been to Han San in the city a few times and Saigon as well, I rather liked Vietnamese food. But the items on the menu here caught my eye immediately as it was different from any Vietnamese restaurant I've been to. I suppose it must be the French influence showing. <br/>So i easily made reservations here for dinner. It was a very unassuming place. But the whole atmosphere greets you dearly when you walk in here. We had great service as soon as we got in. <br/>The menu is built based on sharing plates as so many other places now are. We decided to get the stuffed duck as we were all huge fans of duck, and also the chicken curry. We also got a starter/small share of mixed spring rolls. The spring rolls were delicious, and variety was great. The duck was also really good, and so was the curry. All the flavours were nice and strong, we definitely wished there was more to go around. Having said that, portion sizes are reasonable. The price range puts it comfortably amongst others on Ponsonby. I'll definitely be coming back here for their flaming prawns as it looked so impressive!

Went here for my birthday dinner a couple of months back, we found this place just doing a quick Google search as i wanted something Vietnamese but authentic.<br/><br/>From the moment I stepped into this restaurant I was warmly welcomed and ushered to my seat.<br/>The wait staff was quick to tend to us and we had drinks before we knew it.<br/><br/>The place is super warm, so if you are looking for a place to go to during winter this is the place to be! The ambiance is great as the place is dimly lit up so is perfect for those 1 on 1 dates or special occasions, however it can get quite loud when the place is full.<br/><br/>The menu is small but there is enough there to keep you interested. <br/>To start we ordered the Saigon rolls and pork skewers, which were nicely presented. The flavours were to die for, they were intense yet fresh at the same to so it was not overpowering. So yummy!<br/><br/>For mains we ordered 2 x Pho because that was one main reason I wanted to go. The traditional Vietnamese Pho is the best especially with bits of rare angus beef through out it, Le Vietnamese Kitchen you nailed this one on the head! <br/>We also shared a Flaming prawns in fresh coconut due to the waiters recommendation, all i have to say is fantastic flavour and the best presentation, the coconut actually came out on fire!<br/><br/>Finally the dessert, what can i say at this stage i was always asking the waiter for recommendations, and the dessert that is well done here has got to be the crepes.<br/><br/>overall 5/5, food was excellent, service was excellent and the ambiance was great!  <br/>Not to mention the bathrooms are really well kept!

A new addition to Ponsonby's food selections and with the inertial design  it felt like a new twist of Thai. My boyfriend and I were lucky enough to have tried this new restaurant out a few nights ago and the dishes we had the spring rolls which was fresh and tasty. My boyfriend had the pork belly while I had the mango beef salad and chicken skewers which was fantastic and very flavoursome. <br/><br/>the seatings were a bit crowded but with everything else that went nicely there wasn't much to complain about. Le Vietnamese dishes were presented beautifully and a table next to us had ordered a dish with rice noodles which looked very yummy, so we will be back for sure!

Been here today and ordered Mekong chicken curry and shaky beef. Food was good but Chicken curry had a broken toothpick in it. Almost cut my mouth. Advised the waiting staff and she apologised and said it was due to the way it is cooked. Shocking, cooking is ok but to leave a broken toothpick in a curry so people can injure themselves. Yeah right. Don't think I will be going back.

One of the new kids on the block, Le Vietnamese Kitchen opened on Ponsonby Road, a little over three months ago, across from the ever so popular Ponsonby Central. <br/><br/>Catching up with the Zomato girls, we arrived on a chilly weeknight after a long day of work. With limited seating in the dining room, we were seated in their covered garden courtyard under large warm heaters. <br/><br/>For starter, we happily munched on the roll tasting plate which had a delicious crisp net roll (vegetarian with tofu and taro), typical Saigon rolls (fried with pork and prawns) and the Hue fresh rolls wrapped in rice paper. <br/><br/>The five spice beef mango salad had a tangy and spicy flair and the flavouring was perfect. Great combination of seared beef strips, mango slices, cucumber, carrot, mint and plenty of chilli, the salad was superb! The flaming prawns in fresh coconut was lit on fire and came with glass noodles mixed with shiitake mushroom and nuts. It was a little too spicy for some of us. The wok tossed market fish came with rice noodles and salad. <br/><br/>The dim lighting meant that I didn’t have a chance to take a decent photo of the food, which was a shame. But we enjoyed the lively atmosphere and it is a great casual venue to catch up over food. Price wise is what you would expect with most Ponsonby eateries. It’s more expensive compared to the more authentic Vietnamese restaurants but you pay for the atmosphere and location. All in all, I enjoyed my meal at Le Vietnamese Kitchen, and will be sure to come back again!

Food is not as good as authentic, been in Ha Noi for many times ...  the only good dish i have is HaNoi Rice Noodles & grill pork. Service is poor, walked in and the waiter don't even give us a menu until we asked to. after main, and again we have to asked for the desert menu. Table too small perhaps ?Anyway, foods were nice decorated, and we will return to try your beef noodle soup. :)

I've dined here a few times now, and it's always been a great experience. The staff are very friendly, attentive and helpful. The decor is amazing with lots of authentic Vietnamese design. The courtyard is beautiful, if you've been to Vietnam you will feel right at home. It can get a little cold at night but they have heaters and the food warms you up. The wine and cocklist lists are great, with some of my favourites and fun new things to try. The food is delicious, very authentic. My favourite is the Pho soup with beef , the shaking beef and the crepe for dessert. I especially love the green tea in the cute blue and white tea set. Best Vietnamese food experience I've had in Auckland!

I had read a good Herald review..  but I should have known better as soon as I walked in. The slightly too bright lighting, the lack of decent wine on the menu. The starters of fresh spring rolls were bland, as were the dumplings. The stuffed duck leg was a joke.. $29 for a piece of sausage textured meat with no perceivable duck meat at all, served on 8 over-cooked green beans and doused in a gravy that was reminiscent of MAGGI. The Aubergine (which is usually a forgiving vegetable) was poached in a flavourless sauce along with a similarly slimy stuffing. The owner looked guilty as the waitress relayed our feedback and simply waived to the cashier to deduct the Aubergine, it seemed a familiar routine. It's not often I'm so inspired by a bad meal to write a review, but I'd hate anyone else to waste their money. Steer clear food lovers of Ponsonby.

Le Vietnamese Kitchen is a fabulous new restaurant on Ponsonby Road. This eatery follows a very authentic menu and with plenty of options to choose from. The menu is designed for sharing which gives you the opportunity to try more things on the menu. (Sorry for the poor photos, the lighting was very dim)<br/><br/>The fatties the two of us were, we ordered 3 large dishes and 1 small dish. The cocktail menu looks amazing and it was so hard to not order anything since we are doing Dry July. However free green tea and water is offered on arrival. I must say, there is not a lot to fault about their food. The prawns, chicken and squid were all cooked perfectly. The chicken skewers come with an amazing side slaw that packs a great punch of flavour. From the pics you can see how flamboyant the prawns are presented. In the coconut were prawns and vermicelli noodles. The only dish which lacked the same flavour punch after trying each of the other dishes. The stuffed squid came in a curry sauce - super tasty.<br/><br/>Overall the food was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly. The decor is beautiful and it just has a really chic atmosphere. I would def recommend this new eatery for great flavour balance and pleasant service. MUST TRY!<br/><br/>Rating<br/>Food: 9/10<br/>Service: 8/10<br/>Value for Money: Good

Enjoyed an amazing meal at Le Vietnamese Kitchen last night! The food was incredible - flavours all completely on point. We had the pork belly skewers, chicken skewers, saigon rolls and boeuf au vin - all incredible. The skewers (both types) were particularly good. Amazing satay sauce.<br/>Very attentive wait staff - we felt very well looked after. They were all friendly and smiling.<br/>I don't know what all the fuss is around the prices. We spent $50 on food between the two of us and left very satisfied. I wouldn't consider that unreasonable pricing. With the great atmosphere and lovely interior, I would expect to pay that much or more quite easily. The portions are a pretty decent size. We were not disappointed.<br/>And they take reservations which is a big plus for me. I don't like to drive into town from the shore and find the place I wanted to visit has lines out the door. I will definitely be returning!

On walking into the restaurant we were struck by the (horrible) smell of paraffin which we determined was from the small table lamps, not a good start and the smell persisted through the evening. We found the wait staff friendly, some perhaps too chatty. On asking one what he'd recommend he replied "I only eat chicken so can't make a recommendation" - What!! After the meal when we went to pay they'd mixed our drinks order with someone else's (and seeing the mess of bits of paper at the bar I can see why they were confused), the bill was corrected but no apology. Although the food was interesting we weren't enticed to go back again.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at Le Viet! Being of Asian descent I find the food authentic, properly is the best of all so reasonable compared to the other Asian fare offered in Ponsonby. My wife enjoyed her cocktails the whole night, that Vietnamese Iced tea was amazing- you have to try it! We booked a table of 10 , the place was packed and we had to wait for a 10 minutes as we arrived early Lucky they take reservations. The service was good . Friendly, but couldn't recommend much and we understand because it's newly opened. Since the food is designed for sharing, we ordered 5 entrees, 7 main dishes and 3 vege dishes. The mains: mekong chicken curry; shaking beef; caramelised pork belly, flaming coconut prawns and 3 other. The veges: Triple layered tofu; Garlic shoot; and papaya salad. All the dishes came out well presentation and we could not find any faulty on the taste, authentic Vietnamese food. That was a fantastic dining experience.

The service was the main letdown and unfortunately it put a dampner on the whole experience. We arrived and stood around for too long until finally we were placed by the bar area where we were in everyone's way - staff and paying customers. We were then seated next to a loud partying group despite there being another vacant table further from the large tables. Our waitress wasn't experienced or familiar with the dishes and we were constantly getting barked at to see if our food was alright. The whole service was very clumsy and she even had to ask us what we'd ordered so they could work out the bill because "it's busy, so in a big mess". We had to insist twice that no, we hadn't had a sauvignon blanc or lager and itemised all the items we did have. And we finally got offered water but not until we'd finished our meals and were on our last sip of wine. The food? The service overshadowed it really, but it was average rather than something we'd go back for. All in all, it felt like a relief to go home!

Booked couple of days before a table for 5. Was very busy, but was able to talk amongst the hustle and bustle.It was a fantastic experience. Food was delicious and presented nice. The Flaming Prawns in fresh coconut was divine, as was black rice pudding. Great atmosphere, can be better if warmer in the courtyard. Service was friendly . We was very impressed. As with the other diners, thought the meal servings were small but the quality is best . Glass to see a good Vietnamese place in the city. Would definitely go there again.

<br/>(Review updated). Our second visit a few weeks later than the visit described below was a big disappointment. The food wasn't bad, apart from a whole stuffed snapper that tasted nastily of whatever was used to set it alight. The smell of the paraffin lamps was overbearing. The waiters were blank and unfriendly and I got the feeling they might be temporary agency staff as they showed no familiarity with the menu and no spirit of hospitality.<br/><br/> Our table for four was so small that we could barely fit our dinner plates and glasses on it. When our food arrived in serving dishes there was nowhere to put it and the waiter made no effort to help. All in all it was an uncomfortable evening, and I wonder if the proprietors have actually tried to eat a meal at one of their tables.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>On our brief first visit We had delicious pork belly and duck, a zingy herby papaya salad and I'm looking forward very much to returning and trying the French inspired braised stewed beef and the chicken curry.<br/><br/>The rooms are nicely decorated, the service efficient, and for a restaurant which had been open less than a week i've no complaints.<br/><br/>

This place is on fire! Great atmosphere great service, very nice presentation. Most importantly good quality food, very authentic! I was surprised l can find such high standard French-Viet cross over restaurant in Auckland! Waiters are super friendly, paid attention to even small details! These guys know what they're talking about!!

Great ambiance, tasty food & very friendly service! Well done guys!

Less than one week old, Le Vietnamese Kitchen was buzzing on arrival. It was pleasing to know that they were happy to take bookings when I rang up earlier in the day and was told that they had two seatings that night (6pm and 8.30pm). The front of the restaurant was small, cosy, warm and inviting and is one of two dining areas. The night we dined, this area was filled with larger groups (i.e. greater than 4 people per table). The second dining area is a large covered outdoor courtyard which we were led to past the bar and kitchen and through a red-illuminated hallway. The courtyard is decorated with items synonymous with Vietnam including hanging cane lights, cages full of flowers, glowing lamps and palm trees throughout. <br/><br/>We started with a pot of hot Jasmine tea ($5) which was served in a "blue and white wares" style tea pot and adorable tea cups. Cocktails ($16) were also ordered with everyone around the table agreeing that theirs was delicious (Lemon Mojito, Lychee Martini, Hue Cooler). There is an extensive beer list and selection of wine available by the glass or bottle. <br/><br/>First up we ordered Saigon Rolls - Nem Sai Gon ($9 for three with mixed green salad and dipping sauce). These crispy deep fried spring rolls were full of flavour with prawn, pork, taro, glass noodle, carrot and wood ear mushroom. For the vegetarian in the group, the Crisp Net Rolls - Nem Gio Re ($9, similar fillings but with tofu) were ordered. Both were served on an extravagant cane platter almost too large to fit on our table. The undressed salad of mixed mesclun on the side seemed a bit superfluous but tasted OK when drizzled with some of the dipping sauce. The Papaya Salad - Goi Du Du ($14) arrived at the same time as the spring rolls and was definitely a favourite dish of the evening. Sitting in a crisp edible prawn-cracker like bowl, the salad was dressed perfectly with flavours of lime and Vietnamese mint to complement the fresh tasting green papaya and red cabbage. <br/><br/>To share we ordered the De Boeuf Au Vin - Bo Sot Vang ($22), a beef bourguignon dish - served with three pieces of French baguette. The beef melted in the mouth and the rich red gravy was delectable when soaked up with the bread. As with most restaurants, there was not enough bread to gravy ratio so more bread was requested which the waiter was happy to oblige. The most flamboyant dish of the evening was the Flaming Prawns in Fresh Coconut - Tom Hap Dua Xiem ($34) which arrived at the table on fire. The inside of the fresh coconut contained an adequate amount of King Prawn Cutlets with shitake mushrooms, glass noodles, spring onion and nuts. Crisp Aubergine - Ca Tim Mang Tay ($16) rounded off our mains. The aubergines and asparagus were battered then deep fried and served with a sweet and sour sauce. <br/><br/>To end our meal, we shared two desserts between the three of us, the Crepes and Mango Sago (both $12 each). The crepe was the winner of the two for me - it also arrived at the table on fire and served with coconut cream on the side. The crepes were delicately flavoured with pandan leaf and filled with homemade custard. Unfortunately, the desiccated coconut that was served on top of this dish was burnt by the aforementioned flames which slightly tainted the dish with an unpleasant burnt flavour. The Mango Sago tasted fresh and fruity with a smooth and satisfying texture. <br/><br/>Given the newness of this restaurant, it is expected that there are a few teething problems. Several times we had to remind the wait staff about our requests - the extra bread, top up of hot water for our tea pot, getting the dessert menu - but I am sure that these minor issues will be improved with time. The serving plates seem a bit too big for the size of the tables, for example a table of four close to us needed a second table brought over so that all the food could fit! Overall, it was a delicious meal in a central location with trendy decor. It worked out to be approx $55 per person. I look forward to returning with a bigger group to try out the rest of the menu. I would recommend this place to anyone wanting to try something a little bit different!