Try It Out Restaurant

Best pho I’ve ever had! Meat was tender and delicious- a decent amount of meat. I was so full. The kids loved the fish when we walked in and their Christmas tree was decorated beautifully. The place was busy and staff were by the door welcoming us. Even when busy the place was low volume as everyone was busy eating. My young children ate their lemongrass chicken on rice so quickly, and they usually never finish their meals even at home. This is definitely our new spot. Pricing was fair as the food was so fresh and filling.

The food came out really quickly (definitely under 10 minutes), so no complaints about the service speed. But for the price, the dish felt a bit underwhelming. The pork chop had good flavour, though the portion wasn’t very big. It also came with just three small pieces of Chinese sausage, a decent prawn, and only a small amount of salad and rice, which made the plate feel a little bare. My friend went for the BBQ pork on rice at the same price, and their serving didn’t fare much better. The BBQ pork was on the dry side. We were also charged $1.50 for a glass of ice because the water dispenser was only giving lukewarm water, which was kind of a surprise.

Good Quantity and delicious food. We only went to try the place so ordered only 1 dish but place did not disappoint. Overall good but you can expect little delays for the food to get on your table

The food was tasty and well-seasoned. Prices were reasonable for the quality. Staff were friendly and attentive. Will definitely come back!

It's one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants. Staff and uncle are so friendly. I love to go there for Pho tai and my mate love to order pork banh mi. Spring roll each and coke no sugar almost every week/2 weeks. The food was so tasty and clean. Highly recommend 👌🏻

Best Vietnamese food in Auckland. Their pho rice noodle has a unique texture to it (like a super soft udon noodle) which was cooked to perfection. Their grilled pork is amazing, their fried spring roll is amazing and their vermicelli was full of vegetables. The price has increased since the last time I went, but the quality of food is still worth the value. Friendly staff whom even held a chat and greeted us with Merry Christmas as we left. Atmosphere is an open area inside, with a water fountain in front. Robots delivering food to tables and plenty of parking outside the restaurant. Highly recommend!

Have been here many times. The service is quick and welcoming. When I came here first the prices were very reasonable almost cheap. Now decades later the prices are higher above average. However in my mind they still producing really good food. I had lunch lemongrass pork roll, fried pork spring rolls and an iced milky coffee.

We had the beef Pho and the veggie Pho. They were delicious, however I wasn’t told it would be extra $$ to swap the beef with veggies. No complaints but would’ve liked a heads up. Overall decent Pho. Not the best I’ve had but quite good.

Most expensive and worst pho that I've ever had!! I asked for crispy chicken pho. I got chicken nuggets in the broth, so they were soggy, I've only ever gotten a fried thigh/leg before. The broth was very bland and the hoisin sauce was watered down (super odd). It cost $24 for the soup and a drink. Save your cash, you couldn't give this soup to a homeless person in Vietnam.

I recently visited Try It Out, a Vietnamese restaurant located in Otahuhu, and unfortunately, I did not have a good experience. While the staff was friendly and the service was fast, the food was disappointing. The pho I ordered lacked the depth of flavor that I usually expect from this dish, and the bánh mì sandwich was dry and lacked the usual tasty fillings. Overall, I was disappointed with my experience at Try It Out, and I cannot recommend this restaurant for those looking for authentic and delicious Vietnamese cuisine in Auckland. However with that being said, the restaurant is run by Vietnamese. Just like the other reviewer mentioned, if you visit without comparison with those from the US or OZ, then you should be happy with the portion and the no frill service.

Nice food , good place very happy when my family has dinner in this Restaurant my favorite restaurant in town

BEST Vietnamese I have found in Auckland City. Super authentic, and the only place I know of that currently serves Banh Mi, Vietnamese Sub. (Other places have sold it for a limited time, probably due to lack of popularity in Auckland.) Their pho (noodles) are amazing and the soup/broth is perfect. Their lemongrass chicken, pork are pretty on point too! They also serve a bunch of traditional Vietnamese drinks/desserts, I recommend the Traffic light or Grass Jelly with Coconut. Service is average and the interior decor is nothing flash. But this place has turned into a regular almost weekly eat out for me.

If I'm to be honest, I left Try It Out a little underwhelmed. Perhaps I had unrealistically high expectations, but I found the flavour, whilst pleasant, to be a bit lackluster. The punchy, vibrant, fresh flavours that we have come to associate with Vietnamese food were drowned out by excess grease and lack of finesse. We started with the deep fried spring rolls ($5 for two). They were okay but too greasy and filling was bland. Next we shared their rare beef pho ($11.50), which came with the usual bean sprouts and lime but no fresh herbs. The broth was tasty but lacked depth of flavour. The highlight was the thinly sliced beef, which as promised, was served rare.v Next was the squid in garlic sauce served big slices of vegetables (courgettes, capsicum and onion) lightly sauteed. The sauce was a little oily but still very good - slightly sweet & sour with a bit of heat. As others mentioned the décor leaves a lot to be desired, but this is to be expected in a restaurant where you pay so little for so much, and whilst the décor was minimalistic, it was clean and tidy. As for the service, the man who looked after us was delightful! Fast, friendly and efficient. He even came over to check how our meals were going - a rarity in cheap and cheerful establishments like this one. If I was in the area, I would most definitely come back but would I make a special trip south just to go....probably not.

So when your halfway through your Zumba class at the brand spanking new Otahuhu leisure centre and your friend says to you " Fancy going to Try it Out ?" What do you do ? Well you don't do what I did and wait patiently for the class to finish , you get there now ! And quite the busy little place it was , we were seated quickly and orders taken just as fast (although we did have to wave down the server ). The menu is extensive and if your not overly familiar with Vietnamese food you might stall a bit . We went for the fried spring rolls (2) , chicken cashew , sweet and sour prawns, a jackfruit milkshake and also a coconut milkshake. All were delicious and a good sized serving , with the Chicken cashew being my fave - crisp cooked veges and chicken in a rich gravy with lots of cashews on top . If your after cheap and cheerful then this place is most definitely your bag , if your after a dining experience then keep driving to the city . And leave this place for me !

Food is average, but probably the best authentic Vietnamese in Auckland. NZ Vietnamese restaurants just don't compare to the ones in OZ or the US due to the small Vietnamese population. Try It Out has an in-depth menu with typical South Vietnamese offerings. Staff is nice. Restaurant always seems busy and filled with Vietnamese speaking diners. The pho and more popular rice vermicelli and broken rice dishes are consistently pleasing. The steamed pork was disappointingly bland. Atmosphere is casual -- good for eating solo, large parties, eating out with children, etc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Addendum (17 Dec 2013): Cafe Viet in Grey Lynn now my top choice for authentic Vietnamese ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Addendum (5 Jan 2014): FOOD Pho: broth clean, light, and tasty. proportion of noodles to broth slightly off where noodles quickly absorbed broth and took over bowl. bean sprouts were not fresh..brownish and water logged. Rice vermicelli combo: very good Rice vermicelli lemongrass pork chops: very good SERVICE: lunchtime rush. service average. no napkins or condiments on table. easier to get utensils yourself from table in middle of dining area. not a big deal. did notice that restaurant seemed dirtier than what we remembered....carpet was filthy and flies were buzzing throughout the eating area. yuck! it was a wet and muggy day, so hope it was a one-off experience.

A solid but unexciting Vietnamese restaurant. We had two vermicelli dishes, the Spicy Beef and the Lemongrass Chicken, for $25.50. The latter was the better of the two, pretty authentic too. The beef was quite fatty. Both portions were big though. They lacked a solid vegetarian option besides fried rice. Service was polite, speed decent and relatively clean. It seemed pretty popular as well.

In unicorn-like fashion, I heard about this 'great vietnamese place' in Otahuhu. It always lingered in the back of my mind as a must-do, but never found myself out that way for the last couple of years. Then, yesterday I took my wee pup for a big adventure walk in the Auckland Botanic gardens & Totara Park in which I had worked up a mean appetite. Seeing the Otahuhu sign on the motorway, I turned off to seize my opportunity. I didn't really know what to expect in terms of layout and decor (its what you'd expect from a cheap n' cheerful) but was surprised to see how big it was and how conveniently placed off the motorway it was (less than 5 min). I was greeted by a very friendly Vietnamese girl and seated immediately. Since I wouldn't be sure when my next opportunity would be, I decided to go for gold and ordered the rare beef pho, a bahn mi, and an iced vietnamese coffee. All three choices were presented beautifully and in an authentic way that made you feel like you were on the streets of Ho Chi Min. The pho broth had such a depth of flavour, the bean sprouts fresh, hoisin/hot sauce on the table, and the beef oh so tender. Pho is quite a simple dish, but can be underwhelming if all of the ingredients aren't perfect. Try is out's pho stood up to the test as I found all the components to be spot on. The banh mi was served in a paper bag (perfect) with crusty on the outside, and soft on the inside french bread. The iced coffee was luxe and filled with ice for maximum refreshment! On top of that all three were so incredibly reasonably priced at a grand total of $25. I had a quick look at the other items on offer and really can't wait to go again with more people to try other offerings. The only real downside is that it's not closer to my house!

I headed here for lunch with some work colleagues, on the recommendation of a Vietnamese workmate. Hansan seems to get all the praise round here for Vietnamese, but you seriously need to Try this Out! The decor leaves a little to be desired, as with most cheap & cheerful Asian places - perhaps a sliding scale exists between fluoro walls & amazing food?! But we got to watch Dr. Phil while we ate as well as enjoying the ambience of some tropical fish neighbors prowling their tank. My vegetarian friend went for fried tofu & vegetables on crispy noodles - a huge portion in a delicious sauce, chocka-block with asparagus, zucchini & other veges. The other 2 of us went for that Vietnamese classic; beef pho. Often maligned, this version was fragrant, warming & filled with delightful hints of spices, aniseed & coriander. Served with bean sprouts & lemon wedges, again this was another large dish; I couldn't finish all the noodles for lunch, but I tried my best to drain the delicious broth. We ordered vegetarian fresh spring rolls to start - the tofu was lovely & creamy with fresh hits of coriander. The peanutty, sweet dipping sauce was a great accompaniment. Between the 3 of us we had a jackfruit milkshake, fresh lime & soda & a coconut milkshake. All chilled & sweet in contrast to the salt & spice in our food. I love Vietnamese drinks! I'll definitely be back!

Just went there yesterday with Mum The food was AMAZING :) going back for my brothers birthday. Thank you for an awesome feed.

Been here a few time with fellow work diners. The decor is pretty basic but you are here to eat not admire the view. The food is quite good for the price you pay.

This is a place for serious eating. No frills and family friendly. I always order the Vietnamese ham with steamed rice rolls and ice coffee. This winning combo never fails. My favorite Vietnamese in Auckland!

This is.....was....my favourite go-to eating place. The service is excellent, the guys are friendly and prompt with taking orders. It's spacious, friendly atmosphere, and family friendly..The food is excellent...was...until I found a fly sitting in my lettuce when I got home. I returned my food and was almost pushed out the door still holding my spoilt food. I think he was trying to avoid a situation because customers were standing at the counter.. I refused another order and asked for a refund instead. I am not happy with how I was dealt with so wont be going there again unfortunately. But as the name suggests "try it out"

Fast service and big place but sometimes it does get a little noisy but still pretty nice place. Authentic vietnamese food but moms cooking is still the best. Big portions for me but very nice. I love the traffic light so I get that every time I go there. Would recommend if you want good vietnamese food unlike hansans

Visited there twice, loved the food there, price is fair, plenty parking spaces, will go there again with friends, i visited there with my gf who now i broke up with, but still, i wd sit at same table we used to have n order my fav dish next time w new gf if i have one