Indochine Kitchen

The vegetarian Banh mi sandwich here is great. It has tasty tofu and mushrooms and the bread is toasted perfectly. The only negative thing is that the bread is drenched in too much butter. I would definitely go back again but would ask for less butter. The ambiance is also great and service is fast.

Indochine is a great lunch option for people who are working downtown and want something fresh and healthy.
I had the combination goi cuon (rice paper rolls) and banh mi. At $ 13 it is a great way to sample both dishes and overall quite filling. The rice paper rolls were very fresh and had a great crunch to it. The prawns were nice but I couldn’t taste the pork. The dipping sauce is really tasty but wish there was more of it. The half banh mi was much bigger than I expected but there wasn’t enough filling in it. The baguette itself had a great crunch to it but it definitely isn’t the best banh mi I’ve had.
The restaurant itself is very small and can get very busy during lunch time, but the service is great and I will be back to try out the other lunch dishes!

Who would have thought a few years ago we would be dining on Fort Street today. Gone are some of the seedy places you want to avoid and it’s also now possible to dine on the new shared space pavement. It’s still has the adult-​entertainment bars and accommodation for backpackers, but it’s an improvement. However this restaurant — not so much.
This place describes itself as serving Vietnamese tapas — lots of small plates which it was. We had fresh prawn rice rolls and pork belly on noodles which both were good. However all the supposed Charcoal BBQ items on the menu such as the skewers didn’t taste much of charcoal, who would know they went anywhere near the BBQ particularly the mushrooms.
The duck was dry and over cooked after my guests having a long and tideous wait whilst they watched us consume our mediocre tapas. The prices were good and I liked the feel of the place, the service was ok although a long wait for some food and a bit sporadic that one dish would come out of something and then the other person had to wait for the same dish much longer. I wouldn’t hurry back here. Maybe just got for an afterwork cocktail.

I had high hopes for this tapas bar — the food is Vietnamese in style and there’s a mix of New Zealand and French wines on the wine list. Nice setting in the newly upgraded Fort St. However, I think they are working on the presumption that everyone is sharing the food — we had such sporadic delivery of food that most of us had been delivered both things we’d ordered when others hadn’t even had one. Many requests later, the last person finally had something to eat. On the plus side, free bubbles on Valentine’s day was a nice touch. The food was patchy and not very adventurous — good choices were the green papaya salad with prawns, the squid and the crispy pork rolls. The duck with mango and green salad was a shocker, at $ 24 it was chewy and with no hint of the promised bbq flavour. If the service had been better and I hadn’t ordered the duck I may have rated this place higher.

Indochine is casual eatery in the centre of town offering Vietnamese tapas. I have mixed reviews due to…
The interior of the eatery has a cold vibe. I think its due to the tall tables and the seats are awkward to pull out. I feel like the interior and the waiting staff don’t follow the same theme to the food.
The uniform for the staff was odd — maybe it was because Indochine is in the city? but petit girls in backless halter tops with short shorts. You feel uncomfortable for them. I just think its maybe an outfit you would expect at a bar where you’re trying to make tips if you get what I mean.
The food was really great. If you want something light and healthy this is place you want to visit. Oh btw we came for dinner — their lunch menu is slightly different. The prawn rice paper rolls says you get 5, however don’t be fooled — they aren’t 5 normal full size rice paper rolls, although they pack a heap of flavour and were freshly made. We found the tofu rice paper rolls were disappointing because the tofu was hardly visible which meant you could hardly taste it was there.
The charcoal beef steak wasn’t what I expected — presented in a lettuce wrap but it was a good surprise. The mango brings a a vibrant flavour to the dish. If you want something with a bit of a punch order the squid. Probably a little spicier than it implies on the menu but if you like chilli like myself you won’t be bothered.
What I liked most is that the say what they actually are and thats tapas — Theres no trying to make portions or anything like some tapas restaurants. I would recommend ordering at least 4 dishes between the two of you if you want to be full. This is a place I would recommend to try, just dont take into account the odd waitresses attire.
Rating
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀
Service: ⁸⁄₁₀
Value for Money: Good
42 Fort Street, Auckland Central
Opening Hours: Mon-​Sat 11am-​Late

After hearing a bit of hype about Indochine, I was a bit nervous to head out there for dinner without a reservation. However, it seems that by coincidence we went there on the first night that they were opened for dinner and got a table easy peasy. It was nice touch that they had complimentary soda water on tap. I had an Indochine Martini and it was delicious with strong Lychee notes, although my friend’s Saigon Sour and Dalat Kiss were pretty average and a bit watered down. Now the food: OMG so damn delicious! We got an assortment of 6 different tapas dishes all impeccable. All the meat was cooked to perfection and paired with sauces and vegetables as if they were born to be together. The standout was really the duck salad, a bit pricey but it is duck breast in the end. Unfortunately, the quality of service in no way matches the quality of the food. We had a Vietnamese and a French girl both serving our table and there were several instances of miscommunication/​misunderstanding of English and a bit over eager to ask how we were doing while at the same time not clearing the table in a timely manner. In the first instance, she also misunderstood my drink order as the Indochine G&T. Hopefully they can work these kinks out to find that beautiful symbiosis between fabulous food and stellar service. However at the time of this writing, they aren’t there quite yet.

Fresh, clean, healthy, delicious and beautifully presented Vietnamese food. Service is friendly and efficient, plus the prices are very reasonable. Will be back.

Had lunch at Indochine yesterday — was quite excited because yet another Vietnamese restaurant has opened up in Auckland (yay), plus I was dying for some rice paper rolls (double yay)!
Indochine is a newly opened Vietnamese tapas bar located down Fort Street (big plus for the shared space) and has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, the latter making it a perfect spot for lunch in the sun! The layout of the place is quite modern, with wooden tables, hanging lights and best of all, the most stunning mural on the wall — my friend and I couldn’t stop staring at it!
The menu itself is small, offering only six dishes of rice paper rolls, beef phở and bahn mi. They serve Vietnamese coffee, two types of sodas and alcoholic drinks too. From the menu, we ordered two lots of the Goi Cuon $ 12 (5 pork and prawn rice paper rolls with lettuce and herbs) accompained by a dipping sauce and a small chicken salad. The rolls were nice, but not the best I have had in Auckland. Also, I couldn’t taste any pork and there wasn’t enough dipping sauce!
As for the service, well it was pretty good considering how busy they were! Our waitress was friendly and we didn’t have to wait long for our food.
Overall, a good first lunch, and great for those working in the CBD! Next time I will definitely be trying the bahn mi!