Try It Out Restaurant

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 décor (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 phở, 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 phở broth had such a depth of flavour, the bean sprouts fresh, hoisin/​hot sauce on the table, and the beef oh so tender. Phở is quite a simple dish, but can be underwhelming if all of the ingredients aren’t perfect. Try is out’s phở 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!

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 !

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

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

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 phở ($ 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.

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

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 décor 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 phở. 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!

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 phở 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.
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Addendum (17 Dec 2013): Café Viet in Grey Lynn now my top choice for authentic Vietnamese
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Addendum (5 Jan 2014):
FOOD
Phở: 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.

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 phở (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 décor is nothing flash. But this place has turned into a regular almost weekly eat out for me.

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!