Cafe Hanoi (Commerce Street)

Cafe Hanoi is in a great location; tucked away in the Excelsior Building right down in the heart of Britomart. It’s extremely inconspicuous; it would be too easy to walk straight past and not realise you had done so, if not for the Cafe Hanoi sign on the front door.

It’s vibe is fast, funky and fresh. The tables are relatively crammed, but the place still has the feel of being spacious. The menu is fun; designed for sharing, there are a range of smaller plates and larger dishes, accompanied by an extensive drinks menu with loads of cocktails and also plenty of dessert options for afterwards.

As is common with Asian fusion style restaurants, the menu is quite pricey, but when you go in a group of four or five, you certainly get to try a fair few dishes for the price that you pay. Pictured in my photos are the rice paper rolls, which were well constructed and came with a tasty dipping sauce; the vegetarian curry, which had the most delicious sauce and included some interesting vegetables within; and, last but not least, the cinnamon donuts, which at $2.50 a piece, were an absolute steal. They were so hot, cinnamony and doughy, plus the sauce was so tasty it could have been eaten just by itself. Yum!