Peasant

Amazing phở and Vietnamese — menu always seems to change and everything I have tried is authentic and well priced as well as delicious — really friendly staff too

We came here on a quiet Sunday afternoon and had a fantastic late lunch. The food was gorgeous (highlights are the phở, the taro chips and dry duck, and the chicken wings) and the boys absolutely looked after us. We loved their music too! :)
We are now talking about what to have on or next visit! :)

I visited this in it’s old incarnation, so found it quite strange! It was only a month after opening, but in my opinion long enough to have ironed out most pressing issues. It seems not, while the food was amazing (with exception of a dry duck main) the service was so lacking I saw at least 2 groups come in, sit, be ignored and leave after ¹⁰⁄₁₅ minutes after failing to get anyone to serve them. There was actually a point 45mins after ordering that the uncleared tables around me had gone well past the 20min mark being uncleared that my inner hospo came out and I got up and started clearing tables as it was bothering me so much, much to my companions hilarity! We think our order went missing as we only got out first dish 60mins in, a cold salmon spring rolls, lovely but not as good as the brisket and baguette (lunch only) fish buns — so scrumptious, a must try and we all loved the Taro chips that came with the dry duck, the only real down turn in the food department. When our plight was advised to front of house they did say it would be out in 10 minutes… really 25/​30mins but with very little in the way of apology bar a complimentary drink (which while a nice thought did not appease my ravenous stomach or hangry* state of mind) *hungry-​angry
The industrial/​minimalist décor is not my personal cup of tea but others in my group liked it, so take it as you will!
I will go back for the brisket but will not go when starving or with limited time.
My rating is based on food 70%, service 30% –If an option I would go 4 stars food, 2 for service :)

I had looked forward to trying Peasant since it first opened. Always a lover of Vietnamese food, Peasant seemed to promise a modern spin on some favourites. The latest Vietnamese offerings all seemed to be so-​so bowls of phở and rice paper rolls so I was curious whether this one will trump it all.
Usually dining at the other end of Dominion Road, I didn’t expect the interior to be so trendy. Think urban chic: bare light bulb fittings and a large concrete communal table as the centrepiece. The open glass walls reminded me of the glass menagerie at Rosie and a time where my friends saw me repeatedly trying to reverse my car into a space. Great for people watching/​stalking.
Even when we waited over half an hour for others to arrive, the waiters were gracious and continued to refill our water glasses. In fact every time they came, a piece of me died inside because I so wanted to order. The smells of the spices from the kitchen were way too tempting.
My favourites included the crisp egg tofu which was delicious with mouthfuls of custody like texture that melted in your mouth from the crispy shell. Second, the taro chips — each piece was satisfying large with just enough salt to make them addictive without continually watering it down with a drink.
The skate wing with peanuts, dill and turmeric root was interesting. I had never tried skate before and got told it was like stingray. Maybe an emerging trend because I saw it again on the menu of The Commons. The taste and texture was like any other white fish with a mild sweet taste. This dish and the pork belly were probably the only dishes that could fill the average diner. The pork belly was satisfying in the sense it was big and crackling wasn’t chewy but it didn’t have the melt in the mouth touch.
I also ordered the stuffed loligo squid with pork, chestnut, coriander and paprika oil — admittedly to try the novelty of it. The flavours were there but the whole thing also tasted strongly of pork, something I’m not too fond of.
Overall I enjoyed eating at Peasant, the flavours were light and brought out the original flavours of the food. Something I really want to try is their phở — but that’s only available at lunch. The black sticky rice with mango and coconut is also very tempting! A caution that their dishes are small so order a side or share another dish with a friend to try out the variety.

I’ve had tastier, cheaper, less hyped up Vietnamese food. This place was very fusion. My favourites are the taro crisp and the fresh spring rolls (because you can’t go wrong with fresh spring rolls as long as the sauce is good). Originally i wanted to try their phở but they suddenly changed their menu so that you can’t order it at night… which was a bit disappointing… The pork belly was ok, nothing that made me want more.
I love the glass shop front tho but i think that was all existing from the previous tenant. so they just bought new concrete furniture to match the interior and they did a good job although it is a tad TOO spacious in their. not very cosy, all hard and cold materials.
I think i’ll stick to Otahuhu authentic Vietnamese!

Excellent Vietnamese Street food style of café. Reasonable prices
Pork bites. Yum yum.

Really impressed with the décor. The semi industrial look is definitely a favourite of mine, while saying simple and chic. Nice vibes during dinner time. Had late lunch today and it was pretty empty (which I expected for 2:30 on a Friday).
You’ll find an array of Vietnamese classics to fusions all done very well. My favourite so far is the Phở noodle soup. Back in Seattle there are hundreds of these little Vietnamese restaurants, some that just sell only different variations of Phở. I’ve tried a handful of places in Auckland only to be disappointed. This is the only one I have found in Auckland that tastes similar! The broth is really hearty and savoury. It is chalk full of bean sprouts, coriander, rice noodles, and basil. There is a bit of meat, but there could have been more. The best part was that they have sriracha sauce!
Definitely some of the best Vietnamese I have had in Auckland. Would definitely go back again. Have the Phở at lunch with the salted lychee soda. Divine!

While I can appreciate that Vietnamese is the new ‘Hip’ cuisine in Auckland right now, Peasant did not live up to any expectations I might have held. The food was good, but not fantastic, it was confused, trying to be fusion without the traditional components. The slapped together décor, complete with cell phone chargers and plug points in plain sight, dangling from behind the counter were a bit rough. The service was lack lustre. From the waiting for a table while empty ‘reserved’ tables stood unattended, to the cutlery being delivered post food, it was yet a mother shining example of how far Auckland needs to go in terms of being able to offer an even semi-​descent customer experience.

Peasant is a brand new eatery at the top of Dominion road (town end). The newly renovated space is modern and industrial with an airy atmosphere from the beautifully large glass windows.
I feel like before there were no real Vietnamese eateries, and now its the upcoming trend, with them popping up here, there and everywhere. Introducing a Vietnamese influence with their menu, all menu items are designed for sharing, with smaller and larger menu items.
I really loved the idea of the tea smoked salmon rice paper rolls, but tbh they were disappointing. The salmon had great flavour, but then they are also filled with just heaps of rice noodles — too much rice noodles. I would suggest adding another ingredient or two and remove some of or all of the rice noodles. It brought the dish down, making it bland and dry. The beef skirt dish, also served on a bed of rice noodles. Again too much rice noodles, but they were slightly better since they were dressed. The beef skirt was chewy, and this comes down to not slicing it thin enough and slightly over cooked, which is a shame because the flavour is there. We agreed we loved the beef brisket baguette! Delicious dressing and wasn’t too heavy. I just wished all other dishes followed suit.
I think there is great potential for Peasant and could improve with just a few changes.
Rating
Food: ⁶⁄₁₀
Service: ⁷⁄₁₀
Value for Money: Good
191 Dominion Road, Mt Eden
Opening Hours: Tues-​Sun 12pm-​3pm, 6pm-​10pm

Service: ⁵⁄₅
Food: ²⁄₅
Money: ³⁄₅
Environment: ⁴⁄₅
The service and place were good. I really want to talk about their food. Our pork was slightly burned. I took out a few black pieces. Mini fish burgers with very small piece of fish and not much taste. Taro chips was a little bit oily. Dessert was good; it will be better if there is more mango. Overall, the price was not worth of its value.

This place use to be theold Vietnamese Two Monkeys restaurant, where you could get massive bowls of food for $ 10. This place has been transformed into a chic little restaurant called Peasant.
I had the duck with taro chips — duck was a little over cooked but still really tasty and the taro chips were delicious and crunchy. Afterwards I had my all time favourite meal of black sticky rice with mango o my lord it was de-​lic-​ious. Definitely my new fav place to eat and hang — I forgot to mention the décor is so pretty. I’ll be going back for sure

All the dishes were simple but well thought out and delicious. Lived up to the hype. Will definitely be back

This is a brilliant new Vietnamese casual restaurant that has just opened up last week in the former Two Monkeys space. This is a welcome replacement and they have transformed the shop into a light spacious and already bustling spot.
The menu offers a small selection of fresh and tasty smaller plates and a handful of larger meals. It also features one brisket sandwich (the ever popular bahn mi) option along with one dessert option of sticky black rice.
I have to admit I was a little disappointed the bahn mi wasn’t the classic pork filled sandwich with the coarse pâté and Mayo I’ve grown to love. So we opted instead for the roasted duck main and the pork fried shrimp and wood air mushroom rolls. The duck was succulent and perfectly spiced and arrived with a side of herb greens and crispy large taro chips. Those chips are addictive! The rolls with dipping sauce and herb greens and some lettuce were tasty and filling, a great size for $ 12. Just a pity they played some brown edged greens and slightly overlooked the rice rolls.
In the hour we were there, the kitchen opened 15 mins late and there were apologises all around. About 4 groups of people poked their heads in, saw it was full and so left. They are not serving coffee or alcohol yet and don’t allow payments by credit cards.
Great potential here, this place is going to be packed once they get really established. Next time I’ll definitely be trying the phở, fresh house smoked salmon rolls and the bahn mi.