Hello Auntie — Restaurant in Sydney

Food was just amazing. Our absolute favorite was the goi dudu with the octopus. The fish sauce wasn’t too overwhelming and was a perfect balance with the soft chewy octopus. Definitely a must try!! The thit kho was also very soft and went really well with the noodles. Banh xeo was okay. It was just a normal banh xeo, nothing too special. No twist, no fusion. On a side note, the server kept dropping the lettuces and banh xeo when he was cutting them. Mistakes can happen but it didn’t look too good. I don’t really want to eat food off the table. Idk maybe it’s just me. Maybe a bigger plate would be better?

Despite the amazing meal, I gave a 1 star because of 1 particular male server wearing thick black glasses. Everyone else was kind and inviting, but this 1 server made our experience here absolutely unpleasant and I never want to visit here due to this. First, he didn’t listen to my order and asked back with the wrong order when I had specifically pointed out the order from the menu. This would be understandable normally but considering the attitude of this server in general, it’s giving me second thoughts. Then he proceeded to pour the water for just 1 person when there were 3 of us and managed to spill half of the water on the table, which he just left without a word and took the water bottle with him. We had to call someone else to ask for water for the other 2 ppl and to clean up the spill. Unfortunately, the rude server came back to wipe the water (without a single sorry) and poured water for the other 2 (which he spilled again and we didn’t want to call him again).

Our food came out and the rude server put the food on our table without a single word. Maybe I’m being too sensitive but as someone who worked in hospitality myself, I never just put food on the table without eye contact or asking where I should put the food or any type of communication with the customer. I don’t expect a smile but basic manners, hello?

Then while we were enjoying our food, the rude server went past us and opened the kitchen door and banged it into one of our chairs. Once again, not a single word of sorry was said.

We had the banh xeo come out on a metal plate stand, probably to make sure that we had enough space on table. We took it off and put it on the side cuz we didn’t need it and the rude server just snatched it off our table without a single word again. Very taciturn. ofc we didn’t need it and we appreciate him taking it away but I think it’s basic decent human manners to talk and communicate when I’m quite sure that we both speak english and can communicate like human beings through words :) The overall vibe I got was “I’m tired and I don’t want to work” which would be fine if he wasn’t so passive aggressive to the customers directly.

I rarely give a 1 star, but hence the 1 star. I don’t want a reply unless you’ve spoken with that server and done something bout...

When we want creative Vietnamese food or just want to take visitors to a restaurant we know serves up great food, Hello Auntie comes to mind.

We made a reservation for a Tuesday night for 6 people (including a toddler) and, uncontrollably, most could not attend last minute for personal reasons (it was not intentional). Of those that could still attend, we decided to show up since we'd already reserved a table. We were met by 2 front of house staff, tried to explain the situation regarding our guests, apologised because the guests notified ourselves last minute, and we knew we were already well outside the cancellation notification period which would see cancellation charges imposed on our reservation. The female staff appeared to be understanding and accommodating however the male staff wasn't (he was wearing an orange and blue unbuttoned top/jacket). He basically made a statement that the restaurant was fully booked and due to our reservation solely, they had to turn away lots of potential customers. He came across as very arrogant and unsympathetic (emotions were very clear through his tone and facial expressions), educated us on the notice period for last minute cancellations, but that he would waive the charges as a one-off. We were made to feel like an inconvenience. We were also given a restricted dining time however we were fine with that.

The same female front of house staff seated us at our table and saw we had bought dessert from outside and asked if we'd like to keep it refrigerated while we dined. Her gesture was well appreciated because we already felt very awkward given what we had just dealt with prior to being seated.

We quickly placed our order, the food came out fast because it was still early and only a handful of tables were occupied. We had a female waitstaff who was kind and explained the recommended way to eat the dishes we ordered. We ate our food and left before the dining time ended, and by that point, there were still plenty of unoccupied tables. The same male front of house staff was even seen re-arranging larger tables into smaller ones.

We've been to Hello Auntie many times before and the food has always been enjoyable and service has been as expected. We acknowledge the inconvenience caused by the last minute change but overall felt that more empathy could have been exercised by the male front of house staff when we attempted to explain the situation. This small but meaningful interaction could have made our night a lot more pleasant and welcoming. However, we'll be thinking twice about coming back due to our...

Darling Square, anytime is great to visit and sample many great restaurants in this precinct. Hello Aunty, modern Vietnamese restaurant caught our attention and we managed to grab a table next tot he green square and under the fairy light trees.

Busy bees the wait staff, nursing all the outdoor dining patrons, yet still managed to look after us like the queen bee. QR code menu made it easier to work through the extensive list of food available to taste; $65 and $85 set menu for 4 people or a la cart. The drinks menu is also extensive. May be it is just me, but I do like a simple menu to read as it can be overwhelming with many pages to read with both Vietnamese and English.

Tempted to go with the set menu to avoid navigating through the menu on the phones, I am glad that I persisted as the food selected, I believe, show cased their prowess. The Skull Island prawns was well cooked, prawn shell crunchy and the chilli sauce made a good paring to bring out the sweet prawn meat. The Wagyu beef cube in mushroom sauce was a umami mushroom bomb and the fries used to mop up the sauce was yummy - call me simple, I ended up making a small loaded fries on my dining plate, much to my wife’s disgust!!

The mushroom noodle was soft, saucy, and full of mushroom chunks make it delicious to eat. The scallop fried rice was well cook - you can taste the wok flavour - soft whole scollops paired well with the small prawn crackers. Hint of chilli to round of the umami flavour made this dish special. The grilled octopus salad was a good mouth cleanser with the soft octopus and papaya salad. Well balanced dressing, a little salty, sweet and sour; my mouth was dancing. The scollop ceviche was light - for a moment I thought I was eating Japanese - wrapped my palette together with the chilli bomb. My favourite, the deep fried tofu was the bomb. Crunchy outside, soft silky inside. The dipping sauce brings together the soft taste with hits of umami.

Certainly, a special celebration event restaurant; good quality, great atmosphere and good service. Go and try, celebrate with your love ones on a...