Buns N Rolls Albany brings Vietnamese street food to Auckland's north, trading from store K28 inside Westfield Albany at 219 Don McKinnon Drive. The counter is all about the classics of Vietnam's street-food scene — fragrant pho, crusty banh mi, fresh buns and salads, rolls and vermicelli, and classic plates — made to slot easily into a shopping trip.
The store belongs to a young New Zealand brand. Buns N Rolls was established during the Covid-19 pandemic and has since grown to more than 10 stores across the country, with over 11 locations across Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Palmerston North — and more cities flagged as coming next. The Albany branch is part of that expansion, serving shoppers in one of the city's biggest malls.
In the kitchen the focus is authentic traditional Vietnamese food built on different combinations of assorted herbs and spices, with the brand trading under the banners of #Fresh, #Healthy and #Sustainability — at affordable prices.
Hours run 9:00am to 6:00pm Monday to Wednesday, stretch to 9:00pm on Thursdays and Fridays, run 9:00am to 6:00pm Saturday, and 10:00am to 5:30pm on Sunday.
Buns N Rolls Albany is the Vietnamese street food store tucked into Westfield Albany, trading from store K28 at 219 Don McKinnon Drive in Auckland's north. If you have wandered the eating spots of the centre, you may well have caught the aroma of aromatic broth and fresh herbs drifting from the counter. It belongs to a young New Zealand brand with a simple, appealing idea: bring the flavours of Vietnam's street stalls — fragrant pho, crusty banh mi, fresh buns, salads and vermicelli — into the country's shopping centres, at prices that don't ask too much of the wallet.
Buns N Rolls describes itself as a fledgling company, established during the Covid-19 pandemic while alert level 2 and level 1 restrictions were in force. Rather than retreat, the team spent the following three years steadily building the brand, and there are now more than 10 stores across New Zealand — over 11 locations and counting, with more cities marked as 'coming next' on the company map.
Auckland is the heartland: alongside the Albany store, you'll find Buns N Rolls at Glenfield Mall, Shore City in Takapuna, West City Henderson, Botany Town Centre, Northwest Shopping Centre and Lynn Mall, with branches too at Centre Place and Chartwell in Hamilton, BayFair in Mount Maunganui and The Plaza in Palmerston North. Most sit inside major shopping centres, which suits the concept perfectly — a quick, fresh Vietnamese meal exactly where people are already out and about. The Albany branch is part of that growth, serving one of Auckland's busiest northern malls.
Two dishes carry the flag. The first is pho, Vietnam's beloved noodle soup: a comforting bowl of aromatic goodness built on a flavorful broth, tender meat and fresh herbs. The brand calls it a harmonious, satisfying experience — and a beloved culinary masterpiece that continues to captivate food enthusiasts worldwide, which is hard to argue with.
The second is banh mi, the Vietnamese sandwich sensation. It arrives as a burst of flavours in a crusty baguette, layered with grilled meats, pickled vegetables, fresh herbs and zesty sauces, with each bite balancing richness against freshness. That balance is why the banh mi works just as well as a quick street-food snack as it does a genuinely satisfying meal.
Around these two icons, the menu opens out into four broader ranges: Pho & Banh Mi, Buns & Salad, Rolls & Vermicelli and Classic Plates. The common thread is authentic traditional Vietnamese cooking — different combinations of assorted herbs and spices that, as the company puts it, tingle your taste palette.
Buns N Rolls trades under three hashtags of its own choosing: #Fresh, #Healthy and #Sustainability. In practice that means food built around fresh herbs and vibrant vegetables, made quickly enough to fit into a lunch break or a shopping run.
The Albany store keeps generous hours for a mall eatery. Monday to Wednesday it opens 9:00am to 6:00pm; Thursdays and Fridays stretch right through to 9:00pm, matching the centre's late shopping nights; Saturday returns to 9:00am to 6:00pm; and Sunday runs shorter, from 10:00am to 5:30pm. Being inside Westfield Albany makes it an easy stop either way — settle in for a steaming bowl of pho when you want something warming, or take a banh mi with you and eat between stores.
There's nothing pretentious about the Buns N Rolls formula: authentic traditional Vietnamese food, affordably priced, served in the middle of everyday life. Whether you're a pho devotee weighing up every bowl in Auckland, a banh mi loyalist, or simply after a better-than-usual shopping-centre lunch, the Albany store delivers the brand's street-food essentials in one of the city's busiest malls. And with the company still expanding across New Zealand, this Westfield Albany outlet is part of a story that is still being written.