Tasty food, good friendly service, a place with character. There is restaurant area for main meals…read moreand secluded bar / cafe at the back, with a wide selection if tea and craft beer. This is a hidden gem

Poor service and the food IS NOT authentic. I"ve had a fair amount of South Indian cuisine in my…read moretime and an idli (rice flour cake) DOES NOT crumble when you touch it. Their version of a Rawa Dosa (Semolina & Rice flour crepe) was astonishingly falling apart and the number of excuses they were ready with the last time we visited was the icing on the cake. "We have only one chef on duty" , "He must've overcooked the idli" - are you serious? Also, I fail to understand why their sambar is so runny with the dal and water splitting? This is not a rant but the reality of how restaurants try to flog off substandard food to those who are blissfully unaware of what the food should really taste like. I'm not willing to pay $3.95 for a cheese paratha which in reality is a defrosted paratha with cheese sprinkled on top. Avoid if you're looking for an authentic South Indian cuisine experience. There are better places in Auckland vying for your coin.

Random quality! I've been eating here for quite a few times…read morealready and the quality of the food changes every time. Sometimes it really good and sometimes not so much (for the same dish). In the worse case we got a curry with chicken that that was off! It even smelled quite bad! Service is ok, but no more.

I was pleasantly surprised with this place - being a franchise, I wasn't expecting much but I think…read moreMasala is keen to make an impact in the well-heeled suburb of Mt Eden. The venue is lovely; an renovated villa done up beautifully with a verandah for outdoor dining and a long bar inside. It's really spacious so you're not wedged up next to the couple at the next door table. There's plenty to choose from on the wine menu, and the food menu doesn't disappoint either, with plenty of the Kiwi curry favourites & a few more exotic flavours too. The Tandoori platter was a great start, with plenty to feed three of us & lovely succulent chicken. The flavours of the curry were great - we didn't go too spicy as it's always wise to play it safe the first time you visit a new curry house. You'd be pretty safe with medium at Masala I think. All-in-all, it was a really good spot to enjoy a cheap & tasty Monday night meal out. The $10 main special they are running at the moment makes it friendly on the pocket too!

This is an excellent Indian restaurant in Whenuapai, north of Auckland. We happened to order take…read moreaway here while staying with our friends, who live just around the corner from here. Chicken marsala and Korma were both very tasty, as were the fish marsala and chicken saag. The garlic butter naan was also quite good. The service was fast and our friends' son picked up our order within 15 minutes. I wish I had an Indian take away so close to where we live, let alone one this good.

As locals this place is a regular for us. I have to admit we've never eaten in, only had take-away…read morebut the food is always great! They are really quick with good quality food and friendly service. As Whenuapai is a small suburb we're really happy these guy's opened up!

They give you papadum which is nice. The Aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower) and the salads were…read moregood but the fish was disappointing . Authentic recorded Indian music played (relatively loudly). The service is good.

I went here twice in a week near my birthday, and I really liked it. The decor is nice, the place…read moreis clean and pleasant, and the service is excellent. The food is really good too, and really, the only thing needed for another star is for the portions to be a little bigger. That would make the pricing a bit better value. But all up, a really nice place.

Great service and more importantly, outstanding curry! Have been there twice now and will be back…read more The menu is extensive with lots of vegetarian options. The kitchen appears clean and well organised. The staff are friendly and accommodating. A great place to go for a good, authentic Indian meal.

Happened on this place on the way to the Bontanic Gardens. What it lacks in atmosphere, it more…read morethan makes up for in delicious food and friendly service. It seems to be run by a family, who all work at the restaurant. They have all kinds of Indian sweets, which seemed to be quite popular. The main traffic while we were there was people coming in to buy boxes full of sweets. I'm not really a fan of Indian sweets in general, so I skipped them... My dad has a fool proof test for Indian restaurants. The samosa test. If the samosa is no good, you might as well leave. The samosas here are delicious. No soggy old flavorless samosas here. They fry it on the spot, and use good hot oil, so its not greasy, and its crispy and good. Just bready enough without being too bready, full of potatoes, good spicing. The other entrees were very yummy. Delicious dal makhani and vegetable korma. Huge plates of rice came with the entrees - no skimping there. Fresh naan and paratha too. Get the masala chai - it is just as it should be. Very hot, spicy, not overly sweet. The eat-in environment is not so nice, but I think it's worth it to eat there just to get everything fresh from the kitchen. My mouth is watering just thinking about it... hope to get back there soon!!

* I'm excluding the decor from this review given that it is purely functional and follows basic NZ…read more"standards" in this regard (i.e., it is dingy) * But the food is spectacular * The samosa is cooked on the spot, so no sitting around in a hot glass box type thing-y * The samosa is packed full of vegetables and a tasty spice mix * We also had the Vegetable Korma, Dal Makhani, Plain Naan, Plain Paratha, and Masala Tea: They were all excellent, especially the tea... * We randomly stumbled upon this place while visiting the Botanic Gardens * It all seems very "authentic" * The restaurant that is, not the gardens, although I suppose they are "authentic" in their own way... except for the whole not-at-all-natural aspect... that would make them rather inauthentic come to think of it... * The restaurant has a sign that would make you think it is called "Butter Chicken," but I don't think it is * They are part of some "anti-truancy" program in the area, so kids "wagging" school can't eat there during school hours...

Friendly staff with ok communication skills. No street…read moreparking Seats 100 Decor 7/10 old timber paneling Prices 7/10 not cheap and not over the top. Drink prices are ok. $5 Beers Satay Chicken starter 7/10 a bit chewy! But enjoyable none the less. Penang Duck 6/10 very hot! Spiciest Penang ever! I don't like but you might. Mamager happily refunded my Penang!

First up - the only reason Bangkok is getting 4 stars and NOT 5 is because they are VERY very…read morepricey! As mentioned in other reviews, the staff are nice and always come around to ask if we need something. I've never been to an inner city Thai restaurant - but some vouchers made this experience possible. We had a three course meal and cannot complain about the quality or quantity I the meals! The taste was very authentic and after ordering coconut milk based curries we weren't feeling bloated or weighed down. We ordered a Prawn Salad, fish cakes, satay chicken skewers for appetisers. Main course was chicken pad thai, red chicken curry, red duck curry, chicken stir fry and another chicken curry. Well seasoned and the presentation on foo was worth the experience - pictures speak for themselves! Recommended if you can afford the $20+ price range for curries!

Max cafe is authentic and affordable, two things that rate highly in my books…read more I love love asian cuisine so this fusion of malaysian and Chinese eats is amazing. The food is pretty good and authentic to its style origins which is pleasing. There are some downfalls of course. While the wait staff are genuine and nice, the service is pretty off putting, there is some major disorganisation happening in this place, like staff not really sure with what dish is going where. And the table service is definitely lacking. Also the decor is so average its barely worth a mention, but I find that a lot of Asian cuisine places don't really prioritise the fancy decor thing so I didn't mind. I would go here if you are after some nice Asian cuisine for an affordable price, and aren't too bothered by table service etc. Don't expect fine dining - be realistic and you will enjoy.