I had always heard great things about Sawadee, but sadly had never been, possibly due to the fact…read morethat I have only eaten Thai food twice in my life! So, when I was lucky enough to be invited to a dinner at Sawadee, I was super excited, not only for the food, but to get a better understanding of Thai cuisine! Upon walking in, I was warmly greeted with 'Sawadee' and shown to our table. The table setting was very pretty, with royal blue being the main feature colour. I also loved the overall décor and ambience of the place, from the indoor waterfall and the beautiful flowers on our table, to the various pot plants dotted around the restaurant - it had a great tropical and summery feel to it! We first started off with a few drinks. Sawadee had recently compiled a new summer cocktail list, which had an interesting list of drinks. I ordered the 'Sunkiss' which consisted of vodka, strawberry liqueur, banana liqueur and orange juice. I asked the waiter if he could please substitute the vodka for tequila (as I really love tequila) - he was very accommodating, which was great. It was a delicious drink, topped with a cherry and curled orange peel - not something you see in most restaurants! Later on I also ordered a Lychee Mojito, and although very sweet, it was also delicious! Would definitely go back just to order this drink again! Now onto the food. My favourite dishes of the night were two of the entrees (and also one of the mains) including the 'Thai Style Fresh Spring Rolls' with chicken and shrimp and the 'Charcoal BBQ Marinated Pork Skewers'. The spring rolls were delightfully fresh and were accompanied by two dipping sauces. Perfect way to start a meal! The pork skewers were juicy and I could have eaten more than two! But the main dish of 'Mixed Steamed Seafood in a Fresh Coconut' (Thai name is Hormok talay ma praw orn) was definitely the highlight of the night. The dish consisted of prawns, scallops, snapper and squid in a red curry paste, coconut cream sauce with egg and Thai herbs. It took me to a whole 'nother level in terms of the flavours. I also loved the fact that it was served in a coconut, and ordained with edible carrot flowers - it was the most beautifully presented dish I have ever seen! Dessert was 'Jelly Rubies in Coconut Milk' and consisted of coconut milk, water chestnuts, coconut meat and sago jellies. A sugar syrup was also served separately to pour on top (it was served in a patron shot glass - initially I thought we were all having a tequila shot with our dessert!). It was a lovely dish to end the meal - very refreshing and light. As well as the amazing food, I thought the service was also top notch. I loved that the staff were enthusiastic and made the effort to explain each dish. Having very little knowledge of Thai cuisine, it was great to be able to get a better understanding of the ingredients used and what exactly we would be tasting. Overall, I had a fabulous time at Sawadee - I can't wait to go back with friends and family!

Service 4/5 Food 4/5…read moreEnvironment 4/5 Price worth the value Overall, we were very happy that we selected this place among all these Thai restaurants. Good food, it was slightly salty for us. But it is ok. The service was very good. Tips: Many people don't know that Thai restaurant normally charges rice per serve. 2 or 3 dollars per serve. If they come back and ask you, would you like more rice. If you says yes, it will be another 2 or 3 dollars. Doesn't matter if you only want a little bit. Just keep this in mind and it doesn't come with the dish.

This relates to a takeout order on the evening of Saturday 8 June…read more The food at Thai Friends seemed okay, there was nothing brilliant about it but nothing bad either. However the value for money was poor. When we have take out (be it Indian/Thai/Vietnamese etc) we usually see the plastic dishes filled to nearly the top. At Thai Friends tonight, the three stir fry dishes were only half filled, which suggests that it was planned rather than by accident. Given that those dishes were in excess of $21 each I thought that was poor value for money. I used to think Thai friends was one of the more reliable Parnell restaurants because it had been there for so long. However we will be trying at the Thai restaurants in the future.

I came here for lunch with a large group today, they reserved a big table for us out the back and…read moreluckily it was a beautiful sunny day. They had also tried to put up as many big umbrellas for us seeing it was quite hot. The table out here also has a nice outlook looking out towards the city. The booking was for 12noon and I was the first to arrive and they were only just setting up the table. The food however came out quite promptly at 12.15 as we had all pre-ordered, I ordered the Spicy Chicken noodles with veges and it was nice and spicy and plenty of chicken. They have a lunch menu which ranges in price from around $9-13 so pretty good value. One thing they didn't do was ask if anyone wanted drinks which I thought was a bit odd as they could have made some extra money. As we were a large group I think they handled it well and there were also a few last minute changes that they happily did. They also have tables and chairs inside at the back and also out the front of the restaurant, the inside area at the back seemed a bit dark for during the day, I have also been here during the night and its quite nice and cozy. Overall I enjoyed my experience and the meals were nice and tasty.

Went to Albany Mall today and new grandson got a butter chicken & rice dish & a plain naan bread…read moreand he really enjoyed his meal the chicken was cooked perfectly it wasn't dry at all. So thank you to the staff and also the very frie service at Shamiana Albany Mall. f

Both previous reviews are true…read more.. Butter chicken is good, and the beef madras is nice but salty as hell. Maybe they're not selling enough drinks and are trying to pump sales up. Not as good as other Shamianas but still better than most other joints. Seating is way too close together here and the bumpy elbow factor is high. Would revisit, but stick to butter chicken. But the line is long so Albanyites must love their salt and elbowing.

The food was great. The service was great. However the…read moreplace could use some air conditioning for starters. It was very uncomfortable due to the humid atmosphere. Also the flies. A whole lot of them. I sent most of the time trying to keep flies off my meal. Sadly I won't be back here again on my regular business trips.

This restaurant is absolutely beautiful, the interior which features sculptures of Thai goddesses…read moreand art. The place is perfect for a romantic dinner for two and serves delicious food. My favorite part of the meal was the unlimited rice which cost us $3 per person. This was perfect for my cashew chicken which was stir fried to perfection. The crunchiness and flavour of the cashews was delightful, the cashews did not overpower the meal neither did they shy away from adding flavour to the dish. My other favorite from the restaurant was the black thai rice pudding. Hmmm yum yum yum! A perfect way to end the meal.

Excellent meal. Garlic prawns for first of three courses. Well appointed and artfully so. Main…read morecourse centering on famed )crusted) New Zealand snapper (filet) was heavenly all-around. Apple rhubarb pie crisp w/ vanilla ice cream was the perfect ending. Pleasant staff, great location, and underrated.

Was so looking forward to a nice meal as out of town visitors. Booked for a special occasion, got a…read moreconfirmation email and re confirming email day of reservation for me to confirm. I confirmed and all seemed ok. Then I arrived and it was closed. Why would they allow confirmations to be sent out if you are going to be closed? Ruined a special dinner.

Ok it's not Tokyo but for a hole in the wall joint in west Auckland it's very good. Recommend the…read moreseared salmon nigiri and the banana toffee pie. Great that there are places serving proper genmaicha tea. My wife loves her tea!

Yeh!! Auckland is now in Level one so we can at last leave our Titirangi bubble and so ventured out…read moreto our favourite Japanese restaurant. We received a very warm welcome from Junko san and proceeded to enjoyed a much missed fabulous meal. So glad this small boutique restaurant survived COVID. We will be back

Very nice location. The only reason its a 4 star is due to not getting any bread. I have eaten…read moreat many persian restaurants and have been accustomed to receive free bread. Ramesh

Every subsequent meal we had in Auckland paled in comparison to this!…read more Mr. S and I love Persian food - any time we are in a new city, we look for one - and if there is one, we try it. Rumi touts itself as the only Persian restaurant in NZ, not just Auckland, so we had to give it a try. We arrived pretty early on a winter weeknight - we didn't have a reservation, but the place was completely empty. We also had Baby S. who is not quite two years old. They didn't have a high chair for him, but we were able to sit on the banquette that made it a little easier for us to wrangle him. Before I even get into the food, I want to mention that the staff was so so so friendly. We made conversation with a few of them, and one even pulled up a cartoon video on his phone and handed it to our toddler when he started to get fussy. They even brought him his own plate of rice (he's been very picky lately, we figured he'd just eat off our plates). They were very kind and welcoming. The food was AMAZING. We both ordered the Rumi special, a trio of kebabs - joojeh (chicken), koobideh (ground lamb), and soltana (chunks of lamb). Normally there's always one standout - and the rest make you wish you'd just ordered your favorite. Not here. Both of us had a hard time deciding which was our favorite - they were all stellar. I think we finally decided the koobideh was the best, but you can't go wrong with any of them. Plates came with a small salad dressed with lemon and herbs, and basmati with saffron and butter. We didn't even think to ask about the tadig (the crunchy layer at the bottom of the pan that is delicious - oops. Still, the meal was fantastic. We split a pot of persian tea, and I believe they threw in some cardamom pods for me. Wine available, too. The baklava on a stand on the counter was tempting, but we were full. A few outdoor tables for warmer weather, and perhaps 8-10 tables inside, depending on configuration. An inviting space. An easy bus ride from the city centre - we took the Inner Loop, which stopped almost right across the street.

DONT GO HERE. EAT ANYWHERE ELSE OR EVEN GO HUNGRY. Worst customer service ever. Have had food all…read moreover the world, and this is by far the worst service experienced. Owner is rude to the core. Does not want to listen to feedback and tries to shut the customer up. Poor food. Never going back

I always have pita pit for lunch and this pita pit in onehunga is by far the best in service and…read morefood quality. I went here on a busy Saturday was warmly greeted by the staff. They are so polite and kind. Food was quick and well prepared by excellent team work and they even ask if its for take away or dine in. If u dine in they will tear the top part of wrapping for you so you can easily start eating. Very nice