Thai Village Restaurant — Restaurant in Ōrākei

Having dinner at this restaurant last evening wrapped up our New Zealand vacation and included a very unexpected disappointment. The food was excellent.. The service was quite good, the atmosphere was very loud and made the dining experience a little difficult. If you wish to have a table conversation this is not the place. We wrapped up our dinner, paid the bill and decided to have an additional beverage..We paid our second bill and my wife inquired at the bar as to the brand of the beverage served. We left the restaurant and were chased by a person that we later found out was the manager claiming (yelling) we did not pay our bill and were running out. ( two senior couples not likely) We explained to him to check with his person at the cash register, and that our payment was made in full! He turned around and left. I called the restaurant to give some positive feedback from customers that were not particularly happy and were shocked by his reply and such a rude person. ( the Manager) I found this person could really care less as he explained they were very busy and that justified his actions even if he was wrong. It appeared to me this restaurant caters to local customers with visiting customers (tourists ) not really needed. Customer satisfaction is not on their menu. My wife and I frequent NZ very frequently and have never experienced anything like this ever! Likely just...

Thai Village is, without a doubt, one of the finest Thai dining experiences I've ever had the pleasure of indulging in. The food? Oh, the food was an absolute masterpiece—each dish presented with such exquisite artistry, it was almost a shame to eat it (but trust me, I did). And the staff? Well, let me just say that they welcomed us with open arms and warm smiles, making us feel right at home from the moment we stepped through the door. The prices? Perfectly reasonable, especially considering the divine flavors that graced our palates.

But, I must say, there were a couple of quirks—nothing too crazy, just... peculiar. Like the way the staff would watch us ever so intently as we mulled over the menu, their eyes practically drilling into our souls as we tried to decide what to order. And the drinks? Well, let’s just say they were more ice than drink—90% ice, 10% liquid, if we're being generous.

Yet, all of that fades into the background when I think about the beef. Oh, the beef! Tender doesn't even begin to describe it. It was so tender, so juicy, so unbelievably flavorful, so... beefy! Each bite was a revelation—sweet, succulent, melting in my mouth to the point where I genuinely questioned if I had lost my mind. It was that good.

In the end, 5/5, would absolutely return. Any negative reviews you see? They must be from folks who can't appreciate seafood and...

I went on a Saturday so I understand that the restaurant was extremely busy. However, as a dining customer, we waited for the first dish to come for an hour while the takeaway customers kept coming and going.

In addition to the long serving time, we found a hair in one of the noodle dishes but the staff only smiled asking if we found something and didn't get any apologies. We just understood this though, as we were already starving.

The main whole chicken dish that we pre ordered after hearing about the long preparation time took 1 hour and a half to be served which the staff only cut in half and left. After finishing what the staff had left us with, we cut the chicken further when we found blood running down the centre. After only getting smiles from two of the staff, we finally talked to the manager who argued that the centre of the chicken usually comes uncooked. We complained how poultry must be fully cooked, but he only mentioned paying for our medical fees if we get food poisoning. The manager only said a rushed sorry after we paid our full payment.

I'm so disappointed in the attitude of the staff, especially the manager as well as the way they handled the situation.

I'm still giving 1 star for the food taste as it tasted good, however I question the hygiene and service of...