Saawaan Thai Takeaway — Restaurant in Christchurch

New owners and new name and wow, what a letdown. Firstly I noticed on their Eftpos machine "surcharges may apply" which is for paywave. Questioned what the charge was as no signage was up (pretty sure legally they need to do this). Couldn't get a clear answer from the person other than "yes charges" and they kept pointing me to use Eftpos but I kept prompting them they need to put up signage for what is the surcharge and they just kept brushing it off. I imagine the surcharge would automatically go through if you did use it so this seems like a really dodgy practice and will look to find out if it's a legal requirement for signage as report accordingly.

Edit: Clearly owners can't read properly and would rather argue. It's not about the fact you charge a paywave, it's the fact that you hide it as you have no signage and refused to answer questions about the charge when questioned. Your reply demonstrates the type of greddy business owner we're dealing with here.

The food, prices have gone up and quality has gone down. The meals weren't bad per se but certianly weren't worth the price being charged and were rather bland. As for the wontons though ... what the heck? There was barely a bit of meat in them and just heaps of pastry. A MASSIVE step back from the old owners who in my opinion had some of the best wontons in the city, at $12 this is a complete rip off.

Either way, won't be going back. I'd love to know where the old owners have gone if they are still...

We have had takeaways from here a few times since the new owners took over and we love it. The service is always friendly and efficient. The food is excellent, fresh and well priced. A particular highlight is the chilli basil stir fry, especially with the seafood.

I don’t agree with the recent poor reviews I’ve read for Saawaan. Most businesses now have a surcharge for payWave otherwise the business bears the cost of your transaction. For the recent review criticising this restaurant for doing this, that’s incredibly mean spirited and in fact not required by law to have a sign displayed.

This is my husband and my favourite Thai restaurant in New Brighton / east Christchurch and we will...

Small and pleasant restaurant, tastefully decorated. It is a restored cottage with wooden floors and white painted walls. There are 3 car parks directly outside. I really enjoyed the prawn cake starter and we were happy with the whole lunch experience. Seating is in two small front parlors, so it would be best to book ahead, if you're going at a busy time. I could also imagine booking one of the rooms for a group of maybe 10-15. There is a bar in a separate room at the back and a couple more...