Thai Chef's Restaurant Christchurch — Restaurant in Christchurch

18 Nov 2018 - I wanted to try this Thai eatery when I first saw the menu on their website in Oct. This is the first time I dine in at this place, with my family on my special day.

This place used to be a bar and restaurant called The Running Bull. It has a modern interior decor with a bit of Thai theme. There is only one entrance and is via Riccarton Road, which leads directly to a service counter.

We ordered 5 different dishes; chicken fried rice, sexy little duck, mixed seafood Tom Yum, pad thai yellow noodles (chicken) and herbal [whole] fish.

1/ The chicken fried rice was flavoursome but not spicy and not the best fried rice that I had. 2/ The Tom Yum soup was slightly a let down. It did not have the galangal taste, not sour and not spicy even though I asked for extra hot. However, there were plenty of seafood in the Tom Yum soup. 3/ Pad Thai yellow noodles tasted similar to normal pad thai noodles. But this version was quite sweet and not spicy. 4/ Sexy Little Duck was one of the best and most amazing. It has the curry like taste, salty, creamy and thick gravy. Goes well with rice. 5/ Herbal [whole] Fish. This is the star of the show. Fresh herbs and spices covered the fried fish but not spicy enough. We asked for extra hot but turned out to be mild spiciness and sourness.

The only let down is the dishes are not spicy enough even though we asked/ told the waitress that we want it spicy but not the "Thai hot".

This is a licensed eatery and you can order the drinks 🍻🍸🍷🍾🍹🍺. There is an outdoor area and smoking 🚬 is [definitely] not inside the building.

There are car parks 🅿 at the back of the building which is accessible via Barlett Street off Deans Ave.

They accept cash, EFTPOS and credit card payments, for those who want to know.

Friendly staff.

Would I go back? Maybe 😕. I'll give it another shot. Watch the space, I'll be back. It's only a matter of time 😏. Who knows, the rating might change from three stars to four or five stars. Would I recommend? Maybe 🤔

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Can't go wrong with Thai food /dishes. Fresh, tasty and delicious 😋. Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Nice and modern interior deco. Great atmosphere. Price: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Slightly expensive (pricing) compared to other...

I have been here a few times, but I figured it was time I leave a review. :-)

I've never been disappointed coming here, and it is definitely my go-to for thai food!

The atmosphere inside the restaurant is lovely and relaxing. Restaurants are always a bit scary for me as I suffer from anxiety but the atmosphere and the friendly waiter never fail to make me feel at ease. The restrooms are also decently kept, except for a couple plastic stains that would be hard to erase. Always well stocked as well.

The food is fantastic for the price, and is very well worth it no matter what you order. I always order the vegeterian Pad Thai and it is delicious everytime. The assortments of vegetables and the noodles go very well together, and the crushed nut and lettuce leaves really bring the dish together perfectly. The portion is always a bit too much for me, but the waiters are always happy to ask if I would like a container to take it home with. I have no problem paying the fee for the container - it's definitely worth it as one dish works out as two meals for a smaller person like me!

My father and partner who are also big fans of Thai Chef always order themselves a Laksa, my partner requests Tofu instead of meat, and they are always happy to make him a tofu laksa even if it is not on the menu for no extra cost. Definitely a bonus for vegetarians! The laksas themselves are huge and taste delicious. I myself would not be able to finish one, however as a meal for my partner it is perfect as he is a larger man with a good appetite when it comes to good food. Sometimes he can hardly finish it.

All in all I have been very happy with Thai Chef everytime I have eaten here and would gleefully recommend this restaurant...

The Good: Food is consistently quite good. We've been going back there for a number of years for easy takeaway, work dinners and so on.

The Bad: They don't value their customers. You're a source of income and nothing more. Our experience tonight was terrible. I ordered online with plenty of time, prepaid and chose a 6:15pm pick-up. I arrived about 6:20pm with my 3 year old daughter for collection only to be met with confusion. After much searching they found my order and was told it would be a little while and to take a seat. I questioned further and found that they'd completely forgotten to cook the meals and the wait would be another half hour... with a hungry 3 year old. I was polite and reasonable, added a kids fish and chips to the order thinking it would be something easy for my daughter to eat in the car on the drive home and ended up walking around Hagley Park in the cold and dark to keep my daughter entertained. I returned half an hour later and the order was ready. They then unapologetically presented me with a $7.50 bill for the additional kids fish and chips. I suggested perhaps they could comp that bit given I'd already paid over $50 and they'd forgotten my order, but was told no that wasn't possible and was offered a softdrink. I asked to speak to the manager, the host disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a firm no once again. I'm not unreasonable, so paid and asked to still speak with the manager thinking I could at least discuss the disappointing situation, but was told he was very busy and there was no way I could speak with him.

Like I said, they don't value their customers. They had my money and that was enough for them. I won't...