The Thirsty Whale Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Napier

Absolutely excellent !! Being from out of town finding this gem was a highlight of our trip to napier! The staff were exceptional and so friendly nothing was an issue, seated and drinks came out promptly. We had the salt and pepper squid for our starter and it was Devine!!!! We eat s&p squid everywhere we go that has it on the menu. We actually base our restaurant choice on if it has it on the menu. We have eaten alot of squid dishes but this one was our very favourite!!!! Absolutely cooked to perfection so buttery melt in the mouth and the way it was done asain inspired was so good and we've never had it this way before with the teriyaki and Japanese mayo WOW! onto the main course I had the seafood chowder which was actually an entree but was sooooooooo delicious and the perfect portion for me with prawns, fish, mussels, salmon and the most velvety creamy sauce it was very good. My fiance had the burger he said was good but needed a special sauce to Amp it up to be amazing.

The only negative we could say was it did take a long time to recieve our starter about 40 mins and then about 1hr 15m to recieve our main. However the staff were really apologetic for the wait which went along way for us to be acknowledged.

Would highly recommend this restaurant and would be first on our list to stop in next time we are in town...

Not the best food or service ! I took some friends here on Sunday because i was here years ago and the food was very good. However upon this visit i was less than impressed. We waited ages for our food and once my food came (I ordered steak, egg and fries) I specified how i wanted my egg while she took the order and when the food EVENTUALLY came there was an egg missing. I asked the waitress about it she went to the kitchen came back and told me i had actually ordered a 'steak lunch' i still have no clue what that is but she made me feel like i was wrong and ordered the wrong thing and told me I had to ask for an extra egg? FYI i can read and know what i ordered. I don't think it's very good trying to make your mistake the customers and neither is telling the customer they ordered wrong? The steak was tiny!! No one orders a delicious steak and hopes for some tiny off cut? The salad on the plate was bigger than the pile of chips and the steak? Not good and no apology from the waitress either. Just continued to tell me I ordered wrong and needed to ask for a egg upon my initial order (i actually specified how i'd like my egg) and I don't think i should have to say 'I'd like an egg' when the menu reads "Steak, Egg & Chips" ?!...

Firstly, the food was very good and came out quickly, and our waitress was delightful. My steak was slightly overdone but very tender, and the sauce was nice. However, the first problem was that we waited at the door being COMPLETELY IGNORED by all staff members for several minutes when we arrived. I eventually went up and asked somebody about our booking, and discovered that only the maitre 'd is allowed to seat people. This is all well and good, but nobody is there to tell you that when you enter, you are just left standing there being ignored by the staff running around where you're standing, trying to figure out why the staff are all avoiding making eye contact you. As well as this, they use the place as a nightclub, and so the main restaurant area is cavernous and uninviting, and the floors are disgustingly sticky. At one point I witnessed what I think was a manager shout (not in an aggressive manner but still unprofessional) at a staff member WHILE that staff member was in the process of serving customers. It is unfortunate, and I am conflicted as to what to rate this place, because the food was lovely and so was our waitress, but several things let me down quite heavily. I don't think I'll...