Chilli N Spice — Restaurant in North Island

My way of picking restaurants and cafes is always trusting a reviewer who is also a good cook, so this Indian restaurant (Chili n Spice in Petone) came highly recommended by my Indian friend who is an amazing cook, which is saying a lot. I have been here twice already and everything I have ordered so far ticked all the boxes, my ideal butter chicken was found here, my ideal Tikka masala was found here, I am so keen to go back and try another type of curry! Pictured here was the lunch deal. It was 1:00 p.m. on a Monday and we were the only other table, please come support them! I am scared they will struggle with this little patronage and then I will lose another wonderful Indian restaurant on my top list! The top left is chicken Afghani, it came recommended by the chef as the mild one and it was definitely quite mild, although I think I wanted something a bit stronger and flavourful, which the tikka masala delivered! It was exactly what I dreamed a chicken tikka masala should be, the chicken was juicy and tender, and filled to the brim! The far right is butter prawn (instead of the usual butter chicken). I guess because it's a lunch deal so they could not afford to have that much seafood, we only found 4 pieces of prawns but they were well cooked and not soggy. The naan was fluffy and soft and pillowy, even my picky parents were so excited they said I need to share a review and tell everyone else about this place! All in all I am keen to go back to try my favorite chicken jalfrezi and maybe a Madras and see but so far very impressed! They also do $39 buffet which I am yet to try, just leaving it out there to see if anyone wants to...

Review of Chili Spice Indian Restaurant

I went to this restaurant by myself a few months ago and ordered the goat curry. It was suggested I have it as mild-medium. It was served in a large bowl, and I really enjoyed it. On that basis, I booked again for a table of three, however, I had a very different and unsatisfactory experience.

It was a cold night, and a significant issue is that the door to the restaurant opens directly onto the dining area and does not shut properly, so it kept opening, letting in a cold breeze. The restaurant itself had completely insufficient heating, perhaps only a bar heater on the floor. We asked to be moved to another room in the restaurant away from the door, but this was not much better because there was a large table, and it was very noisy.

The food itself was quite different from what I had previously ordered. The curry came out medium-mild but was actually very hot. For someone not wanting hot food, it wasn't particularly enjoyable. Unfortunately, I won't be going back again. There is inconsistency in the food, and the main dining area in winter is certainly cold and uninviting.

I hope the owner takes note of this, at the very least fixing the door to the restaurant with an auto-closing device strong enough to keep it closed against the wind. Overall, I would have to give this restaurant two and a half out...

I’m not one to leave reviews but the staff here were incredible. It was my first dinner out with my uncle (we have a monthly curry date tradition) since I had a baby 6 months ago and I took my little one along. I was incredibly nervous about having a baby in the restaurant in case there was tears or melt downs. The staff were so kind with making sure we had a high chair, space, meals were made quickly and kept telling me that nothing is a worry with the baby. When it came time to eat our meals, (that were delicious by the way) my little man decided to get pretty vocal and wanted out of the high chair asap. One of the lovely staff mentioned he also had a new baby and asked if he could give him a little walk around the restaurant and a cuddle so I could just eat my meal. He was so kind and sweet to my son and my son seemed to love him. they just had a wander around the restaurant while waving to me. As someone that had worked in and owned a business in hospitality for many years prior to having a baby, I was so impressed with their service, ability to put me at ease when I was nervous about bringing my baby out, kindness, delicious food and just all around great service. Thank you so much for making my first dinner out with a baby a good experience and not a hectic and...