Thai Central Restaurant Rotorua — Restaurant in North Island

Dined in with friends. Ordered something from the menu, the guy who took the order did not say that the crispy pork on rice is not available. He could have asked me to choose something else. I only found out it's not available after every one of the 15 people I was with got served everything they ordered. I wouldn't recommend this place due to bad service and poor communication from staff end up ruining my day!

Reply to their reply: They still don't understand what they did wrong. When you dined in in a restaurant you expect to get food and then you pay for the food and service. When I ordered crispy pork on rice, the guy who took my order did not tell me it's not available and did not ask me to order something else. I end up waiting for nothing. The owner said they did not charge me for anything. They did not charge for the food that was not served but I paid for the Taro bubble tea but while paying, we were treated like we were intentionally not want to pay for it (not realizing that I was still there at the end of the line to pay). They said they told someone in the table it's not available but not to me who ordered the dish. You guys apologize but it didn't really change the fact that I had a bad experience at your restaurant! And I have every right to leave a review.

They said they also asked everyone if everything was okay, but no one came over at the end of our table. Do you want me to ask my friends to leave a review as well and let you know what they really think of your service? And even if you did, it's understandable for them to say it's okay because they got their food except for me. I was the one who told our group to eat at your restaurant because I love Thai food and imagine how upsetting it was when I dined in with my friends but ended up watching them eat because you were not served the food that you ordered. You getting upset about my review says a lot. How about instead of getting upset, you start putting yourself in my shoes and see if you will be happy. Why not think of ways to improve your service. Get a person who is good in communication. This is why my review is about communication and not about your food.

It seems it's really useless to deal with this owner. I have asked my friends at the end of our table if they were asked if everything was okay. They said no. Telling lies will not help you improve your business. You had an upset customer and what you could have done is say sorry again for the bad experience and poor communication and make a promise that you will do better. Telling me that I am being unfair when I really had a bad experience will not...

Unfortunately, my visit to this restaurant was quite disappointing on several levels.

I ordered mango juice, but what arrived was more like a crushed ice slush—not what I expected. The Pad Thai, which I specifically asked to be medium spicy, was far too spicy to enjoy. The basil stir fry was overly sweet and drenched in oyster sauce, overpowering the actual flavors of the dish.

We ordered Tom Yum soup as a main, assuming it would come on its own, but it arrived with rice—even though we wanted to enjoy just the soup. The Thai fried rice lacked any real flavor—completely bland. The only thing that was even remotely okay was the fried chicken, which was average at best.

Another concern was the language barrier—none of the staff seemed to speak fluent English, which may have contributed to the misunderstandings. When I asked a male staff member about the excessive sugar in every dish, he responded rudely and refused to take any responsibility.

Please, stop putting sugar in everything—it completely takes away from the authenticity and balance of Thai flavors. I genuinely appreciate good food, but this experience left me disappointed and frustrated. I won’t...

REASONABLE PRICED THAI SERVED WITH EXCELLENT SERVICE AND ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS FOOD!

Visiting from Auckland, I did not have too high expectations of this establishment, but this place over delivered.

The Som Tum Combo is a must have!! It was very generous in portions, each of the ingredients mixed well together. Especially the salad that was sweet/tangy flavoured. The different assortments of meat/fish goods added to the experience.

The duck curry was delicious as well, the duck meat was full of meat, unlike other places where sometimes there is minimal meat. The flavour was amazing and the vegetables inside the curry were cooked to perfect texture as well.

The service was very friendly and professional throughout our stay.

The environment was surprisingly large inside and was full of other diners. The little touches like the light decor and the wall paper, made it a pleasant environment to be in.

Will be back again next time I am...