Khao San Eatery & Bar — Restaurant in Waitematā

Date: 8 July, 2024 Lunch around 2.30pm

Ordered Red Curry Tofu. The food was quick to be at my table but it was the worst curry I have ever had. Completely under cooked, raw and tasted like a can of store bought tomato soup. Just bad and a complete waste of money. Their rice items are normally good but this curry was absolute garbage, I mean frozen food is better tasting this.

I reported this and the bowl was taken away immediately and they simply proceeded to charge for the meal right after. Completely inconsiderate about the fact that I did not eat my meal but they will charge me full for it and no replacement offered. Just said thanks for the feedback and continued to charge.

She was the most condescending waitress and nothing else was said until I started to take the pics to post this review and mentioned that I work in the area and have been a regular here.

Very disappointing experience and lack of interest from staff to help. Left with a bad taste and a feeling of just losing money.

—————————————————— Reply to your response. Speed of Service, the review of speed was appreciation not criticism. This shows your mind was already clouded with the rating and how hard you try to prove otherwise.

Food Quality Check it again then, and as I mentioned before it was just like frozen tomato soup or a canned tomato soup and not a curry. FYI, I strongly suggest asking your waitress again, I clearly mentioned about the soup the veggies in it were fine. Learn to take some feedback, all your negative feedbacks on google are revolving around similar experiences by customer.

SERVICE - Once more I suggest checking your video again then, she took the bowl, and then came back to the counter to charge the money. There was only rice left on the table which I took the photo of. She did not mention any such thing about contacting owner, all she said was 1 minute when I was about to walk off after taking photos. May be do some learning on how to response when below par food is served. Yes you are running a business to earn money and make profits, but do you think I should have been charged before trying to talk to the owner? What message does it send?

Use your time and energy to get better not fight back...

Stopped in at Khao San for a bite to eat while waiting for rush-hour traffic to subside on NW motorway (I live in Ranui).

From the moment I walked in, the young lady at the counter smiled at me and made me feel at home immediately. Another lady actually took my order, and I chose the Nom Tok beef salad, which I was informed had more flavor than the other beef salad dish.

To my surprise, it was actually very spicy at a level I am not used to. As I tried to beat the heat of the dish, the waitress suggested having a bowl of rice, which helped cool things down a bit. But she also offered to remake the dish which was a very generous gesture that I was somewhat taken aback by. I decided to continue with the dish as it was, as I thought about how restaurants these days often have trouble making much of a profit.

Eventually the heat wore off and I was left with a satisfied feeling. Next time (and there will be a next time), I think I would choose the dish again as is. It was initially a challenge but it didn't kill me. And you know what they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger ...

I love this place, the first time I have visited and was impressed by the ambience, the friendly staff going out of their way to help, and the generous portion size. Will be back...

⭐ 1-Star – Khao San Eatery, Newmarket

This place is the definition of how to ruin your own business with pure laziness and zero customer care.

I drove all the way from Auckland city—through traffic, wasting 20+ minutes and fuel, just to support this so-called eatery. Why? Because Google said they’re open from 12PM to 9:30PM. That’s on your page. Not mine.

I arrived at 4:30PM the door’s shut, lights off, and a rude staff member inside throws attitude and points to a paper on the window like I’m supposed to magically know your secret hidden break time. No "sorry", no explanation, just bad energy and a closed door.

Let’s get one thing straight: customers don’t owe you patience when YOU can’t even update your opening hours properly online. It takes less than 2 minutes to do that. But nah… let’s just leave people driving across the city to stare at a locked door and get disrespected. Cool?

Terrible experience. Terrible service. And guess what I don’t care how good your food is. If you treat customers like this, don’t expect them to ever come back.

Fix your attitude. Fix your Google hours. Fix your damn business.

"Logan was here… once....