Sawadee

Date night! Last week we came here for the first time, but not our last! The service was impeccable, everyone treated us like royalty (just what you want on that special date night out, helps to make you feel fabulous!). Sorry, but the Thai names escape my memory, but to descibe the two very delicious meals I can do — mouth watering, slow cooked beef in a peanut coconut sauce with rice on the side gave my tastebuds a date night all to themselves. And the black pepper beef was, well, exactly that, in a tasty, well cooked, nicely presented way. Did you know that black peppers warm up the system? Just what we needed on a cold Winters night.

I had always heard great things about Sawadee, but sadly had never been, possibly due to the fact that I have only eaten Thai food twice in my life! So, when I was lucky enough to be invited to a dinner at Sawadee, I was super excited, not only for the food, but to get a better understanding of Thai cuisine!
Upon walking in, I was warmly greeted with ‘Sawadee’ and shown to our table. The table setting was very pretty, with royal blue being the main feature colour. I also loved the overall décor and ambience of the place, from the indoor waterfall and the beautiful flowers on our table, to the various pot plants dotted around the restaurant — it had a great tropical and summery feel to it!
We first started off with a few drinks. Sawadee had recently compiled a new summer cocktail list, which had an interesting list of drinks. I ordered the ‘Sunkiss’ which consisted of vodka, strawberry liqueur, banana liqueur and orange juice. I asked the waiter if he could please substitute the vodka for tequila (as I really love tequila) — he was very accommodating, which was great. It was a delicious drink, topped with a cherry and curled orange peel — not something you see in most restaurants! Later on I also ordered a Lychee Mojito, and although very sweet, it was also delicious! Would definitely go back just to order this drink again!
Now onto the food. My favourite dishes of the night were two of the entrees (and also one of the mains) including the ‘Thai Style Fresh Spring Rolls’ with chicken and shrimp and the ‘Charcoal BBQ Marinated Pork Skewers’. The spring rolls were delightfully fresh and were accompanied by two dipping sauces. Perfect way to start a meal! The pork skewers were juicy and I could have eaten more than two!
But the main dish of ‘Mixed Steamed Seafood in a Fresh Coconut’ (Thai name is Hormok talay ma praw orn) was definitely the highlight of the night. The dish consisted of prawns, scallops, snapper and squid in a red curry paste, coconut cream sauce with egg and Thai herbs. It took me to a whole ‘nother level in terms of the flavours. I also loved the fact that it was served in a coconut, and ordained with edible carrot flowers — it was the most beautifully presented dish I have ever seen!
Dessert was ‘Jelly Rubies in Coconut Milk’ and consisted of coconut milk, water chestnuts, coconut meat and sago jellies. A sugar syrup was also served separately to pour on top (it was served in a patron shot glass — initially I thought we were all having a tequila shot with our dessert!). It was a lovely dish to end the meal — very refreshing and light.
As well as the amazing food, I thought the service was also top notch. I loved that the staff were enthusiastic and made the effort to explain each dish. Having very little knowledge of Thai cuisine, it was great to be able to get a better understanding of the ingredients used and what exactly we would be tasting.
Overall, I had a fabulous time at Sawadee — I can’t wait to go back with friends and family!

Service ⁴⁄₅
Food ⁴⁄₅
Environment ⁴⁄₅
Price worth the value
Overall, we were very happy that we selected this place among all these Thai restaurants. Good food, it was slightly salty for us. But it is ok. The service was very good.
Tips: Many people don’t know that Thai restaurant normally charges rice per serve. 2 or 3 dollars per serve. If they come back and ask you, would you like more rice. If you says yes, it will be another 2 or 3 dollars. Doesn’t matter if you only want a little bit. Just keep this in mind and it doesn’t come with the dish.

Authentic Thai in Auckland! This place is amazing and really challenges all those other Thai restaurants in Auckland. We had a bad experience at Monsoon Poon, so we made an emergency booking at Sawadee. They were so accommodating and their customer service was second to none. My only issue was that the entrees came out in batches and some were waiting for up to 15 minutes. But to be honest, the food really made up for it. Great food, amazing atmosphere and friendly staff who joined in on our humour. Really can’t wait to come back to this place! Highly recommend A++++

Sawadee has been an Auckland legend for ages. It used to be the mecca for Thai before every suburb got their own little Thai takeaway. And their food still holds up against the best.
The atmosphere here is brilliantly kitsch. The trickling indoor waterfall will promote a sense of calm, and if you’re lucky you might even sit at one of the tables set into the floor, so you feel like you’re sitting in an authentic Thai eatery. The wait staff are generally very friendly and helpful.
The menu is fairly typical Thai: starters such as satay chicken, poh pia (spring rolls) and gari puffs will not disappoint. I can never make up my mind, so generally end up ordering the mixed appetiser. Their Tom Kha Gai & Tom Yum soups are great examples of these Thai classics. There’s not much here that will surprise you if you’re a Thai food fan; hopefully you’ll be pleasantly satisfied.
I cam here with a friend years ago, and he convinced me to try the Gang Phed Yang — «Duck tenderly roasted, served in a red curry with tomato and pineapple». Holy crap. I have never gone back. This is now pretty much the dish I order at every Thai place I go to, if they have it. The creamy richness of the tomato-​ey, coconut-​y curry sauce, contrasted with the sweetness of the pineapple and the unctuous duck… mmmmm. Other places have served it with different additions such as lychees, green beans and potato, but I still fondly remember Sawadee as the place that introduced me to my favourite Thai dish; it’s still the best.
Don’t go to Sawadee looking for modern, edgy, fusion cuisine. Go for the good olé Anglicised-​Thai that you know and love.

I used to frequent Sawadee regularly, either eating in or getting a Friday night Thai takeaway for which they give you a 10% discount off the menu prices.
I do enjoy the experience of eating there. It seems like they go to just a bit more effort than other Thai places, the décor is impeccable and the Thai ladies wear lovely shiny outfits and smile a lot. The food is also really, really good.
The problem with Sawadee is that it’s just a bit too expensive for Thai food now, given all the competition and the price you can pay at its nearest competitor just 200 metres away, means it’s rarely worth the effort or money these days. BYO is a good option though.

Sawadee is perfect for special dinners; work events, birthday celebrations or anything with a group. If you book in early enough you can secure a private booth or the tables where you sit on the ground, love those! The restaurant is large and lively most nights of the week. The staff are all beautifully dressed in traditional Thai silk, and they are lovely and efficient. The menu is large with all the classic favourites. The dish sizes are big enough to order for the table and share. The green curry is my favourite, it may seem a little obvious, but the Sawadee curry is very good. Sawadee is also a BYOW which makes it a good starting point for celebrations to continue into the night. Highly recommended!

In my experience most Thai restaurants around Auckland are small and intimate with little tables and you end up nearly sitting on your neighbours lap… but not this place. Sawadee is huge, loud, and always packed with people. Its a great place to go if you have a big group, I had a birthday dinner here once and it was perfect for my rowdy friends. Pretty reasonably priced too — they do set menus for $ 36 which you could easily end up spending on dinner anyways and they do BYO wine so it doesn’t have to be an expensive night out. I wouldn’t come here if you’re in a hurry as sometimes the meals take a while (probably due to all the other big groups there too) and they don’t always come out at the same time so maybe a good idea to share plates. Great ambience and always a fun time.

Sawadee is another good Thai Restaurant in Ponsonby. I have been here a few of times and twice with a group, if you can book ahead there is a great group table as you enter the restaurant which seats around 12 people. So its pretty good that they have a couple of areas for groups who can be quite loud. Most of us ordered starters and mains and we received really good service and everything came on time. The food was also very good, yum yum, good if you love Thai food.
The cool thing about Sawadee is that it has these different areas which are all decorated a bit different so you can go back and feel like you have gone to a different restaurant and you also feel like you have gone to Thailand for the night.

My family and I went through a huge phase where we would go to Sawadee for just about any occasion. This place is really one of the best Thai restaurants in Auckland because its a total experience.
The restaurant itself has regular dining tables towards the back of the restaurant and tucked away near the front of the restaurant, they’ve got some low, sunken tables with cushions to sit on. I’ve been seated on both and the lower tables are very neat and add to the experience– they’re great for bigger groups and they seat more people. They’ve gone all out on the décor here and they’ve even got some Thai-​pop sounding music to add to the ambience. The staff here are also suited up in great Thai clothing!
When it really comes down to it though, its the food that makes this place. I love their peanut sauce so I’ll pretty much any of their dishes where they’ve added it. I’m not big on curry unless its homemade, but the yellow curry here is beautiful! I haven’t tried the others but I’ve only heard good things. They serve big portions here so my family and I usually order about 4 mains and share the between us with some entrees– its the best way to experience the food at Sawadee! I’m always tempted by their cocktail menu, so I’m definitely adding that to the list of things to order on my next trip there.
I’ve given Sawadee four stars as it can get really hectic on a busy night, and their service varies depending on which day you go. But if you’re like me, good food usually overshadows that kind of thing and I always leave Sawadee satisfied and planning what I’ll order on my next visit. They do takeout aswell, so you can enjoy Sawadee in the comfort of your own home, and order by phone to avoid any waiting time.