Tusk

Oooh I have a few things to say about this place. We came here for a family dinner, brought some overseas relatives. We had grabone vouchers which entitled us to: 8 small plates and 4 large plates between four people. We had two of these vouchers.
Now when we got there, we had an eight person table. If you’ve been to the restaurant, you’d be aware of the window near the ceiling. It was steaming sunlight onto our table, and two of the guests at our table couldn’t sit without being bombarded with sunlight. It was the only table in the whole restaurant that had this sunlight problem. It was a very hot 30 degree evening, so we asked to be moved. The staff were unaccommodating and made us feel like we were a bother for asking for decent dining conditions. They refused to move any of the empty tables inside the empty restaurant and sent us to the back room.
So we sat at our table and a waiter came and took our orders. The small plates were good, no issue there. Except we ordered a plate of king prawns with potato but there was no potato, just prawns covered in sesame seeds. Inaccurate menu. But that wasn’t the problem. The large plates were terrible. The pad thai was overcooked and soggy, fried rice was completely bland and unlike any thai fried rice I’ve ever had (tasted like bad Chinese fried rice) and the worst part… we’d ordered a papaya salad, which was meant to come with shrimp, papaya, carrots and greens. They brought out a bowl with just carrots, shrimp and greens. We asked where the papaya was, and the waitress got super confused. She brought the dish out back and then came back and told us they ran out of papaya and asked us to choose something else. She couldn’t have warned us? She just served a basic salad and hoped we wouldn’t notice? The papaya was the whole point of that salad. Shocking. So we had a dish served late because of this.
Also, found a hair in my food. Seriously, that was the icing on the cake. Black hair. Mine is brown. I wanted to barf.
No apologies throughout the night, very unprofessional place. Disgusting service, what kind of restaurant is too lazy to move tables so that their guests don’t have to sit in the sun? The restaurant wasn’t even full, there was room. Even at 7:30 it was still half full. Truly shocking service, don’t come here. The restaurant has been there for so long but must’ve changed chefs or managers. Disappointing.

Tusk has been around for donkeys. In Dominion Road terms, it’s a grand old lady. I’m not sure what is the secret to it’s longevity. The food has always been pretty good Thai, the service is friendly enough, and the décor is comfortable, but there is nothing particularly wow about it. Perhaps it’s just in the right spot.
We recently visited on a rainy Tuesday night. The restaurant was fairly busy, and tables were turning over pretty quickly. The menu has recently been updated, and instead of entrees, «small plates» have taken their place. No more money bags, or my favourite prawn toasts!!! No more mixed appetisers. The choices we tried were nice enough, but very small; for example, you only get 2 measly skewers with the chicken satay, and 2 small rubbery fish cakes sliced in half. By comparison, the fish goujons coated in puffed green rice come in 3 large portions. Not a lot of consistency, and quite frankly, fairly average offerings.
The main dishes were also considerably smaller than our last visit. The flavours were still solid; especially the Mussaman Curry with lamb, and the Wok Seared Lamb which had plump, perfectly cooked tasty pieces of marinated lamb. It was a real stand out dish. My go-​to Thai favourite of red curry duck with pineapple was also really well-​balanced & delicious — but I just wanted more!
I won’t be rushing to return here. Auckland is packed with plenty of other tasty Thai spots, and Vietnamese & Asian fusion places like MooChowChow & Madame Woo’s are lifting people’s expectations when it comes to Asian dining options. I’m not sure run of the mill places like Tusk will have what it takes to survive.

We were in Auckland on vacation. Decided to try Tusk restaurant. The service was only okay, but the food was good. If you want good food and don’t mind only okay service this is a good place to go.

Took a good friend out for dinner. I booked a groupon four course meal for 49 $ which also includes a glass each of house wine… that in itself is a deal well worth it. I was lucky to find parking just outside the restaurant as it was a Friday night and lots of other restaurants around on dominion road. This was by far the classy looking one both on the inside and out. It was full except for a few tables and even though we checked in early we were promptly given a table. We did not sit near the bar but from what I saw it has a good range/​stock of premium spirits. The waiting staff were friendly and nice. Starters were yum standard Thai restaurant nibbles. The soup was not that spicy so my friend was happy. The main portions were large though and at the end of the meal the waiter was kind enough to give us a doggy bag to take away. Dessert was well presented and menu and food as per pics. Liked the ambience as well, plus they gave me a 20 $ return reward voucher… would def recommend for fine Thai dining :))

Been to Tusk Thai a few times now and never again. Each time it gets worse; service, cleanliness and attitude. Although we did have one waiter which was good and friendly.
The professionalism of the staff is just not there. We walked behind a waiter who I thought was showing us to our table only for him to stop bang in the way at the table and pour water first before allowing us to sit. Sure we like water on the table but let us sit first and then ask and pour the water. Instead I stood waiting… waiting…
And just the way the speak to you; ‘are you finished’ so abrupt and inconvenient to them that they have to wait for us to finish or they have to clear our table. No smiles… Well there was but only between the staff.
And I had a big chip in my plate and crack right through the middle of it… What! Serving food on damage plates. That was the last straw for me. No more.
Food is nice but not great.

As far as thai food goes, Tusk was a real curve ball. Having passed by several times, I finally decided to take the dive when my parents came to town. It was lovely enough, but has much more potential.
Ambience, service, and dish presentation are Tusk’s strong suits, for sure. You wouldn’t necessarily match the prices with the décor, as Tusk is pretty swanky on the inside. The lighting level was neither here nor there, a bit too dark in my opinion.
As for the food, it was good. Not the best Thai I’ve ever had, but tasty enough. Get the flaming chicken if you have a group of 4+, very cool. We also ordered spicy fish, chef’s sampler appetizers, and, of course, pad thai. All were adequately delicious but again, not the best.
If there’s one thing I definitely recommend, it’s trying one of Tusk’s in-​house wines with suggested food pairings!
I might be back for more if it’s convenient, but it’s a little pricey for casual dining.

Second time here and I was really let down. For some reason the quality was really bad this time and I was really disappointed since my last visit was great.
One of the dishes we ordered was the salt and pepper squid which is a deep fried dish. The first time it came out it lacked flavour so we asked if we could have some extra seasoning out on. The waitress took the plate and came back 15 minutes later and it turns out the chef had deep fried the squid again (!) which we felt was a terrible mistake as now the squid was much too touch and the breading oozing with oil.
I’d have to say I will not consider coming back due to it’s inconsistency.

Tusk is one of my all time favourite restaurants in Auckland. My parents have been going there for years, and as soon as we were old enough they started taking my siblings and I, and we’ve kept going ever since.
Fantastic Thai food can be hard to find, but everything at Tusk is a guaranteed good time. Delicious, delicious, delicious! I suggest the curry puffs and satay chicken skewers as entrees — they’ll set the standard and have your mouth watering and tummy growling for your mains. As for your main dish, there really is no going wrong. From the spicy Thai noodles and sizzling platters of veges to their red curries and salt and pepper squid, neither me nor my family have ever had a disappointing meal from Tusk.
The restaurant itself is really nice and clean and isn’t tacky like a lot of Thai places. Big windows open out on to Dominion Road, so if you get a table in the front of the restaurant you can enjoy feeling like you’re outside without having to actually be on the grungy pavement that is Dominion Road.
Bonus: The staff are brilliantly friendly and Tusk is licensed as well as offering a BYOW option — so it’s perfect for big group catch ups and won’t cost you an arm and a leg!

There really are a lot of Thai restaurants in Auckland these days aren’t there? Tusk has been here as long as I can remember — which, depending on what day it is, can not be that long ago at all. Apparently this is the first Thai place Balmoral ever saw, and you can kind of tell — they seem to think they offer something vastly different, a taste experience beyond the norm. However, everyone knows about Thai now. So this place isnt that special — the décor is nice is about all. So when you pay ~20 dollars for a meal, you expect something great — and they don’t deliver.
It would be a nice place for a group dinner, as it is BYO and there is a cool spot out the back. But I definitely cant say it’s the best Thai in the area.

It’s one of the more upmarket Thai restaurants in Auckland — the prices reflect that — but the food is some of the best too. The restaurant isn’t located in the nicest of areas but you’ve got that big carpark behind The Warehouse to leave your vehicle in so at least you don’t have to worry about that.
The Pad Thai is very, very good. There’s also this special whole chicken that they stand on its end and set on fire. It is both entertaining and tasty.
It’s kind of dark in the restaurant, not in a terrible way but not in an entirely good way either. It’s BYO so great if you want to take your friends and have a big ass group dinner.

Tusk is the longest standing Thai eatery in Balmoral and still does the best dining-​in. Yeah you pay more but you’re getting the whole experience so if you want takeaways maybe go elsewhere. In Balmoral you’re spoilt for choice and all the Thai places are good.
The menu is particularly impressive here with more than enough vegetarian dishes to make me happy — in fact, there’s a whole Vegetarian section of the menu. Nice. I particularly love the Corn Cakes with cucumber and red onion salsa and in addition to doing really flavourful meat-​free curries, the stir-​fries are out of the ordinary and taste amazing. But don’t worry you can still get Pad Thai and Fried Rice.
I really like the hotel-​ish atmosphere here, strangely I think it’s the lighting that really makes it special which is an element so often neglected in restaurants. If you eat as a group though you are more than likely to end up in the conservatory area out the back which can be a bit noisy but allows access to the carpark for smokers. (My mum loves this place and she’s a smoker so that’s a bonus for her I guess.) You can BYO wine and a good bottle of gewurtztraminer is my choice to enjoy in full the taste sensation Tusk that is Tusk.

I have only ever had the pad thai from here, and to be honest it is probably all I will ever have, its just that good. It is the best I have ever tried so whenever I feel like it, this is always and will always be my go to place. It is a little pricey, about $ 18 but I really don’t care, there is no point buying something cheap if it isn’t going to taste good, and this one tastes verrrrry good. I haven’t eaten in, only take-​away but the serving size is absolutely enough for my boyfriend and I.