The food and service at Thai Orchid is amazing…read more An added benefit was it was only a short walk from our hotel.

Very good service; I wish I would have ordered a spicier dish. It was a busy place but we received…read moreour meals very timely.

An upscale, luxurious restaurant celebrating some Asian fusion ingredients and flavors. It's…read moreprobably a special occasions type of restaurant, though we viewed it more as a welcome meal on our first day off the plane in NZ. If you're having trouble determining what to get, their "Trust the King" tasting menu is a perfect choice. The "Royal" for 100 NZD nets you their best hits plus a dessert as a bonus. With the amount of courses you are given, this ended up being such an incredible value versus ordering all separately. After a final tally, it honestly felt like a highway robbery! Here's what our table received along with expected NZD: Small plate samplers (2): Natural oyster w/ nashi pear, Smoked salmon w/ spinach leaf, galangal, chili jam, and salmon roe Small Shared Plates (2): Wild Venison Carpaccio topped w/ nahm dtok, EVOO, and spicy sesame (32 NZD); Moong dal in mixed seed salad, avocado, and fresh lime (22 NZD) Larger Shared Plates (2): Marinated yellow fin tuna w/ chilli and mandarin, coconut salad (38 NZD); Crispy Pressed Half Duck in caramelized mandarin sauce (62 NZD) Dessert: Lemongrass panna cotta, lime granita, mint (18 NZD) It was a harmonic interplay between different Asian flavors, more Thai heavy than others, and even the local ingredients such as the raw venison entering the foray. They did ask if there was anything we didn't like before serving the meal to which I never thought to mention my aversion to overly spicy food (I was thinking of exotic foods I dislike). And, lo and behold, a lot of options were definitely on the spicier end such as the spicy sesame/ nahm dtok sauce which topped the carpaccio and abundance of red chili shavings in the marinated yellow fin tuna. On the bright side, it did require me slow down which enabled me to truly relish my food. Most everything was delicious even the duck with joyfully crispy skins and dipped in a sweet honey glace (though ever so slightly on dry side in the middle). King of Snake also houses the Monarch Cocktail Bar, to which I ordered a 'Paper Crane' (King of Snake Gin, apple soju, elderflower liquer, sake; 23 NZD) to pair with my meal. A buzzy, floral, and effervescent drink to really lend to the comforting meal.

Nicest Restaurant we've been to in a long while: upscale atmosphere, exceptionally nice ambiance…read morew:super helpful staff. We shared delicious plates and wine. would recommend the prawn dumplings, blue cod, tenderloin steak bites and curry pumpkin. We thought the curry pumpkin was the best!

Food was really nice and very reasonably priced. Service was a little slow, chaotic at times, and…read moresome of the staff had little English. A part from that they were very friendly and helpful. The atmosphere was nice, and tastefully decorated while still retaining a traditional Thai look. Good selection of foods and a easy to understand Spice Scale (see pic). Definitely would go again.

Best thai restaurant in christchurch. Very friendly staff and the food is amazing. We come from the…read moreother side of the city,definately worth it.the spareribs are a must for an entree. Green curry Is my ultimate fav, i carnt seem to bring myself to try anything else.yom. My partner eats everything else on the menu for me anyway.

The meal was pretty good but the flavors could have been more intense. My favorite was the spinach…read moreleaf Thai salad bite. The service was friendly, but it took a while to get our wine.

Worst service I've ever had. The food was amazing, but our waitress never came to us and we had to…read moreask to be served. Then we filled our own water up and they didn't give us one of our meals. The server then left for over 10 min and we couldn't ask where are food was. If it weren't for the shitty service this place would get 5 stars because the food was very tasty. If you don't care about bad service I would recommend

This is a vegetarian's perspective. Went in craving some hot soup or curry, but we were told that…read moreall their curries, even the vegetarian options, come with shrimp paste. To me shrimp paste is not vegetarian, so curry was not an option for us. So we ordered pad thai instead, along with pad puk, a vegetable stir fry in vegan sauce. Instead of a side of rice, I ordered roti for the stir fry, but the roti was way too oily; after the first bite I couldn't have any more of it. The pad thai was good, and the stir fry was good as well. Too bad they didn't have any soups or curries that could be made vegan, since that's what we were craving in the first place. The place is quite cozy with small tables for two, and service was good.

We ate here for dinner one night after we couldn't get a table at Francesca's around the corner…read more The restaurant was quaint, quiet and intimate. I liked how it was decorated. We were seated by the front window. Our table was very small, just barely big enough for the two of us. We both had the Pad Thai, and we both liked it. Pad Thai is my wife's go-to dish at Thai restaurants and we agreed that theirs was above average. Overall, we had a good experience here and I would eat here again.

Never thought I would find so much foreign food in New Zealand. I don't really know what I was…read moreexpecting. I guess I assumed it would be burgers, fish and chips, seafood and lamb. With the occasional Chinese restaurant sprinkled in. Because they're in every country. But Thai? From New Zealand? And pretty much the entire crew are Kiwis?? No fruit isn't running this restaurant that's what they call themselves here. This place though.. It was good. Really good! The inside has an upscale look but you don't need to dress classy to eat here. They don't overdo the fact that they are an Asian restaurant. You know how some places can be.. Oooh let's put a tiger in that corner, and oh a Buddha in that corner, maybe a temple print wallpaper.. No no. This place keeps it simple. Staff was great. They don't work for tips in New Zealand but still cared about me just as much. Let's talk food!! The menu runs deep. Like 50 numbers deep. We ordered 3 items. 38-Black Pepper Stir Fry, 20-Pad Thai, 12-Tom Kar which is a soup. Everything had such great flavor. Lots of meat in our dishes to. 3 items and it was plenty for 3 of us. And they make sure to label the menu to let you know what is spicy, and extra spicy. So no surprises here! Oh they also have a small section for Vietnamese food. Shutout to my Viet friends. But.. We didn't order any of that. 5 stars for great food and service!

Had a recommendation to come here from our air bnb host and boy it didn't disappoint…read more The satay is amazing! The laksa has vegetables in it - odd but nice enough. They forgot our pork balls, then we reminded them, they brought them out but still it wasn't great... they were very plain balls with a sweet pineapple sauce... The pepper beef was nice but I would've enjoyed it more if it had more pepper. Overall though, this place is nice. Service is great - they check how the meal is going etc and cater to ANY allergies. Go there - you won't regret it.

Good service decent prices, food is just okay. We had…read moreMassaman curry beef Pad Thai seafood (really fishy tasting... I mean really strong, and I like fish, and fish sauce. Usually. Tom Kha soup (one of my favorites) was very bland. Money Bags were good. Others have given this place good reviews and it's probably worth another try.

After a two week long vacation in New Zealand, we had the good fortune to find this restaurant on…read moreour last night in New Zealand. Excellent menu choices, very friendly staff, and good food! My wife said it was the best meal she'd had in New Zealand. We had walked about 2 miles from our hotel to get there, so when we finished dinner, we asked them to call a taxi for us...Five minutes later, the owner of the restaurant drove up and took us back to the hotel (couldn't have been more friendly). Where else in the world do you get this type of service? The restaurant is tucked back in a little strip mall, but do yourself a favor and take the time to look for it!