Review Star Thai - Auckland Central

Pad Thai best in the neighbourhood, got my takeaway order wrong (soup) but no big deal as the one I got instead was delicious (but may pay to double check when at counter if it bothers you), very clean and well presented. Maître de coped well with the hassle and confusion that can be caused with voucher system. A+. Thanks Star Thai Ponsonby, am coming back.

Service is good. Food is good. Only the place a bit small.

I honestly cannot understand why this place has such a low overall review. I've been getting takeaways from Star Thai for years and they are always so fresh and delicious and incredible. Hands down the best authentic Thai place around the area. Definitely try it if you get a chance

We booked through the bookme voucher, We arrived and we were greeted with a friendly smile. <br/>The service was great. The meal portions were extremely generous and they even gave us a container to take the left overs home! Extremely happy overall!

With a coupon from the Entertainment book we went on a Tuesday night. We booked but needn't have as we were the only customers - uh oh was the thought. A B rating on the wall too.<br/>We had been here 2 years previously and lets just say there was some room for improvement.<br/>The service was good and attentive although the waitress wasn't sure if the Steinlager on offer was a Pure or Classic and had to seek some assistance.<br/>Food was good all round with fresh produce. Quite often at Thai restaurants we find the vegetable servings are meagre but not here. Very nice.<br/>Wouldn't be a pick for us unless a voucher was on offer!

I went to this restaurant July 2014  customer service was awful. I sat down and ordered a drink the staff member must have thought that was my order then went out the back so then as the counter was unmanned and as I couldn't find a takeaway menu I was looking at one off the table so i placed my order when the attendant came back  by this point  I'm a quarter the way through my wine after the food was made it had started raining so we decided we would rather eat inside and finish off my wine we where told as we ordered from the takeaway menu we had to leave even though the restaurant was empty. The food was good apart from the peanut appetizers which where basically peanut butter sandwiches

The place was empty the whole time we dinned here - should have taken that as a sign it was going to be bad.<br/><br/>The food portions were small and over priced for the quality. <br/><br/>I left hungry and incredibly disappointed. <br/><br/>Would not ever eat here again and would highly recommenced to avoid.

1.5 Only because the service was friendly and the fact we had a voucher gifted to us, the food has to be zero, portion I don't mind being small if it meant quality and taste was good but here my food was terrible, fish cakes flat over fried and rubbery no taste at all, than my chicken cashew stir fry was too sweet to eat that I left most of it on the plate. Won't be going back or will not recommend at all.

Visited this resturant with one of the vouchers. Over all a big disappointment. Very small portion mains, below average taste. Can't imagine if one person can have a filling meal if ordered from the menu with normal rates even for $40. Not gone visit again.

I really enjoyed my experience at Star Thai. <br/><br/>I went with my family and partner for my birthday and was not disappointed. We loved the quirky decor, it was slightly comical but it worked. There wasn't an amazing atmosphere but it was a rainy Thursday night and it's not in the busy part of Ponsonby, which is nice. <br/><br/>I ordered the Tod Kra Tiam which is a chicken dish with a garlic & pepper seasoning with mixed veges. The meal was delicious, the flavours were well balanced and it was very filling. It was a bit confusing that rice had to be ordered separately for some meals, not sure if that's common or not. The food looked good as well.<br/><br/>I don't eat a lot of Thai so I can't say how it stands against other similar restaurants but everyone was happy with their meal and wasn't left hungry.

I ordered takeaways from Star Thai, and after they let me know that the dish i primarily wanted was not available, they delivered me an extremely substandard dish, my second choice. This dish was described as 'Garlic and Paper Prawns with a side of vegetables' When i received it there was literally 5 undercooked prawns and a ridiculous amount of cheap old vegetables. Absolutely horrible dish, not at all as described and certainly not worth $20, plus the extra charge for rice. I will never, ever return to this revolting restaurant, and nor should you.

We came here last night with a grab one voucher.  We received really warm and attentive service, but we were the only ones in the restaurant.  My partner and I shared a mixed entrée, Pad Thai and a delicious chicken vege dish.  We thought the meals were tasty and well presented.  But what struck me was the small size of the meals - I was paying with a grab one voucher so I didn't mind, but I wouldn't have paid full price for the size of the meals.

Had dinner using the Grabone vouchers. We ordered more dishes than what was stated on the voucher. That didn't matter as we knew the dishes would be small. However, I was shocked as the dishes came out smaller than what I expected. The average price of each dish we got was $25. Not worth the value at all. <br/><br/>The worst part of dinner was the waitress. She just made me annoyed and uncomfortable. Went in, she did not greet me with a smile. Sat Down and asked us for drinks. We just said water. She looked super pissed off and walked off, like we were not getting expensive drinks or something. Her whole body language and facial expression was depressing. She looked miserable and made me want to leave half way. <br/>She kept forgetting simple things such as giving me a spoon or some water.... Had to ask multiple times...<br/><br/>Very bad experience overall. Would not recommend. Needs improvement on customer service. It's not rocket science.

Would not recommend.<br/>We came with grabone voucher, we had 11 ppl in total and vouchers for 8 of us. First thing the sole waitress asked when we arrived was if we understood how the voucher works. And emphaised that our nonvoucher guests will need to spend a minimum of $20 each, including the children.<br/><br/>Okay. So here are the scarce positives. The chicken satay skewers our appetizers came with were nice and succulent. Not dry like I've had in many other places. The tom yum gong was nice and aromatic. Just slightly on the milder side in terms of spicyness.<br/><br/>The negatives. Where do I start. The sole waitress looked like she didn't want to be here. She maintained a gentle voice but her body language and facial expressions disagree. While we were placing our orders she kept minding how many dishes we were ordering and if it was enough to cover the min charge. We had guests that were vegetarian and some special dietary requirements. Though she oblighed and followed thru, she didn't seem to want to, and found us annoying. Dishes are ridiculously small. We had ordered two soups and no bowls were provided for us, we had asked many times with no avail. One of our guests ended up going up to the counter to ask. To emphasize on portions we ordered a main sized prawn salad, that dish contained 4 prawns on a bed on onions with scarcely scattered cucumbers. Not much of a salad at all. PS. This place has a bunch of charges check the first page of their menu, they basically have house rules to dine...<br/><br/>Value for money : 0/5<br/>(Bill nonvoucher $350+)<br/>(Bill w voucher $100+)<br/>Service : 1/5<br/>Food : 1/5<br/>Atmosphere : 3/5 ( for the funky decor )

Reading some of the previous reviews for Star Thai Restaurant, it didn't sound all that great. Still went ahead and purchased a deal vouchers for my family to dine out for the night and experience the restaurant for myself.<br/>The experience I had with my family was very positive. The service was great, staff were very friendly and nice. On ordering the staff were very informative on the dishes in the menu and they even politely help my kids on what to order. The food came nice and hot (wasn't cold), not too spicy but tasty.<br/>Our family have dine out in a lot of places from Thai to Indian, Chinese, Japanese, European restaurant and would rate this place one of the friendliest we have ever been. I would recommend Star Thai Restaurant to my family and friends.<br/>We will dine back at Star Thai again in the near future and thanks for the great service.

We love this place, the food is absolutely delicious and fresh, staff are nice and the place is nice and cosy. I have been to many Thai restaurants in NZ in my opinion this one is one of the best. this is the place I recommended to my family and friends to dine in and they all have enjoyed the food and the service.

The food served at start thai was ok but the service from the main waitress put us off. Tasted like there was a lot of sugar used in the pad thai but the beef dishes meat was cooked very well. Wine selection is very poor with bad quality brands of wine available only. We used a deal voucher and she was very strict when telling us what we could and couldn't have. Service was very average from the main waitress. She was very unfriendly and created a bad atmosphere and did not make us feel welcome. we will not be going back

I had dined at Star Thai Restaurant before and was impressed with the delicious food and friendly service. Last week I noticed a deal on a website (dinner at Star Thai for too 3 course meals with wine). With no doubt I bought the voucher as I was sure that in this place the dinner will be great as always. When we came last night we were greeted by one of the waitress at the door and instead friendly good evening we were just asked to present the voucher and the manners she used it was shocking rude...we felt like guests who are not welcome. Afterwards when we asked for water she brought us a 2 glasses white wine...never in my life I have been served with only more less 50 ml in it. We just couldn't believe what we saw, but when we tasted the wine we didn't want more as it tasted like vinegar. The main dish (seafood selection) had 6 small pieces of fish (3 of those calamari) and another dish had same amount of beef..the food was very disappointed...I can't describe the dessert...just awful...the sweet cream had a parsley as decoration :). Yes we paid only $40 for voucher + additional $5 for seafood..it wasn't much, but would pay $10 (only for the starter)...we won't be back...When I go for dinner I would like at least to be treated in a friendly manner.

After several more visits to Star Thai, I've unfortunately downgraded the rating from 4 stars to 3.  I believe the restaurant is under new ownership and sadly, the service just isn't what it used to be.  The food is still excellent (and this is still the only Thai I have found that does a vegetarian version of the Larb dish), but the atmosphere is a little lacking and the service very, very slow.  There were two wait staff on the night we went, and the woman did her best, running around serving almost all the tables, but the man stood around behind the counter and didn't seem to be that productive - except when a table of gorgeous young women came in and suddenly he was willing to serve their table!  ;-)<br/><br/>Our meal took a long, long time as a result of the slow service, plus we had to ask for more drinks instead of the wait staff noticing and offering more drinks.  <br/><br/>Generally a reasonable night, but not worth the mid-$200 bill (for 4, and yes, we had drinks, but the bill still seemed excessive for the standard of the place).

Hubby and I went there on a group on deal. I booked before reading the reviews so a little nervous. Staff were friendly, entree was generous and lovely. Mains were how we requested and yummy flavours dessert was also good.<br/>House wine was good quality and didn't wait long for our meals.<br/>If I had to say anything it would be that we weren't offered water which is strange at a Thai restaurant but we could have asked if we wanted it =)<br/><br/>I would return.

So last night I bought the voucher (paid $75 for $150 worth of food and drinks) at 11:43pm. Today I rang up and make a booking for dinner with my family tonight and I was asked for the voucher number and code, later in the evening I redeemed the voucher after we finished dinner &amp; paid. But apparently they said that my voucher has been used and I was like "how is it impossible that the voucher has been used when we bought the voucher last night at 11:43pm &amp; the restaurant were already closed. The lady still didn't believe me and they thought I was lying to them, so I showed them the email I received from the voucher company and they didn't believe me at all and they asked for my details and phone number (ok that's fine). Sure they can ring up the daily deals company, but I haven't even use the voucher at all. I was quite disappointed with them accusing me that the voucher I bought from last night has already been used. So at the end we paid the remaining amount after the voucher and everything &amp; the lady at the counter didn't even asked "how was the food?" and didn't even say "thank you &amp; come again" after we paid the bills.<br/><br/>Anyway, the service was so miserable and the waitress wasn't so friendly at all &amp; when I just arrived they said "I will need the table by 8pm" (alright no problem at all, but in every restaurant they never say that to you).<br/><br/>However, food was average-tasting. Quantity wise, poor (small portions for the price paid) and I was quite surprise that we were charged $15 for the rice for 5 adults and the baby (usually the rice comes with the mains in every restaurant) – wow. Expensive as!<br/>I wouldn't go back there any more. I regret that I didn't read the reviews for this restaurant before purchasing my deal voucher!<br/><br/>The food was taking ages, we waited over half an hour for our main courses to arrive after we finished our entrees. Very slow! And the restaurant wasn't busy at all, it was just my family and the other table at the time we arrived. They didn't ask us "how was the food? Would you like anything else? or whatever you know."<br/><br/>We have eaten in many Thai restaurants all around Auckland and we would consider this to be the worst Thai meal we have ever had. We would never come back to this restaurant any more after what happened!<br/>Surely we wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone and this restaurant shouldn't get a 5 stars for a bad service &amp; expensive meals for a small portions.<br/><br/>Unsatisfied &amp; very disappointed with the service and everything!

We had the deal voucher (paid $45 for $100 worth of food and drinks). No problems using the voucher; staff was courteous.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, food was average-tasting. Quantity wise, poor (small portions for the price paid) and surprise surprise - we were charged $10 for rice (hubby had only 1 portion and I had 1/2 of that) - wow. Expensive as. <br/><br/>I wouldn't go back. We ended up paying an extra $35 at the end of the day (for 1.5 entrees, 3 main dishes, we had a glass of wine each - and yup - that exorbitantly priced white rice). <br/><br/>Not wanting to make a huge deal about the rice charge - but it definitely gives you an idea of what the prices are like.

This place is horrendous. My boyfriend and I purchased a deal voucher, and my friend thought that it was a good deal so she purchased a voucher for herself and came too. When we went to pay, they told us that there was only one voucher per table, however there was no mention of this on the terms and conditions when we purchased it, nor was there on the fine print on our actual voucher. They made our friend pay $50, on top of the $25 that she'd spent on the voucher, meaning she paid $75 for her meal. The women working there were extremely rude and condescending, "don't be upset" one of them said. Very rude, I definitely don't recommend this place to anyone.

Visited Star Thai this week and was not disappointed, as it turns out the restaurant is under new ownership and I give full credit to the new Thai owners . Food was beautifully flavoured and importantly for me was not salty, there menu states no MSG...<br/>Ambiance warm and attentive and service flowed nicely and could not be faulted. Restaurant was only half full on a Friday night but they were doing a roaring trade in takeaway and delivery orders going out the door one after the other, a sure sign that the food is good. This restaurant is centrally located, plenty of parking, I would definitely recommend my experience to others and be assured Star Thai I will be returning. Thank you for a very pleasant evening

Don't believe everything you read. We had takeaway from Star Thai tonight and it's the best we've had in Ponsonby. The portions are exactly the same as any other place in town and the food is delicious! Anyone who's judging a restaurant by the decor is clearly not interested in how the food tastes. Lets face it, there's very few Asian restaurants who have outstanding decor. <br/><br/>Don't believe these 1 star reviews, Star Thai is definitely the place to go for genuine Thai, the curry puffs are great as well as all the curries!

Went with a party of 8 with a voucher! Was treated like 2nd rate citizens.The attitude of the owner/manager, European chap was absolutely disgusting. The whole staff need extensive hospitality training. The food was spicy hot despite asking for extra mild, when told about this they shrugged their shoulders and smirked..... The portions were small and taste below average. The tables are so crammed in to the extent of blocking the toilet door. With all the competition out there this is one business that does not deserve to survive!<br/>We eat out most nights and this is the absolute worst restaurant ever.

Aside from the small portions and the feral decor, the food was tasty. No issues with the wait staff but they didn't make our meals mild to medium as requested; one of us ended up drinking a whole jug of water to herself... Plus side, BYO!

Terrible service. Average food. Awful decor. <br/><br/>We requested one of the dishes as mild and to not include mushrooms - so they served it very hot with chopped mushrooms throughout. After advising them of the mix up the waitress proceeded to argue with the group for several minutes making the whole experience unnecessarily awkward. When the re-made dish arrived... again there were mushrooms! Ridiculously terrible service and the food was average whilst costing a lot more than the other Thai restaurants in Ponsonby. <br/><br/>We will not be coming back.

This is the worst Thai place I have been to. The service of the Asian girls were good, but the attitude of the guy/manager has some serious problem. As soon as they know you have any kind of voucher, they'll show you their true color and taste. Ours is from the entertainment book, which to be honest is not that much of a good deal anyway. <br/><br/>Well, compare with other Thai restaurant in Ponsonby, I would rate you a zero if there is one.

Love this place!<br/>I've been coming here for a few years now, usually go every 3 months :)<br/>Its still as good as the first time I went there.<br/>Food is exellent, good service and a nice environment to be at.<br/>Can't wait to go back.

This place has some serious issues RIP OFF. Bought a groupon voucher --value $72.00 (2 course thai dinner for two people) they told us $72.00 is ONLY VALUE when we dine in not for takeaways.This wasn't mentioned in the terms and conditons. <br/>Others be aware this restaurant has a lot off negative legitimate experience <br/><br/>$72.00 MY ASS.<br/><br/>12 years working for the hospitality-and still going I have yet to encounter such ethics, we were told that customers pay our wages but here its customer we should rip off. This restaurant is a member of the nz restaurant association could they at least step in and put a full stop to all that have being RIPPED OFF here..

Wondeful atmosphere, great tasting food, large portions, attentive and extremely friendly service. All this on a very busy night. we will definitely be going back again. thank you Star Thai.<br/><br/>After reading some negative reviews I was nervous about the experience. I am so happy to have had such a lovely experience.

Myself and my partner dined at Star Thai earlier this evening using a voucher deal. I am finding it hard to fault the food, the atmosphere or the staff. All three were absolutely fantastic! Upon arrival our drink order was taken, a few minutes later our waitress (who, I might add was very pleasant) returned and took our entree and main order. The entrees arrived within 10 minutes and they were very, very tasty! Our mains arrived 20 minutes later and were even tastier! The staff were very lovely and approachable. The restaurant itself is warm, cosy and the various pictures of stars provided us with entertainment. Overall experience was great, I will definitely recommend this place and definitely be returning!

I love Thai food, visited all places in Auckland, Star Thai was on my list as well.<br/><br/>I booked the table for 10 people to celebrate my Birthday party. Called them twice to confirm. Spoke to woman who never called me back, then left a message on the answer machine. Anyway, when I arrived they told me that my table's gone to other group. They even told my guests who arrived earlier that there was no reservation under my name, so they left before I arrived. <br/>Ended up with all my nicely dressed guests standing outside under the rain on Friday night.<br/><br/>Later on I spoke to other people who visited that place and all of them had issues like terrible service, shitty food. Once a couple booked a particular table to celebrate their anniversary. They came 20 minutes late and they end up sitting next to the toilet because their table was given to others.<br/><br/>Terrible and completely unacceptable behavior of the management. I would never ever recommend this place. I have worked in high end NZ hospitality for the last 5 years and even in my nightmare I could not imagine that it can happen anywhere in NZ.

Bought deal voucher for 4 people 2 course meal at $49. We thought this deal was a steal so we got one as a treat for my mum for Mother's Day. <br/><br/>2 hours until we got our meal I was there with my pregnant wife my sister and sick mother. It was pathetic, they did not apologise for the delay. It was horrible to sit there and watch other tables get their meals and knowing those guests came after us. About an hour and half later I went and spoke with the manager who said their kitchen does not operate in first come first serve but what suits them. He did not apologise and said the meal will be there in 10 minutes.<br/><br/>Hopeless staff, hopeless manager, no apologies and no ability to comfort and look after guests. Then at the end when going to sort out bill moaning about the fact that we came on the voucher deal. If you don't want to get customers on cheap voucher deals then don't have them simple. Don't make us feel unwanted and undermine us by complaining that we got a "cheap meal" we paid for the voucher which you had for sale. I will never go to this restaurant again and never recommend to anyone I know.

Went to Star Thai restaurant for my daughter in laws birthday last night it was fantastic the food was awesome will be going back for more. The staff were accommodating and very pleasant. The Chicken Pad Thai was to die for, we used a deal voucher for the six of us. Next time we go we will not use a the deal voucher as I want to try some of the fish dishes. My husband and I am really looking forward to it.

Used a deal voucher which had 15 lines of terms and conditions.<br/>The voucher said "Voucher Value $72.00"<br/>The voucher was valid for takeaway and my wife called to put in the order - identified that we were using a voucher and when asked about extras said we just wanted what was included in the voucher.<br/>We had ordered two standard entrees and two mains - one chicken and one duck. The voucher was a two-course Thai dinner for two people. The order total came to $54.30.<br/>We couldn't find a park on the street so my wife went in while I stayed in the car. She didn't take her handbag as expected the meal was covered by the voucher. She had to return to the car to get some money however as the restaurant told her their was a surcharge for the duck main despite not being told this on the phone and despite there being no mention of this in the 15 lines of terms and conditions. When she returned I was really annoyed that this had happened and pointed out to the restaurant that the 15 lines of terms and conditions did include a surcharge for seafood but not for duck - they basically said that that was tough, that duck was more expensive than some other items and that we were getting a good deal so shouldn't complain. I told them that I thought that their approach was dishonest but the Restaurant Manager said that he didn't care. <br/>Given that our order total was $54.30 and the voucher clearly said "Voucher Value: $72.00" you can draw your own conclusions about the honesty and integrity of this business charging extra for an item which wasn't mentioned in Terms and Conditions.

After reading the majority of reviews on this page, I was a bit hesitant and wondering if I had made the right choice in purchasing a voucher for this restaurant.<br/><br/>I'm totally happy I did, and that I decided to rate the place for myself.<br/><br/>The food was delicious, portion sizes great (no different from other diners whom were not using vouchers). Our dishes were bought out simultaneously for our party of 8 and the waiter was friendly and efficient.<br/><br/>I will definitely be dining there again.

Went to Star Thai using a voucher and had a really great time. The starters were tasty. We had deep fried tofu with sesame, satay chicken, tom yum soup and curry puffs. We ordered larb salad, red curry, panang curry and a couple of stir fries for mains and there was plenty of food to go around. We were more impressed by the starters though - they should come in main size servings too! Service was really good too.

Takeaway took 20 min, cashew nut chicken, asked specifically for extra hot 'guy goes thai hot' i say yup, wot did I get, NO heat, it was like Chinese stir fry, i was like 'hav i just been punked', answer is 'yes I have', at $18 at the very least get my order right, right?

Chose this place for my birthday. Never in my life had such a horrible Thai food and management!!! We ordered Tom Yam for starter which was full of dry lemon grass and dry herbs, we could not even chew it !!! And two overcooked prawns!!! For our main course we ordered snapper (which was the best dish in their menu) and curry. Curry was ok, not the best one I would say plain flavor and overpriced! Snapper was so dry and overcooked, it was not chewable at all! I brought a cake with me and without any reasons it was served while all of us still had main course!! That was very strange! Moreover on our arrival the manager met us in trainers! How is that sound!! Exiting!!! Star Thai and manager in trainers!!!! Never ever again.

Been to Star Thai twice, once a few weeks back with my husband, and we went back last Sat as a group of 8.<br/><br/>The food was consistently very good, great service, friendly staff. Must try the curry puffs, the deep-fried prawns wrapped in noodles and the duck curry.

Nice food, OK service, for a local is a place is great!<br/>Quick service, fresh food and nice flavors.<br/><br/>Will come back to try the duck curry.

Ordered the chefs selection of appetizers, they were terrible and certainly not like the photo on website, over cooked and looked like out of frozen food box and very little quantity. My main which was a rice combo seafood and mixed veg, well would be the worst ever which only had 2 prawns, a couple of tiny bits of squid and for veges peas and sweetcorn that would have been straight out of the freezer. Nothing fresh, any take away bar in Auckland would be superior. Also was a long time for food to come.

I went to the restaurant with my boyfriend for our anniversary. The restaurant atmosphere was alright. However, the food was disappointing. The red curry with duck and the stir fried beef was way too salty that they burnt your mouth. I told the waiter(there is only one male waiter) that the food was too salty that I had to put fresh water on it. He replied"ok". We did finish the food as we were hungry and wanted to keep ourselves happy. The owner said he can't give a refund to our meals since we finished them. I was asking for a discount for the salty meal. He indicated that I did not notice them during the meal! I decided not to argue with him and paid. I would strongly suggests all my friends do not go to this restraint.

It looks to me as though this small business has been hit by the voucher deal phenomenon: post a deal that's a wee bit too good for their own good (these deal sites push for that hard) and then get hit with far too many customers at once. Small places tend to struggle with the overload and people with the deals rarely understand the extremely unusual pressure the place is under.<br/>Take a look through these reviews and you'll see that locals and regulars love them. Personally, I've found their food to be full of fresh herbs and spices (not just loaded with flavour enhancers and packaged spice mixes) and wonderfully various: with everything from mild and aromatic to rich and pungent to spicy and fresh. Their ingredients are generous (none of that just one prawn per dish thing from the cheaper places) and their service is welcoming - they even remember you from months ago. This is the place I go when I want things easy and to really enjoy my food.<br/>Please give them a chance to recover from the massive influx of deal buyers and show you their true nature - it's well worth it.<br/><br/>And before you ask: no I have absolutely not stake in this place - except that I'd like to be able to keep going there for many years to come.

Nice environment, elements of good service. Over priced for what you get. The 2.50 extra for rice, puts it over the top. <br/>I made a point of asking for MILD, and ended up with a HOT dish that I couldn't eat. When I told the waitress she argued with us and kept saying that there was no chilli... no chilli. I don't care it was TOO HOT! My friends asked for mild, and it was fine - I ate theirs instead.<br/>All in all was tasty. But waitress needs to take comments on board rather than argue about it. And they shouldn't charge for rice. $27.50 for a Thai meal that I couldn't eat, is too much. Has potential.

I am also disappointed I didn't read the reviews on here. The staff were not overly competent - our starters were forgotten, and the food had little taste. Thai food should be one of the easiest to get some amazing tastes through it though this lacked any of the usual Thai flavours. Add to this the extra $2.50 for the rice after paying $21.00 for a medium - small main, the whole experience was a let down. I won't have a go at the decor because if the food tastes great, I couldn't care less where I'm sitting. It didn't. We won't be going back. Keep ignoring your customers reviews at your peril.

I regret that I didn't read the reviews for this restaurant before purchasing my deal voucher! The experience started off badly and continued. I emailed as requested to book a table for myself and my partner but 24 hrs later still hadn't received a reply. I phoned and the female who answered the phone was quite abrupt, refused to book the table for me and asked me to book on a different email address. Eventually they confirmed my booking by text message.<br/>Two days later we went for dinner, the waiter was obviously new and very inexperienced. We ordered the mixed starters which arrived promptly and were quite tasty. We waited over half an hour for our main courses, we then realised they had been served to the neighboring table and the customers there poked and prodded the dishes for several minutes before asking the waiter if they were their order or not. To our astonishment the waiter then transferred the dishes onto our table, we then complained and the dishes returned to the kitchen.<br/>When we did eventually get to eat our food the curry was a thick gloopy consistency, pretty tasteless. The other dishes were no better. The service was miserable and the staff seemed more interested in getting the takeaway orders out on time than giving any attention to their diners.<br/>We have eaten in many Thai restaurants all around the world and we would consider this to be the worst Thai meal we have ever had. We would never recommend this restaurant to anyone! Zero stars should be awarded!

Can't believe the last review by chuck, the experience we had was completely opposite. Probably it was written by the owner!!!!<br/><br/>We ordered takeaways from Star Thai on Wednesday. For one the quantity in comparison to the price paid was not worth it. The salmon fillets has a very bland taste. I've been to Thai restaurants before (grasshopper, blue elephant, Thai chili) and the curry’s are a bit thick. Here the two curry’s we ordered were completely watery, it’s as if you are having soup. Also the staff were extremely rude when we placed the order on the phone. Neither am I going back to the restaurant, nor will i ever recommend it to anyone. Completely put off by it.

Fantastic Thai food for eat there or take out ... and they deliver! We have always found the staff delightful and friendly and the food tasty, delicious and good value for money. I find it hard to believe the other reviews posted and can only guess these people are looking for a free meal or are total losers. I am a Ponsonby local and have used these guys since Star Thai opened.

I went last night to the Star Thai Restaurant. Now I have had original thai food and this restaurant is a extreme disappointment.<br/>The Staff who served me were extremely rude and stormed off when I queried about my meal. I do not need a lecture from the rude waitress regarding the pork products. <br/><br/>I will say that the Duty manager apologised profusely and offered me another meal but I was so upset and lost my appetite due to the confrontation of the rude waitress.<br/><br/>My recommendation would be to retrain your staff in dealing with customers - Don't forget the Customer is always right and we pay your bills.

We were a group of 6 that ate here on Friday night. The restaurant was really busy, gave it a great atmosphere. The food was divine (chef’s special, Curry puffs and chicken satee for entrees, and pad Thai goong, red duck curry, deep fried whole snapper &amp; pad ped seafood for mains), generous portions and beautiful presentation, delicate flavours. Staff were friendly, service was spot on and all in a contemporary environment. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and being BYO certainly helps make it one my favourite, best value for money Thai restaurants in Auckland. Highly recommended and will definitely be back.

Went there for dinner on Friday the 3rd of Feb for a special date with my partner.<br/>What a horrible experience we had. We booked a table and on arrival we were shown to a table that was obviously just squeezed in for extra table space right by the swinging doors of the kitchen entrance, we asked for another table which got our waitress steaming from her ears, she made no effort to show us how annoyed she was, the changed the table cloth for us but that was it. No candles no plates no cutlery no serviettes nothing! She just left us there and ignored us for most of the evening. By this time I was fuming which caused stress between my partner and I on our special evening. <br/>We have been to this place a few times before and never had such a bad time, (never thought they were friendly people but the food is great.)<br/>So after waiting for 25 minutes, a guy came and took our drinks order. This was the trend for the rest of the evening, we arrived at 7:30pm, paid our Bill at 10:15. <br/>Then while we were eating our food, a customer came to the desk and spoke to the waitress about something. The waitress blew up and they had a heated argument in front of everybody, I really felt bad for the costumer because the waitress was very aggressive and argumentative!!<br/>Not good service at all, we laughed and said we would rather not complain about our service because that will happen to us as well!!!<br/>Not Long after another couple came to pay and said to the Manager/Owner they were not happy with their service and he acted in the same way and worse. We heard him say to the people if the didn't like the service to go and find another Thai restaurant, and insinuated that they were only after a discount and sarcastically asked how much they were after!!!!What a very, very unpleasant man. he was raising his voice and almost shouting at the people.<br/>That place will never see me again. and it makes me sad because the food there is in my opinion the best Thai food in Auckland, compliments the the Kitchen Staff! <br/>If this rating was about the food, they would have gotten 5 Stars from us.

I am a regular of Star Thai, have been for the last year and I eat at this restaurant on average two times per month. I have never witnessed any form of rude behaviour by owners or the front staff. In fact, quite to the contrary, the staff and management are professional in every respect and maintain high standards.<br/>The atmosphere is allways welcoming and staff make sure they look after every detail. As for the food, well that speaks for itself, beautifully allways fresh and every dish having it's own individual flavours , Star Thai certainly has there own flavours and individual style that;s why this restaurant is allways busy. Star Thai is highly rec commended and worth a visit if you haven't dined there yet. Contemporary Thai dining at very affordable prices

I wish I can give no star to this restaurant!!!<br/><br/>We took oversea friends to the restaurant to have a relaxing dinner. Guess what, we ended up with a rather embarrassing experience. This waitress, the partner of the owner, was rude, ridiculously rude. She also played the racial card on us. So, warning, if you are no European, don't go there. You are not welcome to their "dear business".<br/> <br/>We ordered set menu, which includes three course meal and coffee or tea. We did not get our main after one hour in the restaurant. I had to ask the waitress for the main, which she replied "they are right in the kitchen". We cannot understand why they did not deliver the main. When we finished the main, nobody came to clean the table. So, I went to the counter, paid my bill, and asked if we can have our coffee and tea. The same waitress said, "Oh, you want your tea? Why you did not order it? I booked your table out and MY customers are waiting." After I reminded her that the coffee is included in the set menu, she unhappily set out the other staff to take the order. So, we asked for six coffees and one tea. Six coffees were rudely delivered to the table. When we asked for the tea, the waitress said "How can I make you tea? I don't know what tea you want, Jasmine or what?" That was the last straw. I did not want to ruin the dinner, since we simply wanted to have a good time with friends. The waitress kept on saying in front of the whole restaurant (bearing in mind, it is quite a small restaurant) "I don't want to be rude, but you made my customers waiting." Hello, wasn't she rude all the time, were we not her customers???? <br/><br/>I rang Star Thai the next night, and wanted to complain about this issue with the owner. Guess what, the owner said the waitress is his partner, he would rather let her deal with it. The waitress said on the phone "if you are looking for good service and fine dining, then you got the wrong place". I think her words and attitude says all. <br/><br/>Don’t ever go close to this small and overcharged restaurant! Instead of Star Thai, I rather call it None Star Thai!!!!

Very very bad service. I send email on Thu 10am (daytime) to make booking for dinner on Friday as requested by the deal voucher, waiting for 4 hrs no reply. I rang the restaurant, the guy who answered my call was very very rude. I just can't believe someone doing business like that. My friends told me they are very poor service before, now I realized why my friend said that.

We have never been spoken to like this before by a restauranteur. The older man was extremely rude and nasty.<br/><br/>Having ordered two vegetarian meals 7 January 2012, and being given the wrong ones for takeaway, and returning the meals after realising they were the wrong one, we endured the nasty man (manager, owner?). <br/><br/>"if you dont like our service, dont come back"<br/><br/>He refused to give me a refund after asking for it "here's your food, its hot, its what you ordered, we gave you the wrong one initially"<br/><br/>unfortunately the food is nice! but no on deserves to be in business when they treat their customers like this. We also heard him swear at a staff member.<br/><br/>Please dont go here, he does not deserve your custom.

Went there for dinner,<br/><br/>The food was good, though you should really clarify with the waiter/waitress if it is really vegetarian because I could taste a hint of shrimp/oyster/fish sauce in the dishes. <br/><br/>The rice was questionable, it looked and tasted like it was from the night before but it was delicious nevertheless....just a bit yellow like slightly overcooked. Thinking about it right now....It should have been fresh....because we paid $2.50 for one person's rice. Actually...I only asked for one, and then the girl came and dropped one on each of our plate which I thought was for one portion but they charged us for both so communication need to be clearer..with that female staff. <br/><br/>That girl also had no manners too. She needs to learn some customer service skills or the ability to smile....though she did manage to smile at the joke she made to another customer but I could tell the customer didn't get the punchline. She was also shaving/decorating some carrots around the counter without gloves on which made me concerned a bit about her hygiene. .. <br/><br/>Despite this, the other staffs were friendly especially the manager. I would've given it a 4.3 stars because it was one of the better tasting thai restaurant I have been to...but the female staff working there that pulled the rating down....she made the experience uncomfortable and awkward. <br/><br/>

I dinned here for dinner. It was great, best Thai I've had. Got the Gaeng Bped Yang (bbq duck red curry) it was really good, lots of flavour, spicy but kind of sweet too (got pineapple in it), and portion was big, got 2 servings of rice (1 serve then asked for extra) for $2.50.

It is the best Thai food, in terms of spiciness that I ever encountered. However, I guess I need to try few more of the dishes before I can tell if it is authentic enough to my liking. <br/><br/>Agreed that the portion is a lot more smaller compare to other Thai restaurant, yes we indeed used deal voucher for our dinner.

I phoned the restaurant to book(forgot to mention the voucher I had from yazoom), the owner said OK instantly, as soon as I mentioned the vouchers, she said she had to ring me back to confirm...and she never did. I had to ring her to see if the booking was ok.When we go there, it's still early, but instead giving us a better seat further in(there were plenty of seats, and were empty right from the beginning to the end of our dinner), they stuck four of us right against the entrace door which was drafty and with no room to move... I didn't even think they would have reduced the food portion, but from reading other reviews, I suddenly clicked - it was tiny compared to any other Thai restaurant I have been to. The taste was very average and the service I must say, it's not that warm either. I wouldn't go back there in a hurry, plenty of Thai restaurants around that are considerably better.

We came here with a deal voucher and were certainly not disappointed, the food was delicious, fresh and the servings were generous. The owner chatted to us and was very welcoming. We ordered two mains, 2 entrees and a bottle of wine, all good, will definitely be back!

My partner and I bought a deal voucher and we experienced this restaurant for the first time. I personally love Thai food but unfortunately have experienced some that failed to wow. This was not the case with Star Thai Restaurant. We were greeted by friendly wait staff and shown to our seats as we arrived. The place had a lovely relaxing ambiance and interesting decor. We ordered a starter of prawns wrapped in crispy noodles as a a starter which was just amazing (I will keep going back just for this dish!!) I then ordered the Nam Tok Nua which was just delicious with all the right flavours- I cant wait to go back and have more. My parter ordered the Gai Pad Med-Ma-Meung (he is not usually a Thai food fan but cleaned his plate!!). I don't think we will waste our time with other Thai restaurants any more as I think we found the best Thai food in Auckland. As I live out East it is a good half hour drive for us but well worth the effort for a scrumptious meal.

Extremely disappointing. We arrived outside the restaurant 3 minutes before opening when it was raining and cold, there were 3 staff members inside who ignored us while we were standing outside until we knocked on their glass door 10mins later. <br/><br/>It was unfortunate that me and my husband seemed like we were bothering these people that looked like they didnt want our business when we walked in. We thought we would order takeaway instead, the older gentlemen (the owner) was the most rudest restaurant employee Iv ever come across. We decided to leave as we were astonished that business owners could treat their customers like that. When asked what the owners name was he replied ' I don't have one'.<br/><br/>If the owners of this restaurant shows that much of a lack of care for their customers, I would hate to see what goes on behind the curtains with the food they're serving.<br/><br/>Not worth it, even with a deal voucher I paid for and wont use, this restaurant will clearly go out of business soon at the rate they're going.

We went in a large group for dinner using two deal coupons ($40 for $90) worth of food. However, we spent well over $250 and I would agree with one of the reviewers below to steer well clear of this restaurant. When the food arrived, the portions for all dishes were noticeably smaller than other Thai restaurants and the food was decidedly average. However, after paying the (large) bill, we noticed that other customers who had ordered the same dishes had larger portions compared to what we were served. Shame on you Star Thai. We will never return.

After a disastrous start to our dinner (having no table when arriving after booking, not being given menus and being served vodka and water instead of vodka and soda) we finally place our order, specifically stating there were to be no cashew nuts due to a severe nut allergy. Our spring rolls were served along with an accompanying "spring rolls with no cashews". After one bite I knew there were cashew nuts in my food. The restaurant's response to this was "all our spring rolls are made earlier in the day with cashew nuts". We were offered no apology nor did they make any attempt to fix the situation before walking away and leaving me frighteningly ill at the table. Do not dine at this restaurant, the service was shocking and they have no regard for the well being of their diners and take no responsibility when a situation occurs.I will not be returning here

I came to Star Thai because Yazoom offered a "$20 for $45 worth of food" deal, which sounded good.<br/><br/>However when I went to redeem the coupon, the manager refused to honour it unless the food was charged at the higher dine-in price (considerably higher, I might add). This was not a condition stated in the agreement. <br/><br/>I found the staff rude and dishonest, and I recommend steering clear.

I went to this restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was small to medium size. I really did enjoy the food and service.

a lil on the pricey end but the food was good. tom yum was not great. friendly staff. quaint and small place

I came with a large group for lunch. I ordered a curry main. The portion of the curry was terribly small, and it didn't came with rice. The staff would ask if you would like some rice, if you answered yes, "cha ching" that's $2.50 onto your bill. For a $15 lunch, it did not fill me up at all. The rice was small, the food portion was small given the ingredient are so cheap. They are such a rip off!!

restaurant was quiet when i visited today with my best girl friends, i guess because it was a monday night. We ordered curry and other mains and they tasted so fresh and delicious. Service was excellant. Used entertainment voucher which was great!

We had lovely dinner at Star Thai last night. We phoned ahead and booked but didn’t need to. There were a couple of tables of dinners but Star Thai were not busy on this wintery night. The restaurant has a glittery Hollywood theme which could easily turn tacky but this is kept tidy and to the walls. Black tablecloths and elegant but sturdy dining chairs make this place feel a bit more elegant. The sliding door is closed keeping the interior nice and warm. <br/><br/>The lady running the shop was friendly and accommodating. We started with the Goong Hoa Thong which I had never seen before. 4 tiger prawns wrapped in egg noodles and deep fried and served with chili sauce. These were cool to look at and fun to eat but I find the noodles and prawns themselves underseasoned though the chili sauce helped.<br/><br/>We both felt like curries so we ordered our favourites Gaeng Bped Yang (red curry duck) and Gaeng Kiew-Waan (green curry chicken). We often order these fragrant curries so we had other experiences to base our review on. The curries came out in cute porcelain pots and were served piping hot. They were delicious with the perfect amount of heat for our palates which are somewhere between mild and medium. Some of the best curries we’ve had in NZ and we polished off the lot. We ate our curries with rice and roti which were only OK. I’ve had better roti, so maybe give this one a miss.<br/><br/>Part of our meal was discounted with a Zomato voucher. Without the voucher it would have cost just over $40 per person.<br/><br/>Service was good and our meal paced very well. We were checked up on regularly, water and rice topped up when required and without us asking. We were in and out in under 45 minutes. They have an extensive wine list and a good range of beers including Thai and Lao favourites. They also do BYO wine. Next time I like to try their Larb which is considered their speciality. In summary, the curries and service are great!

A lovely and cosy place. It is quite modern so a good change to traditional thai atmosphere. <br/>I thought the starters/mixed platter was better than the mains but others could think otherwise. Dessert was good, nothing special.<br/>Overall, a good place to chill out and have a long over due-d catch up with friends and fmly. I have been to better thai places though. <br/>Parking is available at the back - something less to worry about in this prime location!