Review Big Tikka - Auckland

Clean venue with fresh tasty food. We were pleasantly surprised at the food quality. The service was a bit slow but staff were friendly. Make sure you aren't starving when you go as meals take time to prepare, however, this results in some pretty fresh meals!

Friendly, prompt, well timed service throughout our visit. Very comfy, dimly lit restaurant with a unique overhead installation and authentic ambient music. Glass observation panel to see kitchen action. Quick delivery of drinks and food. Fantastic presentation of the entree and exceptionally fresh main dishes. Well balanced flavours and overall delectable meal. Clean, well maintained facilities. Some visible kitchen storage from bathroom area. Plenty of nearby free or cheap parking facilities. Reasonable pricing for the area - approx. $50/person. Note: This review was part of a FirstTable promotion - some points may differ during peak times.

Great atmosphere and the food was delicious! The staff are very nice too. I came here for my birthday dinner and had a great time, thanks team :)

Food is superb. Great ambiance. Service is top notch. Juna is amazing and very friendly. Will definitely be back😊

Excellent dining experience at BIG TIKKA. I went out to supper with some pals to sample some real Indian food. We were astounded by the NAAN's softness and texture, and by how flavorful the CURRY was. The hospitality is to be commended, and I will recommend to all of my friends. Will visit again!!!!

A beautiful, authentic Indian restaurant where everything is cooked from fresh and tastes divine! The service was excellent; staff were attentive and friendly. The decor is based on traditional Indian kitchens, copper vessels hung from the ceiling for a relaxing eating environment and good digestion.

The food here is great, always fresh and reminds me of the Indian restaurants in London. The menu is not large but a small menu done exceptionally well. The butter chicken sauce is out of this world tasty. The tandoori chicken perfectly cooked. I can't believe we never knew about Big Tikka before. We've been looking for top quality Indian and this has become our go-to Indian restaurant.

If you're looking for a place where the food is every bit as authentic and delicious...as the decor is ambient and inviting...A place where the menu is as diverse and culinary colorful as the staff are welcoming and charismatic...look no further than Takapuna's own little slice of indian paradise...the Big Tikka. Sateesh and the team clearly put a lot of love and passion onto all aspects of their business...one taste and you too will be convinced...transport your taste buds away...book your table today ☺️

Went here for lunch, good menu, and the food was nice, full of flavour. Good staff and service. They could handle vegan and halal restrictions which is great. Going to be coming back here with others to try dinner experience.

Delicious food, great service, lovely venue. The Margarita flavoured with Indian spices is also unique and delicious. Highly Recommend.

Had food here with some friends to celebrate a birthday, had a great time. Food was great, there's a variety of choice to order across different regional specialties. 5/5 Service was friendly and accommodating 5/5 Price:a little bit on the expensive side, expect to pay around 35-40pp/55-60 with drinks, recommend to share curries and rice.

Went to dine. We ordered paneer and garlic & cheese naan. Really nice food and service. Price is not too expensive. In dessert, Falooda was very nice. You can see the chefs making the food. Parking is in nearby streets.

We are out for tea with the father in law and he has taken us to this Indian in Takapuna. I have to say it is not often I rate an Indian as a five but each meal we had was very good. Recommend for I and Ian the food is not spicy hot but very tasty. Six months later and the food is still goos. I had the dry chilli chicken which is in fact very succulent. My partner has fish curry and eat everything.

Has a brilliant curry dine in. It was memorable and I’d go back again. Was far better than the take away I had which needs improving the sauces were too runny and larger curry portions ie meat prawn needs putting in. Starters were v good

Without doubt, the best Indian restaurant in Auckland. The quality and substance of their takeaway is amazing.<br/><br/>During lockdown in Auckland, it was so worth travelling to Takapuna to pick up in person!

Fresh taste

Service = 4/5; Taste = 2/5; Value for money = 1/5; Menu options = 3/5; Vibe = 4/5; Hubby rating = 2/5<br/>Big Tikka is a pricey contemporary Indian restaurant in Takapuna. The atmosphere and decor is spectacular with an open kitchen, but the food and prices were a disappointment. Although the entrees were delicious, the curries were flavourless. <br/>To read my full review go to honestfoodiereview.com and follow @honest_foodie_nz

Went as a group of 5 last Thursday, and the staff were so accommodating and really took care of us. - So much so, that I'm writing a review for the first time in months! All of the starters were amazing. I'd recommend going in a group and getting a bunch to share.

i use to go there often but not anymore, they have increased their prices and reduced portion sizes feels like they are trying to cheat ... you can have more food for that price... service is good except for the owner with glasses always standing at the counter

Agree with everyone else here. Food used to be bigger in portion, rice top-up was free. Now portion is very small, price stays the same if not more expensive, and rice top-up is no longer free. There’s no reason to dine in here unless you really, really love their food. Food itself is actually good, quite unique compared to your generic westernised indian restaurants, but it’s just way way too expensive for what you get.

Without a doubt the worst Indian meal I have ever had the misfortune to eat and the most expensive. How they have survived for this long in an area that is renowned for its quality eateries is a complete mystery.

That's it. That's probably the last time I visit Big Tikka. The staff did not even care to inform they had stopped doing the lunch specials. The chicken tikka curry was not properly cooked. And the portion size for the curry...abysmal. You could still taste the raw tomato flavor. <br/> Service was good though.

This place use to be a go to with their reasonable prices, lunch specials and portion sizes, but now everything has gone down hill. Everything is pricey and you barely get anything. You would expect a Friday lunch time to be buzzing but the restaurant was dead. Would not recommend this restaurant.

As a gold member in auckland ,this was suppose to be my first unlock. But it was disabled and when I asked Staff they confirm that big tikka is moving out of zamato. Around 5:20 PM unlock was enabled. Its really disappointing. Won't recommend for this place there are many options

Ordered a takeaway. Was told their menu had just changed and the prices were different. However the menu had not actually changed they simply charged dine in prices instead of takeaway prices.<br/>The curry I received was barely half full.

The quality of the food is still very good, but they reduced the portions and it is quite pricy now.<br/>The increase in the prices on the menu is very significant.<br/>Ok, everything went up, but not at this level. We used to enjoy going with family and friends but unfortunately, it's not an option any longer. <br/>It's like they'd risked to make good money with fewer customer rather than continue with regular customers.

Went to the restaurant in Whangaparaoa this evenings as we always liked the food there. Restaurant was busy but not too much. Our kids order took an hour to come to the table, and we were waiting for 2 hours for our mains, eventually walked out without eating. The Manager there his hopeless and never takes ownership and mentions it’s not his fault. The chefs there confirmed its a daily issue. He even made rude comments to one of our family members. Shocking service.....

We loved this place.<br/>They recently upped their pricing and lowered their quantity - our containers came half full. <br/>Looks as though they've had a lot of this kind of feedback since they made the changes.

We use to love this place.. service, food, everything.. but today i think we made a bad decision to come here for dine in.. <br/>the portion of the curries acc to the price is very low.. even its not enough for a single person.. no doubt the taste is still the same(beautiful) but paying more than $23 for a curry and getting that much amount is not acceptable.<br/>Just a friendly advice please have a look on your strategy once again:)<br/>I think they have lost their customers .<br/>Thanks

Firstly the name BIG Tikka ( there’s nothing big about it). I pre ordered my food half hour before i arrived still had to wait for 20 minutes. Not to mention we were on tight schedule. Nwz food arrived and we were shocked. We ordered A la Carte and quantity was laughable. I mean really laughable. When we spoke to the manager he agreed they have reduced their quantity. So if the owner is reading, just a friendly advised re think ur strategy as for the first time we saw the restaurant was empty.

Big Tikka used to be a regular Friday lunch spot, while I was working in the area. The menu is vast, with options for vegetarians and vegans. Lunch hour service is quick and staff are polite. My favourites are the Yellow Dal (Vegan), Paneer Makhani and Nimbu Pani.

What a great place to come and eat. Food was well presented and tasted amazing and was served a good time. I will be back.

Value for Money and Taste.  As an Indian of discerning taste, I rate this the best Indian place to eat, within Takapuna.  The portion sizes are generous as is the taste.  The hosts and hostesses are well mannered and happy to serve with a smile and they do make us feel comfortable.  Sunday, 8th September, I dined there with my kids and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they had completed 2 years in Takapuna.  As a celebration, and in keeping with the great Indian hospitality, we were given gulab jamuns (Sweet dessert) on the house.  Any auspicious occassion in the Indian tradition calls for a celebration with sweets and I was happy that some traditions have still been kept alive.I wish them well and hope they continue to be consistent in their service and servings as Big Tikka is my "Go-to-Restuarant" for a feel-good, pick-me-up meal!!!!!<br/>Thanks and Best Wishes.

Went there for a birthday lunch! Amazing food and vibe! The family loved it. Love the curries and the chilli naan! Would have liked a bigger portion just cause it was so good! For the price though it was well worth it! Might get some for takeaway when I'm in the area next!

Staff were extremely friendly, food came out quick. Potions were good and the food was excellent. 10/10 would come back again!

What a nice change to have such great food at an Indian restaurant.  This was our first visit and hope the restaurant retains its good standard.  We had garlic naan, chicken and lamb curries.  The flavours were really good and the restaurant decor was very nice.  Even though it was winter the restaurant was warm and not cold like some places.  We felt that the alcohol was a bit on the pricey side but would return due to the great food.  Service was nice but not rushed or pushed which is something we also like.

Really really authentic food and tasty, the service is considerate as well! I think it is a good restaurant to try something different. By the way, we spend $80 for two people without drinking.

Best Indian on the shore! Such friendly staff with really quick delivery on food. The starters (delicious) are massive plates so best come with a larger group so you can try a bit of everything. The manager was so lovely, I will be returning ASAP ✨

We went for dinning after 8 pm, satisfied with their good service. Cheese, chill and garlic Naan, first time tried this type of Naan, it was surprised me, I ordered one more after the first one gone, recommend it with butter chicken, it is valuable and worth 5 stars, will always come again.

Considering the Zomato review score, and price point, I expected much better from Big Tikka. Ordered the Makhani, which is meant to be akin to butter chicken and although it has a nice spice to it, it’s very watery and lacks the creaminess that I would have expected. Would have otherwise given 4 stars for quick delivery and biryani.

The atmosphere and decor is in tune with the restaurant and the service was good, friendly staff. The food was yummy 😋 I especially enjoyed admiring their beautiful bowls that the curries came in 🙂

Big Tikka always provides consistent service and food quality. They do a good lunch service and food is delivered quickly. Curries are authentic and the portions are quite large which is great for sharing and trying new dishes.

Went there for dinner and ordered chilli paneer as it was chef special apparently that day. It was horrible and the cheese was so hard that I had to put force to cut into 2. It was old, overcooked and not even edible. Was so disappointed but because I was hungry managed to eat half of it. Would not recommend and would not visit again. The other dish ordered was chilli chicken which was average too.

Perfect Weekday lunch spot. Good deals with lots of yummy choices. Nice decor. Best indian in Takapuna. Super nice Butter Chicken is must have. Good service as well.

As name suggests and vibes I got when I entered in first time last year, expected really good food here. And very happy to share good experience with everyone.<br/>Really good innovation in platter for vegetarian food. Good North Indian style Yellow daal and even breads crispy and soft.<br/>My little girl enjoyed lemonade Everytime we visit big tikka.<br/>Must try who likes Indian food 😂

This place has nice food. Parking is available in nearby streets. Will surely go back again. Falooda was nice. Staff are friendly. You can also see your food being made.

One of the best Indian food which you can get in Auckland. Hats off to both the chefs on that day(01/05/2019) the food was amazing. The best is the garlic naan and the mixed tandoor plater. Will definitely recommend to my friends and family. Once again thanks a lot for making our dinner awesome.

Best curry in the shore by far, if you like authentic Indian cuisine where every dish has its own unique flavour that it<br/>Thoroughly recommend it<br/>Excellent value<br/>Friendly fast service<br/>Fresh, authentic food<br/>Excellent dining experience <br/>

Very traditional Indian food, authentic decor, good service, very tasty curries, lunchtime special was very money worth. Will definitely come back

Super yummy and cheap Indian curry at Big Tikka! Vegetarian butter chicken but with goat cheese. Damn Indians can handle there heat, I got medium and I got heartburn, all the lactose and spice 🥵 Their lunch set includes a cheese garlic naan, rice and curry. A huge portion enough for both my lunch and dinner.<br/>-

I was here with a few of my friends and we had a fantastic dinner. I think everything we ordered right from crispy chilli Aloo, Trimurthi Paneer, sabzi Gulistan or even the Cheese chilli garlic Naan were great in taste and quality . It was a perfect blend of veggies and spices.<br/>A must visit for all Indian Food Lovers :)<br/><br/>Note: On a Saturday Night make reservations in advance, there is a tendency of getting seated in a very awkward manner. 🤦🏼‍♀️

The food was delicious and the the staff fabulous. This is a great restaurant to enjoy a nice meal. Their "rada maans" was absolutely melt in the mouth delicious. Lamb cooked with spices, delicately flavoured and perfect with their flaky parathas.

A very nice place for dinner. Beautiful interior and the food is extremely delicious. Definitely a 4.5 star for the dishes...well done to the chef and kitchen staff for amazing food experience.<br/><br/>The only thing that me and the rest of my friends finds that could make our experience even better if they have maybe one or two staff attend to our table. And true from some of the review i read...no one smile.<br/><br/>Dont get me wrong, they have people attend to our table...its just that when we have about 4 different staff keep coming to us every less than 10 min asking if we ready or need anything else...it feels like "get your food quickly, eat and go" its spoilt the group mood for us customer to dine n relax.<br/><br/>To be constuctive...maybe if only one or two staff could handle a group of 6people or sometime the right conversation like ..." let me give u guys a little more time and just wave for attention when u are ready or i could come back in 5min." Could probably save the day.<br/><br/>Overall. Its a good food n definitely book a table for large group.

Love the foods especially the cheesy roti although service time was slow. Great experience in general. Ambiance was okay. Will definitely dine in again

Big Tikka is a really nice place to enjoy some good Indian food.<br/>We had ordered Dry Chilli Chicken & Paneer Tikka for our starters which was very well presented,fresh and good in taste.<br/>The Decor and ambience was also amazing and gives a perfect feel you want in an Indian restaurant.<br/><br/>For our mains we had Big Tikka Kukkad Masala which is Kadhai Chicken and we had it with Roti and Laccha Paratha. I loved the Parathas they were my favourite.<br/><br/>I would absolutely recommend this place for Indian food lovers. <br/>They serve Masala Tea as well for all chai fans.

Very nice restaurant ... items I tried were all very tasty. Had a indian cultured theme going throughout the place with good collection of art pieces. The open kitchen gives a sneak peek of how the dishes are all prepared which is a major positive of this place 👍 would highly recommend this place to anyone wanting to try indian food in a place with interiors reflecting the cuisine.<br/><br/>Only negative or letdown for me is the price of the items.. they were all overly priced, a point to keep in mind.

I had tandoori sizzer, rustani, goat curry and two bottles of wines. The food was so great, also good selection of wines(hope they change on syrah range btw)<br/>Great customer service but kind of hoping do not interrupt on the middle of the conversation to take away dishes. Did 4 times.

◽Tasty food<br/>◽Well priced<br/>◽Fresh food<br/>◾Poor Service<br/><br/>This review has been edited after my meal today 14/03.<br/>I came here tonight for my birthday dinner with 7 friends.<br/><br/>We ordered beers but for some reason they forgot to bring them to the table so one of my friends had to get up and grab them from the bar.<br/><br/>We then waiting another 35 minutes with no server asking to take our orders so again we had to walk to the bar to ask them to take out food order<br/><br/>We were the only customers there...<br/><br/>The food when it arrived was good, the naans however are slightly on the dry side but the curry's are perfect.<br/><br/>Both times I have been, I have found the service lacking , it's a shame as well because the food is great but I wont be dining in here again.<br/><br/>◾Review from last year<br/>I came in here today for a work lunch (group booking) we all ordered different food.<br/>It was one of the better Indian restaurants I have been too. The Naan bread is made right in front of you and the kitchen is very open so you can see the dishes being made from scratch<br/><br/>I was impressed with the taste, it was not chilli hot but spicy (taste) hot as it should be.<br/><br/>The service was a little tired but the quality of the food and decor made up for it.<br/><br/>

So good! Not too spicy not too mild. Although the spice level can be altered. Very accommodating service and great ambience. Definitely recommend

Amazing flavours, bold and flavoursome. Jhinga Malabari is the best.<br/>Great atmosphere and very modern. <br/>Service is the best, friendly and fast.

Tried the takeout butter chicken.<br/>Was extremely saucy and creamy. Tasted amazing with rice. Would go again for takeout or maybe eating in for lunch.<br/>

We frequent Takapuna a lot and noticed big tikka a few times driving past lake road enroute to hurstmere road where the majority of the eateries are located so we decided to check big tikka out . We made an online reservation for 2 but when we turned up there were available seatings and they did not asked if we had already made reservations . We ordered 2 x curries , the usual chicken tikka masala and lamb Rogan josh plus the large kronnenburg beer on tap and Pinot Gris and also garlic naan which was massive ! Note rice was already included with the curries which is a bonus , we could not finish all as the curries were massive too and very tasty ! Ambience was nice too with cushions and bronze instruments funky decor. Highly recommended and one of the better curry / Indian offerings around Auckland !

Almost twice the price and about half the flavour of the Indian restaurants we’re used to. We tried three dishes and none were good enough to finish. Drive a few minutes into Devonport for a good Indian meal.

Absolutely Delicious! Dry chilli chicken and fluffy naans especially nice. Great service and lovely ambiance/ atmosphere. Would definitely go back again soon

Had a dinner here few days ago. This place was buzzing.<br/>Like the way food was presented and delivery of service. Professional staff with nice attitude.<br/>Must try food - Bhurani Gosh and Big tikka special.<br/>Must try cocktail - Big tikka stress buster

It's like entering passport control at an airport, no one smiled, or welcomed us when we arrived, we were shown our table and then left on our own. Once we discovered the menu (no one showed us where it was) we made our choices and ordered. <br/><br/>I ordered the:<br/><br/>LUCKNOWI BIRYANI (MEDIUM) $20.50<br/><br/>Choice of beef, lamb, prawn or fresh<br/><br/>vegetables slow cooked with basmati<br/><br/>rice, mixed spices and coriander.<br/><br/>I went for the vegetables option. When it arrived the plate seemed to be just rice and grated carrot with a few, and very small, heads of cauliflower and the occasional, like one, mushroom and a shaving of radish, and some peas.<br/>I asked the manager over and checked I had the right dish, saying there wasn't any vegetables (I was expecting some nice steaming broccoli/cauliflower etc) but he said no this was correct, and then said "According to you there isn't any vegetables" when I asked what he meant he repeated this line and offered to get some more. When questioned whether I was getting some value (rice and grated carrot for $20.50) he answered with his catch all phrase 'According to you'.<br/><br/>I declined on the offer of more vegetables, my friend asked for his to be made as a takeaway and we left.<br/><br/>This was a wonderful experience of hospitality gone bad.<br/><br/>However if you go just up a few doors they serve wonderful dumplings at Basu, and great friendly hospitality.

Looking for perfect example of bad restaurant with extremely poor service and arrogant attitude. Look no further. Big Tikka won't disappoint you with their bad/tasteless food. Most, if not all, of their gravies are cooked using the same base sauce. So, it doesn't matter what varieties you are thinking to order, chances are very high all of them will taste exactly same(both veg and non-veg). We visited this place last week and ordered veg and non veg curries. All the three items that we ordered had very sour taste and full of tomatoes. On complaining no one bothered. So we ordered another chicken gravy hoping the second time it would be better. But guess what, again they brought the new curry with exactly similar taste to the other items despite knowing the reason why we ordered again. This time the argument was ``we use fresh tomatoes''. Throughout the whole experience not for a moment we felt that they care for their customers. Overall worst Indian food in the town.

This place is the best Indian restaurant on the North Shore! We came here as a family and adored the food.... it was amazing.... we normally have to drive over the bridge to find food anywhere near as good as this... the North shore is lucky to have the big Tikka on board. <br/><br/>We ordered the vegetarien combo starter which boasted their Makhani Samosas, Palak Paneer tikka, Kaju Matar ki Tikki and Rustami Kumbh Bahar and Masala Chai. We were already blown away and the mains had not arrived yet. <br/><br/>For mains we had the Mysore Beef and Trimurti Paneer which was better than the Mysore beef... the ambiance was excellent... and we loved it. Its only a shame we did not take pictures... we were too busy enjoying the authentic flavors.

We went there for lunch and was awesome authentic Indian food. Tasted so fresh and best curried in north shore. Price is cheap too, inc rice and garlic nam.

To be completely honest, a bit disappointing after the review I read last week on the Denizen. Especially considering I went all the way from Avondale in middle of the storm!!. The chicken makhani wasn’t spicy at all for a medium spicy curry, taste was average too, the garlic naan was a bit tasteless. The biryani was ok, nothing wow. The bestest thing was the Riatha. Sorry guys, I was really looking forward for it. You guys are the only place that makes makhani!!! Which got me so excited because I was hoping to relive the flavors I had in a couple of meals in Delhi a few years ago... I’m might put it down to takeaway error ??!! Maybe in-house is a better experience.

One of the best Indian restaurants in Auckland and as authentic as possible to food in India.  <br/>The staff are friendly, welcoming and helpful.  The Maitre De knows his curries, spices and Indian food very well.   <br/>The food is delicious especially the goat curry, chicken tikka and tandoor fish.  Ah one more thing, they make butter chicken the way its done in India MINUS all the sugar and cream you get here at the takeaways.<br/>Nice facilities!<br/>If you want a taste of "real Indian food", you must give this place a try.

New addition to Takapuna, this place is one of the few Indian restaurants in Takapuna. Love the atmosphere and decor of this place. It has a great modern, rustic, Indian feel to it. But, the food was a little disappointing. I ordered their Murgh Makhni, which was promised to be prepared in authentic Indian manner. I found the curry to be lacking flavour, and the "oomph" that makes a curry fun to eat. Also, the naan that came with the meal was a little undercooked. <br/><br/>Overall, I felt the meal was worth the price because the curry came with a naan and rice. It is a good deal for lunch. However, the food was lacking flavour. Would I come here for dinner - no I found the dinner menu to be overpriced. But if you are in Takapuna and feel like Indian food, this would be the place to come for a meal.<br/>

Great service, beautiful food! Takapuna was lacking an Indian restaurant like big tikka. Lovely decoration and friendly staff. I will certainly come back many more times.