Review Benjarong Thai Restaurant - Howick - Howick

Beautiful tom yum soup 👌 Great service and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The stir fry was a little on the sweet side… could use more vegetables, more spice and SO much less sweet - but still good. The meat is good quality too - none of that takeaway only, flat, dry ‘sad chicken’… the meat from what I had was juicy, tasty and hopefully free-range. It is very expensive compared with most - but quality is worth cost.

Great workers and atmosphere overall, with the servers being enthusiastic and friendly. The tables and general area was clean and tidy and they accommodate your size of group accordingly when booking. The food was good but the descriptions on the menu were inaccurate and included ingredients that were not stated so be sure to check with one of the friendly staff that the food doesn't include any ingredients based on dietary requirements.

I was in Howick around lunch time so I came here to get some takeaways. You are able to order online but I ordered there since I was that prepared. It was easy enough to order at the counter. It was about a 15-minute wait for 4 dishes and an entree. the food was nice. The mixed entree had a bit of everything, the satay was quite nice. The duck noodles had plenty of duck in them and had a sweet and sour sauce. The larb gai and the massaman beef were also nice. My favourite of the lot was the Moo wan, sliced pork cooked in a sweet sauce. The macadamias added a bit of crunch to it too. The sauce with rice by itself was quite tasty. It was a nice place for Thai food. It has some similar items and some which are different, which is a nice change.

Had a great meal here. By the time we left the restaurant was full, so I would recommend reservations. I ordered a dish off the menu and asked if they could modify it substantially, which they did, not all restaurants are this accommodating. My friends and I thought the food was delicious and was prepared to the individually requested spice level, which is always important Highly recommended

Second time my wife and I have been to this place and the service and food has always been amazing. They have a really good vegetarian selection on their menu and their desserts are really good too. My wife and I would definitely recommend this place.

Very efficiency services for a busy restaurant. Tasted Thai dishes. Clean and cosy.

Great food & service. I tried 5 star pork...sooo good

Food is serve fast and the Lamb Curry was tender and delicious. Had a Stella Artois to top off, well worth stopping in.

Just called in for a quick meal, the choice and service was excellent. The meals we both had I could not fault.

Good flavours, standard portion, they can be a bit pricey but the location is easy to get to

Had the thai red curry. Delicious. Enjoyed every mouthful. With a party of 24 people l dishes were faultless. Lovely night had.

Superb Pad Thai - fresh ingredients, fragrant and delicious - as good as any we had in Thailand. Satay was savoury, tasty and generous.

Amazing food tonight! Portions sizes were great and well worth the price. I counted 9 scallops in my main after I had indulged in a few mouthfuls. Delicious

Have ordered take-away for business meetings and dined in with work team. Never disappointed. Easy dealing, great communication, advise for quantity when I'm unsure. The food is excellent. Benjarong always delivers in great tasty food. It's a winner. Highly recommended.

Wow, soooooo good!! Food, service,atmosphere!!! Will definitely go again!!!

s5. THALAY JAN RON * SPICY LEVEL Mild (1 chilli) PRAWNS and CASHEW NUTS Super tasty Fresh Good portions

SO DISAPPOINTED. After being regular customers for many years, tonight was our last visit. The lady got our takeaway order wrong, so as soon as we realised this we called up straight away and agreed to drive back for the correct dish. However, we arrived, there was no apology, not even a simple 'sorry', and they even demanded the incorrect dish back before we could have the correct one! A bit stingy in our opinion. Absolutely terrible customer service and extremely rude. NOT RETURNING AGAIN.

Great service and great food had great company too Best Thai in Auckland We will visit again and again don’t change anything

nowhere else compares. best thai ever!

Eaten here several times now and always great service and great food!

Loved it, the presentation of the food was beautiful and was delicious, we look forward to comming back! highly recommend the duck and the chocolate mud cake for dessert, its amazing!

So many vegetarian options! Loved it!

Always very consistent, great service, good sized servings and authentic

Came here with my friend on Saturday night when we were looking for a place to have dinner, and I loved it. It's the best thai both her and I have ever had and the service was amazing! Couldn't get any better keep up the hard work :)

Awesome place. delicious food. Would go again.

Amazing!! Amazing service, great staff, and the best Thai food I've ever had.

Always amazing food, highly recommended!

My favourite local Thai restaurant. This place is almost always busy despite the higher food prices. I can see the locals just love this restaurant. The food was nice so we do not mind paying a little extra for the lovely dishes and the handy location right on the main street of Howick. Lately I have enjoyed the Burmese curry. Their entres were superb too.

Great options for vegans, so excited to be able to have amazing Thai food close to home 😍

Food 4+ stars.<br/><br/>But very Expensive, you will be spending over 50 per head if you have 1 drink..<br/>Portions are not big either.  <br/>Quite Authentic..

Honestly, I love this place but they have to sort out their paying system! We were splitting the bill and it took ages and it was split wrong. The food here is on the expensive side so it's more suitable for a fancy night out. I have tried the duck curry, and the seafood curry as well as the mixed entrees. Loved them all. The curries are spicy do beware when you order!

Food quality is excellent. Inside the restaurant is clean and the staff are attentive and ready to take your order swiftly.<br/><br/>In terms of price, this place offers more atmosphere and ambience than some other Thai restaurants which is essentially what you are paying slightly above average for.

Tasty food with exceptional service. The staff are very welcoming and efficient. They were always coming round asking if we needed anything else or to top up drinks. Food was nice and flavoursome, the place was very clean and tidy however I found it was a bit pricey for what you get.

Love the chicken stir fry dishes and I like how they accomodate to spice, I like my stir fry spicy and they did a great job. Would highly recommend

Best place for quick thai food in the area. I love their Tom Yum and their Pad Thai. The servers are so nice and you can always see that they are busy. A lot of people get takeaways since they do it really fast for you.

I came here to have lunch with a friend (first time customer) and when I first arrived I noticed the lovely welcoming ambience of the place. Greeted by the friendly staff and owner (not knowing I was greeted by the owner) as soon as we walked in. Ordered the Curry puffs for entree.<br/>For mains, Choo chee goong prawns an Pad kapao beef.<br/><br/>Curry puffs were beautiful, fresh light and tasty.<br/>The mains were an absolute standout for me, full of flavour. I've been to many Thai restaurants but this place smashed it out of the park for me.<br/>It's the best Thai I've had in a long time, thanks Pat for your hospitality. Will be back for sure!!

We've been going to the wonderful Benjarong twice a month (or more) for almost 10 years and the quality of food and service has never wavered. The staff are delightful and the food is amply portioned and utterly delicious. The vegetarian options are prepared as "pure vegetarian" meaning no animal products at all are used apart from a couple of dishes that have egg, but these are also available without. This might not seem a big deal but it is to a vegetarian. Many Thai restaurants will make dishes without meat but often use fish sauces and chicken stock. I might also mention that we live in central Auckland and travel half an hour for our Benjarong fix ;-)

As always the tastiest, freshest Thai food in town. Prawns were huge in our curry and not over cooked, taste buds were dancing. However expensive for the serving size and rice not included.

Great food and food comes out reasonably quickly . Only downside is that it is quite expensive , but the portions are not too bad and fills you up. Our favourites were the Jungle Curry, which was the perfect level of spice, and the crispy duck which was reminiscent of Chinese style sweet and sour pork. Pad Thai was good , but just a bit sweet. I don't think I would have enjoyed it without the edge of lemon. Flavours were really good , if you're looking for a good Thai place in Howick , this is your new go to!

Hey Team Benjarong,<br/>We had amazing night with awesome dinning options, beautiful ambience and food. Staff was very friendly and gave us lots of options for dine. Thankyou for good support and assisting with food options. Kuddos Benjarong!

We previously had gone for a dine-in and we loved the place so this time around we thought we will go for a takeaway but the food taste & quality was a major disappointment for us. We had gone for a Pad Thai which tasted like boiled noodles & had no taste whereas Panang curry was very sweet.

Been here twice with my partner, once for Valentine’s Day and it was quite busy and packed, which took the waiter some time to serve us but I understood as it was quite busy. And the second time was for an early evening dinner. <br/>The entrees were delicious and so were the mains.<br/>Everything was full of flavour and did not lack in anything whatsoever. <br/>It was such a beautiful experience celebrating Valentine’s Day and experiencing this beautiful Thai food from this restaurant for the first time, as well as returning back to try some more. Definitely will come back again to try something else from the menu. <br/>Ambience 4/5<br/>Service 3.5/5<br/>Food 4/5

I just love this place..delicious food, friendly staff.. one of the best Thai food I ever tried.. must try ! They will never disappoint you..more then 5stars

Delicious meal  . From their curries to soups Benjarong thai is best , with their friendly staff , they serve meals quickly at your table with perfectly fluffy rice to go with your meal , their food is better than any thai restaurant we have been to , I highly recommend this restaurant as many others like me do .

So thought I would try this place, got a 3.4 which came with all the food from the sea, it didn’t specify it came with all the coriander from howick though, I’m surprised there isn’t a shortage, wow what a disappointment, calamari was well over cooked, got 2 prawns and a couple of small scallops! Terrible !

I've been here quite a few times and never been disappointed. The other night my partner and I got take away and We received the best customer service. The food is always great , great flavours and portions would recommend to anyone who enjoys Thai food! <br/>

The restaurant had a great atmosphere, decorated well. The food was OK and contained peanut and coconut milk. The wait was a bit long for a fairly empty restaurant that night. The service was pretty average in my opinion. A dish to try is their scallop curry with rice

This is our go to restaurant in Howick and it is amazing.  The food is divine and the staff are so friendly, welcoming and go out of their way to help you.  We highly recommend this place.

Every time we have a special occasion or just fancy eating out, we look to Benjarong Thai in Howick for it's authentic Thai atmosphere, delicious food and friendly staff. <br/><br/>Lets start with the food, because boy, is it delicious. We haven't tried the full menu yet, but we do love the red duck curry with it's crispy skin and yummy, slightly sweet curry sauce, the green curry with its aromatic, delicate sauce, the peanut curry which is divine and the yellow curry. I would recommend all of these things to anybody, including families with young children, because they are amazing and the flavors can be mild on request. Equally yummy are the curry puffs and spring rolls and I can vouch for the Roti side street as a dessert. <br/><br/>At Benjarong, they have really nailed the atmosphere too. The building features a little stick roof in the corner (I want to say it's hay, but I'm not sure), thai decorations, tall candles, and little lanterns. Thai music also plays in the background, adding to the places feel. I have visited Benjarong once for lunch, and countless times for family dinners, and I have to say, the atmosphere is somehow better at dinner time, but the choice is up to you.<br/><br/>The staff are friendly, we have never had anyone be rude to us, they are always respectful and polite, waving goodbye to us when we leave. <br/><br/>I would really recommend Benjarong Thai, and I am not sure what other reviewers were thinking when they gave it 3.6 stars!

My first time was in 2012. Our family experience wasn't that nice that time. Had our mix entree still cold on the inside even if it was deep fried. So My husband told the waitress and they did apologies and replaced our entree with a new one. Main was good I recall. Last year we tried to dine in again and everything was different. Food was very nice and hot. Didn't get the chance to take photos as we were very hungry that night. Since then we always grab a take away from this Thai restaurant. My favourite is the fresh spring rolls. Ambience 3.8 Food 4.2 Staff/Service 4.5

This is the first time I've been here. staff is friendly. they helped a lot while I was there. Food is okay, just not the way I imagined, still nice :). Environment is good as well, really organised. I will definitely come here again.

Best Thai around. Don't bother going anywhere else. Although prices are higher than some you definitely get your money's worth, every time. Pad Thai & Chicken cashew are 2 of the best.

Visited last Thursday night with a very large group of people. We only ordered mains and the staff handled the orders very well. We all seemed to get our meals at pretty much the same time and they were delicious. I had the prawns in curry sauce that came on a sizzling plate. Very tasty.

We are Benjarong's regular customers , Always good food and fab service , Roast Duck Curry is always the dish to order ! We enjoyed ourselves here and as well as the kids .

It must have been years since we last visited Benjarong. Everything seemed to be the same. I had noodle duck & my wife had the Bangkok delights with prawns & spring roll, for a simple lunch. As usual, Thai food tends to be on the sweet side. My duck noodle was nice, both in taste & in appearance. The spring roll had a bit of sourness which was not good. (Food - 3.5/5; Service - 4/5; Ambience - 3.5/5)

Service here was amazing and friendly, came here with my family for my parents anniversary and we're happy with all the dishes served. Loved the atmosphere and would say it would be ideal to take a date for a nice dinner.

Had a takeaway from here the other night that was delicious and full of flavour. The serving size was great, with enough to share between two people. I have seen some reviews saying the serving sizes are small, so maybe that differs depending on the dish you get. Will definitely be getting takeaways from here again!

We had the most fantastic family meal with my Parents who recently visited from Spain.<br/>The food is consistently good, and the portions generous.<br/>We always share starters and choose our own mains, BYO helps to keep it affordable and the service is always prompt and polite.<br/>The Pad Thai is a favourite, as is the duck and the Green Thai curry, we'll be back soon!

Benjarong has been situated on Picton St Hawick for as long as I can remember. My first time here was over a year ago and I ordered the Kang Kua Scallop which was scallops in a penang curry. Although the curry was delicious, for $29.50 I expected more than 4 small-med scallops and a couple of pineapples. <br/><br/>Most recent visit, I noticed the scallop curry was a part of the lunch specials. Main + drink for $16.50. So, I chose the curry again. This time, three small scallops. My friend got the hapuka dish for lunch and it was also a very thrifty portion of fish. <br/><br/>I probably wouldnt be back because of the portion sizes. Theres plenty of thai restaurants around which give decent AND tasty meals at a decent price.

Nice place to eat. Food comes out super quick. Waiting staff is very helpful and accommodating. Each time I have been there the food was good and prices even though slightly on the higher side still very reasonable.

Had an early dinner with a friend - restaurant has a few customers bust mostly empty.<br/>Service friendly but not overbearing. <br/>Wine list small but with a good range of options.<br/>I had the prawn & vege sizzling platter with garlic & coriander sauce. I don't really like coriander so was slightly worried but the sauce was very nice. Expensive but a good portion size & approx 9 prawns which was fair.<br/>My friend had the seafood medley with sweet & sour sauce. Good amount of seafood but sauce was a little on the sweet side so she didn't finish it.<br/>Good spot with a good variety of dishes - some you won't find elsewhere

Came here today for lunch and despite the lunch specials, the bill was definitely pricier than the average lunch. We were the first customers and were greeted hesitantly. Apparently they weren't ready yet? <br/><br/>Anyway, after seated, we ordered the Bangkok special- stir fried choice of meat ( I chose prawns) with veges and a Thai spring roll. The bf ordered the scallops Thai curry. Our meals came pretty quickly which probably explained my semi cold sauce. My dish had good flavours but was only presented with 3 prawns. The bf also only had 3 scallops in his curry and I thought these were not worth the prices of $15.5 and $14.5.<br/><br/>The flavours were alright, but like most Thai places, were a bit heavy handed on the sweetness. The curry to me was borderline diabetes in a bowl. The decor is really cute and authentic which I appreciated. <br/><br/>Overall, it was definitely a pricier Thai place, but a nice variety to Howick as oppose to the dozens of cafes competing with each other.

One of the more pricier thai places around but the layout of the restaurant is absolutely stunning and definitely gives off that Thai feel. Came here for lunch one week day; was surprisingly queit with only one other table occupied. <br/>As we weren't that hungry, we decided to share a chicken pad thai between the two of us ( yesss the classic pad thai) :P The dish came out pretty fast and was beautifully presented, portion was relatively small tho for the price ( quality over quantity?)<br/><br/>Flavours were good and few pieces of prawns and chicken were given; but tbh for a much lower price I could order pad thai of the same standard at my local thai place in Highland park. Still really tasty tho and friendly service :)

Excellent food and atmosphere. Beautiful rice-paper rolls, spring rolls and the meats were cooked perfectly. A genuine Thai dining experience. Would definitely recommend to friends and return again

Very friendly staff, patience and accommodating for my little one. The prices are slightly on the high side but good portion size and the most of the dishes are packed with a variety of vegetables. Overall very tasty and can taste different herbs and spices. The only down side is the dishes are a little too sweet for me.

Great authentic thai food. They offer a wide variety, from modern to street style thai food. We went there as a large group for a friend's birthday. The service was good, however they did seem a bit agitated that we as a group made a bit of noise - it is a byo.

I believe this is the best Thai restaurant in Auckland . The restaurant looks great they just redesign the floors , change the tables to bigger table and put oak wood top tables, the menu is great with authentic Thai flavours.<br/>Maybe not the cheapest Thai restaurant but who cares if it's good. I really recommend this restaurant if you are into Thai food.

A bit on the pricey side. A little inconsistent. Some days the food tastes good and some days its not that great. Some of the dishes tend to be a little too sweet. I have tasted better at a lower price.

Toooooo noisy.. Food is okish. Nothing great.. There are better thai restaurants around.. Never going again.. Disappointed to the max.......

Tonight I went to benjarong for the second time with my family. The layout and decor of the restaurant was really nice. <br/>We ordered the mix plate, curry puffs, and spring rolls for entree and everything was good! For main I got a satay dish, my sister got a yellow curry, and my parents got a seafood curry and a bermese curry. The portions were really decent and everything was tasty. My only critique would be that it is quite expensive in comparison to other thai restaurants in the area. <br/>Its likely I will keep coming back!

Went with my better half tonight (Sunday). Only reason for going if I'm honest is I had been given a gift voucher for the place. Went along expecting just another average Thai meal but was pleasantly surprised. We shared the variety Entree - giving us a little taste of most of their entrees - very tasty. Wife had their Prawns with cashew nuts - good sized meal and I thoroughly enjoyed my main meal of the honey soy chicken which was very tasty. Service was prompt &amp; quite attentive and we were greeted with very friendly person (think the owner or poss. manager) who was very helpful in guiding us through the menu and making suggestions. Not the cheapest Thai restaurant in the area but nice atmosphere, really good food and friendly service. That said didn't feel it was overly expensive for the evening. Will certainly be returning.

One of the most expensive Thai restaurant i have been and that's for no reason as the food is average and the service is rude. <br/>The lady owner i think she is who will never smile &amp; carried a grumpy face. Staff was rushing to take order and had no patience to wait. Once the food was served, then no one came back to check if everything was OK. <br/><br/>I think this restaurant was an absolute rip off. No mood of going back thank you.....Many more local thai restaurants are ready to serve you with a smile and they give you value for money.

This is by far the tastiest Thai food in Howick/ Pakuranga areas. There Pad Thai is delicious and so are there curries. The prawns are big and juicy. Another favourite is there beef satay for entree YUM! I don't know any other Thai places that do beef satay only chicken<br/>It is a little more expensive but I think it's totally worth it!

The food was average. The service was awful. Went here for lunch on a quiet weekday. I arrived late and my fellow lunchers had already ordered, waiter (I think she was also the manager) hands me a menu and basically stands there waiting for me to pick something immediately. Was quite scary.<br/><br/>I ate at my own pace, which was apparently not good enough for the manager. Although it was 1 pm and we were the only customers there, she was eager to have us gone. She kept coming over to our table to check if we were done yet. In between checking she sat at the counter staring at us. It was incredibly off putting and I will not be returning. Actually, I probably will, just to marvel at how amazingly crappy the service is.

First time for us last night , but not the last. A nice setting with Great service, and delicious food. We didn't find the prices too bad at all, as you get what you pay for, and corkage $4.50 per bottle is probably a little more than average, but still better than paying per person as in some restaurants.

We eat here from time to time (when we are feeling like we have plenty of money). Agree with most reviews. Great food (best Thai food I have ever had) but check those prices. <br/><br/>Also the corkage is really expensive so watch out for that sting.<br/><br/>Most of the waitresses are really friendly but watch out for the owner. She is the one with the miserable expression!

I have eaten at many thai places before and I can honestly say that it is one of the better ones , it is a bit highly priced but you pay for what you get. The duck curry is just the best and the chicken padthai is just the best, well that's my fav anyway. The owner went out of her way to make me happy , follow her recommendation because she knows what she is taking about.

This is the best Thai food I have had in Auckland. The quality is always the best and the staff are friendly and personable, the atmosphere is welcoming and the menu has a wide range on offer for all tastes. The Tom Kha Gai soup is just delicious. If you want a great Thai meal, this is the place to go.

Had dinner there last night for the first time in 3 years and was very disapointed, the food was good but a little bit over priced. The thing that got us was the service being so terrible, the waitress with the short hair never had a smile on her face, never said thankyou and decided to stand 10 metres away from our table at the begin with a grumpy look on her face as we didnt order straight away. I can understand when people have a bad day but theres no need to make a customer feel unwelcome. What a disapointment

Have been here a few times over the years as we have friends in the area. Ate there last Friday for a birthday and everything was exceptional. <br/><br/>The service was fast, friendly and professional.<br/><br/>The food, some of the best Thai I have had in ages. The Lamb Massaman was exquisite.<br/><br/>Add to that some banter with Pat and you have a fantastic night. Highly recommended.

We have been to Benjarong a number of times over the last few years. The service has always been quick and friendly. <br/><br/>The food each time has been as good as any Thai in Auckland and they seem to have a strong following of local customers.<br/><br/>We keep going back.

This is the best Thai around. We are always made to feel extremely welcome by the lovely staff. The food is always to the highest quality. Try the mixed entree-it is so good (especially the puffs). Highly recommended.

Although food was good the SERVICE was incredibly POOR.The young male waiter made an error with my wine order and although admitting it to the senior waitress,I was made to feel it was my fault.And thats where it remained until I had to force the issue to correct it.The waitress after this was extremely sour to say the least.I enjoy good food and with that should come GOOD SERVICE.I will be letting friends know my disappointment and will not eat there again.

a wonderful place to dine! i went there for my 16th birthday with my family and it was just superb! wonderful fun host, food and drinks!just stunning service!

Hard to beat this place for food quality and service, decor is nice and functional and I just love the host, Pat, who really looked after us well.

My favorite local Thai restaurant! The staff here a so friendly when you enter it is like you are welcomed into there home! Cashew chicken is amazing here along with many others! Always very happy with my meals here.

I've been here a few times for dinner and overall, it's a nice place.<br/><br/>The atmosphere is friendly and staff are really kind. <br/><br/>I called ahead the first time I came to make sure they had food suitable for vegans and was informed it was fine. I really loved how when we arrived I was taken care of so well, the woman who served us was so attentive, I wish I knew her name to give her more praise. <br/><br/>The food was tasty, no doubt, the only down side being that for a Thai restaurant, it's rather expensive.