Review Phuthai Esarn Restaurant - Wellington

We had dinner on a Saturday as walk in. It was our first time here as recommended by a friend. We arrived as soon as they opened ant 5pm and we were happily accommodated. They just did some shifting of tables and chairs as we’re only a group of 3. We were nicely informed that we have to return the table by 6:30pm and asked if it’s ok with us. We ordered our food straight away as I have already planned ahead what to order before coming to the restaurant. We didn’t wait long for the entrees and the rest of our food to come out. The friendly waiter even offered to take a photo of our group which was nice. The food all tastes really good even their water. We will be back again for sure to try their other dishes on the menu.

My wife and I love Thai cuisine. We sometimes travel from Malaysia to Thailand just to experience the authentic Thai food and presentation. We were googling for one in Wellington and decided to try this one. Great food, lovely atmosphere, warm service. Serving, taste and service were authentic enough for a Thai restaurant in NZ! Definitely one of the best we’ve tried in NZ. Recommended!

Awesome food and service. Really nice people. Nice and warm place. Thanks Todd for the welcome ! I’ll be back soon for sure

Gracious and polite service. Delicious food. The food is a quick to arrive. Great lunch deal. Very reasonable price for both dine in and take away. Adequate portions.

Went there for lunch and ordered their $16.50 beef and oyster sauce special. I was impressed by the generous amount of beef vs vegetables and loved the flavour and freshness. Would definitely go again!

Authentic food & delicious. The Pad See Yew took me back to my travels in Thailand. The aesthetic of the restaurant was similar to many experiences in Thailand. The staff were very attentive and friendly. Looking forward to our next visit. I’ll give atmosphere 4 stars because it can get very loud and we had to yell to talk with others at our table of four.

Exceptional, the food was unbelievable quick service great atmosphere. Seriously if you go to Wellington go here or your missing out. 10/10 delicious

Always a delight coming here! Both food and service are excellent. Recommend Karee puffs, whole fish dish and Tom Yum 😋

Excellent thai restaurant. Food was very tasty and the service was great. Highly recommended. We will definitely come back here when we're in Wellington.

Have been there for both dine in and takeaways. Always enjoyed the food and the atmosphere too. Friendly staff.

Excellent Thai cuisine in a small charming location slightly off the main restaurant area. Service was polite and efficient. Had the red mixed appetizer plate, curry seafood, chicken stir fry with cashews and carrot salad. Everything was fresh. Very reasonably priced. Limited wine list but good options. Can bring your own.

Great food fresh and delicious, good size portions

Best Thai food in Wellington. I was craving for Thai food and I was not disappointed. Good portion and price too. The whole fish was so delicious and Pad Thai is the must have. We also had deep fried ice cream for dessert and it was such a good combination the warm crispy coating and cold ice cream. Definitely will be back again.

Lovely food. We always enjoy coming back here.

Very good Thai food - real Thai flavours and great fresh seafood dishes.

Food and atmosphere is great but service has been bit slow on both occasions I have been here

The green curry I had was delicious. Nice decor and music

Amazing! Excellent service and delicious food. Could not fault.

Always love the food here especially the seafood pad see ew and all the curries. Bonus is it’s byo and it’s reasonably priced

Love this place, the pad see yew (sp?) is the actual bomb. Just wish the roti could be made vegan! Then life would be complete 😁

Good reviews on zomata so gave it a go and it was great! I had the kari puffs, 4 large portions. As well as the chicken and cashew stirfry with sticky rice. To much for one person to finish so have left overs - yum!

Ordered deep fried fish in red curry and lamb sizzling on hot plate. Definitely love them. The fish was actually in fillets, perfect for someone like me who hates bones. Lamb was flavourful. Definitely will come back again!

Nice food. Went with a wife and four other friends. The atmosphere was great, and the food was nice too.. the only disappointment for us was the large amount of cooking smoke in the restaurant. Had people coughing for a while... seemed like their extractor fans were not working on the night.

If you want a hefty lunch in a very affordable price eat here. They have big servings of authenthic thai cuisines. We love their pad thai, tom yum and chicken cashew nuts.

Gotta love consistency. I've been here over 5 times and each time I leave full and satisfied. <br/><br/>The penang curry is a nice ballance if sweet with a hint of spice (though slightly too liquid). The pad thai still has a slight chew, which I appreciate. The amount of seafood they provide makes each dish value for money. And the vegetables are not overcooked (which is what happens a lot with asian food). <br/><br/>The sticky rice is moist and the roti crispy. They don't make fresh roti but I don't mind the package stuff (I buy it myself). <br/><br/>Its byo but I generally get the Red Metal merlot. Not the best pairing but a solid wine to sip on. <br/><br/>Staff are friendly enough and the atmosphere is pleasant.<br/><br/>It's in the Entertainment Book, which is an added bonus. <br/><br/><br/>

Food was yummy! The serving size was rather large so I couldn't finish it. The service was great, didn't have to wait long to get food. It was very hot in the place when it is at full capacity

On holiday from Auckland and some of the best Thai food we've eaten, and great value for money! We will definitely be going there again before we leave!

SO GOOD HERE! Roti is fantastic, peanut satay with tofu was insanely good and the noodles were fab as well. Nice place tucked away, not overly popular or crowded but definitely quality food. Nice for a BYO or just a simple date night :) I don't give out 5 stars a lot and this place is definitely worth it. The only criticism would be when they were more busy than normal one night they ordered our starters twice because our waitress changed. We said we didn't want it and they were fine with it and said sorry. Such lovely people!

This place used to be consistently good but we had a not so good experience yesterday - they weren't busy (2 other tables) so not sure what the reason was for a less than A game.My meal was taken to another table, where the unsuspecting diner had been enjoying it until it was hurriedly whipped away from him and back to the kitchen.  It took them 20minutes to make the first time but I got a replacement in a few moments.  They said it was made fresh but I felt funny and lost my appetite.We were polite and left without eating.  We paid full price and there was no apology, leaving a bit of a bad taste.  Perhaps try other places in the area instead of this one.

The food was good, price was cheap. But my partner and I have had two days of projectile food poisoning since going. Wont be going there again

Came here with four others for dinner. Friendly service and pretty good serving times. Clean plain decor.<br/><br/>Food was fine; red and green curries were rich in flavour with emphasis on the coconut milk but was on the salty side. The deep fried prawn and carrot salad was very good (as a papaya substitute), very spicy and tangy.<br/><br/>Down side was the lack in range of beers and wine.<br/><br/>Three Yums

Went here as a group for a going away, about 14 or us at 6.30 on a Tuesday night. Staff were friendly but a little rushed of their feet, some mains didn't arrive until most people had finished and some sides brought out after a main had been eaten.

Went out for dinner with hubby. Food was amazing loved the Thai green curry. Big tick for food and great prompt service my only winge would be the space was limited when it was a full house. Hard to get out if your sitting in the corner hoping not to knock anyone's table etc but loved it otherwise 👍

Went for lunch. Ordered basil beef. Yummy. Generous amount of veges. I like the crinkle cut of carrots and cucumber (or maybe zucchini im not sure) Doesnt take long for the food to come out. Friendly staff. Lots of seatings available.

Myself and three friends dined at Phu Thai Esarn last night and thoroughly enjoyed our experience! We loved the service - our waitress was attentive, friendly and totally onto it. We were particularly impressed that she kept refilling our water without us asking, regardless of how busy they were. Our fourth person arrived just after the three of us had ordered and the waitress came over and took her order rather quickly, and her food came at the same time as the rest of ours. Speaking of, the food came so promptly and all came at the same time. <br/><br/>As a vegetarian I love the amount of choices provided by Phu Thai. The Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls were an excellent entree - they were perfectly crispy on the outside but moist on the inside. <br/>My Khoa Pad Tofu (veggie fried rice) was delicious but too big of a portion for me to finish. If you're starving, you'll probably manage it and it's excellent value for money. I had a taste of my friend's Red Curry Todu and it was delicious - I know what I'm getting next time! The general portion sizes are large, so great for sharing or for hungry diners. <br/><br/>The atmosphere was perfect with the dim lights and the decorations, friendly staff and delicious food. BYO is a bonus, definitely making this a top restaurant in my book! <br/>

Visited this restaurant yesterday. Very accommodating staff and great service. The food was to die for. Of the 7 of us dining we had all very very favourable comments. Very authentic food... Authentically decorated small restaurant in a central wellington location

Dined here for the first time the other evening with friends and I can't believe I have never been before. The food is so tasty, fresh and reasonably priced. The fresh spring rolls as an entree were just perfect. The staff are so courteous and friendly with such lovely smiles. The decor is wonderful, cosy yet bright and welcoming. Being BYO is also a bonus. I will definitely be back.

Have come here many times now and I always love it!<br/><br/>PHuthai has delicious Thai food, especially the penang curry which is just amazing and rates as possibly my favourite penang curry in Wellington.<br/><br/>The staff are friendly, and I love the atmosphere and decor. My only comment is that it can get very noisy. Being BYO is great though as the food is very reasonably priced and comes out quickly.

Great Thai food. Very tasty every single time. The staff are friendly and attentive. The fact that it is BYO is great. The Mussaman Curry is spectacular. <br/><br/>My one complaint is that you have to pay for rice with a meal however at least the mains are reasonably priced at around $15-$20 for really great quality food. <br/><br/>I highly recommend.

This is the best Thai in Wellington I have found that is affordable and delish! The staff are friendly the food comes out fast and is always amazing. <br/>My partner and i go about once a month, and when we have family visiting we always take them there and everyone always loves it. <br/><br/>In fact we are going tonight just the two of us, and going back on Friday night with my sister and her kids.<br/><br/>Love it!

I don't often write reviews but given the listed ones, I don't feel that these are accurate or current. <br/><br/>I am a regular here and often take new people every time. I'm not a fan of places like Thai Chef and maybe the difference is that Phu Thai is Esarn. <br/><br/>Just two weeks ago I took my team in for dinner, there were about 11 of us and everyone loved it! <br/><br/>All their meals are flavoursome, big portions and great pricing. It can get a little busy but if you book it has no worries. <br/><br/>The carrot salad is amazing! Not many restaurants sell this in Wellington. <br/><br/>Really lovely staff. <br/>Highly recommend.

Have been here twice now. The first time was last year for a friend's bday. Food is tasty but very expensive. The second time was last week. Food was tasty again but something shocking happened. At 11pm, when there were still 4 patrons still eating, they turned off the lights and the heater! Obviously they wanted to close but they could have changed the sign at the front instead of making us finish our food in the dark and the cold! Absolutely shocking and I'm never going back. With terrible service, its not worth it.

Have been to Phuthai Esarn a couple of times in the last few weeks for a birthday and leaving dinner, there was about 10-15 of us each time. Bookings were made but they didn't have enough menu's to go around and the food was quite slow - there was at least 20-30 minutes between the first meal and the last meal being bought out. The staff did not apologise for the delay or offer any kind of discount. The food was really good though and very reasonably priced. Would go back in 6 months and hope they have learned a few things.

our first visit to this particular restaurant - and it has made a lasting impression on us.the food was FANTASTIC...so was the wait staff,very friendly...our group of friends highly recommend this place..so much so we're returning this weekend...enjoy folks...WE DID

We dined at Phu Thai Esarn tonight for the first time and enjoyed a lovely meal. We shared an entree of toong thong, deep fried minced chicken and shrimp parcels (wontons). They flavour was good, albeit dominated by the frozen mixed vegetables in the filling. Our main course was excellent. We highly recommend the panaeng curry with thick coconut milk, which we had with decent sized strips of chicken. The flavour went well with jasmine rice (which had to be ordered and paid for separately). We found the roti to be quite greasy but it soaked up the leftover curry just fine. The nam-tok beef was a delicious taste sensation and quite different to the usual Thai fare - well worth a try. Our service was great and the environment is fine, although very much let down by having the tables squashed together like sardines.

<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>My wife and I had an another very enjoyable and tasty lunch at the Phu Thai Esarn restaurant, ordering the Pad See Yew and Chicken Pad Thai meals respectively at $10.00 lunch special. The place was quite a-buzzing when we arrived and was more so by the time we left, a a large group of ten came in midway through our meals.<br/>Our poor young waitress was continuously rushed off her feet literally......but she did her job admirably, always smiling and cheerful. My only criticism of the place was its rather uncomfortable well overused chairs ( which should all be replaced immediately) and sharp broken glass top corner of my table (which could render unlucky diners a serious injury).<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Review by: phil1618 (14) on 20th August 2010<br/>Total 7.3 <br/>Food 7 <br/>Dessert N/A <br/>Presentation 7 <br/>Service 9 <br/>Environment 7 <br/>Toilets 5 <br/><br/>We had the lunch special at the PhuThai Esarn Restaurant today.<br/>This consisted of a Pad Thai Chicken meal with a side plate of a large round piece of Roti Bread (with a yellow coloured sauce) and a cup of Chinese Tea costing $15.00 in total.<br/>The Pad Thai Chicken meal was quite nice and enjoyable but a bit on the sweeter side I thought.<br/>The Roti Bread was okay but a little dry I thought. I would have preferred my usual peanut sauce to dip the Roti bread in.<br/>The service was excellent. We were well looked after by a very friendly Chinese-Thai waitress.<br/>It wasn't very busy for lunch there today, so our meal arrived very quickly.<br/>If there was any criticism, I thought the restaurant itself was somewhat over-cluttered with too many tables and chairs, making ease of movement quite restricted.<br/>Overall it was nice simple lunch at a reasonable price in a a very pleasant Thai Restaurant.<br/>We would like try the PhuThai Esarn Restaurant again for dinner one night