suk jai thai restaurant

my husband don and i and various groups of friends go to this restaurant often - the staff are very welcoming, the food is exquisite and the service the best in whangarei.
the overall experience makes us gobackagain and again and when we have out of town visitors this is the only place we will go.
in fact going again for lunch tomorrow.
well done to you all at suk jai.
cheers thank you for coming to whangarei.

back yet again today for another great lunch. the squid entree was as tender as and the pork ginger main was as good as ever. really love this place and everyone we have gone along with has returned or is going to as they were so impressed. but what a surprise today, charn the owners' son came out and gave us a lovely desert for the 3 of us as he had seen pat and i had recently (earlier this week) celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary. this really nice host had that special touch for us and we so much appreciated it. it's so nice to be spoilt by some of our great hospitality operators in whangarei. it is noticed. we will bebackyet again.

used to be fantastic under the previous owners. now much smaller portions. as in much much smaller portions and they can't wait to clear your plates away and get you out the door after giving you the bill to which they always seem to make 'oh hahahah mistake....oh...sorry...hahaha'. they had only put the food down in front of one of us who then got up to use the facilities and the waiter tried to take the food away- it hadn't been touched in 30 seconds so obviously needed to be cleared away..... the money bags are disgusting with the mixed vegetables in them and the sauce used for dipping is like vinegar. what happened to the gorgeous clear plum sauce????? new owners. okay. but lousy service and the food is really mediocre. it used to be "our special place" once or sometimes twice a week. not any more. we are taking our $$$$$backto our favourite thai restaurant. we were asked by the former owners to support the new owners from christchurch. we have tried. sorry, won't be back. and people please do not be so greedy as to have people dining in your waiting area. totally inexcusable. your reputation is taking a hammering because of your greed. small portions. "mistakes' on the bill. stop and think about where you are now. whangarei. small. local and people talk. and recommend or advise great restaurants to others. your restaurant is being noticed for all the wrong reasons.

after realising our favourite restaurant in christchurch had closed after the feb 22nd earthquake we were gutted, however after organising a trip to tour the amazing northland we were delighted to find out that they had moved to whangarei. we called in for lunch on our way north and found the restaurant we loved in christchurch was even better, a much nicer environment very bright, clean and one day a fantastic outdoor area. we enjoyed the same food that we remember so much we camebackfor dinner on the waybacksouth. i really hope the locals enjoy it as much as we have over the years!

lovely clean and well presented space, and what appeared to be a charming courtyard area outside (but this evening it was pelting down with rain). the place was packed to capcity (around 40 - 45 diners) and is clearly popular. we were greeted, and took a seat at our table (waitress was too busy at the counter to seat us and give us menus at that point). there in followed a lengthy wait for menus, when they came it was with a pleasant apology for the wait. we ordered entrees each and two mains and a couple of beers. the entrees were excellent and boded well for our main meals. we had quite a wait for our mains and when they came they looked beautifully colourful and fresh but we had both asked for medium heat and they lacked any trace of spice - mild at best. this is the main reason i have only given three stars. the other reason is despite the restaurant emptying out we sat for ages with our plates uncleared after our mains. in the end we gave up and went up to pay. they are very pleasant and polite, but need to speed the service up a little. i hear it has been sold so will gobackin a few months to see if the new owners have turned up the heat a bit.

ok, i'm no food critic but i love great food and flavours, as a mum of four i have created many different dishes to present to my family. any way... this was my first time having authentic thai food, and i loved it. we had a large group booking, and we all loved the food so much many of us have beenbackwith our families. the food is flavour-full yet mild enough for the littlies, so if you like it hot then order hot. the service was wonderful and the staff are kind and courteous. a great atmosphere for any kind of dinner date. you must try.... i'm taking my kids tonight to see what they think as they love great food too, i'm sure they'll love it.