thirsty whale bar & restaurant

although there seemed to be issues with service, my wife and i were in no hurry and besides the fact that the orders were bamboozled in the confusion of a very busy night at this restaurant, i would highly recommend it for a good night out. the food (once it finally arrived) was delicious and the manager shouted us a free drink!very pleasant atmosphere and great location.a great place to chill out for a relaxing evening.

called in for a beer on a cold night (fire looked so inviting) feeling peckish decided to try the whale platter nice blend of seafood unfortunately on the menu it was all crumbed , not being a great fan of deep fried asked if there was an option, the manager was superb , spoke to the kitchen and got the meal pan seared plus for a few extra bucks we had both paua and whitebait fritters as well.what came out was heaven on a plate, clean tasting perfectly cooked plenty enough for two ,prawns calamari, scallops , fish.have cheekily suggested they put the pan seared version as an alternative on the menu as would be in to buy it frequently . certainly worth a visit would recommend highly

big meals - for those who love lone star or speights ale house - this place is for you. the place is staffed by kids who are not well trained. the owner is not a nice guy -despite being a city counsellor. overall the place is gross. there are plenty of other places along there to eat.

we had seafood signature dish and salt and pepper squid. it was mindblowing!
we had to come back a lot of times.
the staff were friendly too.
prices were okay but worth the price.
have recommended to friends! :)

don’t support homophobic people

not lgbt friendly
disgusting

this place is h o m o p h o b i c
apologise.

what a disgusting place to dine. the owners are not only homophobic, but treat customers with no respect and even swear at them. stay away. homophobic.

we came by for a late dinner after having some drinks nearby. we were enticed by the menu which was how we ended up here. the restaurant is quite large and even has an upstairs room which overlooks the restaurant. the decor is very nautical. the place was quite cosy. what was interesting was that there was a glass floor portion in the dining room and as you walk over you get a surprise.
the menu had lots of delicious sounding food but went with the seafood extravaganza as it was their signature dish. the seafood extravaganza is as it sounds, a variety of different seafood cook beautifully and differently. i really liked the pan seared scallops and the fried calamari. the fried crumbled fish was also quite nice with the sauce. my friend who got the roasts really enjoyed the roasts as well as the cheesy veges on the side. dessert was also quite interesting with the banana and more filo. we also managed to get the mango cheesecake which was freshly made. both were delicious.
the waitress was very friendly and hospitable. she even gave us the option of heading upstairs as they were converting the restaurant/bar area into a night club. it was already quite late and we had finished so we just paid the bill and left. definitely a good option in this area for food.

best eye fillet i’ve had in the north island of new zealand. cooked medium perfectly, delicious garlic mushroom sauce and yummy salad and chips. best steak i’ve ever had would definitely come back again for another medium eye fillet steak!

this is a lovely cosy place. our waitress brought us water and cutlery and menus for our table and we ordered drinks which came almost straight away.
i ordered the salmon caesar salad and my hubby ordered the steak. our meals came within 25 mins. they were absolutely delicious. my husband said his steak diane sauce was a bit runny. but everything else was lovely. and not bad prices too. mine was only $18
staff were attentive and friendly. food delish. place lovely and cosy. if we are ever in napier again we definitively will come back.
keep up the good work guys.

i will never dine at thirsty whale again.  i made a booking for myself and 2 friends last night and it turned out to be an absolute disaster.

great fish burger. fish tasted really fresh and was covered with a delicious layer of crunchy batter. food came out quickly. service was efficient

great space, large and lots of atmosphere along with good wait staff. we ordered 2 full breakfasts and the chicken caesar salad. the salad was possibly the worst i have had, egg on top was not cooked, what was said to be bacon was some kind of ham, lack of dressing, chicken was chewy and tasteless. big breakfasts slight better, however, ingredients of a low quality specifically the sausages. for the price there are alot better establishments in close proximity. would have rated lower but the wait staff saved the day. will not be returning.

went there for dinner on friday 9th november having been here before, what a change the staff were down right rude and the service was terrible. left sitting at the table with no attention from the staff at all. 
in utter frustration we walked out after waiting for a long time, my dining companions persevered and waited to get served after a long wait their orders were taken and after an even longer wait and numerous requests the meals arrived.
they also found the staff rude and argumentative. 
not an establishment that is on the must revisit list.