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 greatplaceto chill out for a relaxing evening.

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

thisplaceis h o m o p h o b i c
apologise.

what a disgustingplaceto 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. theplacewas 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.

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.placelovely and cosy. if we are ever in napier again we definitively will come back.
keep up the good work guys.

if you going to "the thirsty whale", be ready to wait. went there with 3 friends and a toddler. ordered 4 mains and some fries. and had to wait 45 minutes for the fries to arrive. and another 30 minutes for the mains to arrive. this leaves a total wait time of one hour, fifteen minutes of wait for main course. 

i would have hoped the food would be amazing after the wait. but guess what (you have seen the rating), it was less than mediocre. the order and feedback follows:
fish and chips: 3 mini pieces of fish. the batter was not seasoned at all. the chips were soggy.
thai red curry: they used chicken breast which was a tad bit chewy (read overcooked), which could have been forgiven. but the dish that was served was not even hot.
chicken wings: the worst of the 4 dishes. no flavor. no salt, no seasoning. it was chicken nibbles dipped in flour batter and fried. full stop.
ribs: the saving grace of our meal. got nice smoky ribs with ample of sauce to stir things up. 

also ordered two desserts: creme brulee and choco fudge cake. but again, the wait time was 35 minutes after we ordered, that we could lay our eyes on dessert.
the choco fudge cake was nice and warm. the creme brulee was creamy in the middle and crackly on top as it should be.  but the fruits did not go with the creme brulee. but that's a pass and they came separate.

the ambiance of theplaceis beautiful. with heaps of outdoor seating overlooking the port. and a humongous indoor seating area divided between two levels. the staff was very helpful given we had a toddler with us. 
but will i return; the short answer is no. its a damn long wait for food even when the restaurant was not busy.
pricewise: $70 for two.

greatplacethey have a new menu love the fish of the day and lovely sitting on the deck with great hawke's bay weather over looking the marina

i had my 21st and engagement party at the thirsty whale, in the harpoon room. the service there was unbelievably great and the food was absolutely delicious. we had the buffet menu, which had a great variety of foods (seafoods, beef, ham, breads, salads) and it never ran out! the food was up to wedding standards. i would highly recommend to anyone who is looking for aplaceto hold their private function.

i would really like to say that this was an amazingplaceto have lunch, my husband and i never seem to get out much with twin boys and another one on the way, life is very hectic.
when we dinned here for the first time on tuesday we were absolutely thrilled with the excellent, quality service and beautiful tasty food. it is a date we will never forget and we are going to try and make a date happen here more often.

thank you very much to the staff at thirsty whale for such a pleasurable experience!! we will be back!!