A friend of mine suggested the place to me, said the “food was nice”. I came with two friends of mine and had a delicious meal.

the waiter warmly welcomed us, gave us choices (even when asking for water), recommended dishes, suggested wine (presented for tasting), but had no answers when we asked him if he could turn the heaters on!!!

I asked him to call for the manager, guess what, he turned out to be the one! Poor lad!

All the things were good, if i were to give marks out of 10, his service would score 10, food might score 11 or 12 (very delicious), music 10, ambiance 7 (need to work out on the stains on the chairs); but most importantly dining 2 or 3 (how can you expect me to wear my overcoat and beanie on while eating my food, certainly NO!!).

I would definitely come again but of course not to dine in but only for a takeaway and probably enjoy my wine at my heated apartment.

I didnt love this place even though I love indian food. I thought it was expensive for what we got for a lunch and honestly, it just didnt taste great.

Good food !! Thanks Chef
Excellent location
Appropriate crockery cutlery and glassware

TO IMPROVE:
Service could be better – all it takes is a genuine smile.
More lighting in the washrooms
Probably an extra staff on a busy day
Some phone etiquites

I will come back!!! as the food was great

very good food………with good server
it is good to try Indian food over Athidi………i will come again to dine with Athidi
Thank You
Appreciated

We booked in with Athidi on Parnell to have our wedding reception in November 2011 we meant up with the manager vikram who made us feel like this is the place where we want to enjoy as our reception venue. On the week of the wedding I emailed him 5 days earlier and he made it clear that everything was going to go well. On the day of the wedding everything was so bad I was so stressed out when really I should been having the best day. And it was all because of the service of Athidi manager vikram. Who made out that he was sick but ok if he was sick he didn’t organise someone to manage what he was meant to be doing. The table cloths were dirty. the dinner was meant to be served at 8pm and it was served at 10pm. The entree was only served to a few of our guests. Jayesh who was the person meant to be running the place on behalf of Vikram was so incompetent we had to tell him what to do. To top it off we put a bar tab down but he was still charging our guests for drinks which was embarrassing on our part. We were so dispointed with the service and the food. The manager really made the night stressful when it should have been relaxing. So unhappy.

I used the $39 Groupon voucher for 2 at Athidi a few nights ago. The food was average. Definitely not anywhere near the best in Auckland, but it wasn’t terrible either. However, for the prices listed on the menu I would expect a lot more and find the quality unacceptable. Their horrible service, though, is where they really fail. After eating approximately half of our meal we asked for a take away box and were promptly denied. The waitress informed us that the vouchers are for “Dine In” only and do not permit “Take Away.” We couldn’t believe that this would apply to us, who most certainly did dine in, so we asked to speak to the manager, who repeated the same illogical argument as the waitress before him. Let’s let that sink in. Not only did we dine in, we also ordered naans and several beers which were not included in the voucher (which I would assume they are hoping you will do and is the reason behind the “dine in only” rule). We could just not wrap our heads around why these people would go so far to infuriate their customers, when clearly they have nothing to gain. How much would the box cost them? $0.50 maybe? So in order to save about $0.50 they not only unnecessarily wasted food, but also ensured that we will never eat there ever again. I have dined at restaurants ranging from fast food to $500 per person elite establishments and NEVER have I been denied a take away box.

Furthermore, both the waitress and the manager seemed stern and unapologetic in their responses to us. If this were just some dumb rule the owner made up and ordered them to follow, then fine, don’t give us the box. But at least have the decency to acknowledge that the customer is right and apologize. I still wouldn’t return, but at least I wouldn’t have felt slighted by the entire wait staff. And in case any of my gentle readers would question whether we were overreacting or asking for something inappropriate, the diners around us were just as offended as we were to hear the staff responses to us and let us know how ridiculous and unacceptable they found it.

In my view, service is equally as important as the quality of the food at fine dining establishments. Athidi On Parnell fails on both accounts.

I knew the night was off to a bad start when my wife and I arrived at Adithi, and I told the restaurant manager that I had a reservation for 2 at 6:00 PM, and he said that he did not have our reservation on file, but [in the good graces of his heart] he allowed us to be seated at a table. This appeared humourous to us at the start as when we arrived, the entire restaurant was free except for one table. Thank you kind sir!

Similar to loads of other folks, we used the $39 Groupon voucher with the mystifying value of $107 for two entrees, two mains, and two desserts. Over the course of the evening, we also ordered drinks and naans to go with our meals. The food was average, nothing to write home about, and unless Adithi has found the most convincing meat-substitute material, our vegetarian entree included two pieces of chicken tikka and 2 pieces of lamb kebab. Boy am I glad that we’re not vegetarians, otherwise, this right there could have been a nightmare!

I’ll skip to the reason why I will never eat at Adithi again, and until the restaurant changes it’s policy, I recommend that no one eats there. When we finished our meals after 1.5 hours of sitting at the restaurant, we clearly had leftovers that we wanted to take home. This was when the unwavering rookie waitress and restaurant manager dropped the ball on us. When you use a voucher, you are not allowed to take your leftovers home with you! The manager said that the voucher is for “dine in only”, which I agree, they don’t want people to come in, order, and take the food home without staying for dinner, ordering drinks, or ordering additional food items. We were the epitome of a dine in customer. We stayed for 1.5 hours, ordered alcoholic beverages, ordered additional food items, but regardless, we could not take our leftovers that were purchased with the voucher home. My wife is pregnant and can’t eat large meals in a given sitting, so we frequently take our leftover food home to eat later when we get hungry. No! The staff at Adithi, including the restaurant manager said these exact words, “We would rather let this food go to waste than to allow our valued customers to take it home for their enjoyment later.”

I tried numerous approaches to talk sense into the staff at Adithi, explaining the moral shortcomings of their policy, but my advice fell on deaf ears. In the end, although we ended up paying the equivalent of a full priced meal ($39 meal + $22 of add-ons), the restaurant manager stayed firm in their position and threw our leftover food away. Oh wait, we got to take our leftover naans home because we paid for these separately. Thank you Adithi, we’ll just dip our naans in the imaginary curry, which we paid for, that you didn’t let us take home!

Do not eat at Adithi at Parnell. They don’t value their customers, they waste food, and their food is mediocre at best.

We had a pre-booked table with a Groupon voucher for Athidi. The choice of an inside table or a table on the deck dining was given – a lovely setting but there is a definite ‘welcome’ missing from the staff here. It’s almost as if customers are an inconvenience.

However, over the course of the evening the service improved and the waiter warmed to us.

The mixed entree was adequate and the curries small but tasty – although obviously from other reviews from Groupon customers, we are not allowed prawns as these had conveniently ‘run out’ when I selected them as a main.

My major gripe is with the wine list. It is so terribly basic and inadequate!! This is Parnell and I don’t expect to select low end supermarket wines when I dine out! Please take note and upgrade your wine list. It is appalling for a fine dining Indian restaurant in the middle of Parnell. Until changes are made, I suggest you BYO (corkage $5) and any Groupon voucher holders should hold off revealing their coupons until the end of the evening as I feel they are discriminated against.

We went to Athidi with a $39 two person Groupon ($107 value).

Reading through the menu I worked out immediately that it would be actually impossible to get to $107 with the allowed two entrees, two mains and two deserts.

Maybe if we bought two whole tandoori chickens – the most expensive entree at $18 we could have got close to the alleged value of the Groupon.

But then our friendly waiter told us that such an order was out of the question.

Also not permitted, he told us, was for us Groupon plebs to order any dish containing seafood- including prawn curries that were only $1 dollar more than a beef vindaloo.

Needless to say neither the prohibition on seafood, or on starters costing $18 was a condition listed as part of the Groupon. This doubtless amounts to a breach of the Fair Trading Act but we didn’t kick up a fuss because we have young children and don’t get out often and just wanted to enjoy each others company, and at least they did provide a lovely setting, sitting out on the large covered wooden balcony with the rain beating down.

As for the food, well it was decidedly third rate.

The starter- a mixed platter for two at around $22, was okay although on the mean side, with two small pieces of tikka masala chicken. Oh well, I suppose that came to one piece each.

For mains we settled on a saag beef curry (the most expensive we were allowed, from memory) and a vegetarian dumpling dish (the name escapes me but paneer was involved). The dumplings and beef both arrived bobbing around in that thick, blended sauce that makes up all second rate curries. No other discernible ingredients, no textures, no interest. Saag dishes, to my mind at least, should be earthy in colour, rather than lurid green.

Worst of all was that the dumpling dish contained only two dumplings – smaller than golf balls – despite costing $16.70.

The dumplings were on the dry side but both curries were perfectly edible, if not anywhere near ‘fine dining’ standard. Think bog standard corner takeaway and you will be not far off.

The deserts were the worst, a gluggy mango lassi and an unpleasant ‘rice pudding’ (the recommended special of the day) which appeared to be simply leftover basmati submerged in sweetened milk and left to partially congeal in a sundae cup in the fridge.

Having only managed to put together a food order totalling roughly $70 our Groupon gave us a discount of $31 – for decidedly mediocre food. As mentioned, even if we had been allowed to order seafood and two $18 entrees I don’t think it was possible from the menu to get to $107 our Groupon entitled us to.

Then of course, we had to pay about $9 extra for raita and two roti as well as $5 for corkage. All in all then, we paid a total of $53 for a meal that was little better than what you would get at a food hall.

Lovely setting though, and we did have a nice time in spite of the lousy food, false advertising, and obviously pre- planned bias against Groupon holders.

My advice to anyone still with a Groupon for Athidi is to not tell them you have it until it’s time to pay the bill. Your entitlement to any 2 starters, 2 mains, and 2 entrees is clear and that way if you have to duke it out with them, at least they won’t be able to give you half portions or worse, do something unspeakable to your food.

Bought a voucher frm Groupon for Indian Restraunt (Athidi – Parnell) for $39….. allowed 2 entree, 2mains, 2 dessert (Valued up to $107.50) but all together its came up only $80. Had to pay extra for beer and an extra curry ($47)………..wt a rip off & false advertisment………………and i booked a table for new year eve they call me up day earlier saying we got booking for 40 soo have to cancell you booking ……………wtf

Shocking! Service was just appalling. We waited for ages for everything, I had to ask where my beer had got to, even had to get up and go and ask where the dessert menus we were promised were coming had gotten to. We asked 2 different waiters to turn on the heater because it was cold…nothing happened. Food was good, but I would never eat here again if this is how they treat patrons. It seemed that at least 3 other couples dining around us were having exactly the same experience, waiting and waiting and waiting for anything to actually happen.

In September 2010 two of went to this restaurant 10 times in two weeks, while touring and working in the area.

The people are very friendly, and each meal we had was SUPERB! These are some of the best curries I have ever eaten, the chef is fantastic, and I have owned and operated an Indian restaurant and eaten in some great places.

We were going through the menu, trying to find a favourite or perhaps find something nuder par. Each dish is magnificent. If you love curry, you will love this place. We are here again and will be visiting again when we arrive in Auckland next week ) Cant wait!

I was making a 15 people banquet in Athidi. We have less than 10 curries in the banquet, having 16 shots of Vodka and the total bill was $922 (Rip Off).

It is alright if all my guest are happy. But we wait for almost 2 hours for 10 curriess and 10 Entree, that was really a rip off. The customer service is good in the beginning but it turns out to be really slow at last, our food arrived 2 hours later and every of my guest is so unhappy.

The manager keep promising that the food will be ready in next 15 to 20 minutes but it turns out to be a lie after all.

After 2 hours later, 4 or 5 my guest left without having any food because they are just too hungry. The time is 12am when we get our food and that is only 10 curries.

Only 1 chef and 1 manager are working and we make a reservation 2 days before. They should have at least 2 chefs in the kitchen to speed it up but I think they just want to save cost and earn more money.

Please dont go to this restaurant because they are lier and fail to keep their promise. They even want to call police to get us out of the premise when we are complaining.

We should have went to Masala or Ravis but they have been promising very nicely: 2 Entries and 5 curries for each person in the banquet. Thanks for that, we only have 10 curries total up for 15 people.

None of us will returning!!

service was hit and miss you should never have to get up and ask for food
we went with a group of 10 and we were the only people in the place
the food was fantstic
the rice was also an issue for us we had to ask for the rice after our curries were on the table
but the $30 set menu is great!

I went to this restaurant for their $10.99 curry special on a Sunday evening. Our reservation was booked and seated at 7.30pm. Our orders were not taken until 8.00pm. Our meal had still not come to our table by 9.00pm. We had to ask the front desk how far away the food was and they advised 5 more minutes. Our rice came to the table (I think to show that the food was not too far away) but by the time the mains came out the rice had been sitting on the table so long that it had gone cold. Overall the service was absolutely appauling. The food was amazing and the special of the day was great, but considering the lack of service we will not be returning.