I would rate this a ten star if I could.. the food is great and the service is just as good as the food it is in lovely, quiet cosy location… you are guaranteed to enjoy your meal every time… I find myself re-visiting the BLUE ELEPHANT at least twice a month or more… hope you all enjoy the food as much as i have

The portion was big (for me and my girlfriend), and the ambient was great. However the taste of the food was only above average. There are better Thai food in the area. Great services by the waiting staff – gave us a good explanation on the menu items. Would go there again for the atmosphere rather than the food.

the best Thai food we’ve ever had!! This restaurant is amazing! there were so many flavors in each bite of our meal ~ The prices are very reasonable, the menu extensive, and the owner, Karen, is a sweetheart! Great wine, too! We’ll definitely return, on our next trip to New Zealand!!

All three of us gave this lovely, charming restaurant full marks.
-Love the menu which had some unique offerings, in particular the herb parcels which were just divine and just completely different to what we’ve ever had in a thai restaurant.
-Food was well prepared but also beautifully presented, spiced just right and delicious
-The location was quaint, surrounded my greenery in the heart of Parnell.
-The actual place was charming, tastefully decorated with music appropriate to its theme
-The hostess was warm and ensured we were happy and comfortable.
-Fully recommend for both couples and small groups as it was a lovely, intimate setting.

We went here tonight after reading the great reviews on this site. It was REALLY delicous! We eat Thai at least once a week, and we will be going back for sure. Can’t believe I haven’t found it before now – YUM

Nice and friendly environment. The staff and the food are superb. Our children loved the presentation of the carrot flowers and the chance to have a try by themselves as well.
I can write pages here about their high quality service and delicious food but it must try it. I only had the same feeling at Carinthia that I’m the most honoured GUEST here and the food and the staff is for my satisfaction.

Excellent food, specially their prawns were ultra delicious. The banana dessert was extremely wonderful too. Went for my wife’s birthday there. will go back again.

We don’t venture into the city often for food (traffic, parking, ugg). But when we do we often eat here. Time after time the food is excellent and consistent. The service is great; attentive and genuine. Thank you Blue Elephant for making the trek worthwhile!
Donna and Alan

Consistently great food, friendly, efficient service and reasonably priced. Add the fact that it is a BYO and blue elephant is a perfect venue for any occasion. Highly recommended.

Fantastic food awesome atmosphere, fab staff, would recommend to anyone wanting a nice relaxing night out with friends, you can’t go wrong. Their Chubby Young Blue Elephant (Hapuka with stir fried vegetables) and the chicken cashew nuts are a firm favourite, I would highly recommend you try them.
I travel from West Auckland even for takeaways. A++++

Our last meal in New Zealand was at the Blue Elephant, and what a fantastic memory to leave NZ with. The Blue Elephant is hidden away in Parnell Rd and is a perfect setting for such a lovely little Thai restaurant.
The menu is exciting to read, and our host explained all the dishes in such a friendly manner that we felt as though we were dining and an old favourite. We had the Mixed Entree which was superb, followed by Massamam Lamb Curry and Blue Elephant Spicy Crispy Pork.
The meals were generous and the flavours were magical. The Crispy Pork unlike anything I have ever tasted before.
The service is first class and friendly; also probably the cleanest restaraunt I have ever eaten in (look at the cutlery, glassware and furnishings!)
Our only regret was we couldn’t try the ‘Chubby Young Blue Elephant’ or any of the other fabulous dishes on offer.

This is the best Thai food I have ever eaten. In fact, it is better than Thai food. It should have its own distinct category, ‘Blue Elephant Food’. The menu offers a blend of traditional dishes and slightly more exquisite creations that will surprise any seasoned Thai goer. The service from the owners and the intimate dimly lit surroundings are equally genuine and lovely. I just can’t rate this place too highly.

I heard about this place from this web site. We were celebrating a family members birthday and we didn’t really want to visit the city – after all – we do have a fair choice of good Thai restaurants in the Eastern suburbs. It was my decision to try the Blue Elephant and I’m glad I did. From a very genuine welcome from the owners we were shown to our table. I had already checked out their menu so had an idea of what I wanted to order. Trouble was – there was too many I wanted to try! We were a party of 5 with 1 fussy eater (no seafood or chicken!). We ordered 8 entrees between us so we got to taste quite a few of what was on offer. Presentation of the entrees was fantastic and the various flavours were … well words fail me but the word “fresh” comes to mind. The mains were also excellent but again we had over ordered. The servings are probably a little larger than what we are used to from a Thai restaurant – but even so .. we over ordered!!! It’s so hard to choose what you aren’t going to choose here. We all liked the way the menu was structured. Simple enough to pick your style and then pick which meat you want done that way. The service was attentive without being over bearing. The owners, Wayne & Karen, took an interest in us and chatted informally. I felt like we were regulars even though this was our first visit … won’t be our last though!!! Karen & the staff very kindly took away what we couldn’t eat & packaged it up nicely for another meal the next day. She then arranged a small (thank goodness!!)desert complete with 2 candles for the birthday girl …. complimentary. A very kind & generous gesture. Even our ‘fussy’ eater was impressed. We love Thai food and have tried many very good places up & down the country. If this isn’t the best it sure is in the top echelon. Try it. You will be impressed. Thank you Wayne & Karen & staff for a great night.
P.S. beware of the extra hot chilli king prawns ordered by another table .. the fumes even had Wayne coughing!!!

What an amazing journey for your taste buds.

Truly the best Thai Cuisine i have ever tasted.

The decor and the service is also amazing , a delightful find in Parnell.

Well done Thai Blue Elephant

My absolute favorite Thai restaurant in Auckland. The food, service and atmosphere are consistently excellent.

The atmosphere is tranquil, the food is generously served, beautifully presented and delicately flavored.

Highly recommended!

Simply the best Thai food I have ever eaten, friendly service with a lovely ambiance.

All dishes ordered were cooked to perfection, the crispy pork, red duck curry are to die for.

Will definitely be frequenting on a more regular basis.

Undoubtedly the finest Thai restaurant in Auckland.
From the warm, friendly and relaxed atmosphere to the luscious, exquisite, tantalizing food, the Blue Elephant is a hidden gem. Well done guys.

PS. Try the spicy crispy pork! Mmmmmmmm

We found the Blue Elephant from GrabOne and we challenge anyone who say this is not the best Thai restaurant in Auckland. That is why we have been back 4 times since December 2010. The food is totally authentic as Sopida can testify since she is Thai. The service is very friendly and efficient. Thanks to Karen, Wayne and Kwang. We really love this place and been telling as many people as possible.

Wonderful restaurant, a great dine out experience. Place is dimmed with lovely fittings lit by candle lights. It is atmospherically romantic with great service, food was delicious, highly recommend to all! Because of Blue Elephant, I’ve fallen in love with Thai food!

absolutely superb. each dish was fresh and each had an exquisite characteristic flavour.
better than most Thai restaurants in Auckland, which tend to have a “uniform” taste for every dish.
definitely going again.

Blue Elephant serves up some of the best Thai I’ve ever had. Always fresh ingredients and clean presentation you wont be disappointed here.
If I lived in Parnell I’d be eating here every night

we had dinner there for the second time last night,we have eaten at nearly every major thai restaurant in auckland and again it was by far THE BEST and most exquisite meal we have ever had, from entree to desert the meal was faultless, this restaurant has to become the top thai dining experience in auckland.
highly highly recommend

just been there for dinner with my partner and I have to say that is probably the best Thai restaurant we´ve ever been here in Auckland (and we´ve been to a few)

The flavour was just incredible, and the sticky rice!! since we came back from Asia 2 year ago we haven´t been able to find places that serve this kind of northen east Thai style. JUST GREAT!
the service and the atmosphere was fantastic.

Thanks so much for everything! we´ll be coming back certainly!

By the way, the entrance to the restaurant and the portions are huge and well balanced!… maybe the people from the review by Orly was really oversized…;P

Had the best time here. Great service. considering it was really interesting, delicious, freshly cooked food, we were served promptly – arrived 8pm and were waddling out the door by 9.30. The hosts went the extra mile for us. No complaints at all. Excited to hear they are open for lunch too. Even though parking is a challenge in Parnell, we needed the walk!

We dined here on Friday night and the place was packed – maybe the promtional voucher which gave us $50 worth for just $20? Parking was a nightmare but what would one expect in Parnell on a Friday? After several circuits we found a space a short walk away. Ambience was ok, tables very close together meant no privacy of conversation, and I didn’t really like the cheesy piano-by-candlelight music which seemed a bit at odds with Thai decor. The food was fairly standard tasty Thai fare, perhaps could have been hotter, servings were HUGE, and we took away doggie bags willingly offered, and with fresh rice added compliments of the establishment. Service was friendly and professional. Good value, especially with the discount voucher.

My partner and I arrived the restaurant after 9pm since we couldn’t find a parking. Even though we were late for our reservation, the staff(later we realised the lady was the owner “Karen”) was welcomed us -It was a great start. We ordered the whole snapper dish which was moist and tasty -actually the size of the fish was much bigger than we expected so we were struggle to finish it though it was delectable;) Another dish called “Crispy Pork” was just superb!
We thought the way they treated customers was warm and equally friendly to anyone. The ambience was perfect too! Although we’ve been to many Thai restaurants, the experience at the Blue Elephant was so far the best. Definitely we would go back again! Thanks to you all.

I dined here on the weekend after buying a voucher off GrabOne. The service was amazing, Karen and Wayne were great hosts and made us feel extremely welcome. The food was delicious – one of the best Thai restaurants I’ve eaten at in a long time. Will definitely be back!!!!

We first went to Blue Elephant as we had purchased a voucher off of grab one. Our first experience was lovely. We were seated and assisted quickly with very friendly service (possibly one of the owners). Everything from the moment we sat down until the moment we left was absolutely marvelous. The food was by far the best Thai food in Auckland, let alone NZ. Being from the US, we have been looking for an authentic Thai restaurant and are so happy that we finally found it! The food was delicious and the experience was even better. We have since been back and it was yet again wonderful. This is the only Thai restaurant to eat at in Auckland unless you are looking for non-authentic, rush you out the door service. Cant wait to go back this week!

Went to the Blue Elephant with my husband on a Friday night after purchasing a discount voucher from GrabOne website. We are not from the area and drove especially all the way from Rodney to dine there. We were greeted and seated very quickly (we were happy that we weren’t ‘big’ people as the entrance door is so thin that had to walk in side ways). We had looked at both the dinner and drinks menu and waited for a while for our waitress to take our order – in the mean time the male owner of the place was doing nothing behind the bar while he could have helped out. The table next to us that had arrived after us were served before us(?!?!). After the waitress had finally approached us to take our order it felt like she didn’t know what was doing (probably her first night?). We have ordered two beers, two entrees and two mains. For our mains we have taken the sweet sour pork and the duck salad (under the salad category). The Beers arrived quickly, and straight after the entrees. So far, average flavours. When the mains arrived, if I had to guess how much pork was in the sweet sour pork dish, I’d say about 70grams and for the price of $22.50 the quantity was on the small side. After about 4 minutes the duck salad arrived. It looked nothing like a salad. There was more duck skin than duck itself and the salad bit were 6 halves of fresh apples. That’s it! No lettuce, or any other vegetables! That cost $25.50. Ridiculous. We were happy that we didn’t come too hungry to eat at the Blue Elephant. We won’t be coming back as there are far better Thai Cuisine restaurants closer to us for half the price.

We regularly go to the Blue Elephant, the food is fresh and delicious, and the service is excellent. Highly recommended!