My partner and I went here for dinner on a Saturday night and it was fabulous. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The restaurant was well laid out and beautifully decorated. The food was fantastic with great flavours and it was brilliant to have it all explained to us. You could taste all of the different spices, amazing. As locals we will definitely be returning and recommending it to friends.

My partner and I went to Nobanno for an early dinner before seeing a show at the Town Hall, a great location for a restaurant, and an interesting twist in being NZ’s only Bangladeshi restaurant were what hooked us. When we arrived we were greeted warmly and this high standard of treatment continued throughout the night. Meals are very well priced, and extremely tastey, as others have mentioned the use of spices and herbs for a fuller flavour is a welcome change to the heat of Indian food.

Everyone I have told about this restaurant seems genuinely interested in the place, and we will definitely be returning!

My husband and I didn’t dine out very often, that is until we discovered Nobanno. The food is divine and the service always great. The restaurant has such a nice atmosphere, and looking around you can tell people are really enjoying their choice of dining out at Nobanno. A big plus for me is I don’t like “hot food”. Nobanno’s food is lovely and rich and full of spices and so delicious and it doesn’t burn your throat. We are always telling people about this place, it really is that good!

My son and I chose an early dinner at Nobanno based on recommendations of a couple of friends. Christopher (owner) explained the difference between Bengali and Indian cuisine which suited my palate as I prefer flavoursome food that is not overly hot. The specials of the day were explained in some detail but we opted for the Nobanno fish curry and the cheese and spinach dish (think palak paneer but lighter). Our meals were warm, satisfying and had a good blend of subtle spices. These dishes were accompanied by garlic naan and buttery saffron rice; both sides were well prepared. We chose aam (mango) lassi to drink and were provided with a complementary dessert, a saffron rice milk pudding dusted with pistachio: delicate and a superb end to the meal. Christopher takes a lot of pride in his food and this is evident in his attentive, polite service.

We went to Nobanno for the first time last night and were delighted with the experience.
We were quickly seated when we arrived. Then we had a great introduction to the restaurant once seated. The guy that did this was amazing, and i could only describe it as excellent customer service. We then got drinks, and were helped out by the same guy to choose our dinner option. He explained exactly what was in each and what one we would probably like. All three of us got excellent dishes, and continued to get top notch service all night.

Highly recommend a visit!

Dear Sara
I have read your comments about Nobanno and I felt it is very important to write the truth from my personal experience.
Firstly, I would like to say that Bangladesh was never been a part of West Bengal. If you look at the history carefully you will find that when British governed India sub-continent between 1858 and 1947 there was no such a country called Bangladesh. After the partition in 1947 it was a new part called East Pakistan. Then in 1971 Bangladesh became an independent country and separated from Pakistan after fighting a war for 9 months. Before the British Raj, Moghal Empire conquered the India. Mughal originally came from Persia (Iran). Therefore, could you please mention where you found your 300 years of history about India and Bangladesh were the same. Now we all know that Australian and New Zealander speak the same language and may share many attributes which are same but New Zealand is not the same country or region to the Australia- are they? Another example would be at present days Male and female both wear the pants but it does not mean that all Female are becoming Male as trouser or pants originally invented for Male and Skirt made for Female. I can say that Indian, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, China, Thailand, Burma etc all eat curry and I am sure they all follow their own cooking method. Therefore, you cannot be so certain about that they all are the same? You mentioned the Bengali word “Bhalo ammar tumar”. Do you know the meaning of it? Bhalo means ‘good’. Ammar means “my”. Tumar means “yours”. Does it sound like an appropriate Bengali sentence? What does it mean? I would like to ask you to learn the language properly before you using it. Many Bangladeshi have given their blood for the Bangla language so it should be respected and used appropriately.
Secondly, you mentioned that tandoori is not the part of Bangladeshi Cuisine and its part of Indian Cuisine. Your statement is not correct. Tandoori is not the tradition of either Bangladeshi or Indian cuisine. Tandoor originated in Persia (Iran) and then brought to India via Afganistan by Arabs. The word tandoor comes from the “Dari” words which derived from very similar terms Persian, Arabic, Turkish. (more history can be found on internet “type tandoor history”) Therefore, again you made an incorrect statement without knowing the history. Is it not better to know the history before you try to justify your assumptions?
Please do not get offended about my writing. Me being a Bangladeshi and visited many times to try Nobanno’s food and service were very satisfied in every time I been there. We live in 21st century so it is not ethical to fool people and I seen Nobanno is very busy and popular restaurant and people like me who visited many times so do you think that I am fool? I also saw that you made a review on “South of India” restaurant closer time to writing reviews on Nobanno with many flattery words. Are you sure that you are not a part of the Indian restaurant and trying to spread false rumors about a well recognized restaurant such as Nobanno? You also mentioned that you have been at Nobanno for both Lunch and dinner. That means you visited twice. Why did you visit twice if you did not like the food at the first time? Did you also mention your unsatisfactory result to the management or staff at Nobanno? I always notice that the owner and manager take extra effort to come and ask their guests about customers’ satisfaction. Please be open your mind so you can see the positive of others, otherwise you will be fooled at the end.

It seems that the previous comment was based more on cultural differences than the enjoyment of the dining experience.
The menu options while looking similar to an Indian menu taste quite different. This is due to them using less hot spices, which tends to bring out the more subtle spices, which are also present, but often overlooked in typical Kiwi-Indian dishes.
The restaurant is new and clean with nice hard-furnishings, which contribute to a lively/slightly noisy atmosphere.
Friendly service, tasty food with a point of difference, reasonably priced. Will definitely be back for another meal.

We came here for lunch and dinner. Food is exactly like Indian but they always like to say its different food from Bangladesh felt only name difference. I say its Indian food but different name. why do you fool people like that?
Bangladeshi cuisine refers to the Bengali cuisine prevalent in Bangladesh. Bangladesh was part of West Bengal before partition, hence the two regions have a common cuisine. Bangladeshi cuisine is a generic terminology to refer to the cooking-style and trend now prevalent in Bangladesh. However, there are several regional variations, in terms of dishes, cooking style, serving style and nomenclature. Tandoori is not the part of Bangladeshi Cuisine and its part of Indian Cuisine.
India and Bangladeshi were same and cuisine is from 300 years so they is no term who want to specify Christopher. Best Indian and Bangladeshi comes they way chef cook and customer likes. Bhalo ammar tumar. I been to bangladesh, India etc.
I didn’t like the explanation you gave to earlier customer comment that to after more than 3 months.

Came to dinner on a Friday night as a group of four. We had excellent service with the waiter showing great patience as we decided between all the wonderful options. The food is very well priced as are the drinks. Will definitely be back and will recommend to others.

I am always delighted to recommend Nobanno to friends and work colleagues. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable and the food is delicious and so tasty. Great spot for lunch.

Great food, reasonable prices and friendly service, we’ve been there many times and will continue to go. I recommend the badam curry and spiced mango lassi – delicious! The lunch wrap is also tasty (and cheap).

WE HAD A EXCELLENT MEAL HERE ON SATURDAY NIGHT THIS WAS OUR 4TH VISIT & IT HAS BEEN EQUALLY AS GOOD EACH TIME,AFTER THE FIRST VISIT WHERE EVERYTHING WAS EXPLAINED, WHICH I THINK
IS GOOD AS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS IS NOT INDIAN CUISINE,IT CAN BE A BIT OFF-PUTTING TO HEAR IT EXPLAINED TO NEW CUSTOMERS, BUT JUST SHUT YOURSELF OFF AND ENJOY THE MEAL. WE HAVE BEEN HERE FROM THE UK FOR 8 MONTHS & HAVE FOUND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND GOOD RESTAURANTS ,ESPECIALLY FOREIGN ONES & THIS ONE HAS BEEN VERY GOOD ALSO WE HAVE TAKEN FRIENDS & KNOW THEY HAVE RETURNED. GOOD LUCK TO YOU & WE SHALL BE BACK SOON

Got the full speel about how this was not Indian food and it was the only one of its type in Australasia etc etc (tasted to me like Indian!) Food OK but not to die for. Most dissapointing aspect was to be shut in the front corner with all other subsequent diners where one woman couldn’t get out of her chair without our table doing a reshuffle. Had to hear the same intro (loudly)at least 6 times to other diners as they were seated so I think i knew this speel as well as the host by the end of our dinner!! Big restaurant, why do you all get shoved in one corner so you have to overlap conversations with others? We were a group, others were couples trying the intimate dining experience (not likely here!)Maybe their vacuum cleaner broken so trying to minimise floor crumbs?? Would i go back? Based on cluster mentality -No.