Saan - Auckland

Been 3 times over the last 3 years and Saan is consistently excellent. The service is always fantastic and the decor and vibe of the restaurant is super classy and cool. They have a good range of options for vegans and vegetarians.

Interesting twist to authentic Thai cuisine, flavours were complex and rich. We ordered 2 small plates eggplant/chilli/mushroom dip w/ deep fried tofu curd, and caramelized pulled pork on prawn crackers. Then we got 1 large plate twice cooked beef cheeks. The eggplant dip was sweet and sour, cold and refreshing, and complemented the crispy tofu curds. The pulled pork was tender and had a lot of flavours going on: it was sweet, with a hint of fish sauce, lots of fresh herbs and cilantro, make sure you add the squeeze of lime. The prawn crackers were very crunchy and aromatic. My favourite is the beef cheeks: it was so tender and seasoned really well, the sauce goes deliciously with their steamed jasmine rice

We love Thai food, whether it’s dining out or whipping up something spicy at home. Hearing the rave reviews about new Ponsonby establishment Saan, we knew we had to taste what all fuss was about. Coming from the Cafe Hanoi and XuXu Dumpling bar stable, we’ve got high hopes. Being a Metro Top 50 restaurant, we were more than surprised to see a rather empty dining room at 8pm on a Thursday night. I’m told they only allow reservations on half of their tables and keep the other half for walk-ins – so if like us you’re a late planner, this might be your best bet in town for a great meal at short notice. The menu looks unbelievably divine, but once we roll out our seafood allergy we’re down to slim pickings as most meat dishes contain fish sauce. We’re not too worried as we love vegetarian fare and are in no way scared of tofu – on the upside, a limited menu just makes choosing easier, right? Allergy-free diners, you may struggle as there are almost too many amazing sounding dishes on the menu to choose from. We want to give them a huge congrats on their allergy menus though – no sooner had we mentioned ‘no seafood’ than a new seafood-free menu was placed in front of us. We’re so impressed to see a restaurant take the initiative, if only all restaurants were this thoughtful.

Outstanding food and wonderful service. Do yourself a favour and just book

Came here with my whole family and had a great experience. Service was super friendly and fast. All the dishes were a hit. I was so busy eating I forgot to take photos, that’s when you know it’s good! Rest assured you are in safe hands at Saan.<br/