This place is under the radar and it shouldn't be! Their food is delicious and has been a family favourite for ages so thought it's about time we leave a review. Love their noodle dishes!
The food taste very good and authentic Malaysian food.
WOW just wow, I was actually craving something like drunken noodles. First time here and first bite was so satisfying! I love it. Will be coming back as w regular 🥰 cheap noodles aswell $15 for the whole lot
Amazing goat curry and char kueh teow. Spice was just right. Love that it is family owned and authentic malaysian. A real local favourite!
Awesome food,If you come for the Decor you are really in the wrong place, however, if your're a food lover then this is the place for you. sometimes it can be a bit busy and service can be slow. nonetheless, I appreciate the hard work that goes on here. love it
I am a customer of Santhiyas since more than 15 years which speaks of it’s quality and consistency. My whole family love the food. The $20 Sunday meal we have sometimes is also amazing! This is the place if you want good food without any dramas!
My fave local spot! Veg fried rice, ikan bilis (anchovies) fried rice, mee goreng, egg roti canai with chicken curry are some of our faves here.
The service is spot on and very fast. The hot and spicy noodles is a definite must try and overall the food is just authentic Malaysian and South Indian. Keep it up guys.
Came here for the $20 all you can eat banana lunch. Definitely worth the money. Came with a chicken and lamb curry rice dhal cabbage a tomato pickle and what seemed like a pickled carrots. The tomato pickle had a great spice to it. The only thing missing was roti canai as part of the all you can eat but I ordered that separately. Totally loved the fact that it was a family run resturant. The whole eating on a banana leaf was super traditional and authentic
This place is awesome! Love the Char Kway Teow and also the fried chicken is delicious. Egg roti is a nice treat too. The chef is lovely too
Best Malaysian and South Indian curries in Auckland. Especially love their Roti Cinai. Also best in Auckland! Sunday’s do a great banana leaf. Highly recommended
18 May 2018 Friday, we looking for dinner place. Around 6 pm we find this place, first try. We get serve a free poppadoms.
We order rice noodle ( kuay teaw) and fried mee hoon.
I like the mee hoon taste good.
Tea Tarik is good too.
28/12/2018 Friday, have lunch here.
We order rice noodles and mee hoon goreng , and take away a lamb rendang.
Never disappointed. All delicious!!
Had the best goat bone soup here.The soup was perfect for a rainy day and meat nicely cooked and tender...I recommend a go for the soup and their malaysian cuisine.
Bon appetit
Delicious, authentic food. Everything we have, every time we visit has been good. Beautiful blend of spices, herbs, flavours in every dish. The crispy, light thosai with delicious dahl and coconut chutney, and hearty, honest goat curry are especially recommended. For drinks, their teh tarik is terrific.
Their service is as good or better than their food! Kind, friendly and helpful.
The ambience and decor is comfortable and compliments the food.
The portions are generous for the prices, and not overly so, that one struggles to finish one's meal.
I look forward to dining here again and would highly recommend this establishment!
Ordered for the Nasi Lemak and 10$ daily lunch which comprised of chicken curry and roti canai .. portions served cane be easily shared by 2. Homely cooked meals, the Nasi Lemak (lamb) was delish and reminded me of my mum's beef curry..the addition of roasted peanuts, anchovy side dish (even more delicious) that we ordered for a roti canai and only anchovie side dish( was not the menu however they made an exception and served a generous portion even though they had limited quantity, as it is not locally sourced). The ambience is basic, however the service by this lovely lady and the food make up for everything. Gem of a find, will be my regular haunt whenever I crave for homely Malaysian & South Indian food. Fyi- as you place your order you are served rice papad / poppadoms (free) - this is a first for me in Auckland, as no other restaurants visited this far, serve you anything apart from black tea (only served in Chinese restaurants)- a delight for me. Total value for money.
Nice food. We went for the Banana Leaf lunch which they normally have on offer on a Sunday. However, there was no banana leaf this time. They served on regular dining plates. Lovely food. Unlimited Chicken and lamb curries with some really yummy Tomato chutney and salads. Staff was very courteous. Did not have to wait long for the food to arrive. Overall a very good experience.
We love their Mee Goreng, and would recommend this place.
Santhiya has been consistent throughout the years. Simple eatery with big flavours. Great selection of Malaysian Indian cuisine.
Friendly, cheerful service during all our visits. Double thumbs up. :)
This is a very authentic Malaysian Indian restaurant. We went on a Sunday night for dinner and went for the banana leaf banquet. Fragrant rice served on a piece of banana leaf, with several side dishes including spiced cabbage and refillable deep fried chicken. I thought it was very great value for money. We also had mee goreng. The mee goreng is one of the best in Auckland. If you like sweet beverage they have air bandung and mango lassi. The restaurant is also spacious enough to accommodate young kids.
Amazing butter chicken and even better service! They were so lovely and served me right away. The food was so good and even better for $10! Would 10/10 recommend. 😊
Definitely an underrated place! I was very impressed with the fresh taste - very authentic and all flavours were bold. Good service. The masala chai was to die for! Decent food for the price! It is a must go! I had the spicy noodles with prawn and chicken and my Mum and brother had the chicken fried rice. Both were delicious!
My Malaysian roommate was missing his hometown food, so we searched up some restaurants and we ended up here and to my surprise, it was a pleasant experience. We ordered Roto Canai and Chicken Rendang. The meal was tasty and was very filling, in the end, we ordered an Air Bandung which is a type of a drink and was quite refreshing as well. Overall it was a good experience and would recommend anybody who wants to try the Malaysian cuisine. Bon Appétit!
This review is based on their sunday special lunch/dinner all you can eat on banana leaf. Lovely staff and good service, place and food quality was ok. But the biggest problem was the flavours were not as loud was south indian or Malaysian cuisine. The spread was ok - chicken, mutton curry, rice, deal and condiments. There was no roti or any vegetables or dessert. Would be better to price it $15 instead of $18/21. A bit disappointed with the taste of the food.
Again- the best mee goreng i have had in auckland! I order the spicy variety and the flavours just explode on your palate. Masterful cooking Yogesh!
I've been going to Santhiya's since it was 1st opened on small st off White Swan Rd.
Then they moved to where they are now and have the same great food.
I always get the Lamb Rendang and roti.
It's the best I've tasted. I've tried all the other dishes and I can't fault them at all,simply delicious. I highly recommend this place. It's my favorite curry spot!
This place serves Malaysian/Indian food.
We ordered about 6 dishes between 4 people and were very satisfied with the taste of the food.
Their starters, mains and desserts were all delicious.
The only negative point here is that this place is under staffed as it was taking time for our orders to come out.
I don't mind coming back to try some other dishes on the menu but will make sure I have a couple of hours spare.
This restaurant serves mainly malaysian /Indian cuisine. It is one of the best malaysian meegoreng that I've tasted. Even beats my mum's one (sorry mum 😛). They made it extra spicy and packed with prawns and chicken and iceberg lettuce sprinkled generously on top. It has that chargrilled taste which made it delicious.
They also serve the famous malaysian tea called teh tarik and that was also very tasty and served very hot. Ambience is a cozy setting with wooden chairs and tables and framework of Malaysia tourism. The waiter needs to provide the service with a smile, however i will still come back here for their tasty food.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Love this little joint! Have been here a few times but always in the day time when it hasn't been so busy. Tonight was different, we were lucky to arrive when we did as the restaurant was full, we just managed to pick up the last table.
Santhiya's is a quaint and homely little restaurant that boasts delicious and authentic dishes. I ordered the Chicken Sambal tonight which was wonderfully flavoured, it reminded me of a chutney type curry - something that Ive never experienced before. It was sweet as well as tangy and the spice level was just perfect.
My husband ordered the boneless goat curry which was just as delicious but with a completely different flavour to mine. The gait was tender and all the spices used came through wonderfully making the dish quite fragrant. The spice level again was just right.
Each time we visit Santhiya's we order the roti - the best we have ever come across. I would recommend adding this as a side to your dish.
The portion sizes are great, they are neither too small or too big they leave you feeling satisfied and not bloated or over full.
The service is awesome, lovely down to earth and very welcoming waiting staff! One thing I would say they may need to look in to is having another person on the floor on their busy nights. There was an influx of customers tonight, some even had to be turned away as there were no tables and the phone orders were also pouring in. There were only two staff working, one front of house and the chef although, they did do well getting the food out in a timely manner. It may just help to relieve some of the pressure of only having two staff.
All in all this is a lovely little restaurant with great food, service and pretty awesome pricing as well. Everyone should try Santhiya's at least once in their lives, you won't regret it!
We love Santhiya's. It is a lovely family run business. I'd say it makes the best Malaysian noodles in Auckland - so smokey and delicious. It is very veggie friendly and offers vegetarian alternatives on most items. The toto is also spectacular. We visit this place often!
The egg roti and chicken curry was pretty good ... though the food came late and there was a bit of a mix up. staff were pleasant. Generally good service as long as there aren't too many customers. And it does get really slow when the restaurant is busy. But overall good.
My favourite place to have authentic, well priced and filling meals. I usually come here for the all you can eat banana leaf curry meals on Sunday and have been ever since I was in university, more than 10 years ago. The owner is friendly and very accommodating.
As it's a little hidden, I always tell my friends that it's at the corner of Albert and Dominion road, right opposite the old National (now ANZ) bank.
TIP: If you plan to go during the weekend, get there just before 11am or book a table as they fill up very quickly.
Went here for the first time and it was a pleasant experience. Great customer service. We went on a Sunday and only realised after ordering that they had a special for Sunday that would've been more value for money. Wish they had told us but its ok,we quickly realised we missed out on a special when others around us were having this banquet on banana leaves. Nonetheless will definitely go again and next time utilise the special. We had lamb and chicken. Beautifully tender! Keep up the good work, maybe tell customers specials next time
Great south Indian food! Especially the buffets on Sundays. The lady is very nice and welcoming. If you are a fan of spicy food, I would definitely recommend their Chicken curry, Lamb curry and Sambar. Should go to place!
excellent food and excellent service. went there for my birthday tonight and it was fantastic. This is going on our favourites list. we had 7 of us and it worked out to be around 23.dollars a head. BYO which wasnt a problem because there was a bottle shop just down from the restaurant, Thanks for a great night!
Just love the food, we always prefer to go over for Masala Dosa's and enjoy every bit of it. Perfectly cooked, nice thin and crispy.
Love the ambiance of the restaurant, nice and quiet. Do not mind delays at times as all is freshly made and cooked.
I would certainly recommend for the ones who are particularly looking out for a food with an actual south Indian touch. Santhiya is certainly the right place.
One of the Dominion rd legend!.. they have been there for 25yrs..they are there for a reason.. humble & homecook like foods available. Tried the idli..dosai & vadai...yummy! Definitely coming back soon.
Sarena & Eashvar Chhotu
+5
We have been coming here for years. My dad is a huge fan.
We head over to Santhiyas on a Sunday when it's "Banana Leaf" buffet.
$21pp approx for all you can eat:
Chicken curry
Lamb curry
Fried chicken
Rice
And a small variety of chutney /carrot & dahls. There is no buffet to where you go up and get your food. It's all made fresh & bought to you.
The food has never changed which is amazing !!
Highly recommended =)
Located right at the end of dominion road Santhiya's isn't the most visually appealing place you've seen but is clean and simple.
We ordered the lamb curry which was very tender and packed with flavour. The mixed vegetables with cashew nuts was good but the curry was definitely the better dish of the two. Prices weren't too bad compared to some other Indian food competitors.
We had to wait quite awhile for our dishes during peak dinner time as restaurant was full, so it must be popular!
Another favourite of ours. We love the Me Goring and Fried Rice. Good fast service. They have a Sunday banana leaf special that a lot of people rave about.
We had a great time here. We came here without any pre judgements and we were pleasantly surprised. The menu was very varied and the crab was sooo excellent. That was the best dish of the night. Highly recomended
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Located at the south end of the nondescript-looking rows of shops populating Dominion Road, Santhiya serves wonderfully authentic South Indian food, with a Malaysian twist. Goat curry is their signature dish, and it is amazing, especially in light of how rarely you would find this dish in NZ (the only other place I can think of is one of the stalls in the Sunday night market). The curry is spicy and fragrant, and the goat juicy and tender. Their roti canai is good, but not excellent; Mamak on Chancery serves better roti.
We usually come for the all-you-can-eat banana leaf rice, a special that is only offered on Sundays. Get in there early – they run out of banana leaves pretty often! Aside from the novelty of dining on a banana leaf (which is the norm in South Indian eateries in Malaysia), you get rice, two meat curries (usually chicken and lamb), four veggie dishes (usually including dahl and some grilled cabbage), and pappadam (crispy, large wafers, like tortillas but way better). All of the above are refillable.
The waiters were friendly, polite, and accommodating. Unfortunately, that alone does not good service make. The last time we visited, our drinks took 20 minutes to arrive, and we waited 15 minutes before we managed to flag down a waiter to refill our rice. People who entered after us were sitting and waiting for significant amounts of time at uncleared tables.
Despite that minor drawback, as with many other places on Dominion Road, you get what you pay for – and then some. The banana leaf rice on Sunday afternoon was $16 – a good bargain especially if, like me, your pappadam cravings aren’t satisfied by only a few pieces. The roti canai with dahl or chicken/lamb curry is $6(!!), and my partner’s goat curry was $12.50. The decor is simple, but clean and tidy. The small, 30-odd person occupancy room is lightly decorated, and stuffed to its capacity with wooden tables and chairs. Come here for a tasty, filling meal, not a romantic date night.
Caveat – I drafted this post a few months ago, so things might have changed since then. Which reminds me, it’s high time for another visit… :)
Fantastic banana leaf eat all you can curries on a Sunday
Good to eat with friends because many excellent dishes. Masala Dosa, fish curry, chicken curry and roti were excellent. Helpful service, unpretentious surroundings. Worth coming back for more.
Ate at Santhya's for the first time during the Taste of Puketapapa promo. Had the roti canai (lamb) and the chicken kurma with roti. Santhiya's rotis are excellent, and the lamb curry that came with the roti canai was super tasty. Will go back again another time.
I ate the Idli ($8?), yummy, sticky, steamed rice flour buns (gluten free) with two delicious dipping sauces. The boneless dry goat curry was intensely flavoured and tasted quite different. The peanutty tofu dish was also delicious.
We recently visited Malaysia and loved the food. We have been trying to find great Malaysian food since we got back. We triend Cinta which was disappointing and disheartening but now we are excited because the food at Santhiya's was delicious. The roti was soft and flaky, the lamb rendang was so full of flavour and melt in the mouth. The Kway tao was good (not as good as the ones we had in Malaysia). I would reccommend trying this restaurant for tasty, homecooked food with heaps of flavour.
This was my first visit to Santhiya's. It had been recommended to me, and i wasn't disappointed.
Food was outstanding. There were four of us and we tried the Chicken Rendang, Lamb Curry, Butter Chicken and Chicken in Peanut sauce. All delicious and authentic. The Roti was amazing. Light and buttery. At first the meals didn't look massive, however we couldn't finish the food.
Lovely friendly genuine service. Great prices too. We each spent about $22 for roti, main dish, rice and a drink.
I highly recommend Santhiya's for fantastic food and service and we'll be going back for more
Santhiya's is a best kept secret. Foods are excellently authentic! with curries, rotis, mee gorengs that are extremely nice..wont' mind going there for home cooked meals every day if I can..however I can only comment that the portion size are epecially small for the nasi lemak which does not give value for money.
if you missed home cooking you are in the right place. Youges (Chef/Owner) has been cooking everything from scratch and we have been visiting her restaurant since 1989 when she first opened in Ellis Avenue. Her mee goreng (ask for very spicy)is authentic mamak food, her bone-in goat curry is extremely delicious, her tosai is always fresh and roti canai is very authentic.
Simple decor, very clean and very consistent. Proud to support another Malaysian!
I have been looking for a good, genuine Malaysian restaurant in Auckland for a long time and stumbled across this gem through a friend.
I'm a big fan of Roti Canai and was VERY pleasently suprised by the light, fluffy and tasty roti and curry accompanied by the world famous in Malaysia Teh Tarik!
Nowadays i return with more friends frequntly going along for the banana leaf, any of the sambal dishes and ofcourse the mee.
The interior and service could be improved but it is the good ole Malaysian hospitality, touch and tastes that keep me going back. Oh and it's never to hard on the bank balance!
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Ah, Dominion Road, are you bending under your own weight tonight, or serving up your mutton just right? This bustling hive of metropolitan life is a pulsing heartbeat of Auckland’s smaller restaurants and thriving takeaway establishments, to the displeasure of the outspoken Winston Peters! Not only is it Auckland’s longest inner-city road thanks to it’s extension, it’s also home to today’s review subject, Santhiya’s.
Santhiya’s is not a pretty thing to behold, much like many of the ramshackle boxes which provide vast arrays of differing Asian cuisine along this road, but one thing will take your notice on their sign; that is provided you can read through the dirt upon it created by the smog of thousands of cars passing by outside. The thing you may take notice of is that Santhiya’s sign states the restaurant is a provider of both South Indian and Malaysian fare. An identity crisis? Perhaps, Asian Fusion? Not a chance. Regardless, the menu does broker a list of both foods. For the majority, they are South Indian, however you’ll find plenty of typical Malaysian delights sprinkled throughout the menu such as a Rava Thosai with Coconut Chutney and Dhall, or perhaps the Mee Hoon Goreng.
On Dominion Road, you never can be sure of what you are going to get in terms of hygiene quality, so I’m always pleased to see Auckland Council’s been and done their job and provided Santhiya’s an A grading. Entry check passed, I saunter in and I take my own seat at a table that looks more suited to being a high school desk than something you’d eat off. A fridge buzzes nearby, clearly containing various vegetables for the kitchen as well as various soft drinks which you can self-serve from. Asking if we could bring our own bottle, we were informed that we could, so we popped down ‘the bottle shop’ a block down the road and picked up some cheap wine to round off the experience!
Sitting back down at our table we opted to share the Vadal for starters. It’s made from ground Urid Dhall, which is a ground lentil mixture. It is blended with chillies and onions and then deep fried, looking like a South Indian doughnut. It comes served with a lentil dhall and a seperate coconut dhall which is lovely for dipping the vadal into. I’m glad we chose to split this 4 serving starter though because two are more than enough for a person to whet an appetite.
For mains, a Fish Steak Curry. Cooked with okra, eggplant & tomatoes, it’s not the prettiest thing to look at but the trevally was well cooked and marinaded well into the flavoursome gravy. The ladies fingers, although not something my palate usually enjoys, were an addition that worked well with this dish. Amanda had Goat Curry; we’d both eaten their Goat Curry before in boneless form as a takeaway and thoroughly enjoyed it, so we were keen to know what the bone-in goat curry was like to taste. Unfortunately the result was underwhelming. Far too much bone and gristle and not enough meat. The biggest complaint of the fish too would be that there were small bones in there as well as the more obvious bones which really put me off mid-chew. Both of the curry gravys’ were classic, but the tomatoes in the fish curry made it slightly rounder and richer in taste than that of the goat. However, the chef did receive our feedback at the end of the meal and she advised that she would have been more than willing to serve the fish boneless.
Based on our previous takeaway experience of Santhiya’s, combined with the tastiness of these dishes, it’s clear that the main thing that will win you over is the flavour. Definitely worth more takeaway visits, but to compete for your eat-in dollar, they could just make their joint and dishes a little easier on the eye.
To read more, check out: http://kiwifoodwonders.com/2012/07/28/santhiyas-mount-roskill-auckland/
Free Papadum comes as a little snack while waiting for your meal. Highly recommend their mee goreng and fried beef noodles/ char kuey teow. On Sundays they cater buffet portion rice on banana Leah with curry which is also a good option for your Sunday curry indulgence.
Great authentic Malaysian Indian cuisine. The banana leaf offering on Sunday is excellent and great value for money if you are very hungry.
Awesome place for Malaysian food. They have authentic banana leaf curry and rice all you can eat on Sundays, Use ur hands and get amongst haha
Solid 4.5 here. Food is freshly made, very aromatic. Hot is just what you expect. Lamb varuval and roti just hit the spot.
Good, friendly service.
Lovely little place located on Dominion road. Been here several times because of its homely environment and tasty food. The staff are very friendly as well. Love the roti canai, its cheap and soo good!!
Had visited a while ago and buy takeaways all the time. Food is immaculate. The time i visited i was served by a young boy who was absolutely welcoming. Loved his customer service skills by how he guided us through the menu . He was definitely doing more than his job . Overall experience 10/10 xxx
Nice place to try some amazing dishes. Pad Thai, spicy noodles are worth a try. Banana split is awesome. Spacious for a small group. Some other Indian dishes are also good. Time restricted parking in front but ample close by.
Delicious food, great service. Will definitely return!!
Great little find. The restaurant is no frills but the food is fantastic!! A bunch of friends do a 3 monthly curry night and are always on the lookout for new places. Everyone loved this place. Will definitely be going back!!
This is hands down THE best South Indian / Malaysian restaurant in all of Auckland. (Big call I know) but come & try the all you can eat banana leaf and tell me otherwise..! If i could give this place 10 stars i would.
Great place for authentic Malaysian Indian cuisine. Lamb Rendang was rich and flavourful. Hand crafted rotis were delicious. Mee Goreng (Fried noodles) were plate licking good. No frills, top service, we will be back.
The food here is incredible! We ordered roti canai - which was spicy and flavorsome, the curry had beautiful flavour to it. Masala Dosa - the filling was also spicy, the accompanying chutney and sambar were tasty! Nice crispy outside and soft dosa, with yummy potato filling inside. Very authentic south indian food, you can literally taste the hand ground masalas and flavors. Our final dish was the chicken rendang - amazing, super spicy and the flavors - just a crazy wonderful taste explosion in your mouth. The three dishes came to $43 which was basically $22 per person and so worth it! I suggest getting medium spicy though!
Santhiya has a simple setup. However, we always had best dinning experience. Food is simply the best and inexpensive. We love visiting Santhiya's. Please try and you will agree. 4 star because of excellent food but dinning experience can be improved by changing the setup.
Value for money 5*
Good food 5*
My friend recommended to try Sandhya’s cuisine which is based in Mount Roskill.
Simple restaurant, authentic flavour. Love it
I would highly recommend to give it a try.
Thank you Yogeshwari and Jacob.
I went to Malaysia, and fell in love with a restaurant called De Leaf in Klang (Just outside of Kuala Lumper)
There isn't a place in New Zealand a side from Santhiya's that will match that style of South Indian/Malaysian food. It's the way it's meant to be cooked. Keep doing what you do and don't change. It's perfect.
For others, the food is exactly how it is for Indian Malaysians, South Indians and Malaysians a like. True to the home that most restaurants wish to mimic but never can. Santhiya's manages to keep that charm, while delivery the food in a correctly authentic way. It can't taste any better or be a more enjoyable experience dining there. I just need to go there when it's been served on a banana leaf and I'll be happy!
The service was fast, food was excellent and authentic Indian Malay food. We were impressed with their banana leaf special. I will recommend this and will look forward to a visit again in the future.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes