Christchurch guide
The best Thai food in Christchurch
Thai is one of Christchurch's default takeaways — and the city does it well beyond the standard green curry. This is Bangkok street food, Isaan-style larb and som tam, neighbourhood curry houses that have been at it for years, and a few dining rooms worth booking.
18 of them across the city — from Addington and the central city out to Hornby, Papanui, Edgeware, New Brighton and the Sumner rooms. A lot are licensed and BYO both, which keeps dinner easy on the wallet.
Most do a brisk takeaway trade alongside the dine-in, and the popular ones get busy on a Friday — worth ringing ahead if you're after a big order.
Venue data checked weekly · Updated August 2026
The picks
- 01Thai Orchid Restaurant · Restaurant · Riccarton
A long-standing Thai restaurant in Riccarton — the familiar curries, stir-fries and noodle dishes done consistently well.
- 02Thai Chef's Restaurant Christchurch · Restaurant · Riccarton
A local Thai chain with a Riccarton branch — a broad menu, generous serves and consistent across its outlets.
- 03Thai Container · Restaurant · Central City
Thai out of a shipping container on St Asaph Street — dine in or takeaway, made to order and easy on the wallet.
- 04Zaffron - Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant · Restaurant · Beckenham
Thai and Vietnamese cooking in Beckenham with vegetarian a speciality — fresh, traditional plates across both cuisines, lunch and dinner.
- 05Phad Thai Restaurant · Restaurant · New Brighton
Thai in the heart of New Brighton's Brighton Mall — the familiar curries and stir-fries, plus takeaway and delivery.
- 06Commi · Restaurant · Sydenham
Thai-Vietnamese street food on Colombo Street, Sydenham — fresh, made-to-order plates pulling from hawker culture across Southeast Asia, in a funky modern room.
- 07Thai Rendezvous · Restaurant · Addington
A neighbourhood Thai on the Addington/Spreydon side doing the familiar curries, stir-fries and noodle plates at a fair price.
- 08Abalone Thai Restaurant · Restaurant · Bishopdale
A Farringtons Ave Thai set up for a crowd — licensed and BYO, with room to seat a party of seventy for a birthday or a work do.
- 09Chang Thai Hornby Restaurant · Restaurant · Hornby
A Hornby Thai dining room on Shands Rd running the familiar favourites — Tom Yum, Massaman, the noodle plates and traditional desserts.
- 10Sema's Thai Cuisine · Restaurant · St Albans
Thai cooking in Edgeware built on fresh ingredients and traditional recipes — the familiar favourites done with care.
+ 8 more on the map below ↓
Keep exploring
Common questions
- What's the best Thai food in Christchurch?
- A few to start with: Thai Orchid Restaurant, Thai Chef's Restaurant Christchurch, Thai Container, Zaffron - Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant, Phad Thai Restaurant. The city's well covered — Bangkok street food, neighbourhood curry houses doing the pad thai and green curry properly, and a good run of licensed-and-BYO dining rooms across the suburbs.
- Where do you go for proper Thai street food?
- Krung Thep in Addington cooks Bangkok street food, and Thai Container runs it out of a shipping container on St Asaph Street — both punchy and fresh. Commi in Sydenham does a Thai-Vietnamese street-food crossover worth knowing.
- Any good Thai away from the central city?
- Plenty — Chang Thai out in Hornby and Thonglor down in Sumner, Thai Po Thong and Chilli Kiwi up in Papanui, and Sema's in Edgeware. A lot are BYO, which keeps a Thai dinner cheap.