With views to Auckland’s city and Domain, a skilled and talented chef, great ambience and attentive hospitality-trained staff, Athidi on Parnell is difficult to pass on quality, price and general dining out experience.

This BYO Indian restaurant is nestled in Parnell Village (close to and set back from The Chocolate Boutique) and although you can see the lights and skyline of the CBD from the restaurant deck the quaint village set-up makes you feel a million miles away from any city.

Parnell is one of Auckland’s oldest suburbs and famous for historic buildings, art galleries, cafes, boutique stores and more recently, restaurants. Athidi – which means guest – has only added to Parnell's reputation.

My partner and I ate here during summer and had the foresight to book so we were lucky enough to secure a table on the patio area to watch the sun fade and the lights of Parnell Village flicker on.

Athidi has been around since November 2006 and has made every effort to bring the restaurant as close as possible to reflect the colonial style shops around it while also retaining its ethnic identity. Inside, the restaurant is decorated with Indian paintings and statuettes, while outside the simple flow from the deck to the paved winding paths achieves the owner’s goal.

Athidi on Parnell is a husband and wife team. Ravi Krishna (husband) works his magic in the kitchen, while his wife meets, greets and waits on the floor. Ravi was trained and worked at a five star hotel in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, India. In 2002 he arrived in Auckland with a passion for cooking and an aim of establishing an authentic restaurant serving only the best of traditional Indian dishes. His hard work paid off and Athidi is the result.

Wanting to experience the full spectrum of Ravi's talents and taste some of the more traditional Indian dishes that have not been ‘westernised’, my partner and I ordered a new dish recommended by Ravi, spicy beef curry in brandy ($22.90), vegetarian saag aloo ($16.00) and the chef’s special naan ($9.90). Each dish comes with rice, no need to order it separately.

The wait was a little prolonged and just as we were starting to look concerned our meals arrived. The special naan, which was stuffed with grilled chicken, cheese and ‘secret spices’ was fresh out the oven so still piping hot. Fortunately the beef in brandy and potatoes in spinach puree were ready for the taste test and we dipped right in.

Both dishes were full of flavour and kept us both quiet as we ‘hmmm-ed’ and ‘ahhh-ed’ our way through. By the time the naan bread was cool enough it was the perfect complement to our juicy and lean beef and vegetarian options.

The remarkable appeal of Athidi on Parnell is just reward for the hard work and commitment of Ravi and his wife and well worth the visit to Parnell. They even offer special lunch menu’s for those working in the area or anyone else who wanders down the path during the day. There is also a gift and reward card to attract regulars, but in my opinion Athidi should attract regulars on taste and service alone.

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