The Lucky Thai

thai restaurant — Halswell · Christchurch

About The Lucky Thai

The Lucky Thai Restaurant is a Thai restaurant on Main South Road in Hornby, Christchurch, serving genuine Thai and Asian dishes for pick-up and delivery across the city's southwestern suburbs. The kitchen's approach is simple: quality, consistent food that tastes great every single time — from street-style entrees to curries, wok-fried dishes and noodle classics.

The menu covers the full length of a Thai restaurant table. Start with vegetarian spring rolls, kumara curry puffs, fish cakes or Gai Satay with peanut sauce, then move on to Tom Kha Gai and Tom Yum soups; green, red, mussaman and Phanang curries; stir-fries with cashew nuts, basil, ginger and garlic; Pad Thai, Pad See Eiw and fried rice; and a seafood section with prawns and calamari. A dedicated vegetarian menu mirrors the main list, and the specials bring in dishes like Duck Curry, Jungle Curry and Crispy Pork.

Lunch is served on Fridays from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, with dinner Tuesday to Sunday from 4:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Online ordering is enabled for both pick-up and delivery — every order is manually confirmed and tracked in real time — and delivery runs within 5 km of the restaurant. Table reservations are welcome, and the restaurant is BYO for wine.

The Lucky Thai: Genuine Thai Curries, Noodles and Delivery in Hornby, Christchurch

The Lucky Thai Restaurant cooks genuine Thai food on Main South Road in Hornby, on Christchurch's southwestern side. It is a neighbourhood restaurant in the truest sense — a place built on a simple philosophy the team states plainly: provide quality, consistent food that tastes great every single time. Whether it is a quick weeknight green curry or a table full of sharing dishes, every order gets the same care.

The menu reads like a map of Thailand's best-loved flavours. Entrees cover the classics: vegetarian spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce, curry puffs filled with kumara and onion, fish cakes fragrant with Thai herbs, and Gai Satay — chicken marinated in turmeric and served with peanut sauce. Soups come in two famous styles: Tom Kha Gai, gentle and lemon-scented with coconut milk, and Tom Yum, the hot-and-sour classic, available with chicken or prawns.

Curries, woks and noodles

The mains list is where The Lucky Thai shows its range. Four curry pastes anchor it — green, red, mussaman with potato and peanuts, and the thick Phanang — all simmered with coconut milk and served with rice, with chicken, pork or beef for most dishes. Alongside them, the wok section runs from cashew nuts and fresh ginger to basil, garlic, peanut sauce and a Thai-style sweet and sour with pineapple and tomato.

Noodle lovers are looked after too. Pad Thai arrives stir-fried with egg, crushed peanut and mixed vegetables in tamarind juice; Pad See Eiw leans sweeter with soy sauce; and Khao Pad is fried rice done properly with egg and mixed vegetables. There is also Chaiyaphum Noodles, the house noodle dish, and a seafood section that brings prawns and calamari into curries and garlic stir-fries. A vegetarian menu mirrors the main list with its own soups, curries, stir-fries, noodle dishes and fried rice, while the specials add dishes like Duck Curry, Jungle Curry, Crispy Pork, Crispy Chicken and a fish dish.

Friday lunch, dinner all week

Lunch is served on Fridays from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, with a dedicated lunch menu of the classics — spring rolls and satay to start, then green or red curry, cashew nuts, Kao Mun Gai (Hainanese chicken on rice with soup), noodle soup, fried rice or Pad Thai. Dinner runs Tuesday through Sunday from 4:30 pm to 9:00 pm, and Mondays the kitchen rests.

Ordering has been made deliberately easy. The restaurant's online system handles both pick-up and delivery, and every order is manually confirmed by the team — you can watch on-screen in real time as your food is prepared, so you know exactly when to collect it or when it is on its way. Delivery covers a 5 km radius with a $35 minimum order and an $8 fee, reaching suburbs across southwest Christchurch such as Halswell, Hornby, Wigram, Hoon Hay and out towards Prebbleton. If you are dining in, table reservations can be made through the website, and the restaurant is BYO — wine only — an easy pairing with a red curry or the duck curry.

What comes through in everything The Lucky Thai does — the menu, the real-time order tracking, the thank-you to customers for their continued support — is a small team that takes its food and its neighbourhood seriously. Whether you are a Halswell local ordering your usual or a first-timer working through the curry list one Friday at a time, the promise is the same: delicious, genuine Thai food made to taste great every single time.

Signature items

  • Pad Thai
  • Tom Yum Goong
  • Gaeng Keow Wharn (Green Curry)
  • Gai Satay
  • Crispy Pork
  • Duck Curry

Menu

Mains

  • Gaeng Keow Wharn (Green Curry) — Green curry paste with coconut milk and vegetables
  • Gaeng Dang (Red Curry) — Red curry paste with coconut milk and vegetables
  • Mussaman (Brown Curry) — Brown curry paste with coconut milk, potato and peanuts, topped with fried shallots
  • Phanang (Thick Curry) — Phanang curry paste with coconut milk, crushed peanuts and vegetables
  • Pad Nummun Hoy (Oyster Sauce) — Stir fried vegetables with oyster sauce in Thai style
  • Pad Med Mamuang (Cashew Nuts) — Stir fried in Thai sauce with vegetables and cashew nuts
  • Pad Khing (Ginger) — Stir fried with fresh ginger, vegetables and onions in bean sauce
  • Pad Bai KraProw (Basil) — Stir fried with fresh chilli, basil leaves, garlic and capsicum
  • Pad Peanut Sauce — Stir fried with vegetables and peanut sauce
  • Pad Kratiem Prik Thai (Garlic) — Stir fried with special garlic sauce, pepper and mushrooms
  • Pad Priew Wharn (Sweet and Sour) — Stir fried with Thai-style sweet and sour sauce, pineapple and tomato

Soups

  • Tom Kha Gai — Lemon flavoured coconut milk soup with chicken
  • Tom Yum Gai — Hot and sour soup with chicken, mushrooms and Thai herbs
  • Tom Yum Goong — Hot and sour soup with prawns, mushrooms and Thai herbs

Drinks

  • Soft Drinks — Chilled soft drinks
  • Juices — A selection of juices
  • BYO Wine Only — Bring your own wine — wine only

Salads

  • Yum (Thai Salad) — Thai hot and sour with fresh Thai herbs, served with rice
  • Larb — Minced herb sour salad with roasted ground rice, served with rice

Entrees

  • Spring Roll — 8 pieces deep fried vegetarian roll with sweet chilli sauce
  • Curry Puff — 4 pieces deep fried kumara with onion in puff pastry
  • Fish Cake — 4 pieces deep fried fish patties with Thai herbs and sweet chilli sauce
  • Gai Satay — 4 pieces chicken marinated in turmeric with peanut sauce
  • Pork Spare Ribs — 5 pieces marinated pork rib in brown gravy
  • Chicken Wings — 5 pieces deep fried chicken wings
  • Vegetarian Wontons — 4 pieces vegetarian wontons filled with mixed vegetables
  • Crumbed Prawns — Butterflied prawn cutlets coated in a light golden coconut breadcrumb

Seafood

  • Seafood Yellow Curry — Concentrated yellow curry powder stir fried with onions and eggs
  • Prawn Green Curry — Prawns in green curry paste, coconut milk and vegetables
  • Prawn Red Curry — Prawns in red curry paste, coconut milk and vegetables
  • Seafood Garlic — Prawns or calamari in special garlic sauce with pepper and mushroom
  • Prawns Ginger — Prawns with ginger, onions and mushroom

Specials

  • Duck Curry — Duck curry featured on the specials menu
  • Jungle Curry — Thai jungle curry featured on the specials menu
  • Crispy Pork — Crispy pork dish featured on the specials menu
  • Crispy Chicken — Crispy chicken dish featured on the specials menu
  • Fish Dish — Fish dish featured on the specials menu

Lunch Menu

  • Spring Rolls — 8 pieces deep fried vegetarian roll served with sweet chilli sauce
  • Gai Satay — 4 pieces chicken marinated in turmeric served with peanut sauce
  • Gaeng Keow Wharn (Green Curry) — Green curry paste with coconut milk and vegetables
  • Gaeng Dang (Red Curry) — Red curry paste with coconut milk and vegetables
  • Pad Med Mamuang (Cashew Nuts) — Stir fried with vegetables and cashew nuts
  • Pad Bai KraProw (Basil) — Stir fried with fresh chilli, basil leaves and garlic
  • Pad Kratiem Prik Thai (Garlic) — A special garlic sauce with pepper and mushrooms
  • Crispy Pork — Stir fried crispy pork with vegetables
  • Kao Mun Gai — Hainanese chicken on rice served with a side of soup
  • Noodle Soup — Soup with rice noodles
  • Fried Rice — Simple fried rice with egg and vegetables
  • Pad Thai — Stir fried Thai rice noodles with bean sprouts, fresh chives and crushed peanut
  • Extras — Optional add-ons with your lunch order
  • Drinks — Drinks from the drinks list

Vegetarian

  • Tom Yum — Hot and sour soup with mixed vegetables and Thai herbs
  • Tom Kha — Lemon flavoured coconut milk soup with mixed vegetables and Thai herbs
  • Green Curry — Mixed vegetables in green curry paste with coconut milk
  • Red Curry — Mixed vegetables in red chilli paste with coconut milk
  • Garlic Sauce — Stir fried mixed vegetables in garlic sauce
  • Peanut Sauce — Stir fried mixed vegetables in peanut sauce
  • Oyster Sauce — Stir fried mixed vegetables and oyster sauce in Thai style
  • Pad Thai — Stir fried rice noodles with eggs and vegetables in tamarind sauce
  • Pad See Eiw — Stir fried rice noodles, eggs and vegetables in sweet soy sauce
  • Fried Rice — Fried rice with mixed vegetables and eggs

Noodles & Rice

  • Pad Thai — Stir fried rice noodles with egg, peanut and mixed vegetables in tamarind juice
  • Pad See Eiw — Stir fried rice noodles with egg and vegetables in sweet soy sauce
  • Khao Pad — Fried rice with egg and mixed vegetables
  • Chaiyaphum Noodles — House noodle dish — ask the team for details

Frequently asked questions

Where is The Lucky Thai Restaurant located?
At 299A Main South Road, Hornby, Christchurch 8042, delivering to suburbs across southwest Christchurch including Halswell, Wigram, Hoon Hay and Prebbleton.
What are the opening hours?
Dinner is served Tuesday to Sunday from 4:30 pm to 9:00 pm, with Friday lunch from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
Does The Lucky Thai deliver?
Yes — delivery is available within 5 km of the restaurant, with an $8 delivery fee and a $35 minimum order. Pick-up orders are also available.
Can I order online?
Yes. Online ordering is enabled for both pick-up and delivery. Every order is manually confirmed by the team, and you can watch in real time as your food is prepared for pick-up or delivery.
Are there vegetarian options?
Yes — there is a dedicated vegetarian menu with Tom Yum and Tom Kha soups, green and red curries, stir-fries, Pad Thai, Pad See Eiw and fried rice, plus vegetarian spring rolls and wontons among the entrees.
Can I bring my own wine?
Yes — BYO is wine only.
Can I book a table?
Yes, table reservations can be made through the restaurant's website, along with order-ahead and contact options.

Tips

  • {"body":"Lunch runs only on Fridays (11:30 am–2 pm) with a dedicated lunch menu including Gai Satay, Kao Mun Gai and Pad Thai. Dinner is served Tuesday–Sunday from 4:30 pm to 9 pm; closed Mondays.","title":"Time your visit"}
  • {"body":"Delivery covers a 5 km radius with a $35 minimum order and an $8 fee. If you are outside the zone or under the minimum, pick-up is the easy alternative.","title":"Know the delivery rules"}
  • {"body":"All online orders are manually confirmed by the team, and you can watch on-screen in real time to see exactly when your food is ready for pick-up or out for delivery.","title":"Track your order live"}
  • {"body":"The restaurant is BYO for wine only — a bottle pairs naturally with the mussaman, Phanang or duck curry if you are dining in.","title":"Bring a bottle"}
  • {"body":"Beyond the main menu, the specials list features Duck Curry, Jungle Curry, Crispy Pork, Crispy Chicken and a fish dish — worth a look before you order.","title":"Check the specials"}

Good to know

  • {"dietary":"Dedicated vegetarian menu covering soups, curries, stir-fries, noodles and fried rice.","payments":"Online payments supported (Stripe and PayPal); BYO wine only."}