Thai2Go Restaurant and Takeaways sits on Maunganui Road at Central Parade in Mount Maunganui, and by its own team's account it is the locals' favourite and Tauranga's busiest Thai restaurant and takeaway. The kitchen is run by four Thai chefs with many years of experience, who cook with what they describe as only the best quality ingredients.
The menu covers the classics done properly: a green curry the team calls its most popular, a Pad Thai it names as its signature dish, tom yum and tom kha soups, larb and yum nua beef salads, and stir-fries from cashew and satay to basil pad krapow. Entrees run from vegetarian spring rolls and curry puffs to money bags, coconut prawns and honey pork spare ribs, with fish cakes handmade from locally sourced fish.
You can book a table, order ahead online for pickup — orders are confirmed in about a minute with an estimated ready time — or get Thai2Go delivered through Delivereasy, Uber Eats or Doordash. Lunch runs Wednesday to Friday, with 15% off selected meals for online lunchtime orders.
Down on Maunganui Road at Central Parade, Thai2Go Restaurant and Takeaways does exactly what its name promises: proper Thai food, ready to eat in or take away. The team describes it as the locals' favourite and Tauranga's busiest Thai restaurant and takeaway, and the setup tells the story — a kitchen led by four Thai chefs with many years of experience, cooking with what they describe as only the best quality ingredients.
That combination of experience and volume shows in the menu, which reads like a tour of a Thai kitchen at home in New Zealand. There are the curries everyone expects, the noodle dishes people cross town for, soups, salads and a deep entree list built for sharing. "Cooking is our passion," the team says, inviting you to try the food and see for yourself why the place is so popular.
Ask for the signature and you'll be pointed straight at the Pad Thai: stir-fried noodles tossed with bean sprouts, spring onion tofu, egg and crushed peanuts. The green curry holds the title of most popular curry — green chilli paste with bamboo shoots and seasonal vegetables, served with rice like all the curries, which are all gluten friendly. Red, yellow, Panang and Massaman curries round out the classic lineup, while the Red Curry Duck, with roasted duck, lychees, grapes and pineapple, and the Choo Chee Salmon — poached salmon fillet topped with Choo Chee red curry and coconut cream — step things up.
The stir-fry list runs just as deep. Cashew is called the most popular stir-fry, but there's also satay with a rich, creamy homemade satay sauce, sweet and sour with pineapple, ginger, garlic and pepper, and the street-food classic Basil (Pad Krapow) with minced meat wok-tossed in basil. Roast duck breast and pork belly get their own treatments too.
Soup lovers choose between tom yum — spicy and sour with galangal, kaffir lime and lemongrass — and the coconut-cream comfort of tom kha, each in entree or main size, plus a noodle soup the menu calls a street food favourite in Thailand. Salads like larb and yum nua beef bring the herb-and-chilli brightness of Thai eating, and both are gluten friendly.
The entree list is genuinely deep. Vegetarian spring rolls filled with vegetables and vermicelli noodles, curry puffs with potato, coriander and onion, golden money bags stuffed with larb-flavoured chicken, grilled chicken skewers with satay sauce, and fish cakes handmade with locally sourced fish. For bigger appetites there are honey pork spare ribs glazed with sticky honey and roasted sesame seeds, coconut prawns, and lemon-and-pepper calamari with garlic and chilli aioli. A mixed entree for two bundles spring rolls, curry puffs, skewers and fish cakes on one plate, and steamed edamame seasoned with chilli and salt covers vegan and gluten-friendly snackers.
There are three ways in. Book a table online and dine in; order ahead through the interactive online menu for pickup — it takes the team about a minute to confirm your order and give you an estimated ready time; or stay home and order delivery through Delivereasy, Uber Eats or Doordash.
Lunch service runs Wednesday to Friday, and online lunchtime orders get 15% off selected meals. Dinner runs Tuesday through Sunday, with later hours on Friday and Saturday nights. Mondays are the kitchen's day off.
A few practical notes: sides of roti with satay sauce and extra jasmine rice stretch any curry further, extra chilli comes on the side for those who like it hot, and the drinks lineup runs from canned Coke and Macs ginger beer to juices and sparkling water. Whether it's a midweek Pad Thai on the couch or a table full of curries by the beach, Thai2Go keeps it simple — experienced Thai chefs, fresh ingredients, and food that has made it one of the busiest Thai kitchens in the Bay of Plenty.