I tried Petra and although it wasn't the kind of shawarma that I was looking for (in a pocket-type bun) I decided to support them as the place was empty. The lamb shawarma I ordered was tasty but far too expensive for the ingredients. $27 for a small lunch is too much. read more

If you are after your typical 2am kebab - you know, the kind that is drenched in sauce and stuffed full of dry doner meat - this is not your jam. Instead, come here expecting fresh, made to order and packed full of flavour authentic Middle Eastern dishes. I am still making my way through the menu but my favourite dish to date is definitely the Lamb Shawarma - a delicious flatbread wrap stuffed full of grilled meat, herbs, pickles, tahini and a delicious garlic sauce. Incredibly satisfying but still somewhat healthy or at the very least, nourishing. Also worth a try are the Kooba - bulghar wheat dumplings stuffed with spiced lamb. I think they could do with a little more seasoning but nevertheless, they're pretty damn tasty. Although Petra's decor suggest it's more of a takeaway joint than eat-in restaurant, for a mid-week dinner I think it's legit. You will have to dine off paper plates but they have some preeetty sweet sequined chandeliers and if your lucky you may even be treated to some never-heard-before K.Perry remixes. read more

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Loved this place. I wandered in late Saturday afternoon and the place was empty. That's ok, the staff was exceptionally friendly and the food came out in 15mins. I had the veggies on rice with a side of falafel and a small hummus ($30). It was a massive meal and I took home a significant amount of food home, making two more meals! The falafel was packed with flavour, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. They make falafel in the traditional Lebanese style, with so many herbs (mostly parsley) it's bright green. The hummus as very heavy, thick with lots of tahini. That's not my personal favourite but was still very tasty and a slight bit of chilli as a garnish. The mixed veggie plate featured a hefty serving of rice with cashews and raisins, alongside deep fried lemon and parsley cauliflower salad and a tomato based chickpea stew. It was beautiful. I can't wait to head back for some chicken, I hear it's amazing. read more

Petra Shawarma - So green, full of fresh herbs to keep it super moist. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Auckland, AUK

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Knowledgeable staff, good service. Very authentic with quality, fresh ingredients. And the Arabic Pistachio Ice Cream was amazing read more

I really love middle eastern food, i've been to Turkey and spent time in Istanbul and fell in love with the freshness, fragrance and flavours. The problem with Middle Eastern in NZ is that it's too westernised, so I never eat it, ridiculously huge servings of Shawarma's and Kebabs packed full of averagely cooked fatty meat, soggy salad and too many sticky sweet sauces. I was so excited to hear about this place and it's authentic dishes and flavours. The actual place is very fast-food looking and not much atmosphere but the food is truly delicious. Smaller servings than your average. The Kooba (meat filled dumplings) with a crusty exterior were excellent and came with a yummy garlic yoghurt dressing, the hummus was thick and and lemony that smooth consistency that's impossible to find. The main events were the Chicken Musakhkhan and the Lamb Shawarma - both were alot smaller than most places but so much more flavour and salad on the side which I really liked. The meat in both were cooked to order and really delicious. The owner was really lovely and recommended we try the typical non-alcoholic beer that was peach and apple flavoured - so so so sweet but seemed to go really well with our food. I highly recommend you try this place ASAP! read more

Petra Shawarma - Chicken Musakhkhan - Middle Eastern Near Me - Auckland, AUK

I think it's ok. I like the service. Environment is quite simple. Food was not as good as I expected but tasted alright. I give 4 star as it's quite authentic and well prepared I can taste the fresh of the ingredients. But wil I come again maybe not otherwise I will give 5 star. If you want try something interesting come here. But it's not cheap at all although it's rated best cheap food. I spent 18 for a simple veggie meal can only fill one person. read more

Petra Shawarma - A veggie plate, for $18 it's not a cheap eats to me. Tasted ok - Middle Eastern Near Me - Auckland, AUK

Came on a Saturday night. Place was near empty but food took 45 minutes. Food was average and overpriced. read more

Finally got to dine in here recently and had a great time. The dining room/atmosphere is not up to much, but the food is really good. We had the mix platter (hummus, falafel, salad, pita, haloumi), and chicken shawarma, and both were great. Hummus was really tasty, and the salad was surprisingly good, with lots of sumac and an orange dressing. The lady made a point of explaining that these are shawarma Jordanian style, and boy were they good - especially with a bit of hummus stolen from the mix platter. I had a piece of baklava also, which I found a bit crunchy and a bit too sweet. Can't wait to visit to try the hummus petra which involves whole chickpeas 'swimming' in the hummus, and sounds fantastic. Whilst possibly not the ideal place to take a lover or potential lover for a romantic night out, it is worth the visit for the food. Perhaps takeaway is the right call. read more

I was really looking forward to trying this place out but unfortunately I was left disappointed. To be fair, the food is rather decent although I find the price very steep. My partner ordered a Vegetarian meal $16 and it was just a small portion of rice with wedges of lemon and a vegetable soup. My falafel meal was $14 which is not a lot of money but there were only 4 tiny falafels with a dry flatbread and some oily hummus. The falafels were nice but only 4 measly pieces? The worst is actually the cardamom tea that we have to asked 3 times for and every time we were told it's on its way. We finished our meals and was just waiting for another 10 minutes for the tea. The place became more crowded and we didn't feel comfortable hogging a table so we asked for it to be in takeaway cups. The owner apologised when we left but our evening was already ruined and we are just not coming back. I don't usually expect much service if I spend less than $20 on a meal but this is just too much. I will keep going back to my trusty Shefco on dominion rd. read more

Petra Shawarma - Vegetarian meal - Middle Eastern Near Me - Auckland, AUK

Awesome tabouleh salad, fantastic hummus, and delicious shawarma. Thoroughly enjoyed by parents and kids. Highly recommended. Wonderfully friendly owner/chef. read more

Slightly overpriced kebab shop. ($20 for a mixed kebab) I will say though - the falafel was tasty and crispy to the bite. Wouldn't rush back here - but they were the only thing open at 4pm on a Monday along the main Kingsland strip (lots of places here close in between dinner and lunch service). We ordered the chicken kebab ($15) it was like a pressed sandwich, served with salad on the side and a spoon of hummus- with no other sauce options. The falafel ($6 for 7 pieces) also didn't come with sauce (you had to pay $5 extra for hummus). Overall... Not horrible - but definitely expensive for what you get. read more

So, I used to be a regular here, not sure why as it is an extremely average Middle Eastern place; much better places around. They take an extremely long time to serve, and they go into manic mode if there is more than 1 table of guests. Here's my unique experience though: A few friends and I went there after football, we ordered, and we waited for 50 minutes - we were still fine, and weren't complaining. The waitress got 2 meals out (we were 7) and the rest waited.. and waited.. and waaaaaaited... until we kindly asked here where the other meals were? She then bought one last meal out.. and 4 of us were without any food. We then went to ask her and she STARTED SCREAMING AT US. She said THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, YOU DIDN'T ORDER ANYTHING ELSE. We were in shock, and tried to talk to her, she screamed some more, until everyone was fed up and started talking to her in a louder and more aggressive manner - in which instead of apologising, she KICKED US OUT and threatened to call the police! ABSOLUTE TRASHY PLACE WITH NO CUSTOMER SERVICE, I WOULD NEVER EVER GO BACK THERE AND I HOPE IT CLOSES DOWN! Learn to respect your customers! read more

Lovely small jordanian restaurant with a good menu especially for vegetarians. Was also very excited to see the cardamom tea on the menu. Decent sized plates of delicious rice, salad, meat and falafel. Wonderfully friendly service. I will absolutely be returning! read more

I really wasn't very impressed to be honest. We dined in on a fairly quiet Monday night (3 of us), and waited nearly an hour for our food, which is far away from what you'd be expect for what is basically a kebab shop! I ordered the lamb shawarma, with spicy lamb. Possibly there was a mix-up there because the shawarma was so plain and boring tasting, not spicy at all nor were there even just good flavours. The salad was dressed nicely, but I think it's a problem when the side salad is more interesting than the kebab! Maybe stick with the vegetarian options if you go there, my friends seemed to enjoy their felafel. Overall, I've had much nicer, cheaper Middle Eastern food with a much shorter wait. 2.5 stars. read more