Very cute decoration as you walk in. Feels like a Moroccan sitting area. The place is quite big,…read moretables for days. Very comfy chairs. The menu is great and the food is better. Head chef is Jordanian so you can expect authentic middle eastern tasty food. The charcoal BBQ menu is probably what most people would be going there for. And it won't disappoint. The whole family loved it. Will be our regular.

Traveling around NZ for the last month and looking for something different. Cafe Midnight Express…read moreoffered us a fantastic meal with great, attentive service. I honestly feel my chicken shish was the best meal I've had since we started the trip! We were told that everything was prepared in house and the flavors were delicious. House wine was a bit of a disappointment but the food more than made up for that.

Had a good dinner here. BF had the kofte and I had the doner kebab. We finished with a slice of…read morechocolate cake. Everything was great! The place was busy, but service was still quite good. Our waiter was seriously multitasking! I'm always appreciative when somebody works that hard so I have a good experience.

Mezze is a very charming space, that gives indulgent traditional vibes. It came up in a search of…read morerestaurants near my hotel and I was able to walk there. I didn't get the ordering situation right off the bat. You get a menu from the bar then sit, decide what to order, then place your order at the bar. You also pay when you place your order. I went with the lamb burger and a cider. The fries with the lamb burger were amazing as was the cider. The burger was well prepared but not seasoned the way I prefer. I'd totally return to Mezze and try something else. It's a very cool spot, worth the visit.

Mezze bar is a great place to go to if you want some small plates to share for the table. This was…read moreour first restaurant that my family and I had the time to sit down and eat while on holiday. We didn't make a reservation and was still able to be seated which is nice since there's five of us. The food was all pretty good. We all felt satisfied and enjoyed it. My favorites were the Parmesan polenta chips and mushroom risotto. All the food on their menu looks great to try and it's hustling and hustling inside as well. They also have sangrias to go with the tapas as well.

Very good food! I found them in the Air New Zealand in-flight magazine and the hunt-to-table story…read moreintrigued me. Very meat focussed menu, but everything was done really well and with very comfortable portions (I feared heaping piles of meat lol ). I would definitely recommend this place. It is in a restaurant-lined street as well, so there is a lot to explore if I had more time in Auckland.

Amazing pies at the deli. People were super nice and friendly. Ultimate Kiwi service!…read more Cute little venue.

I tried Petra and although it wasn't the kind of shawarma that I was looking for (in a pocket-type…read morebun) 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.

If you are after your typical 2am kebab - you know, the kind that is drenched in sauce and stuffed…read morefull 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.

Amazing food, authentic Middle Eastern selections and a great ambiance in the middle of town…read more Plenty of choice and the service was prompt. A little pricey but probably worth it.

Israeli and Middle Eastern food in a trendy CBD location with intriguing decor. I was drawn in by…read morethe "Real Falafel Dish," which was clearly marked "Vegan" on the menu outside, so I dragged my meat-and-potatoes parents in here for lunch. The Vegan Real Falafel Dish was nice, with lots of salads (diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and greens) stuffed into pita bread with a generous amount of falafels. It came with homemade hummus and this interesting green dip that is apparently from Yemen and was super-spicy! (Mr. Google tells me this dip is called "zhug" and is made out of cilantro, parsley, and hot peppers.) The falafel balls had a nice flavour, but they tasted a little too greasy and oily for my liking. Falafels are a tricky thing and everyone has their own preference -- to me, these were just a little too deep-fried and crunchy (I prefer softer, less oily falafels). But they were still nice. My dad had the "Brick Lane Salt Beef Sandwich" (pastrami, kosher pickles and mustard) and complained that the meat was still way too salty for his liking, in spite of the name. I don't think any of us have ever had Israeli food before, so maybe that explains it? The atmosphere of the place was cool, with interesting art and tapestries on the walls, and curtains dividing up the space. The service wasn't great. We arrived at the beginning of the lunch hour (11:45am) and several other tables were approached and served before us even though we had arrived first. They were also very slow to bring us the bill. The table itself was rickety and kept swinging every time we moved. Almost made me knock over my water glass -- should really be fixed. All in all, I won't hurry back although my dish was interesting and not bad for a unique dining experience.

Upon arriving into Auckland and getting to this area we stumbled on this little cafe on our hike to…read moreour hotel. The menu and interior looked good so we decided to return after we checked in. Sooo happy we did as the food here is delicious and well priced! We even told the owner we would return even though we were only in Auckland for 2 more days. And yes, we stopped in the last night! I had the lamb sharwarma the first visit and it was awesome!! The flavors melted together and the lamb was cooked to perfection. The last night I tried the falafel dish and that was amazing as well. The falafel was not dry at all. I am a huge fan of camels and this cafe is decorated with lots of pictures of camels! I'll be back when I find myself in Auckland again!!

GREAT MID-EASTERN RESTO…read more This joint was near our hotel, so my wife & I went for a take-out meal and had it in our room. We had the Shish Kebab meal together with an order of Hummus with pita chips and a baklava for dessert. Cost = $33. We devoured it all and thought it to be delicious. I may be a bit over-enthusiastic because we are somewhat deprived of good ethnic restaurants in Southwest Florida, but I must say we loved this meal.

Gemmayze was one of my fav places to eat in Auckland (in spite of the low Yelp reviews, which seem…read moreService focused and an area I fortunately had no issues with). We had a rez and were able to get seated ~5 min after arriving on time. Place was packed at 8:30pm on a Friday. Cocktails are delicious - really flavorful . Easy to order multiple. Orange Blossom Martini was good and easy; Jiddi Sour was unique delicious For food, Hummus and pide a great start. Bread is fresh, warm, and tasty. Lamb was delicious and filling. Carrots an excellent side - roasted well and the fennugreek sauce was on point. Chill vibe in what feels like an open atrium mall

Wish I saw all the reviews about how the rude host staff is before I went. They asked us to wait 30…read moreminutes, which was no problem. I ask if we can leave our name on a waitlist somewhere and they say they don't do waitlists, so we have to just wait there on the side. Weird but again, no problem. 45 minutes pass by so I politely ask if there's an update to the table. The hostess literally yells "I told you guys the status of the table multiple times." And storms away. I'm from the States so I'm not sure if I was breaking some cultural rules, or something, but I was really polite when asking, and I only asked one time. I was never told the status "multiple times" and I don't know who "you guys" is. This place needs a reality check, the food was awful and service was miserable. I don't recommend this establishment to anybody.

Their menu includes most of their items in a "small" format, so we had a selection of these between…read moretwo of us. Lovely tasty food; the mantu were good enough that we ordered a second serving. Complementary cardamom-flavored tea. Reasonable prices, the staff were very helpful and friendly. Presentation is elegant; linen, heavy tableware, nice ceramics. Outside tables next to a pocket park on the corner of Pt Chevalier Road, so a few opportunities for people watching; they also have large-group tables inside, which were buzzing with happy punters.