Best Middle Eastern Food in Auckland
Auckland's best Middle Eastern food runs from the hummus at Gemmayze Street to falafel at Shefco, a chargrilled chicken shish at Paasha and the Aegean island goat at Lokanta. Lebanese leads, but the range reaches across the eastern Mediterranean.
Where is the best Middle Eastern food in Auckland?
Scattered across the city-fringe, CBD and south rather than one strip. Auckland's Middle Eastern food covers Lebanese, Levantine and wider eastern Mediterranean cooking, from quick shawarma and falafel counters to sit-down spots doing mezze and grills. There is no single quarter for it, so it pays to go by the specific place.
The classics done well
Start with the staples that tell you a kitchen is serious. The hummus at Gemmayze Street, a modern Lebanese spot in the CBD, is a benchmark, and Shefco in the south does proper falafel cheaply. Pita House's mixed kebab and the chargrilled chicken shish at Paasha cover the grill end, smoky and generous. These are the dishes to judge a Middle Eastern kitchen by.
Going beyond the basics
A couple of spots push further. Petra Shawarma's fatat eggplant layers crisp bread, eggplant, yoghurt and spice into something richer than the usual menu. Lokanta on the city-fringe does an Aegean island goat that leans Turkish and Greek as much as Levantine. This is where Auckland's Middle Eastern food gets beyond shawarma into proper cooking worth sitting down for.
Cheap and quick or a proper meal
You can eat at either end here. The falafel, hummus and kebab spots make a fast, cheap and filling meal, ideal on the move. The mezze-and-grill restaurants are a sit-down spend with a table full of small plates. Both are rewarding, so choose by whether you want a quick wrap or a long, shared dinner.
Find the hummus and the grill
Kai AKL maps Auckland's best Middle Eastern dishes to the spots that make them, quick counters and sit-down kitchens. Works offline.
Explore Kai AKLRelated: What to eat in Auckland.