gemmayze st

gemmayze street is hands down some of the best middle eastern i’ve tried outside of the middle east and i could not recommend this place more (especially for people like us who struggle to find super flavourful vegetarian food!)

we chose the hummus, which was some of the thickest, creamiest and smoothest hummus we’ve ever had, the garlic was a good level, not too overwhelming, and i loved the topping of roasted chickpeas and paprika oil. it was potentially the best hummus in auckland (gemmayze can fight it out with ima for that title) 9.5/10.

we also ordered the falafel, which was likewise spectacular, with a tender interior and firm and crisp exterior flecked with sesame seeds. it was served with a wonderfully subtle parsley cream which was almost as thick as the hummus which just topped it off, 9.5/10.

the star of the night had to be the arnabeet. this was a large hunk of delicately spiced cauliflower cooked til tender, and garnished with flaked almonds and raisins. it was served on a bed of thick and surprisingly sweet tarator (tahini sauce) which i could have eaten by itself it was so delicious, it’s sweetness worked perfectly with the savoury of the cumin, and the cauliflower was drizzled over with a sweet sauce i can’t identify but was also delightful, straight 10/10

because we are fitspos we got a couple of side salad options too - the tabbouleh, which was very citrusy and fresh but you couldn’t have too much of it because it was quite potent, and the khyar, consisting of lengths of cucumber served on buffalo curd and flavoured with mint and coriander. our best way to describe it was deconstructed tzatziki, and it was a nice refreshingdishwhich helped to break up the heaviness of the other dishes, both 8/10.

just as we were complaining about how stuffed we were the waiter brought over the dessert menu, and i mean it’d have been rude not to. we tried the ba’alewa, which was the beautiful love child of baklava and brandy snap. the exterior was flaky pastry and it was stuffed with a thick pistachio cream and sprinkled with crumbled pistachio, served with persian candy floss and the most melt in your mouth passionfruit gelato. we’ve never had anything like it and it was glorious, 10/10.

would 10/10 recommend coming here and ordering your body weight in mezze, the food here really is out of this world and is certainly one of of our new auckland favs.

this was overall a very pleasant experience! the staff were friendly and attentive and the place had a very relaxed vibe throughout.

eachdishwas impeccably presented and the meats were cooked to perfection. there were many new and exciting flavours!

the only complaint is the way the seating was arranged with heaters only on the edges, tables in the middle gets quite chilly. something to note when dining in winter.

it is a great place to catch up with people and try new foods!

it's hard to put into words how glorious the food is here. everydishwe got was killer. the hummus is like no other, the lamb shoulder will satisfy you enough to be happy if it was the last meal you ever ate.

the people are all so lovely and happy to be there, which is rare and only happens in places where staff are treated well :)
it's not cheap, so go ahead and save up for that shit if you need to.
treat yourself!

the staff was really nice and friendly they gave us lots of suggestions, i loved the food, ambience was nice as well but it gets quite hot in summers to sit there. we ordered 10 different dishes i loved their peasdishthat they make it with a creamy sauce and lentils falafels were quite nice as well. we ordered octopus that was served with capsicum sauce the sauce was really nice but the octopus was quite salty for me. we ordered hummus as well and was quite nice. i ordered their tarts for dessert which was the highlight for me it had a taste of roses in it and was served with biscuit crumble and sauce on the side.

my lebanese friend brought me here, i had a great time eating some wonderful mediterranean food!! i would come back again just for the hummus and baba ghannouj! 😋
ordered 5 dishes for 3 people to share (a little full), and 1dishfor dessert.
highlights for me were the hummus and baba ghannouj - hummus had such incredible flavour nothing like the store bought stuff! and the smokey eggplant flavours in the baba ghannouj was so delicious.
we also got the falafel, would recommend this.
we tried the samak nayeh (fish tartare with kingfish) - i wasn't a fan of thisdishas i thought the flavours were a bit mild in comparison to the other previously mentioned dishes, i wouldn't order again.
i was craving some dolma (vine leaves stuffed with rice), so we ordered the wara enib - unfortunately not what i was expecting at all! very very different, mild flavours. good, but now outstanding. would prefer a more traditional take on thedishsimilar to dolma!
we finished off with the knefe - delicious! not too sweet, and the lemon sorbet contrasts the sour with the sweet and also adds contrasting texture (soft with the firmer knefe)

gemmayze st = a-mmayze-ing!

i had been looking forward to trying this place for ages, so i was pumped to finally visit last friday night. we were impressed with pretty much everything: great service, quality food, and plenty of vegan and vegetarian options that are surprisingly filling.

since we were a party of 5, we decided to order a bunch of things first then add on extra dishes later if needed. this ended up being a good strategy, as we got to try a bit of everything and a few of us shared extra falafels later. the kitchen was busy, so this lastdishtook a while to come out – but it was redeemed by how it tasted so much better hot and fresh! these falafels perfectly complemented the creamy (and slightly sweet) ‘sauces’ we had leftover, like the babaganoush and hummus. special mention goes to the crunchy chickpeas that come on top of the hummus – just brilliant.

the other dishes were good too. the beans were surprisingly tasty and most of our group enjoyed the fattoush salad – though it was a bit too tangy for my liking.

for drinks: one friend loved her cocktail, but others felt their ciders were average. my raspberry soda was great (and tasted like ribena, which was fine by me).

note that if you book for one of the earlier dinner slots (e.g. 6, 6:15, 6:30pm), the staff will request that you vacate the table in 2 hours. this wasn’t a big deal though, as they gently remind you about it several times and we did end up finishing before that anyway.

despite the high ceilings, it wasn’t as loud as i expected so i'd definitely recommend gemmayze st for group catch-ups, as the venue is lovely and the dishes are designed to be shared.

gemmayze street is tucked into the back of st kevins arcade. the dining area utilises the shared space and has a decent view of the skytower and the adjoining myers park if you are so lucky as to get one of the limited tables directly at the windows however due to the high ceiligs and stone floors and can get very loud. food was amazing. have never been exposed to restaurant style lebanese. half serve of hummus, which is too much even for me, has and exccelent taste. think the chickpeas are sharp on the tongue though so watch out. falafel was good interesting flavours in this one. finished with the chicken shish which on its own without anything else on the plate would be good enough. the rest of thisdishwas good as well. make sure someone gets it so you can poach. definately would come back for the jeeb style menu

such an awesome place. we had a big table and jeebed it up. best decision ever. we were all stuffed, amazing value! and every singledishwas just done so well. so much flavour and care in making these dishes. and i don’t even like lebanese food ordinarily. just so good and i want to go back already. i forgot to take photos. that’s how good it was.

we were recommended to come here by a few friends. my husband and i went for our anniversary dinner and safe to say it was very underwhelming experience. as two people that work in the hospitality industry we understand everything can not be great every time but this was beyond terrible. the service i can’t even rate because there was none. we got sat at our table and offered water, it did not come for 15 minutes when someone finally came to get our order they were no help what so ever. when the food finally arrived it was well below average so did not make up at all for the lack of service. there was too much food which our waiter did not let us know when ordering and our lastdishtook over 25 minutes to arrive after finishing the previous dishes which we ordered over an hour prior. after what was a terrible experience i went up to pay and not only was it terrible overall but it was all way overpriced. safe to say at least it will be an anniversary that won’t be forgotten as to how bad the dinner was

i love lebanese food... thanks to gemmayze st! my girlfriends organised a birthday dinner for me at this place. the set menu is $60, between the 3 of us it came with 5 random entrees, 3 mains and 2 desserts off the menu. for the entrees, we got babbaganoush, the roasted cauliflower, eggplant, fattoush salad and purple cabbage. i dont know what they put in there, but the depth of flavour of everydishwas perfect... i was blown away, almost had an orgasm in my mouth, i would turn vegetarian for these lebanese food. the entrees came with turkish wraps. at this point, we were so full already but we couldnt and wouldnt stop eating. then came the main dishes. we had sparks on our eyes each time adishwas brought to our table. we got the falafel, lamb and the octopus for the main dishes. the falafel and lamb were cooked to perfection, but i wasnt a fan of the octopus, but then again it’s a personal preference. i think the octopus didnt go well with the rest of the main dishes. then the desserts. we got the chocolate mousse and the tumeric cake. not something i would order off the menu myself, but wow were they amazing. what a great complement to a 3 course meal. i love the atmosphere, so vibrant and lively... so much like k road. the lebanese lady who served us (and studied journalism) was so nice and friendly. i couldnt fault anything here. was such a great night to remember. i’ve recommended this place to some friends who have since came to try the food for themselves. how they raved about the food too, the food here doesn’t disappoint. i would love to come again to try their other dishes.

i was blown away by gemmayze st. we came here for a birthday dinner and we decided to go with their set menu. for $60 per person you get basically everything.... and it was worth it!

first of all the service was just lovely, they were very friendly attentive and efficient. they explained the menu and every dish. if you do go to gemmayze st, i recommend their house soda or their cocktail.

we entree came with some lebanese bread for the table, and i absolutely loved everything! i especially enjoyed their fatteh aubergine! thatdishwas seriously an explosion of flavour and texture. their roasted cauliflower was also pretty darn good!

i would definitely recommend the lamb shoulder. it was just to die for! so soft and succulent! i have no idea what they did but it totally worked!

the other interesting and surprisingdishwas the turmeric cake. i never thought turmeric as a sweet dish, somehow i always associate it with savoury dishes. but i was totally wrong! that cake in combination with strawberries was just the perfect finish for the meal.

highly recommend! absolutely love the place! im sure yoana setiawan would agree!

an awesome celebratory night out for my son's birthday - st kevin's arcade is always beautiful but at night, with the bustling full house of bookings and attentive waiters, there was just the coolest atmosphere... then the food came out and wow - truly impressive. we were a table of vegans and the waitress kindly explained our options - which were plentiful. the kitchen readily adapted three of the dishes, cutting out the dairy and even replacing it with an alternative - without us even asking. everydishwas just so beautiful and with such gorgeous textures and inventive tastes.... and omg, the hummus - silky smooth... for dessert - again without us even asking - the chef invented some spectacular mango and filo concoction - what a treat of a place!

amazing place, food, atmosphere and service.

parking: it's krd, good luck! so get there extra early before your booking time!

atmosphere: walk right down the end of the atrium and you'll see beautifully set tables. kinda al fresco, but completely covered. tables even have a blanket incase you get a nippy.

service: waiters were tentative, knowledgeable and fast. oh and beautiful smiles! long time since i've been to a restaurant with this many happy faces.

food: we got the jeeb ($60 p/head) and you put your faith in the waiter of what choices of dishes they will bring out for you. all up we had about 9 or 10 dishes. every singledishwas a delight, predominantly vegetarian from hummus, eggplant, cauliflower an so much more ..... yum!! .... but the mains of fish ad slow cooked lamb were finger licking good! dessert was delish and the house soda was a perfect accompaniment.

totally recommended!! best lebanese food i've ever had. total bonus if you're vegetarian. left feeling full, healthy and happy. 👌🏽👍🏽 thanks gemmayze team.

we went here on a friday and it was very busy. the waitress was really helpful and made some great suggestions from the menu. you must try the cauliflower dish! yes, it was a bit of a wait for our meals but well worth it. everydishwas delicious. we ordered the taboloueh, hummus and lamb shoulder and the flavours were amazing.

the overall experience is one of perfection with attentive service by all the wait staff that was there. the decor was nice with the different colour chairs. each fooddishwas presented well and detail with new flavours that i have never tried and the meat, cooked to mouth watering perfection. would recommend this to everyone and thanks for a great night out.