Jesse Mulligan Recommends: Where To Eat For Great Middle Eastern Food, A Fancy Celebratory Dinner, And Crayfish

In this new fortnightly series, Viva’s resident dining out editor shares his sage advice on exactly where to eat in Auckland.

From time to time people ask me to recommend a restaurant, and often they begin with a tearful apology.

“I’m SO sorry to ask,” they say. “You must get this ALL the time. But …”

In fact, I don’t get asked for advice nearly as much as I’d like. I’ve been eating out in Auckland critically for more than a decade, but I only get to write about it once a week. Imagine being a piano player and only getting to play one song, each Wednesday morning.

Plus, I hate the idea of somebody wasting their time and money on a meal that was never going to be any good, when they could have given me a chance to talk them out of it. Like the secret service guy diving to take a bullet meant for the President, I’ve eaten a lot of bad meals so that you don’t have to.

So, please, ask me first! Just give me as much info as you can. What do you like? How much do you want to spend? If you’re just visiting, where are you staying while you’re in town? Who are you eating with? Does anybody have access issues?

Here are some questions I’ve been asked lately, and what I told them.

Hi Jesse,

From Suzy

Hi Suzy,

Ima is the answer to this question, as well as many others, including, “Who makes the best hot cross buns?” and “Jesse, who did the food at your wedding?” Offering an authentic cross-section of Middle Eastern specialties, chef Yael Schochat also does an incredible breakfast menu — the puff-pastry style Yemenite pancakes with fresh green chilli sauce are my favourite.

It’s less strictly Middle Eastern, but nobody has ever had a bad time at Dominion Road’s legendary Cazador — plus, parking is easy. And if you want to pretend you cooked, get some Jordanian-style takeaways from Petra Schwarma in Kingsland — they’re some of the loveliest people in the Auckland restaurant scene, and the food tastes just good, even when it’s delivered by scooter and not quite piping hot.

Hi Jesse,

Can you please recommend a restaurant for our 20th wedding anniversary? Something along the fine dining line (my husband’s preference), I prefer somewhere a bit louder and relaxed. We are off to Ahi for my 50th next month, so not there, but likely somewhere similar. Happy with all food types. Hubby entertains clients regularly down the Viaduct end of town, so preferably somewhere alternate to there. We love a good steak!

Thanks, Kelly

Kelly, you clearly have great taste! If you like Ahi, consider Ben Bayly’s French restaurant Origine (also in Commercial Bay). It’s a grand room, they do special occasions very well and I feel they’ve been a little under the radar since their launch.

And then there is Mr Morris, our Supreme Winner in our Top 50 Auckland Restaurants for 2022. It’s surprising, exciting and can be a lot of fun (sit up at the bar for a great view of the chefs in action — I presume after 20 years, watching other people is as much fun on anniversary night as staring into each other’s eyes). There are experimental moments on the menu, but they do a great scotch!

Hi Jesse,

Where can I eat crayfish for dinner? I got a tax refund and I’m feeling flush.

From Gavin

Gavin, you’re giving me PTSD. A few months ago I interviewed the actor Richard E. Grant and afterwards, he asked me the same question — he’d come all the way from Britain to New Zealand and wanted to eat seafood.

Would a scampi hotdog at Ahi do? No, it would not. How about a barely poached langoustine at Alpha? No, thank you. I was still on air, theoretically hosting a live TV show but during an ad break I put a call into a restaurateur who then called everybody he knew. But nobody had any crayfish. Not Josh Emett, not Matt Lambert, not Soul Bar or Bivacco or anywhere else.

“I’m sorry,” he reported back sadly. “None of us serve it, because Kiwis don’t order it.”

So Gavin, while you may get a little taste of crayfish here and there (Duo on the North Shore offers it as a featured ingredient sometimes), for the large nippy beast arriving grandly at your table, you may have to try Seafood Central at Auckland Fish Market (though I don’t think they do dinner) or wait until Sails restaurant’s famous crayfish season in July. Do you think the burning cash in your pocket will last that long?

Any questions? Email Jesse at Viva@nzherald.co.nz and tell him what you need.

Last time: Where to eat on Valentine’s Day, for a last-minute birthday, and for the best casual Italian