close button

Ima (3)

Jun 25, 2013 Restaurants

 <a href=Ima restaurant, Auckland" src="https://www.metromag.co.nz/images/uploads/ea418bf3-0422-43ad-b972-c49c4537b930-MT0513Roty-Ima_MG_0489.png" width="800" height="533" />57 Fort St, CBD. Ph 300-7252, imacuisine.co.nz.
Breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday; dinner Tuesday-Saturday.

It’s hard to think of anyone in Auckland more passionate about their restaurant and the food they cook in it than Yael Shochat, who runs Ima. The dishes are Israeli with liberal doses of other Middle Eastern and North African cuisines — in Shochat’s world, food is the essence of community, and she loves to share. She’s also a superb cook. Her brikk — a tuna dish featuring a soft egg wrapped in paper-thin warqa pastry she makes herself — offers one of the great eating experiences of Auckland, and her seven-hour lamb is perfect for those times when all you really want is an informal, relaxed and simply lovely dinner. Shochat is innovative with her meals, too, offering family-style dinners where the food is not plated but served to the table in bowls. She also does special set-menu dinners and is happy to cater for vegans. $$$

3 Spoons

A favourite dish: Lamb kibbeh: spiced lamb and pinenut in a crispy shell of lamb and bulgur wheat, served with hummus.

Shared-plate options / Fixed-price meal options / Good for vegetarians / Free-range chicken and/or pork / Takes large groups / Good for kids

Latest

Metro N°447 is Out Now shadow

Metro N°447 is Out Now

In the Winter 2025 issue of Metro: Our Annual Schools Report Card for Tāmaki Makaurau, plus sage advice on choosing a school, how to meet the unspoken dress code, and a peek behind the curtains of Kelston Boys Samoa Group’s efforts at Polyfest 2025. PLUS: Metro’s Top 50 Baked goods in Auckland, choice tips on how to lose all your money quickly and easily with your smartphone, a deep dive with a soft landing on puffer jackets, the restoration efforts of the SS Toroa, the sweet taste of history and more!

Buy the latest issue