If Fort Street is Auckland’s Middle Eastern dining district (Ima, The Thirsty Camel, Kebabs on Queen – just sayin!), then newest addition Beirut is by far the jewel in its crown.
85 Fort St, downtown Auckland
09 367 6882
www.beirut.co.nz
Cuisine
Contemporary Middle Eastern
Price range for starters, mains, desserts
Starters $5-$8; small and larger plates $14-$30; desserts $13-$15.
Initial impression
Beirut is basically the Middle Eastern answer to Cassia (read: somewhere to go when someone else is paying), and the word is out. We had a really early (6:30pm) booking on a Friday night so the restaurant was on the emptier side when we sat down. An hour later though it had completely filled up, and with a packed bar in the foyer there was a good buzz going.
What was on the menu
Fancified Middle Eastern fare (baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, lamb, flatbreads etc.) plus a whole lot of stuff I’d either never heard of, or had only heard of in the context of MKR Australia (I’m looking at you labna).
What we ordered
The shared plates trend is still alive and well in Auckland, and Beirut is no exception. Upon the advice of our server our party of four ordered three entrees, three mains, and the Persian flatbread with whipped garlic and harissa to start. Highlights were the Kingfish Kibbeh Nayeh – AKA the best ceviche I’ve ever eaten – and the spiced duck with red cabbage, rhubarb and duck egg yolk.
If you’re more territorial when it comes to food you can definitely order individually, but a word of warning, the mains are not created equal. The duck is a significantly smaller portion than the beef, which is a significantly smaller portion than the goat. In other words, order a small plate on top of the duck or you might find yourself breaking all your own rules and picking at your dinner companion’s plate.
What we drank
We’d started the evening at Racket where my Dark and Stormy had barely touched the sides, so the pear, ginger and rum ‘shrub’ was hard to resist, but in the end we went straight for a bottle of Côtes du Rhône. I’m no wine connoisseur but it was A+++, would try it again.
What the service was like
Everyone who came to our table was very helpful (but not too eager), and wearing a chic linen ensemble, so no complaints there.
What we paid
The bill totaled just over $200 for four people (just to recap, that was for a starter, three small plates, three large plates, and a bottle of wine).
Final verdict
Our biggest mistake was forgoing dessert in favour of finishing the night down the road at Miann. The glossy sweets we picked out of the cabinet there would have had nothing on the Arabic doughnuts with black cumin syrup and fennel ice-cream that I’d spied on the table next to us earlier in the night. In this sense I feel like I have unfinished business with Beirut, and will be returning as soon as possible to deal with it.
