Taksim Turkish Kitchen and Bar (Mairangi Bay, North Shore, New Zealand)

I wish there were a lot of Turkish restaurants here in Auckland because I love them and I only know few places where I can get them. So far, the places I know and tried are only Paasha Cafe and Mezze Bar, Ottos Mediterranean Kitchen and our restaurant for the day. All were great places but I feel like there is a need for more of these types of places so you have a variety of options to choose from. I just love their grilled meats, they are seasoned perfectly, not too salty not too spicy and the way they cook them yields a very juicy meat.

I had seen Taksim many times but since we don’t go to this part of North Shore frequently the desire to travel there was not existent until now when we visited a place near to this restaurant. We came here just after lunch on a Sunday so it was not busy, in fact there was only us and another couple who was dining in at the place. Initially we thought it was closed already for lunch since we came around 2:00PM and luckily, they are open and still serve their lunch menu.

Service was quite fast, as we sat down, the menus were given and it was quite easy to choose. Only contains 2 pages and a few options which makes a lot of sense. Its either you choose beef, mince, chicken or vegetarian, not complicated all, what’s even better each mains item comes with salad and bread making a complete meal even reducing the difficulties on ordering things. We chose Beef Shish Kebab and Adana.

Food was freshly made and grilled so there is a bit of wait, but it is worth it, nothing beats a freshly cooked meal. Our first order was Beef Shish Kebab (NZ$18.00), prepared with Marinated Scotch fillet cubes chargrilled on a skewer, served with salad, tabbouleh-, grilled Turkish pide bread, hummus and mild chilli sauce.

Second order was Adana (NZ$18.00), made with hand minced and chargrilled lamb and beef marinated and moulded on a skewer. Served on a wood fired Turkish pide bread with a red onion and sumac salad, mixed salad, hummus. mild chilli sauce and tzatziki.

Both mains were fantastic, meat was very juicy and tasty plus it was presented really well on a wooden board. The beef was very tender, the Adana was seasoned really well then, the selection of salad matched really well with the meats. The pide was a nice touch where it was served underneath the meats absorbing all the meat juices which gave it tons of flavour.

For the dessert we had to get some Baklava (NZ$14.00), everyone knows this is the most popular Turkish desert where layers of filo pastry filled with walnuts and cashew nuts, with sweet syrup and served with ice cream. This was a real delight, not too sweet and that ice cream just gives it a nice creamy touch.

Portions for lunch may differ from dinner hence its much cheaper, making the lunch menu quite affordable. The amount was just right but probably if you are very hungry it won’t be enough, you might need another half serving of this but other than that we had a great experience. Staff was very accommodating, food was great, the interior decoration makes you feel like you are in Turkey. Definitely this visit will be repeated, perhaps when we pass by the place again in the near future.

Taksim Turkish Kitchen and Bar
Address: 404 Beach Road, Mairangi Bay, Auckland 0630, New Zealand
Website: https://taksim.co.nz/