Jesse Mulligan Reviews Palestinian Restaurant Zaitoon, Auckland’s Hottest New Opening

At Zaitoon, ‘the food is some of the best I’ve come across this year’, Jesse writes. I’ve never felt more a part of Auckland than when eating at Zaitoon, a new Palestinian restaurant on Dominion Rd. I arrived early for my table and they apologetically told me there was no “I shouldn’t be here, I’m a deputy principal!” the owner’s wife, Sara, laughed when I met her at the end of the meal. “But he needs me, so I’m here. Our daughter is making the desserts.” Could her husband, Nehad, just close the kitchen and go home? She shook her head. “He can’t. He’s a feeder.”One consequence of the terrible events in Gaza has been a new curiosity and affection among New Zealanders for Palestinian people and culture. That goodwill might get people through the door; it just happens that the food is some of the best I’ve come across this year. Falafel from Zaitoon.Dips, salads, grilled meat and flatbreads … this “food of the Levant” will be familiar to you, I’m sure, but Zaitoon offers a particular twist on each dish that makes it taste unique. Then there are dishes I’d never come across, like Dagga Gazawiya, a sort of Gazan salsa that mixes diced tomato, tahini, cucumber and a green chilli, which brings the sort of heat you’d expect from a Thai restaurant. Just when you think you understand it, you’ll get a surprise from, say, a tiny piece of chopped lemon skin bringing some zingy bitterness to the mix. I’ve made muhammara (a blended red dip of walnuts, peppers, pomegranate molasses and breadcrumbs) at home and it tastes good even when assembled by an amateur. Here at Zaitoon it is another step up; when she asked me my favourite dish at the end of the night, this was the one that came to mind. It is a completely beautiful creation, the dip poured into a rough disc shape and then adorned with more molasses and a scattering of the ingredients that went into the blend. It’s served with small, puffy flatbreads – barely toasted and soft inside when you rip them apart to dip. Musakhan: juicy chicken with sumac, caramelised onions and pine nuts, sitting on flatbread. Photo / Dean PurcellI understand that casual family eating in this part of the Middle East is often like this – some tasty dips, good bread, some cooked vegetables and meat included as a side rather than a main. A feast or formal dinner will likely include one or more big roasted centrepieces like lamb, or chicken, and there are plenty of those options at Zaitoon (easy and delicious as it would be to make your meal entirely vegetarian). I got a whole leg of chicken, juicy and tender, flavoured with sweet aromatic spices and served on a bed of slow-caramelised red onion and a circular flatbread to soak everything up. Toasty pine nuts brought some crunch and every mouthful transported me somewhere wonderful. The dish is called musakhan, though Curb Your Enthusiasm fans may find it impossible to encounter Palestinian chicken without thinking of Larry David. The only dish I didn’t gel with was the cauliflower – a whole head deep-fried until uniformly dark brown and crunchy. A roasted cauli is a wonderful thing; a burnt cauli takes some eating. Zaitoon is unlicensed but that doesn't detract from the experience.The restaurant is unlicensed, which adds rather than detracts from the good vibes. I had a cold glass of “lemonana”, a refreshing citrus drink in which you could see tiny flecks of mint. They also do a yoghurty “ayran” which I’ll try next time round. At one point Nehad found time to wander out of the kitchen and proudly walk around the room, greeting each diner in turn. He looked so happy. “It’s taken him a long time to get here,” Sara told me. “He tried all sorts of things, then there was Covid. At one point he opened a stall in a new foodcourt but ... he was the only one there.” Well now he has found a home, in a lovely dining room which has been patiently fitted out by yet another family member. It’s not flash, but it’s perfect. And it doesn’t look like he’ll get to stop cooking any time soon.ZaitoonCuisine: PalestinianAddress: 353 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden, AucklandContact: zaitoon.co.nz, zaitoonrestauranttamaki@gmail.com; @zaitoon.tamakiHours: Tuesday to Thursday, 5pm–10pm; Friday, 5pm–late; Saturday to Sunday, 4pm–late; closed MondayReservations: Walk-ins welcome weekdays; weekend bookings preferredDrinks: UnlicensedFrom the menu: Muhammara $15; Dagga Gazawiya tahini $18; WarakEnab $18; Kubbeh $16; Musakhan $30; Zahara Mashweeha $18Rating: 18/20Score: 0-7 Steer clear. 8-12 Disappointing, give it a miss. 13-15 Good, give it a go. 16-18 Great, plan a visit. 19-20 Outstanding, don’t delay.More restaurant reviewsAccording to Dining Out editor Jesse Mulligan.