Parla - Island Bay — Restaurant in North Island

We’re big fans of Kisa, so were keen to try Mosaic’s new Middle Eastern restaurant, Parla, and it didn’t disappoint. It feels like a more relaxed, low-key version of Kisa — more casual, less expensive, but still full of flavour and atmosphere. Even though it was fully booked on a Tuesday night, we got walk-in bar seating, which they keep available for half the venue. The bar seats were comfortable and the service was warm and friendly, with staff chatting to customers and each other, creating a welcoming vibe.

The menu is compact but well thought out, with plenty of shareable dishes. We had the lamb kibbeh (beef and bulgar shell with spiced lamb and garlic yoghurt), lamb kebab, Spiced to Meet You burger from Wellington on a Plate, hummus with pita bread, and pistachio cake for dessert. The lamb kibbeh was a standout, rich and well-seasoned with a tangy yoghurt sauce, and everything else was fresh, balanced and well presented.

We spent about $45 each on food, which felt like good value for the quality. A great option for a casual dinner with excellent food and an...

Went here on opening day for dinner before going to see a movie across the street. The food was a little pricey but very fancy and delicious. We ordered the rice pilaf (which I think was my favourite, it was spiced with cinnamon and I think cardamom? And had a generous amount of pine nuts mixed through it), the shawarma beef cheek, cured kingfish, courgette shish and hummus (which had crispy chick peas on top) with pita bread as well as a house made sour cherry & orange blossom soda. The food was spiced very well and had a lot of different sauces and textures which all complimented one another quite nicely. Everything was prepared very well and we will definitely be returning here again in the...

New place is lovely so don’t want to throw cold water on it but maybe make a few suggestions. The kebab was stodgy, very salty and quite spicy so kids wouldn’t eat it. The meat is plentiful but there is not enough freshness by way of crisp veges, grated carrot, sliced tomato, yoghurt etc and what made it very stodgy was the sauce which appeared to be a cooked floury yoghurt mix. I could taste the flour. I’m sure this is all teething problems and will be improved over the weeks and I will definitely give it another try and change the rating next time we eat. Best of luck...