Carmel - Israeli Street Food — Restaurant in Waitematā

[Edit 14/05/23 - Finally went back and tried the chicken schnitzel on challah bread. Would also hightly recommend! That mango salsa is the bomb. The schnitzel was super generous - I think I had 3 think pieces in my sandwich! Whether you go with the classic felafel or the chicken schnitzel, you just can't go wrong. 👌

The Biscoff treats are a must. And there's this lemon cheesecakey filling that's super tasty.

Still super busy, so I would recommend going when it's sunny/when the weather is decent because the lines goes right out the door. And also so you have the option to sit outside, or to take it away to the nearest park to eat. But don't let the limited seating stop you from going. // Edit ends. ]

Best felafel I've had, hands down. I'm terrible at figuring out what herbs I'm eating, but I could taste the freshness and full flavours of what ever had been jam-packed into those tasty treats. The pastries were all quite interesting too - I rather liked the Ube rugelach. That being said, I definitely ordered too much. If you had to choose, just go with the felafel. Delicious and satisfying.

Do note that it gets suuuuper busy. I was lucky to have come in just before the lunch rush. And then the queue was out the door. As its quite a small place, it can be hard to find a seat. So probably best to come in when it's sunny. So you can take your meal away and...

Carmel and Tom catered our wedding back in August.

First of all, their food was delicious. We heard such wonderful comments about the food from all of our guests, including the foodies and the fussy eaters- people were absolutely blown away by the flavours and the variety.

Carmel and Tom went above and beyond to not only cater for special dietary requirements, but also did so on very short notice.

Prior to the event, they came to check out the venue, liaised with the owner, and were self-sufficient throughout, which was exactly what we needed; they were very professional.

Their price was fair and the food quantities were generous, and you can tell they love what they do. The comments across the board, from the venue, the rest of the staff, and the guests, were all mentioning how wonderful and positive these guys are. As Carmel put it “when you make food, you have to be happy and bring positive energy.”

After the event, guests have asked us for contact details of the caterers and wanted to know if they have a shop/restaurant- that should really say it all.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Carmel and Tom, you guys are amazing, and your food was delicious! We would give you 6 stars...

This place is great and there's a very good reason it is popular. All the food here is amazing. There were queues out the door when me and my group of 4 arrived, and we were lucky to be able to find a seat. This place was buzzing and packed, and the guys in the kitchen were cranking out orders left and right, and the food was coming out quick! The staff here get major props for teamwork and communication, and they were pushing out orders very quickly and not dropping the ball in what must have been an intense lunch rush, so serious props to them.

The food was amazing. Our group got a mix of stuff sweet and savoury, chicken schnitzel sandwich, cheecky chicken pita , some babka and a cheese pasty. It was all amazing! The portion sizes were huge, and the food itself was clean, delicious, and filling. There is so much good food that I will definitely be coming back again another time. Great work...