Review Fatimas - Auckland Central

Good quality Execution is ok - I had a falafel vegan pita - lacked depth of flavour and balance. All one note cumin - plus the tomato relish is WAY too sweet and heavy handed. The amazing thing about this place is the quality of the experience - I watched as the manager guided staff in maintaining consistency and quality in the product while themselves attending to service and cleanliness - amazing management!!! The experience is also built into the amenities… things often overlooked by rivals are so plentiful here and I appreciate it so much!!! Free water, as many napkins as you need (cause it’s a messy, hand held business), table service, pints on tap, real plants, bathrooms and sauces on the table. Really well run. The only thing I think lacking is communication of wifi password if there is one (“friends of Fatima’s?) - I will be back.

Tender and juicy kebab. Made fresh. Very friendly staff. Quick service.

This place has absolutely amazing food. The staff were very efficient and the manager, Max, did an amazing job of catering to everyone’s needs and was very efficient with getting my food out quick. 100% recommend this place, amazing food quality, service and the place was very clean. Must try the lamb chawarma

Love the food. It’s really nice and fresh. Service is fine. The flavours are really awesome. I love the way everything taste so fresh and different. Close to authentic flavours. Highly recommended.

Great tasting food with a chilled vibe. Nice choice of meals on the menu. Can get pretty busy so ask for your Koftas to come as soon as possible!

I shouted my team of 3 for lunch mainly because of special dietary needs Fatima was a good choice. The staff were friendly and use of fresh ingredients. The wrap was large and very filling. Prices are reasonable

An icon of takeout in Auckland. I had the lamb fattoush salad (I think that's what it's called) Awesome, super tasty, zingy, fresh The young lady that served me was great also. I eat here regularly and it can depend on who serves you and or who's working that day. It's not always consistent

The food and customer service was excellent and to be treated with a extra friendly smile on a Sunday 9:40pm just before closing definitely has to be noted here. 10/10

The chawamas are tasty and Koftas always a great side with great dips

As yummy as it ever was. But 1 Chawarma is not enough for a man size meal more of a snack. Ordered a second but they seemed to be on a go slow. 4 staff on duty. 2 customers in store. Ordered half way thru my first. After I had eaten the chawarma and I finished the salad a young lad popped out to ask again. Too late. Chump change out of 20 bucks and left hungry. Covid service perhaps. Worth the effort but best as a takeaway.

It’s dropped over the years service is slow, on my recent visit the salads didn’t seem fresh

The food is absolutely amazing. The wait time however is too long, even when it’s not busy you can expect to wait at least 20mins for a single pita

The food was really tasty, would give 5star for that. But in the term of HEALTH and SAFETY would give a ZERO. The staff were not wearing gloves and cleaned the table, platform etc with the sponge and without washing or sanitising their hand just wiped it on their apron and carried on making pitas. I will definitely come back but plz make sure you keep it a bit clean and train the staff properly.

We had superb meals from here the other night<br/>I had the Lamb Pita in the Fatima's favourite option/style<br/>With lettuce carrot red onion cheese tomato relish sweet chilli aioli and chilli<br/>The flavours were amazing<br/>And it held together well<br/>The others had Crispy Chicks also fabulous<br/>Pity about the parking<br/>Mount Eden store please!

My favourite lamb pita place since 1997. Love their sauces with the pita and watching the hypnotising spin of the meat being cooked. Best side dish is the potato koftas which are potato gems and the magic is in their tangy chilli mayo. Love Fatimas

Not bad in flavour but pretty small. Most pita bread places give a decent size meal for the main pita. 2 needed at Fatima to fill the gap.  Attempted to make direct contact rather than public but website has faults and doesn't allow access to the 'contact' link....

I am not a huge fan of middle eastern style food type, but I definitely am a fan of this place. I have been coming here every so often for almost six years now, which is crazy when you think about it, but I just can't stop! They have a (delicious) range of options which caters to wide variety of customers and each option is still nothing less than delicious, I mean I am a meat eater, I have several meat eaters in my family, but my top two favourites from the store is the lamb chawarma and the vege croquette fatima's fave (100% vegetarian). Other than the food the staff is absolutely lovely; they are friendly, bubbly and most importantly they are knowledgable when it comes to their menu! I have seen first-hand that they know what they are talking about when they make their recommendations (i.e. which filling goes with which pita, which extra topping goes with what etc..), which can be very rare to find.<br/>I do have to admit, the only reason why I am writing this review is because I overheard one of the workers a couple of days ago, seemed frustrated over a really bad review they were given, which I saw and found incredibly offensive because I myself nor my family are not "White", even though that shouldn't matter, and all still found this place AMAZING.<br/><br/>All and all those who want great food and service, at a decent price, I say you should definitely give this lovely restaurant a try.

Love this place!!! Fatima's has been a favourite of mine for some time now. They always have amazing service, great food and an inviting place to sit and eat. Both restaurants have provided me with positive experiences that have made me coming back for more every opportunity I can. My fav dishes are the Crisp chick pita or Fatima's favourite with a side of koftas! I would also recommend the Mezze dip :) Fatima's is definitely worth trying if you're in Auckland!

Yum! Awesome menu. I have been a massive fan of Fatimas food for years now! its a great place to go for delicious wholesome food, i always leave there feeling full and satisfied! The service is great and the girls around the bar are always willing to have a good chat which makes it such a friendly environment. LOVE the overall interior of the shop especially the hanging unit above the bar.

Love coming here, the food is amazing and the staff are so pleasant and up beat.<br/>My husband always has the lamb chawarma and I have the chicken fatimas favourite.<br/>And don't get me started on the koftas with the sweet chilli aioli, I can't stop 😳

Had the most amazing Gluten Free Lamb Pitta at Fatimas last night. Firstly the wrap itself tasted like food, not cardboard as it does from other places. The sauces were perfectly balanced with the right amount of tang and a touch of heat and sweet. The lamb was flavorful and perfectly cooked and the salad ingredients were a complete step above what's offered elsewhere. The Koftas ( deep fried balls of crunchy potatoe ) and the Aioli they came with were seriously good as well.... The staff were friendly and efficient despite it being super busy.

I am a huge fan of middle eastern food and Fatimas is my favourite! I just wish there were more restaurants  so I didn't have to make the trek over to Ponsonby every weeks!  I always get the Fatimas special kebab and their Kofta is pretty special as well. Please please join uber eats!

We had an amazing lunch as always. We have Fatimas for lunch every Friday. We call it Fatimas Friday. I could not ask for more.<br/>The Persian salad is my favourite. Healthy and Devine. <br/><br/>

Looking for a good wrap look no further everything fresh and taste so good staff always happy and real chatty the hash bites are a great little snack too,can't go wrong with the combination wrap yum 🙏

As we approached Fatima's, the environment gave off a hip/laid back vibe which I found to be quite welcoming. The menu board was displayed clearly and piles of CLEAN menu sheets were available at the counter. <br/><br/>After reading the menu we decided to order the lamb chawarma, lamb pita and falafels. I also noticed that the tables and cutlery were super clean - love it. <br/><br/>The lamb chawarma my partner had was so so good. The flavours were definitely there and the meat was succulent. My lamb pita was also really good and it really filled me up. The falafels we ate were also delicious but not as authentic tasting :p <br/><br/>I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who loves good middle eastern food or to those who have never tried it.<br/><br/>

YUM. <br/><br/>One of my favourite takeaways!!!!! <br/><br/>The potato koftas with sweet chilli Mayo are amazingggg! So crunchy!<br/><br/>My favourite is the Fatimas favourite pita with chicken. Love the added cheese as well. <br/><br/>Bit pricey but I reckon it's totally worth it. The pitas are huuuge.

Went here for the first time tonight and pleasantly surprised! Good menu with plenty of veg options, and not just the typical falafel option, but a lot of other thought out options. I had the spiced nut pita and the bf got the chicken pita with a side of the koftas to share! The spiced nut pita had great flavours and was very filling! The BF liked his chicken pita and the koftas were a great side! Also, very reasonably priced for the area! Would recommend!

lamb Chawarma is the busssssineeeess!!!! and you gotta get the potato croquettes to go with it! very good takeaway menu, fresh and tasty, bit on the pricey side but thats just Ponsonby for you #g1

Prompt service with a great range of menu choices. I enjoyed the gluten free pita with falafel. The potato croquettes with aoili are little mouthfuls of naughty goodness! A good range of sodas including the yummy hopt products.

Fast service, great tasting food and they have a couple of tables outside on the footpath. Hard to go past the lamb Chawarma with toasted bap bun. Beats most other fast food by a mile.

If your after a satisfying easy to eat meal without huge wait times then Fatimas knows how to hit the spot. The place is easy to find on the main strip on Ponsonby. It's more of a takeout food joint but there is a decent amount of seating inside and out. For us this is more of a lunch time venue opposed to dinner. <br/><br/>The menu has a great variety of meals for vegetarian and meat lovers big and small. Shannon who took our order recommend the Fatimas favourite (lamb) but we opted for vegetarian options and got the potato koftas (highly recommended) and a falafel side salad each. This meal seems small but is very satisfying and filling. <br/><br/>The service was the best we've had from Fatimas so far. Shannon was very helpful and friendly. We enjoyed our meal and experience at Fatimas and will be returning again

Fatimas is one of my favourite places to grab a quick healthy salad after the gym. It’s middle eastern food so if you love middle eastern then you will probably love Fatimas. <br/><br/>I usually get the Fattoush Salad which has spinach, lettuce, tabbouleh, olives, cucumber, tomato, garlic croutons, sundried tomatoes, tomato relish and a minted yoghurt and cucmber sauce with chicken ($16). I love all of the flavour combinations and it is really filling.  The potato koftas ($6.20) and the falafels ($6.90) are both incredible and are a nice little treat to go with the salad. They are both golden and crispy on the outside and all yummy on the inside. You can’t go to Fatimas without trying both of these.<br/><br/>The service is always fast and it is a fantastic take-out in Ponsonby!

We've been here a number of times - great on the go lunch option. <br/><br/>He said - A side of potato koftas is a must, they are like bite size gourmet hash browns<br/><br/>She said - Highly recommend the lamb Mediterranean pita

Always like the food here, overpriced but tasty. Although the service is always terrible. I go regularly so I don't worry too much about the ignorant staff.

One of our all time faves, if not for the potato kofta's alone. We always get the chicken Shwarma's too. Parking's a little tricky, but the walk up to Fatima's from your car is well worth it. These guys do it right for us, every time.

I have been wanting to try this place in forever. How i love a good falafel pita as much as if it was its own food group! <br/><br/>I ordered the falafel pita on gluten free wrap. I must say I was dissapointed. The wrap a bit off and chalky tasting but the falafel was nice. Not amazing or particular <br/><br/>The pita could have done with more salad <br/>

Really? The decor is dark and uninviting. It all looks tired to me. The falafel wrap was soggy and fell apart during eating, possibly because they smoother their food with so much sauce. Falafel should not be moist on the outside. The chicken shawarma was tasty as was the lamb bap, again the quantity of sauce meant that the flavours of the meat were overpowered. It's all just average for me, particularly when they are surrounded by the excellent lucky taco truck and the popular bird in a wire

Always my hubby and I's first choice when deciding to get take-out on payday. Kebab's are always super tasty, and we love the koftas aswell!

Fatima's has been around for some time now and I have been quite a regular customer to the Ponsonby branch, the other being in Takapuna. Fatima's is a great takeout option for a filling and tasty feed. <br/><br/>They offer pitas, as shown below, chawarmas and salads. The pitas are a tightly filled wrap with most of them offering chicken, lamb or tofu for the protein. If you're feeling adventurous give the 'Catch of the day' a go to have fish or if you are a fan of mango and avocado, opt for the 'Pacific Pita'. To be honest most of the time I choose the Fatima's favourite with Lamb and no cheese. Its my favourite and I can't get enough of the combo of the tomato relish, aioli and chilli together. This place is great as they cook their meat to order and use fresh ingredients, giving you a nice hot pita or charwarma. So far all the proteins have been cooked to the right degree.<br/>Ive had a chawarma once, its better if you don't have a huge appetite as they are smaller but the bap bun is a nice difference from most eateries. <br/>If you are eating with someone share a side of the koftas. Who doesn't love little balls of fried potato. Served with their sweet chilli aioli it's so unhealthy but soo good. My only small issue is I wish their chicken was Free Range, as their chicken options look delicious and i think they could widen their demographic offering FR Chicken. <br/><br/>Great 'Quick Bite' on the run or if you live near by and can't be bothered cooking. Huge fan of Fatima's and yet to be disappointed. Service is quick, online ordering is also on offer.<br/><br/><br/>Rating<br/>Food: 9/10<br/>Service: 8/10<br/>Value for Money: Good<br/><br/><br/>240 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby<br/>Opening Hours: Mon-Sun 1130-10pm

What can I say, Fatimas reigns supreme with quick cheap eats. Love it. Fatimas favourite w/ vege croquettes and no cheese every time and I'm a very happy man. My girlfriend opts for the fatimas kids option everytime and she loves it too.

Best takeaway in Ponsonby. Have been coming here since I was a kid. Can't say a bad thing, all I can say is FEED ME FATIMAS!! I recommend the Mediterranean Pita with lamb, and the potato kofters. My girlfriend always goes for the catch of the day. We must eat this once a week and it isn't old yet!

I walk out from this place extremely unhappy and do not intend to comeback there ever, dishes served are small and people working there truly arrogant. There is also established a "new system" of ordering (not even like in McDonald's) which made me wonder of management, it is called "60cm circle of luck". I was not aware of it prior but now I'm enlighten. I looked at the menu above and want to make an order but was informed that to do it I need to move one metre to my right towards "the circle" to stand exactly in front of the till. Ridiculous place with pathetic employees who are jumpy and rude and would not be bothered to turn its neck towards the client. Foremost the food is far from the money value. The policy of greed.

I have to agree with the previous review that the portion sizes seems to have dropped since we first tried fatima's last year.<br/><br/>However, what you do get is very nice and should be put in to context in terms of how much you're paying and the fact that it's fast food.<br/><br/>I've personally never had an issue with the service. What do you expect? This isn't fine dining.

Whenever I'm driving through and want something yum but quick and not greasy, I go here. I always get the kids chicken pita which comes with 'koftas' (mini hashbrowns) with the best darn aoili AND a decent amount! I've always managed to nab a park right out front too which is awesome for being in central pons.

Always have the same, pacific pita and charwarma, but lately the quality and size of these has diminished and last night was simply pathetically small and tasteless!! Looked like they were cost cutting but there prices are still sky high! Let the waitress know my disappointment, but she didn't seem to care, so that's fine I'll take my $27 next door to Bird on a Wire, where the food looks so much more wholesome and definitely more for your buck! Won't be back!

Well, I can't understand why so many people complaint about the service.... Its not a fine dining, just some pita, and its more a take away spot rather than dine in. I have to agree it could be more friendly, but they are always packed so I understand they not being very personal and talkative. The pitas are amazing, the best I have tried in Auckland!! Its not the cheapest, but it is worth every bite!! The berry smoothie is heavenly, I just love it!!<br/>Great food, ok service.

Big fan. Sure, everyone says the service is lousy, but those guys work hard, and the food really is delicious. All-time favorite is Pacific Chicken Pita. So delicious I can't order anything else. I have tried to make this at home, and it is a lot of bother. They do a damn fine job at Fatimas.

Service was very poor!Waited Half an hour only to be told Fryer had broken and they could not cook the Falafel and Koftas.. no real apology, just said that this happens from time to time. Went to the Thai next door and had a bottle of wine and a main for the same price. Don't waste your time and money.

I've just paid over $30 for one pita, one salad and two (small) drinks....the service was unfriendly to say the least, the food took twice as long to come out as I was advised (with no apology) and the lamb in the pita was fatty and so burnt it was inedible. My salad WAS good...but that was it. We'll go back to the Little Turkish Cafe on K Road next time.

I've been going to Fatimas for years. The food is usually tasty and good and the service is usually crap. <br/>But now the cost outweighs the benefits. It's o $40 for two Charwamas, two kofta and two small drinks. You can sit down at the Thai close by for less. <br/>It would till be OK, but it's inconsistent, you sometimes wait for 30 minutes if you don't phone order.<br/>I've realised those kofta we all love are for nearly 6 bucks a bowl are the same as McCains potato nuggests ($3.95 for 750gm at New World)

The food is so damn tasty but the service is crap. It's not service with a smile at all. Also I wonder about how clean this place is as the work stations are always really dirty and once I sat there for about 45 mins and didn't see one member of staff wash their hands. But the food is amazing, and the koftas.

The food at Fatima's is amazing no question about it. The service is terrible - there is a joke around Ponsonby that it is service with a slap and that they train them to be like that because they all start off really well - chatty, smiley, good customer service and about two weeks later they are sneering at the customers like all the rest of them. Still I'm there two times per week, I handle the outrageous lack of service because the food is so outstanding. They don't answer the phone when they are busy, in fact I have experienced them answering the phone and slamming it down.

Not only are the chawarmas and the pitas good, you can never forget the potato koftas

More of a takeaway than a restaurant, Fatima’s is a Ponsonby Road veteran that serves up Middle Eastern pitas and shawarmas and a range of sides. Our pick was the chicken pita which was like a meal rolled into a toasted pita. Potato koftas were generous in serving size but lacked that homemade quality. Service is less than friendly. For the full review and menu recommendations go to http://cheapeats.co.nz/fatimas/