Samir Allen
Samir Allen
Gemmayze Street, Auckland
Gemmayze Street
Samir Allen is the chef and owner of Karangahape Road’s award-winning Gemmayze Street restaurant. Originally from Dunedin, Samir’s maternal family emigrated from Lebanon in the 1800s to settle in the South Island during the Otago gold rush. With a rich family history in hospitality, Samir pursued his dream of being a chef straight out of school. After working for several years in Aotearoa, Samir embarked on a pilgrimage back to Lebanon in 2014, where the vision for his first restaurant began to form. Passionate about sharing the food and culture of his heritage, Samir has been championing Middle Eastern cuisine since Gemmayze Street opened its doors five years ago.
Gemmayze Street, Auckland
About the restaurant
The next chapter of a 130-year-old story written in food, love and family, Gemmayze Street is our take on Nana’s table; a love letter to the modern and traditional flavours of Lebanon and the seasons of Aotearoa. Named after Beirut’s bohemian district, Gemmayze Street is a homage to the hospitality of our homeland. Tucked away in the back of historic gem St Kevins Arcade, Gemmayze Street’s heartfelt food sees classic Lebanese dishes celebrated and reinterpreted. Our jeeb menu (‘bring’ in Arabic) is our signature, designed to give diners a true sense of what it’s like to enjoy a Lebanese feast. We’re bringing a taste of this to our Meez menu.
About the food
Lebanese food is known for its abundance of whole grains, vegetables, fish, lamb, garlic and olive oil. Gemmayze St does not disappoint with an extensive menu that covers all of these ingredients and then some. And while Allen may suggest his food is simple and homely, there is an inherent and undeniable expertise to his cuisine that does more than just warm the soul.
The quality of Gemmayze’s Middle Eastern food, served as no-short-cuts shared plates (try sticky, falling-apart lamb shoulder or freekeh risotto of broccolini, confit garlic and labneh), is a constant: its the totality of the experience here that always draws you back.
