Ima Cuisine

Here at Ima we specialise in the cuisine of the sun. From owner Yael Shochat's hometown of Haifa, comes the influence of the local Palestinian and Jewish restaurants, the fresh produce of the marketplace, as well as her mother and grandmother’s passion for collecting recipes.

From her home to yours we bring the benefits of an authentic and quintessential Mediterranean diet; largely plant-based in proportion to meat and protein, enriched with pulses, fresh herbs, nuts, legumes and raw oils. The food at Ima comes from a tradition famous for sustaining health and longevity.

All of our food is made fresh from scratch; daily and onsite. This includes our bread, pastries, cured meats and fish. All of our produce is local, sustainable and ethically sourced; our vegetables are bought from the Avondale and Wellesley markets, which we visit weekly. We also compost all of our organic waste. At Ima our goal is to share the love of food which is so central to our culture; elevating good food not only to celebrations and ritual, but to the everyday. We love what we do and we love our customers.

Come in and we will take care of you.

"Cooking has always been the focus of my life, I’ve been a cook since my early teens. However when I left Israel to study in the UK, it really dawned on me just how important good food is – how great food can lift your spirit and make you happy, and bad food can bring you down. When I arrived in New Zealand during the late ’90s, I couldn’t find the food I loved, so I opened a bistro called “The Lunch Box” with the desire to make food that would lift people’s daily life. The name embodied “food made with love” like a mother sending her little boy off into the world with a parcel of goodness, nourishment and of course a few little treats. In keeping with my philosophy, when I later opened for dinner, and “The Lunch Box” was no longer an appropriate name, we rebranded as “Ima Cuisine” – where Ima means “Mother” in Hebrew. Encouraged by the success and rave reviews that our food received, and always looking for opportunities to offer a better dining experience, we have begun a new venture in Fort Street, central Auckland catering for breakfast, lunch & dinner. At Ima we invite you to enjoy our food – made with love and the finest ingredients – we know it will make you happy!"- YAEL