Ima Cuisine

28/05/2026

Wondering what to do this weekend 🤔💭 come to 53 Fort St for our Shawarma Saturday and mini flea market!!! 🥙🥙🥙🥙 best food and best vibes at Ima Cuisine!

Wanna sell yo extra sh*t and keep all the $$$? Dm us to set up a stall at our super cute mini flea market!!! ❤️❤️❤️

22/05/2026

Our happy market goers :). Come along tomorrow for our weekly Shawarma Saturdays & mini flea market! Come get some cool s**z - pottery, second hand clothes, hand knits. And of course…. Come have some of the crispiest and juiciest shawarma in town 🫵🥙😋

Remember! If you want to clear out your wardrobe, garage or sell your crafts, we can provide a space at our mini flea market. You keep the sales ❤️ dm us or email [email protected] to register xx

13/05/2026

We’re doing Shawarma Saturdays & Mini Flea Market THIS SATURDAY!! Come along and get your fill of great food and fun bits and bobs!

Do you wanna clear your wardrobe and make a buck? Dm us or email [email protected]! See you Saturday xx

10/05/2026

Our beautiful toast specials from a VERY special Mother’s Day ❤️❤️ huge shout out to and for spoiling Yael with some Mothers Day flowers 🥺🥺🥺 (you should check out their restaurant btw it’s THE BEST)! If you guys are lucky our special toasts might make it into the menu one day ;). BIG love from your Ima x

08/05/2026

Thank god it’s THE WEEKEND! And we’ve got some exciting stuff in store! Tomorrow we are open for breakfast from 9am-12pm and then are serving shawarma 12pm-3pm. We are also hosting our mini flea market again! We are OPEN for Sunday for Mother’s Day 9am - 3pm with some amazing specials as well. Book now through our website! Link in bio xx

thrifting

07/05/2026

Take your ima out for brunch at Ima Cuisine! Check out our awesome specials we’ll be cooking up alongside our breakfast and lunch classics! Remember - Ima means mother in Hebrew. That’s because we make our food with a mother’s love! Book for Sunday now through our website. Link in bio xx

06/05/2026

Sunday is mother’s day! We are cooking up some amazing specials to go along our usual breakfast and lunch menu. Our whole philosophy is about making food that feels like a hug from mum. That’s why our restaurant is called Ima, “mother” in Hebrew. So come and celebrate your Ima with some great food and drink! Book today through our website! Link in bio xx

25/04/2026

Our famous Shawarma Saturdays are BACK NEXT SATURDAY ! And this time we’re also adding a mini flea market!
From 9am-12pm we’ll be serving brunch and then it’s the classic spinning meat (and falafel) in pita until 3pm! There will be great drinks, good coffee and also second hand clothes and wares to buy!

Do you need to clear your wardrobe and put some extra cash in your pocket? Do you have some crafts to sell? Dm us! You don’t need to be an established retailer :).
Our first Shawarma Saturday is May 2, 53 Fort St. Yalla, see you there!

23/04/2026

Thinking back to our hot cross bun season with some nostalgia now that we’ve had time to properly recover 🤪

A massive thanks to our customers who took part in all the Easter fun. And an even bigger thank you to our AMAZING STAFF who rode the chaos until the end. We love you ALL xx See you in 2027 for more hot cross buns xx

We’ve got some more exciting projects and dishes coming your way for the winter season so get ready and get cozy 🔥🍷🥙

06/04/2026

It’s crunchtime. With 83% of our target reached with 3 days to go, we are so close! It’s all or nothing. We need to hit 100% by Thursday at 9pm NZDT or we won’t get any money. We need your help! Share our campaign with your circle, colleagues, peers and community. Remind people you’ve spoken to before! Think of 5 people you know you can get over the line! Donate through our Boosted page and help us get to the finish line. Link in our bio.

At its core, our film is about how friendships can survive adversity through commitment and solidarity to one another. We are living in challenging times and we think it’s incredibly urgent to show stories of ordinary people changing their worldview and resisting oppressive structures. This is important not only for the Palestinian struggle, but for all interconnected struggles.

03/04/2026

01/04/2026

We have a limited amount of buns for walk in customers so if you missed out on pre ordering come on in

31/03/2026

Yael and Nino showing off the flour tower ahead of our big hot cross bun orders!

Don’t miss out 😘 order your hot cross bun online through our website NOW!

25/03/2026

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! EASTER IS NEXT WEEK!
Easter, or “bun week” as we affectionately call it, is our busiest time of the year. Next Wednesday night our ovens will be on for over 24 hours to pump out as many hot cross buns as possible. Over this period we sell out of buns very quickly. This is why the best way to secure your buns for Easter weekend is by ordering your buns ahead of time through our website.
After next Saturday, there will be no more buns until next year! So get in quick xx

24/03/2026

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! EASTER IS NEXT WEEK!
Easter, or “bun week” as we affectionately call it, is our busiest time of the year. Next Wednesday night our ovens will be on for over 24 hours to pump out as many hot cross buns as possible. Over this period we sell out of buns very quickly. This is why the best way to secure your buns for Easter weekend is by ordering your buns ahead of time through our website.
After next Saturday, there will be no more buns until next year! So get in quick xx

17/03/2026

Two friends go home and try to make a food and culture documentary and are instead forced to face the reality of Israeli occupation face on. They didn’t have a plan, they didn’t have a crew and they had no idea how much the politics everywhere around them would change the course of their lives. It’s true that sharing food can cross cultural divides, but what about a divide between two people who are not born equal?
Our documentary looks past the “expert voice” on geopolitics and goes straight to the source - ordinary people making sense of war, oppression and genocide.
Our crowdfunding campaign has been live for one week. We are at 45% of our target with 272 incredible donors. We want to smash through our target and get this story made and out in the world. All funds raised from our Boosted campaign will go towards post production costs. Donate NOW through the link here https://www.thearts.co.nz/boosted/projects/naram-and-yael!

Co-director, writer
Co-director, cinematographer .camop
Produced by and
Teaser edited by
Colour by
Music by .mama

11/03/2026

We’re making a movie ! Naram is a Palestinian nurse with a master’s degree. Yael is an Israeli chef. They become best friends when Naram starts working as a waitress at Yael’s Auckland restaurant.
In 2014 the two of them tried, and failed, to make a food and travel documentary back home. They find they can no longer stomach making a puff-piece about food while the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian land and lives worsens everywhere around them. Instead, we filmed a beautiful and challenging story of their growing friendship as their country plunges further into war, genocide and despair. Their journey evolves into a decade-long political and personal struggle as the Palestinian desperately fights for her liberation and the Israeli’s Zionist beliefs are dismantled.

Over twelve years and with 200 hours of footage, we have filmed a raw and intimate story of a friendship in all its beauty and pain. We are ready to start post production and we need your help to get it to audiences around the world. We are launching a crowdfunding campaign on Boosted. Funds raised will help us to hire a senior editor to give this story an elevated cut, as well as contribute towards slick sound design, score and colour grade.

We have a month to raise $70k. This is where you come in! Please donate through our Boosted page and share our campaign as far and wide as possible with all of your friends, whanau, colleagues, clubs, groups, teams etc! You can also follow us at and sign up to our mailing list for updates on the campaign and on the film’s progress.

Click the link here to donate and share https://www.thearts.co.nz/boosted/projects/naram-and-yael. Together we can do this.

10/03/2026

We’re making a movie! Naram is a Palestinian nurse with a master’s degree. Yael is an Israeli chef. They become best friends when Naram starts working as a waitress at Yael’s Auckland restaurant.
In 2014 the two of them tried, and failed, to make a food and travel documentary back home. Their journey evolves into a decade-long political and personal struggle as the Palestinian desperately fights for her liberation and the Israeli’s Zionist beliefs are dismantled. They find they can no longer stomach making a lighter piece about food while the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian land and lives worsens everywhere around them. Instead, we filmed a beautiful and challenging story of their growing friendship as their country plunges further into war, genocide and despair.

Over twelve years and with 200 hours of footage, we have filmed a raw and intimate story of a friendship in all its beauty and pain. We are ready to start post production and we need your help to get it to audiences around the world. We are launching a crowdfunding campaign on Boosted. Funds raised will help us to hire a senior editor to give this story an elevated cut, as well as contribute towards slick sound design, score and colour grade.

We have a month to raise $70k. This is where you come in! Please donate through our Boosted page and share our campaign as far and wide as possible with all of your friends, whanau, colleagues, clubs, groups, teams etc! You can also follow us at and sign up to our mailing list for updates on the campaign and on the film’s progress.

Click the link here to donate and share https://www.thearts.co.nz/boosted/projects/naram-and-yael. Together we can do this.

Co-director, writer
Co-director, cinematographer .camop
Produced by and
Teaser edited by

09/02/2026

HOT CROSS BUNS ARE BACK THIS WEEK!
 
Yup, you heard right. 2026 is in full swing and that means the Easter season is upon us.

WHAT MAKES OUR HOT CROSS BUNS SO SPECIAL?
 
* We use the best ingredients - premium baker’s flour, sweetened with NZ honey, packed with Sri Lankan cinammon, Heilala vanilla from Tonga and loads of currants, fruit and orange peel
* Each bun is made with love - our spices our ground fresh, the buns are left to rise, and are taken out of the oven halfway through baking to be crossed with vanilla custard!
* This means they are stodgy, moist, sticky and super aromatic! We think they are the best hot cross buns in town!
 
AVAILABLE INSTORE FROM THURSDAY
AVAILABLE FOR PRE ORDER FROM MONDAY 16TH FEB

09/12/2025

✨🎄New Christmas items available 🎄✨
Ima Cuisine wants to offer you and your whānau the best Christmas experience this year. We are offering a limited number of house-honey and spice cured, smoked and steamed ham with an orange, mustard and honey and apricot glaze. All you have to do is apply the glaze and put it in the oven (instructions provided by us). The best time to pick up is either the 23rd or 24th December.
The ham is a full pork leg, bone in between 9.50 -10kg. It can feed at least 25 people, and there’s always leftovers!

We also bake Christmas cakes to order. Our Christmas cakes are rich, fruity with loads of brandy. Iced with marzipan or with a n**e look.

Available through the “shop” page on our website xx

22/10/2025

Striking workers! Come in for a $5 coffee and pastry deal before your rally. We also have lunch deals on for when you finish marching to Te Komititanga Square! UP THE NURSES, DOCTORS, TEACHERS AND FIREFIGHTERS! UP THE WORKERS! SOLIDARITY FORVER! ✊🏼

20/10/2025

Ima Cuisine is supporting workers on strike this Thursday. These are our nurses, doctors and teachers

$5 coffee and pastry from 10 until 11:30am. Late lunch deal after the Aotea square rally with $20 lamb or chicken pitas and $18 sabich and falafel. Just tell our staff you are on strike.

Right now our system feels totally upside down. These workers are those who are the first to help when we need them. They take care of our children, they take care of our parents and grandparents, they take care of us.

Our government is punishing the carers but renumerates those who exploit us - the big corporations like supermarkets and banks. Enough is enough. See you on strike day.

13/08/2025

IMA FUNCTIONS 🥰✨ Bring your work-team, your squad or the whānau to Ima for your function Our restaurant is split into two sections. We can seat between 20-45 people in our back section if you’re wanting a more intimate gathering. The front section can be reserved for 50-80 people and with anything above that, you can have the whole restaurant!
Our family-style set dinner menu is perfect for big groups, with mountains of meats, salads and rice to pass around the table. But just like our offsite catering we can do anything! From extensive range of finger foods and canapés to a buffet table to shawarma to a whole roast lamb to wedding cakes and more! Party with us and book through our website ~ link in bio

28/07/2025

FROM YAEL: "Ima" means mother in Hebrew. Did you know my Ima was a nurse for 37 years? We rely on nurses like her and we rely on a thriving and healthy public health system. So in the spirit of solidarity we are doing morning tea and lunch deals for nurses on strike this Wednesday July 30th. Get a coffee + pastry for $10 to fuel you up for the march up Queen Street and we'll meet you here for cheaper lunches when it's all over. Just let our staff know that you're a nurse on strike and we'll sort you out.
This one's for you savtah Thelma. She was caring, kind and quite a tough lady! We're keeping that spirit alive by fighting for our healthcare workers. You should too!