Casablanca Sylvia Park is a Mediterranean eatery inside Sylvia Park Shopping Centre on Mount Wellington Highway, Auckland, serving lunch through to late dinner seven days a week — from 11am on weekdays and from 9am on weekends.
The menu travels across the eastern Mediterranean, from Turkish lahmajun, pide and Turkish coffee to Moroccan tagines, with dips like hummus, labneh and zaalouk, generous platters built for the middle of the table, and a chef's-pick Jordanian lamb. Vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free dishes are clearly marked, and there's a dedicated kids' menu.
The bar pours cocktails with names like Belly Dancer and Arabian Nights alongside mocktails, New Zealand and imported wines, tap beer, cider and raki, while set sharing menus (minimum six people) make it an easy pick for groups and celebrations. Bookings and gift vouchers are available.
Casablanca Sylvia Park brings the flavours of the Mediterranean to one of Auckland's biggest shopping destinations. Found on Dining Lane at Sylvia Park Shopping Centre on Mount Wellington Highway, the restaurant runs a genuine day-to-night operation: doors open at 11am on weekdays and 9am on weekends, and service continues until late. That makes it as natural a stop for a mid-shopping lunch as it is for a long, leisurely dinner.
The menu reads like a journey across the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish staples like lahmajun — an Istanbul street-food pizza layered with spiced beef mince, tomato and rocket — sit alongside Moroccan tagines perfumed with ras el hanout and preserved lemon. In between are Greek and Levantine touches: spanakopita, Greek meatballs, fattoush and a red-lentil Anatolian Bride's Soup. Vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free dishes are clearly marked, and the kitchen notes it takes all reasonable steps to accommodate dietary needs, though it can't guarantee allergen-free ingredients.
The dips are the gateway: Casablanca hummus topped with chickpea salsa, hung-yoghurt labneh with chermoula and olives, and zaalouk, a chargrilled eggplant and tomato dip, all served with pide. Starters range from falafel and tempura-battered halloumi chips to harissa prawns in tomato and garlic butter. Mains run from pan-fried market fish with chermoula and sumac fries to cherkez chicken in creamy walnut tarator — and the chef's pick, Jordanian lamb, pairs slow-cooked lamb shoulder with hummus, feta, almonds and flatbread.
Then there are the tagines, which deserve a section of the table all to themselves: beef short rib braised with prunes, citron chicken with preserved lemon and apricots, a slow-roasted Moroccan lamb shank, or the vegetarian version with root vegetables, figs and cashew dukkha.
Sharing is clearly the house style. The Casa Grazing Plate stacks slow-cooked lamb, chicken, meatballs, calamari and harissa prawns beside salad, fries, pide and dips; the Kebab Skewer Platter pairs chicken, beef and Moroccan merguez lamb skewers with pickles, rice and flatbread, and can be extended with extra skewers; the Mezze Platter offers a lighter route in with dips, salad, olives and falafel.
For groups of six or more there are dedicated set sharing menus — one standard, one fully vegetarian — that move through pide, mezze, skewers or tagine before finishing with walnut and chocolate baklava, Turkish delight and pistachio crumb. A kids' menu keeps younger diners happy, too.
The drinks list has as much personality as the food. Cocktails borrow from the restaurant's cinematic muse: a Belly Dancer with tequila, blue curacao, prosecco and watermelon syrup; an Arabian Nights of gin, campari, honey and rosemary; a Desert Rose with strawberry and rose water. Non-drinkers are properly looked after with mocktails like the Miss Istanbul — watermelon, lemonade and blue pea — and Moroccan Mint Lemonade.
New Zealand wines pour by the glass alongside French and Italian picks, with tap beer, cider and raki — the Turkish aniseed liqueur — for something different. Coffee runs from flat whites to traditional Turkish coffee served, as it should be, with Turkish delight, and there's homemade iced tea, smoothies and juices for daytime, plus a tea list that wanders from Moroccan mint to Turkish apple.
Bookings can be made online, by phone or email, and gift vouchers are available. Expect a 2.5% surcharge on credit card and PayWave payments, possible surcharges on public holidays, and a cakeage fee if you bring your own celebration cake. Whether you're refuelling between shops, gathering the family around a grazing plate, or settling in for mezze and mocktails until late, Casablanca Sylvia Park turns an ordinary mall day into something a little more exotic.