Gemmi - Find the best places to eat in Auckland

I have been sleeping on Gemmi for the longest time, but no more! Gemmi really reminds me of one of those cult Sydney pasta bars like Ragazzi or Palazzo Salato (the latter you know I just rave about). I adored going to them when I lived in Sydney and I welcome any opportunity to visit such a place here in Auckland. I think the reason I had been reluctant to visit Gemmi was because it falls under the Namu Group family of restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed a good number of their restaurants and written about them in this very blog, but sometimes one wants a restaurant that isn’t ‘[insert cuisine here]’ with a Korean twist. However I am pleased to report that Gemmi is an Italian restaurant, with no fusion included. A twist of creativity and finesse, yes, but not a whiff of anyone else’s cuisine and I’m so happy for it.

I struggle to recall what used to be where Gemmi now is, the first in a row of mostly excellent restaurants that line the outer edge of Commercial Bay’s dining district. The decor is pared-back bistro, with corrugated glass panels , dark wood and some warming orange accents. Gemmi feels kind of intimate; as intimate as one can get when there is a thoroughfare running through the middle of your restaurant. The best place to sit is where I was, in the section right next to the floor to ceiling windows that look out over Britomart Square. The people watching opportunities here are unparalleled.

Gemmi has several pasta dishes that would do well both as a main (if you like to be territorial about your dinner) and to share, as well as several excellent large plates to go around. In fact, we indulged so much in these two sections of the menu that I couldn’t muster the strength for dessert. I know, unbelievable. I dithered initially on whether ordering fries, with a cacio e pepe sauce, was a good idea. Well it was. The fries were crisp and greaseless perfection, dolloped with a sharp but light (yes, cheese can be light apparently) pecorino and pepper sauce. The combo was outrageously delicious and not the least bit sickening. My one quibble that I fed back to the kitchen on my visit, was that the sauce was bizarrely cold, rendering the first layer of fries directly beneath it also cold. A minor technical error that I think will be easily fixed, with a stove.

Any frequenter of Australia knows those Aussies love themselves a ’schnitty parm’ although their treatment of this Italian staple is often heavy-handed. The result is oily, soggy and sits in the stomach like a lead weight. Gemmi’s version couldn’t be further from this. The breaded chicken is dry and crisp on the outside but still juicy in the middle, the marinara sauce on top rich in flavour but again bright and astringent, creating this beautifully balanced dish. An enormous shower of parmesan is neither stinky nor greasy, adding another layer of acidity, making one forget they are eating for all intents and purposes, fried chicken. My hat’s off to our astute waitress who suggested, having already ordered the cacio e pepe fries, that we swap the fries that usually come with the parm for their baby cos Caesar salad. Caesar salads are my dining pet peeve. I’ve had one too many smelly, limp, stale-croutoned Caesars in my life to subject myself to more but Gemmi’s is brilliant and dare I say, not like a Caesar at all. The baby cos is chopped so unbelievably fine, you’d think they were gunning for a Michelin star in the kitchen with that kind of knife work. The dressing is refreshing and the bread crumbs a rich brown pangrattato rather than dry, tasteless croutons.

*Spaghetti and meatballs with spicy vokda sauce*

Both of our pasta choices were stellar and had that nuanced chew and texture that can only mean they make their pasta fresh here. Malfadine, the pasta shape of the hour, thrilled me with its bounciness and curly edges. And oh that beef cheek ragu! It was fork tender, deeply savoury and had a crack-like quality to it (my guess is it was finished with some browned butter), giving it a magical caramel-like edge that shook my core and made me wish I didn’t have to share this dish with my husband. The spaghetti and meatballs is one of their stalwarts, which came with a very spicy vodka sauce (I liked that kind of spicy by the by, that wakes up your tastebuds without stoning them to death), the sauce made nubbly with a finely milled pork mince throughout. The meatballs were big, tasty and juicy.

I’d like to round out my review here by mentioning the seasoning of all the dishes at Gemmi was spot on. A well regarded Auckland Italian restaurant that I will not name here but had frequented in the past, thoroughly disappointed me in the last year with its horribly under-seasoned pasta. Gemmi doesn’t purport itself it be authentic, and it’s not, but it is bloody good tasting and that’s enough to have me coming back for more.

Gemmi
Shop 5 Commercial Bay
Level 2/7 Queen Street
Auckland Central, Auckland 1010
@gemmi_akl