There was a review in the paper today about the new resto that opened up down the street from us. Figured I would pass along the info.

Mezza delivers full Mediterranean flavour

By BILL SPURR The Bourgeois Gourmet

JUDGING BY the intricate tile work that adorns the entrance, it is evident that someone is taking the decor very seriously at Mezza Mediterranean Grill.

Inside, tables are covered with cloths of muted tones and along one wall is a row of mini booths for two, with suede-backed seats. The restaurant’s website describes the lighting as edgy, though I’d be more likely to call it dim. The space, much larger than it looks from outside, seats 150 in two separate dining rooms and a bar area.

There are lots of nice touches here. Greek-sounding music plays softly, the pop is served in small glass bottles and instead of a basket of bread, we were given a bowl of mixed nuts to munch on, several varieties of which were new to me.

After striking out on my first four beer selections, I ordered a glass of Shiraz because I knew I’d be having lamb, while Kath had a glass of Madonna Riesling.

Mezza has been open for less than two months and our server, Danielle, told us that both the wine and beer lists are works in progress. She also said they would have Stella on tap at some stage. I checked out the bar area on the way to the bathroom and it’s a very interesting space, with dozens of candles on the shelves behind the bar providing interesting light. Also, they have Gosling’s Black Seal rum, which I realized too late.

As romantic as the bar is, it might be outstripped by the bathroom, with its ultra-modern vessel sinks, stainless steel garbage can and fancy dental floss dispenser.

Since there were several things on the menu I’d never had, I decided to order a few appetizers to try as much of the cuisine as possible and Kath and BJ ordered full meals.

Mezza’s falafel is made of ground chickpeas and fava beans and is spiced with onions, cumin and garlic. Laham B’Agein is open-faced bread baked with a topping of ground lamb and beef, tomatoes, red onion, pine nuts and fresh lemon, while Maanek are mini beef and lamb sausages sauteed in lemon and garlic.

Kath ordered the chicken kabob, which comes with roasted potatoes, rice, vegetables, pita and hummus, while BJ asked for the angel hair pasta with chicken. Mezza is already enjoying good word of mouth and it was pretty busy for a Tuesday, when we were there this week, with eight or 10 tables occupied, but our food arrived fairly quickly.

Served on triangular plates, all our dishes were nicely presented, especially the kabob plate. The grilled vegetables were crisp and done perfectly, the rice and potatoes very nice and the chicken was excellent. The hummus was a bit bland, with neither a lemony zest nor a garlicky zing, but since the pita never arrived, it didn’t matter that much.

The sauce on BJ’s pasta was thick and excellent, with lots of chicken and fresh mushrooms, but unless they’ve changed the specs on angel hair pasta, that was spaghettini on the plate.

The garlic that was left out of the hummus must have been used in the falafel, which was overwhelming until I combined each forkful with some of the accompanying spinach. After that, it was quite nice.

The Maanek were a bit disappointing. Very lean, they were dry and could have used a spicy dip or sauce.

But the Laham B’Agein was incredible.

Almost like a meat turnover, they were the best part of the meal and even better was the fact that Kath ate one and pronounced it wonderful, not knowing there was lamb in it. She has long claimed she doesn’t like lamb and has resisted repeated entreaties to try it, so BJ and I considered this a victory.

For dessert, the three of us split a piece of namoura, which was described as being like pound cake with Middle Eastern syrup baked in. It had a consistency between that of cake and bread and was very, very sweet.

Dinner for three, including wine, tax and tip, was $106.

Whether this already crowded restaurant segment needs another competitor, of course, remains to be seen, but I can’t think of nicer surroundings in Halifax for this kind of food, and it seems like an excellent place for an intimate drink.

And to fool your wife into eating lamb.

( bspurr@herald.ca)

Bill Spurr is a features writer for The Chronicle Herald and a freelance restaurant reviewer.

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