Mezze

Ordered ice tea, but got some kind of fruit — flavored tea. Gross!
I didn’t send it back, but they noticed that I switched to water.
Then, the server politely asked about it and then removed the offensive tea and took it off my bill. Nice recovery, Mezze!
Their burger was nice, I like their bread and they carry my favorite brand of scotch.
Since they are close to home, I will probably be back to try some more.

Order the pulled pork sliders and pomme frites. The sliders were good. But I was under whelmed by the fries. They were ok, but nothing outstanding. I left with that awful coated feeling in the inside of my mouth.
My wife ordered the squash risotto and the French cous cous. Again, underwhelmed. It tasted fatty and was not too flavorful.
This place came recommended but we probably won’t be going back.

OMG! Bought an Amazon deal for this place. Food was delightful, we savored every bite from the tartare, to the port salad, to the seared ahi and even the NY strip. The chocolate croissant bread pudding was unreal and offered in a half size… what a concept! We will definitely be back!
PS…the service was perfect! No mishaps, attitude, or otherwise. Don’t believe every review you read.

My friend and I arrived at around 8:30pm and wanted to have a late dinner.
Although they closed at 10pm (9:30 that night due to slow traffic) we were warmly welcomed.
We both ordered off the pre-​fixe menu
Me:
Cauliflower Bisque, light, clean and overall delicious
Steak with Pomme Frits and either Broccoli Rabe or Broccolini (don’t remember), meat was served med-​well as requested with a reduced sauce
Chocolate Croissant bread pudding, Orgasmic to say the least.
Him:
Fresh green salad, normal, crunchy greens
Roasted Chicken, very tender and super moist
Raspberry Sorbet, rich, smooth, bright and really flavorful
Cocktails:
Tangerine Drop was ok, not bursting with citrus like I expected
Grapefruit something or other, didn’t taste but he thought was delicious!
After titilating conversation over an amazing dinner, we realized it was 10:30 before we left. They didn’t rush us at all. It was a great dining experience!

For some reason Mezze is only a 2 and ½ star restaurant, but it has the potential for 4 star quality.
I can’t put my finger on it. It’s the energy of the place. For whatever reason I did not feel comfortable inside here. The food tasted good and the service was shotty. That’s not to say I didn’t like the person who served us.
I can’t put my finger on it. My only conclusion was that the place has bad feng shui. And I’m not much of a mystic. But I felt uncomfortable eating here.
What’s the story of the building Mezze is located in? Was this once a site of public executions in the 1800s?
Who knows, maybe the structure’s haunted because I felt nauseous and dizzy while eating here. Me giving the place 3 stars is my way of saying if I didn’t have that uneasy feeling, it would have been a wonderful foodie experience.
I’ve over 500 reviews and this is the first time I’ve ever felt such an uncomfortable vibe in a place. Not sure what it was.
The only thing I could pin point was that the way I was seated I felt as if people were always moving around me from inside the restaurant and outside.
Nearly forgot to talk about the food. Loved the Happy Hour appetizers. Really loved the duck breast polenta. And the chocolate croissant bread pudding was out of this world delicious. The coffee here is very good too.

We had dined here once before several years ago but I don’t remember much about the actual meal either way. In all fairness, it was difficult to form an opinion of the past dining experience because we had met my boss for dinner. My primary concern was just making it through the meal without embarrassing myself.
Thanks to Groupon we gave Mezze another try and it sure won’t be our last visit. Our server greeted us with a smile, which is always nice. She took the time to explain the specials of the evening and also made mention of the dish that was no longer available BEFORE we made our selections, which is always appreciated.
We were smiling from the moment the asparagus risotto arrived, and continued throughout the evening. We also shared a peach and shrimp salad, the Merguez Pizza with a crisp, flatbread-​like crust and my favorite: the Moroccan lamb shank tagine. Mr. S topped off the evening with the chocolate croissant pudding — a bit sweet for me but he loved it.
The service dropped off dinner. They had gotten quite busy and we waited patiently for our check. When it finally arrived the Groupon discount had not been applied, so we waited again for the revised bill. Aside from that it was a very nice experience and won’t wait long to share this spot with friends.

Nice atmosphere and the drinks are decently priced. I had the eggplant with smoky tomato sauce over polenta and my friend had lamb shank tagine. Both dishes were pretty good and very filling. I really liked the eggplant over polenta, I enjoyed the overwhelming smokiness of the creamy tomato sauce and the 4 pieces of eggplant turned out to be enough food. Maybe because the polenta was so rich. The lamb shank was very tender and had a very strong apricot flavor. They also have appetizer specials on a board outside on the sidewalk. Some of the appetizers seem like they’re smaller versions of what should be an entrees but I like that idea. I like that I can get a small plate of pasta as an appetizer.
Even though it’s within walking distance close to my house, it’s too pricey and not really anything special for me to return for dinner. But stop by to try the chocolate croissant bread pudding or for happy hour? Maybe!

I WAS POISONED.
I made it known to the waitress at the very beginning that I was allergic to dairy and that I could not have cheese, milk, cream, etc. I went thru every item I ordered to make sure. I ordered the VEGAN asparagus risotto. When it arrived, I ate a few bites, not realizing it had dairy. Then I bit into a HUGE chunk of Parmesan and realized too late what I had just ate.
The crappy waitress, ZIPPORAH, was not only was unapologetic but was downright rude to me. Even my friend commented on it after we left. So not only was I given something that made me sick but the fact that the waitress began being nasty and rude to me after I told her my food had dairy is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable.
Check out the other Unilocal reviews. Sort by Date. There are a lot of other people getting crappy service from the waitress.
I emailed the owner but no one has bothered to respond. I guess they don’t care about getting their customers sick.
EAT HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
**UPDATE: The owner did get back to me after reading this Unilocal review. I don’t know if he never got my original email or what, but I am updating that he did reply back.

I just went to Mezze for Valentine’s Day dinner last night. And I’m sad to say it was one of the most disappointing experiences of recent memory. Some context: I live in the neighborhood and see the owner around quite a bit. He’s been lovely to us. I haven’t sat down to a nice dinner for a very long time, given my kids are very young. Nearly three years ago, when we moved to the neighborhood and I was pregnant with my first, we went to Mezze for a nice dinner, and the service was memorably abysmal. People were very nice, but we sat around waiting way too long for our food. The memory stuck and we didn’t go back, but on occasion we did takeout, and while it’s very expensive takeout, we enjoyed the food.
So we decide to give Mezze a try on Valentine’s Day. They had a special $ 80 (per person) five-​course prefixe – not cheap, but we were up for it. I get a sitter and we walk over. I had made a 7:30p reservation, and we got there around 7:25. There were other couples waiting to be seated and no open tables. I overheard the owner say that it was taking longer to turn over the tables than he anticipated. More couples come in and wait. Soon there are about 12 people waiting to be seated and no tables are turning over. We stand and wait – no offer of a drink, nothing for about 20 minutes.
Finally we are seated. And we wait. And wait. And wait. No one even asks if we want water. No bread. We’ve been at the restaurant about an hour. I ask a server (not ours) if she can get us some water. She’s very attentive and visibly surprised we haven’t been asked. I do see that the staff are running around, even the owner is serving drinks, so I know it’s really an issue of bad planning, not unwillingness to help.
Waters come over. And then we wait. And wait. A free glass of Prosecco is offered at the beginning or end of the meal. I asked for mine at the beginning, and my husband asked for his, plus a specialty drink, upfront. No drinks. Finally I flag down a server and ask where are our drinks? We wait. And wait. Then my husband’s drink arrives, but not mine. Then mine arrives 10 mins later, but not my husband’s. Clearly they are having an off-​night.
Finally the first «course» arrives: An Amuse Bouche of some sort of garlicky soup. Mine is cold and congealed and quite gross. But I haven’t eaten in hours and don’t know when the next course will arrive, so I try to suck it down. I comment to my husband that an Amuse Bouche isn’t a «course». He reminds me that it’s Valentine’s days and we should expect to pay a premium. He’s generous that way.
The next few courses were unmemorable. We had a nice chat with the couple sitting next to us, which picked up our spirits. And it was nice to reconnect with my husband – we don’t get many opportunities to do that these days.
Our total bill with 15% tip (we normally do 20% or more, but we just couldn’t the service was so bad) was about $ 235 for the two of us. We’ve paid in that ballpark or more for a nice night out. But this wasn’t a nice night out. I think Mezze overreached with the pre-​fixe, and because the restaurant is one of the only nicer ones in the area, and because the staff are friendly, they may not get that much feedback about the value of what they are offering. It very well may have been an off-​night for them. But given we’re 0 for 2, I think we’ll just plan for a nice dinner at home next time.

Not being able to snag a parking space in the block of the restaurant, we parked about two blocks away. But it was a nice easy stroll to the restaurant.
We had reservations at 6:30pm and were promptly seated upon checking in. A busboy prompted brought water and a basket of focaccia bread with a plate of olive oil with balsamic vinegar. The bread was soft and delicious. Good enough that we asked for seconds.
For dinner, we decided to dine family style and shared:
— Merguez Pizza, which consisted of Mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, housemade spicy lamb sausage, herb roasted tomatoes, garlic & mint. It was a thin crust pizza that was very tasty and different given the Mediterranean spices on it.
–Moroccan Lamb Shank Tagine braised with Apricot Cinnamon and Coriander 0ver Saffron Couscous with leeks, chickpeas, roasted pepper, preserved citrus, toasted almonds, cinnamon and coriander over saffron souscous with leeks, chickpeas, roasted pepper, preserved citrus, toasted almonds. Dish had some tasty spices and the lamb was tender and easily came off the bone with a fork.
Overall, good Mediterranean food, in a nice atmosphere with efficient wait service from the waiter and busboy.

Up… down…up…down. Way, way down.
We have been coming ever since Mezze first opened. At first very reliable, they have gotten increasingly erratic in execution and we don’t care for some of the cost-​cutting measures, although we sympathize in these hard times.
But the merguez pizza was terrible. It looked and tasted as if it had been held overnight and then reheated. What little tasteless cheese there was had disappeared into the dough. The sausage might have been merguez. It was hard to tell, since it was charred black, dry and tasteless.
The Caesar is not a Caesar. It is a romaine lettuce salad, but the dressing bears no resemblance whatsoever to a Caesar.
The duck was good, but came with undercooked green lentils. We detest this fad of undercooked dried beans even more than we dislike the fad for fish with undercooked beans. Why would anyone think crunchy dried beans are desirable, or tasty?
The pork roulade with sausage stuffing was unbrined, overcooked, and dried out from what looked like being held in a warming oven for too long — which is quite odd as we had walked in at 5:30 p.m. when they first opened. If this was being held, it must have been held over from the night before. It certainly tasted like it, and worse, the black-​eye peas were just as al dente as the duck dish’s lentils.
So long, Mezze. We won’t be back, and will warn our friends not to bother any longer. We have such fond memories of your early days, but they’ve been subsumed by too many indifferent, overpriced, sloppily executed meals in the last two years.

On Sunday evening, I committed one of the deadly sins. Absolute gluttony here at Mezze!
A year later, I was finally back at Mezze, and it’s a good thing it’s not close to my home, or else I would be gaining the Mezze-​15, if not more!
It was a gorgeous evening, and wish we could’ve people watched while dining near the open window, but of course, the hot spots were taken. However, it’s always nice sitting near the open kitchen to watch all the deliciousness being cooked right there.
I finally got to meet the owner, Maurice (or known as Mo), who greeted us and showed us to our table. He is so genuinely charming, and as I observed him from afar, he truly treats his staff as family, and just as well to his patrons. I can see why they have so many regulars from the reviews I’ve read. It’s like eating at your relative’s home.
My 2 girlfriends and I were greeted immediately by Asha, who I had last time, and who is absolutely awesome! So attentitve and so down to earth. As we pondered what to order as we were famished, we finally decided on some new dishes I hadn’t tried (minus the mezze platter). The heirloom tomato with watermelon salad, the sausage pizza (with a fried egg!), and the mezze platter which consists of hummus, eggplant tapanade, tabbouleh, tazitki, and a marinated veggie and olive salad. Along wtih pita bread of course! We also decided to order their pommes frittes as I saw the couple next to us eating it and I was drooling. Those were just the appetizers! For entrees, we decided to order their classic dish, wood oven roasted chicken, duck two ways, and a pork tenderloin dish stuffed with their in house made sausage.
We were served glasses of sparkling wine and red wine, and noshed on the foccacia bread with olive oil and vinegar while waiting for our apps. I had to do everything in my willpower to not kill the whole bread basket, but luckily, our tomato and watermelon salad appeared shortly after! This was the best appetizer of the three, I’ve never had anything like it! Chunks of hazlenuts, feta cheese, greens, perfect tomato, and the watermelon was grilled and naturally caramelized! Absolutely divine! The cilantro vinegarette complimented it well too, and this is saying from a cilantro hater! The mezze platter was amazing, as always. It takes a lot to make me stop eating all the hummus and olives! I thought the pizza would be too much, but since the bread is cracker thin, it’s a great appetizer! The freshly made sausage, arugula, corn, and of course the fried egg in the middle went so well together, and I loved dipping the pizza into the fried egg. It was yummy to eat on top of the big middle piece as well. Also to add as a standout were the freshly made pommes frittes. I couldn’t stop nibbling on them beginning of meal to end. The spicy aioli was super good with it as well.
When the entrees started coming out, I knew I was in big trouble. I was already so stuffed! Uh oh… we dug into the chicken first. The chicken was so moist and tender, amazing! I didn’t remember it too much my first time, but this time was defintiley memorable! The duck served 2 different ways, was absolutely delicious too. Meat falling off the bone for the duck confit, served on top of fresh steamed spinach. The other duck was so tasty, and my friend loved their lentils cooked with bacon! Lastly, the pork tenderloin stuffed with their fennel sausage was very good as well, but I couldn’t enjoy it as much because my stomach was about to burst! My girlfriend said it was definitley her favorite entrée of the three. Again, all dishes were cooked to perfection, meat all staying so moist and flavorful. The veggies accompanied by them were the perfect choice.
I knew I couldn’t leave without my favorite dessert, their famous chocolate crossaint bread pudding. Ever know the feeling where you’re so full to the max, but can’t stop eating? Gluttony, they would say? :P That’s how I felt as I kept pushing in mouthfuls of this nonstop goodness when it should be purely impossible to eat that much more. It’s sad but true, normally in these instances, I would take the belt down a knotch, but not this time. I straight up took off my belt and put it inside my bag so I could breathe!
Their prices are pretty darn low for the quality of food they serve! And only open for dinner! Shows what a great place it is to constantly attract patrons, old and new! They also recently won Best Mediterranean food in Oakland through Oakland’s magazine! Congrats to the staff at Mezze!

Just want to say upfront that my star ranking takes not just food into consideration. If it were just the food and the waiter service, I’d probably give it a 4 star rating but…
I made a 6 p.m. reservation for two to have dinner and grab one of their happy hour drinks available until 6:30. The place was virtually empty except for a few people at the bar. When we asked which beverages were part of happy hour we were told we couldn’t participate unless we were at the bar. WTF? I can’t remember being in a place that has this policy. So… we moved to a small table up against the front window (felt the rainy cold air) and had people’s asses on bar stools in our face. Really… shouldn’t I give them 2 stars? I guess I could have paid the additional $ 2/​drink to stay at the better table but I just don’t understand their business decision…
I had the mezze platter which was pretty good. My partner had a fish special and a spicy eggplant appetizer which she enjoyed. They also didn’t have any beer on draft… which is kind of rare, isn’t it? For a restaurant and bar in northern California?
I probably will not go out of way to dine again at Mezze. We pay for an entire experience not just food…

Mezze was a cute restaurant. I absolutely adored the interior decoration, with clean simplicity and quirky furniture. I usually appreciate the open kitchen for patrons to grab a glimpse of the action.
I suppose 6 PM dinner is considered early for most people because the patrons were pretty sparse at the time. The service was very attentive, especially with the water glass. It amused me how each time I took a sip, my glass was immediately filled again. But who’s complaining? The waitress does take a while to get to our table because she was chatting it up with other staff members while we tried to draw her attention. Lucky for her, we were having a leisurely dinner and in no real hurry.
We ordered the steak au poivre (N. Y. Strip Steak Sautéed With Crushed Peppercorns, Shallot Vermouth Sauce Served With Seasonal Vegetables, pomme frites, $ 24) and wild sea scallops (Seared Scallops With Parsnip Purée, Pancetta And Sweet Corn Succotash, $ 26). Both dishes tasted amazing. I loved how the pancetta added saltiness and the chewy texture to the purée and succotash. I think it was my first time having parsnips — different yet familiar flavor. The scallops were a tad undercooked, but I’ll take it over stringy overcooked seafood. The steak was full of flavor with the peppercorn crispy crust. The entrée was so large, with a giant slab of steak, veggies, and a large pile of fries.
I really enjoyed the meal and ambiance. C’mon…splurge a little.

I need to preface this with two things:
1) I was a server at a $ 15 – 25 dollar plate restaurant for around 2 years
2) It takes REALLY horrible service for me to tip less than 18−20%
3) I will never go back
4) I will never recommend this place to a friend unless I want them to feel small and ignored after we’ve had a fight.
Got a living social deal here and decided to try a new restaurant out on Wednesday, october 26, 2011. Got the caucasian female server with short brunette hair (Zipporah is the name of our server on the receipt). We were told that prix fix meals couldn’t be used with the living social coupon. Ok. Fine. We wanted to order the cheeseburger and roasted chicken anyway because of other Unilocal reviews.
After the waitress took our order… that was pretty much the LAST time she said ANYTHING to us.
Our caesar salad came via… not her: she forgot to add the tomatoes, which was a $ 0.75 upsale for her. It was a pretty dinky plate for $ 9…
Our roasted chicken came… via not her.
Our cheeseburger came… via not her: ordered it medium… came out rare. No one bothered to explain what the different sauces were — I figured it out by sight, smell, and taste. :)
She never once came to check on us… even though she visited the table next to us 48 473 792 837 483 744 times. How hard is it to turn your head left and say, how is everything? Maybe she has trouble turning that way.
Ate our entire meal, then 10 minutes go by, still no waitress. Our diet cokes were ice water by now, asked a busboy for refills. Never came.
Eventually a guy in a purple shirt asked us how things were going. No refills yet. We want to try the chocolate croissant bread pudding.
15 minutes after we were done with our meal, diet cokes came.
Our server comes and puts down dessert forks… still doesn’t say ANYTHING to us.
She drops the dessert down a bit later… still doesn’t say ANYTHING to us.
She drops the check down and still doesn’t say ANYTHING to us.
The food may have been good, but the service put such a bad taste in my mouth, I couldn’t actually enjoy the food.
We tipped $ 5 off a $ 50 bill and I STILL thought that was too much for her — I should have slipped the busboys tips instead since we saw them more than our server… and he apologized when he forgot something.
As a bonus, my friend got diarrhea from the undercooked cheeseburger.

My first exposure to Mezze a year or two ago was Sunday brunch, which unfortunately they discontinued. A notch or two classier than most other local restaurants; good service; great food.
Thankfully dinners are still with us. We started with a delectable trio of hummus, eggplant tapenade and labneh. My dinner was Steak Au Poivre, both crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, accompanied by truffled potatoes. High-​class comfort food.
But the REAL star of the meal? Their warm chocolate croissant pudding with a dollop of vanilla bean crème chantilly. I generally refrain from wheat/​gluten, and dessert in general, but THIS dish more than makes the indulgence worthwhile.
I’m definitely a fan, and need to return (maybe with a good bottle of vino on one of their corkage-​free evenings) to try some of the other dishes like the duck confit gnocchi that’s gotten raves. But I’ll always find room for that choco-​croissant pudding.

first off, sorry for the long review:
I went with a group of 5 and had reservations at 6 but we arrived at 5:40 to find the restaurant pretty empty even though it was a Saturday night. However, it did get pretty busy around 7:30
Service:
Our waitress Asha was really attentive and nice. We were there for like over 2 hrs too.
Food:
We were waiting for the rest of our party so I got a mocha. I wasn’t too impressed with the mocha… it actually tasted watered down.
Bread basket and oil/​vinaigrette: can’t go wrong with this, especially since it was free.
Tomato Bisque soup: We each got a free expresso cup sized sample and it was super yummy.
Light fare platter: it came with Hummus, Eggplant Salad, Tabbouleh,
Marinated Vegetable & Olive Salad, and Lebanese Labneh [see picture] The eggplant «salad» was more of a dip but it tasted too salty. Hummus wasn’t anything special, the tabbouleh was a little bland but it helped balance out the other flavors, the marinated veggies were like pickled olives which are always good, and the lebanese labneh was probably the best one out of the platter. We didnt end up finishing this platter. I dont recommend it.
Prosciutto Pizza: I like thin crust pizza but I thought that they put too much flour on the bottom so some bites tasted pretty chalky. The vinaigrette they put all over it was a bit excessive and sticky. I also wished that the cheese was more evenly distributed. nevertheless, pretty good

Two of my friends ordered the steak prix– fixe with soup and dessert. My sister ordered the tuna prix-​frixe dinner with soup and dessert too.
The steak was a pretty good size but was too peppery for my taste and my friends ended up pushed off most of the pepper. The french fries that it came with was DELICIOUS though.
My sister ordered the tuna to be cooked a little bit more than the normal «raw» way but she shouldn’t have because it actually tasted kind of dry. I don’t really like tuna to begin with so eh.
I forgot what the soup was but it had a potato taste to it and I remember liking it but wanted to save room for our dinner. The soup bowls were HUGE which can be easily shared between two people.
The croissant chocolate bread pudding is SO GOOD. I would come back here just for the dessert. Omg. I’m drooling thinking about it now [see picture] So flaky and way better than regular bread pudding which is already pretty good… This dish alone convinced me that I liked the restaurant.
Overall I would probably come back and try the penne duck confit or one of the other interesting entrees but if you go with a group, I suggest at least one person getting the prix-​fixe menu because it definitely worth the money.
If not, definitely get the croissant chocolate bread pudding

Had the $ 40 for $ 20 Living Social from a couple months ago and finally made it down the hill. Nice bright space with tall ceilings and abstract art on the walls.
We were started out with a cucumber gazpacho amuse bouche. Nice flavors with a spicy kick to it.
The tuna tartare appetizer with avocado was rich, but a little bland. Too much avocado for me and not enough other seasonings (mint, chilis, truffled lime vinaigrette were listed).
The g/​f got the salmon which was perfectly cooked with moist flesh and crispy skin. The polenta cake was her favorite of the sides (also green beans & creamed spinach which didn’t seem too creamy).
I got the lamb shank tangine. Our server conspiratorially told us that it’s braised for 3 days. I tried to clarify and he insisted. I hoped for 3 day cooking process including marinading, because 3 day braise sounds like a recipe for tonkotsu broth or a pot of mush, but I saw it on the table next to us and had to order it from the positive comments they were giving and the luscious aromas wafting over.
The lamb was served over a bed of couscous with chickpeas, toasted almonds, and preserved citrus. It was delicious and fall of the bone tender. The toasted almonds provided a nice textural contrast. Recommended.
Service was good as well. The small issues we had were taken care of immediately and our wine and waters were kept topped off. .. though our main guy came across as overly /​forced friendly at times.
Looks like a nice spot for both date night as well as a nice family dinner.

Yummy!