Meza

Delicious, great vibe. Slow service.

Poop! This is partly due to Unilocal’s guidance of a «tapas» restaurant that got me here.
So I was in Seawaddle looking for a tapas place to eat. I used Unilocal and found Meza. Since it was tapas, I was expecting tapas! Well there were maybe 8 of them at most, and they were very simple things like cheeses, olives, nuts, and other things you can buy in a can or any other place in town.
The sangria was alright, nothing to come back for. The worst part was the wait for the food. It took over 30 mins to get our 2 «tapas» which at that point were arepas, which is Venezuelan. Like seriously, did they go kill the pig, cook the pig, then stuff it? Because that’s the only way I can think of making arepas in 30 mins.
They did give me a tortilla española on the house because of the long wait, and the waitress did apologize, pero whatever, aint no tortilla espanyola gonna give me back muh waisted time!
Still, I won’t be going back.

This place was a total disappointment. Another place in Seattle trying for the Cuban angle and failing miserably. There is nothing Cuban about any of their food. The sandwiches we ordered were overly greasy and had no flavor and the pineapple with pork was alright, but not worth $ 20. The waiter was nice but forgot our Jamon platter, we decided not to bring it up as were so disappointed in the food we figured we would cut our losses and get the hell out. With so many wonderful restaurants in this area I would not waste my time or money on this place.

Been to Meza now a few times and absolutely felt the need to write a review on their Pisco sour and Whiskey sour. I feel in love with Pisco sour after visiting Peru and since then have been looking for that perfect drink at practically every bar I go to. Some bars have made a mediocre drink whereas the others just don’t get it!
My fiancée and I went to Meza this past weekend and I finally decided to try Pisco sour. My fiancée is also very critical of his whiskey sour but the bartender Chris insisted we give it a shot and see if we like what he makes. Both the drinks were perfect in every way. The egg whites were blended really well and left us with no reason to complain. I’m happy to finally have found my place to go for a drink and would highly recommend them. The smile on my fiancée’s face was enough to tell that he loved his drink!!!

Little plates rock.
Tired from our walkabout checking out Millionaire’s Row & Volunteer Park, we came upon this establishment by happenstance. A great serendipitous find just as happy hour commenced (4 – 7) in Capitol Hill.
We noshed on a bunch of tapas: fava bean & sabrosa tapenades served with crunchy toasts, higos & daltiles (dates & blue cheese wrapped in prosciutto), vegetarinara arepitas, and a quadruple array of hard & soft cheese and grapes. The meal was rounded out with various glasses of good Spanish wines & a mango mojito.
The waitstaff was one of the most attentive, intelligent, friendly and generous people I’ve come across during our travels in Seattle. He was incredibly knowledgeable about wines, mixology (suggesting other good neighborhood bars), and the foods he was preparing.
And at 25% off the menu price, this is the little eatery that could. Gracias.
Update: My traveling pal left his credit card here by mistake and we called to inquire. It took 2 full days for the staff to let us know they found the card. By then, the card was cancelled.

I am really surprised by the positive reviews for this place. I have really tried to like it and have given it several tries. The food has been horrible every time. Seems like a scam and that they are just trying to mimic the success of other latin spots in Seattle (they forgot the part where the food tastes good).
They don’t know what they are doing, and the service is bad.
Also-​I don’t like seeing a server being mistreated by the owner.

I wish we could give ½ stars. Then I’d give Meza a 2.5.
This is a difficult review to write because though I loved the service (which was fantastic, attentive and welcoming), adored the place itself (small but intimate, stylish, warm but not over the top trendy as so many Capitol Hill places can be) the food simply wasn’t very good. The scallops were a strange combination of spicy and bland because beneath the lovely burn there was not even a touch of salt or butter or anything; the bread that comes with so many of the dishes was hardly fresh and the shredded pork dish was undercooked and cold at the bottom and dry at the top. And the sangria? Weak: no better than what you can buy at a grocery store. Sure, we ate it all, but in a desultory way because we were really enjoying being in the place. Maybe it was an off night.
MEZA, LISTEN UP: I want you to succeed and stick around; please oh please pick up the quality level of the food or else you will lose out to the other spots in the area. You have ambience and style to spare… but the food has simply got to improve!

This restaurant was thoroughly disappointing. Looking at the menu it appeared to have excellent potential to deliver great choices and great flavors that would take an eater to the very cafes of Spain.
We ordered the dates which were decent. A discrepancy on the menu as the title says serrano ham but the description says prosciutto. Of course prosciutto is Italian and doesn’t really belong on a tapas menu. Waiter was unsure as to which on it was and had to ask for clarification from kitchen.
The salad that we ordered was mediocre at best. I can make the salad in my house and give it more flavor than the little bit that was presented. There were supposed to be candied walnuts which weren’t candied at all. Some marcona almonds would have been a much better option and way more indicative of the cuisine. They use a flat balsamic vinaigrette for all 5 of their salads. Little variety and imagination on that front. I understand the attempt at cost savings but seriously!
Now for the worse offense! We ordered two dishes that had braised pull chicken. Toke de Pollo and La Playera. I don’t know what the heck the braised the chicken in but the caramelized onions and avocado had more flavor than the chicken. ABSOLUTELY no seasoning in the chicken. No salt, no pepper, no garlic and it was worse than pathetic. I’m glad that I’m not Gordon Ramsey because I would have blown a gasket and heads would have been rolling. I was offered garlic salt by the waiter as a quick fix. They apparently don’t get the fact that adding seasoning after the cooking process doesn’t get into the protein very well. Thus is why chefs season food before it’s cooked.
The waiter only took the two dishes off with the chicken and given the experience he should have just comped the whole check. This speaks of lack of customer service, lack of technique in a kitchen that you don’t season your food nor taste your food prior to the service hour. Bottom line, don’t waste your time here. Wound up going to another restaurant since neither of us were full.

I went here on Monday Afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised by the all day Sun/​Mon Happy hour — $. The sandwiches are delicious. The red sangria is great too. the oyster dish is well seasoned, not over cooked, and a little spicy (I loved it). I have been underwhelmed by the other dishes I tried: the Fruta Guayaba (braised pork) it was bland, and the Hongos (sauteed mushrooms) which were salty.,
I will give this place another try. I do want to try the white sangria

The food is delicious and the servers are really nice but I think the slow service is Meza’s weakness. I’ve gone in a couple of times to a packed restaurant and they’ll only have one server causing a delay in food service and/​or waiting to order or for the bill.
They have yummy sandwiches like their Havana, Galipan and Maria Elena sandwiches. I actually think their sandwiches are as good as Paseo’s sandwiches. Although, they are a little lighter and smaller. Other items I like are the Toke de Pollo, Seared Scallops and their Sangria.
They also serve Arepas here but I think they’re just ok. However, I haven’t had arepas anywhere else so I can’t compare Meza’s to any others.

A group of us ended up at Meza one night last winter when we discovered that the place we were at on 15^th didn’t have late night Happy Hour and was too expensive. We shuffled out in shame and made our way down the street. Someone had been to Meza and suggested we give it a try. It was pretty crowded but somehow we got a table for 8+ people. The tapas plates are shockingly cheap during HH so numerous rounds of those were ordered. It didn’t try many of them since I’d already eaten dinner and most involve cheese and/​or onions. I do remember trying the scallops and thinking that they were the tiniest scallops I’d ever seen and just OK. The other popular item of the evening was pitchers of sangria, which I tried and thought was pretty tasty. Overall it was a fun outing and I remember thinking «that was a cute little place, I’d like to go again.»
Luckily a friend and fellow Unilocaler suggested Meza for HH last Friday. I arrived at 5:30 and she was the only customer (more people came in later, but we had the place to ourselves for awhile). Our server was laid back and charming (and had perfect teeth and a lovely accent). Things moved very slowly but we were having a lively conversation so it was OK. We each ordered one of the Bocadillo sandwiches on Macrina bread. My friend had something vegetarian, I went with the Havana (braised pork, ham, banana peppers, cilantro, aioli, minus the cheese and caramelized onions). The sandwich was de-​effing-​licious!!! Sooooo good I probably coulda eaten two of them. I was especially pleased because removing the cheese frequently results in a dry and/​or flavorless sandwich, but this was still juicy and bursting with flavor. Well done! It was served with a side dish of some green (tomatillo?) salsa that didn’t do much for me, but I saw my dining companion used up most of hers. We both devoured the sandwiches and especially liked the fresh and not too crusty bread. However we both also thought the sandwiches were a little small for the price. But even that complaint was somewhat offset when we received the bill. My $ 10 sandwich became $ 8 at HH, which is still not cheap, but a better value.
I would def come back to Meza for HH. I’d also like to try the little round sandwich things (arepitas?) I saw at other tables and in the pics but do not see on the online menu. I will also mention that the art on the walls is cool and the music selection was enjoyable and the whole places smells real good when they get cookin. Lookin, smellin, and tastin good Meza!

All day Happy Hour Sunday and Monday! We went on a Monday so perhaps that’s why they were out of a few things we tried to order? I really enjoyed the drinks that I had (Jalapeño Margarita especially!). The service was nice, the waiter was super friendly. I’m deducting a star because we ordered a vegetable dish and noticed that it didn’t contain at least 3 of the items that the menu had said was in it, which was disappointing. I don’t think they’re food is GREAT but I’d definitely go back and give it another shot. Oh, I also think that the end separate table is a little bit too close to the row of seats/​tables! We were sitting at the end of the row next to said table and a party of 4 sat down and it felt slightly uncomfortable/​awkward. I don’t mind sitting close to strangers, but I’ll go hood if their hair falls on to my plate of scallops.

Woweewewow hello, all day Monday happy hour!
All you really need to know is this: $ 3 GLASSES OF SANGRIA.
Our bill for two came out to $ 50 and we ordered 6 cocktails (sangria and mojitos, both delicious), two appetizers and a spicy scallop sandwich. It was all tasty and I left feeling pleasantly full of food and booze.
I could have done without the Latin techno music, but for the quality and price, I can tolerate Shakira.

Long and the short: tasty unique sandwiches.
They also have occasional massively-​fun parties here. And they’re open after-​hours on Friday and Saturday. Classy atmosphere. Good people.

My friend had a friend who raved over this place, so we had to try it. For some reason, I got the impression it would be a much larger place and by the time we got there, I realized I had been by several times and never even noticed it.
We came for HH and even though it’s a tiny place, it was empty. We settled in quickly, got a pitcher of sangria and caught up with each other. The torta, the scallops, the pulled pork and the havana came out in quick succession. Good nibbling for HH, but I wasn’t a fan of the little bay scallops. I thought the rest was reasonable tasty though and it kept our hunger at bay.
Surprisingly, even though it got busy by the time we left, it was never overly noisy… and the staff was quick to us and get checking up. So, cheers to her.

I REALLY wanted to give Meza 5 stars… but I personally don’t think it’s near that yet. Here’s a rundown of last Friday’s Meza experience (FYI this is in military time):
2030: It took my roomie and i about 10 min to find this place. If you’re lost, go over to Piecora’s for directions. I’m glad they were nice enough to help us out. We waited about 15 min for a table for 4… not too bad considering that the place was pretty busy.
2100: Waitress finally gives us our menus. My roomie and I were starting to feel famished so we started off with the seared scallop tapas. The spiciness ranges from 1 star to 5 stars. Since my roomie doesn’t like spicy food, we chose 2 stars. Half an hour later, our order came. The other 2 girls finally found the place so we finally put in the rest of the order. The scallops were cooked perfectly and I liked the bread that came with it. I also ordered their sangria and although it was tasty, it felt like I was drinking juice.
2130: None of our entrees have yet arrived. Hmmm…
~2200: The rest of our food arrived. My initial reaction when I got my La Playera Arepita was that it was pretty small. I think they made a mistake on mine because it had pulled pork in it, not chicken. However one of the other girls ordered the same sandwich but with chicken… personally I’m glad they made a mistake with mine because the pork was delicious. The corn cake kinda weirded me out because it kind of reminded me of the bread wafers used for holy communion.
My roomie had the Havana Bocadillo and that was everyone’s favorite. If you’re looking for something somewhat hearty, I’d highly recommend this sandwich over getting a arepita. The aioli was a really nice touch to the sandwich.
One of the other girls dining with us ordered the caprese salad in addition to the La Playera. I really liked how they added some seasoning (i think it was cayenne?) to the salad because it added a nice kick to it.
Yes the food was overall delicious but the service was what ruined our experience there. I have to give some credit to the owner though, he was welcoming to our dining party and got us a table promptly. Our waitress was not attentive to us at all. We ended up asking the other waitress about the status of our food since it was pretty obvious that the one assigned to us was purposely avoiding us.
We also didn’t get why it took almost an hour to prepare our food. I hate it when I hype up a place for my friends but to only disappoint them in their experience there. I personally wouldn’t mind giving Meza another try but I’d probably go for happy hour.

the food was good but it wasn’t worth the wait. I ordered one of their sandwiches and I can’t understand how it took an hour to get to me. It was bread, pulled pork, tomatoe, lettuce, and aoili. How does that take an hour to make?
It was just like what they serve at Paseos, big whoop.
I won’t go back.

Open til 3am… WHAT???
Ok then. I will make it a point to come back to Meza after a long night for sure!
We ordered the corncakes — one with cheese and one with chicken and I gotta tell ya — the chicken there is RIDONKULOUS. So ridiculous that we ordered just a plate of it to eat. Not kidding either.
Our server was v friendly & prompt — even though the place was full with people streaming in and out.
My only suggestion would be to add a little bit more flavour to the corncakes — while they were good, they’d be even better with a wee bit of spice in them. Otherwise, YUM!

The food was good but the service was pretty slow. There were a few vegetarian options, so I ordered all of them. My carnivorous friend received all his food while I hungrily waited and waited. One of the tapas I ordered was forgotten entirely and others arrived 45 minutes after my friend had finished eating.
To his credit, our server was really friendly and apologized and gave me a coupon to use the next time I came, so I’ll give them another shot sometime when I’m less hungry.
The one thing I absolutely recommend this place for is sangria. Mmm, sangria. It was quite good sangria.

First of all, don’t listen to anything Will W writes — I don’t trust anyone who writes ONE REVIEW and it happens to bash a restaurant that 90% of us liked not just bit, but A LOT. Seems like he might have an agenda. oh well…
But I digress, we ate here last night and for the location and price, it was perfect. We had the mazanitas, fruta guayaba, ibiza and the vegetariana. The manzanitas were fine, nothing too special about apples, cheese and walnuts — the fruta was delicious — soft, tender pulled pork with a great marinade. The vegetariana was good — sauteed veggies in a pita with some sort of light olive oil but the kicker had to be the ibiza — AMAZING! Wow — we got this dish 4 out of 5 in terms of spice and man was it phenomenal. Tiny, tender pieces of scallops, mushed into a small sandwich — I’m not sure how anyone could dislike this. Anyway, for the price (around $ 35 with 2 beers — Will, BTW, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know what a Negro Modelo is — drink much?) this place can’t be beat. Going back here many times…