This was my first trip to Le Mirage and I love middle eastern food so I was excited to try this place. The place is cute but nothing about the decor was exceptional and it honestly—lacked charm for me. When we looked at the menu it was an interesting mix of middle eastern and Italian foods. We knew there had to be a story behind that so my husband asked about it. We were told by our amazingly charming waitress that it was all in the family; Mom from one side, dad the other and they each influenced one other, of course!
I love Port Saiid so I talked my hubby into ordering the beef version of this and the hummus. I loved the hummus. It was different than other places and felt homemade with all its yummy creaminess. The pita bread was good and chewy as well, the perfect utensil for the homemade hummus.
When the Port Saiid came I was excited and could not wait to dig in. My first bite was a bit disappointing though. I have had this dish before and usually the lemon, allspice, and cinnamon is easily identifiable on that very first bite. But that was not the case here. It was obvious to me that they “dumbed” it down to fit a more normal palette and this was disappointing. I’m a foodie afterall and want to taste all the spices and citrus mixed together. I had a bit of the beef in my next few bites and that was pretty good. Not over cooked at all and added a nice flavor to the mix. Overall, the wateriness of the rice and the lackluster spices made this a miss for me. But our waitress was exceptional and looking around the place at other dishes being served I think I would go back again for a go at the Italian side of the fare. -DD
We started with the hummus at Le Mirage and I have to say this was very creamy and exactly what I was looking for in a homemade hummus. The pita was great too. For dinner, we shared the Beef Port Saiid; the portion of beef was large in this dish and definitely splittable. The sautéed beef tips were well cooked and absorbed the flavor of the mushrooms and garlic butter, there was a lot of lemon flavor in this dish that helped compliment the freshness of the ingredients. -SE
On our first trip to Le Mirage we were seated in this larger than expected restaurant tucked away on June St in Worcester. We were greeted by a pleasant waitress who sat us and went over the menu and specials. Familiar with the usual fare, like grape leaves and kibbee on the menu, I opted for the Beef Port Saiid: a beef and mushroom dish with a lemon garlic butter sauce served over bed of rice pilaf. The dish lived up to it’s description and was well prepared and the flavors came together quite nicely. My only suggestion would have been a little more seasoning beyond the garlic butter sauce.
Overall the atmosphere seemed nice, the desserts looked like they would be worth a visit by the self to try, and the family run business seemed very accommodating pleasant. On our next visit we would also be interested in trying some of the more Italian Mediterranean dishes. -DO
