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Soutzoukakia Smirneika from Meze Greek

Soutzoukakia Smirneika from Meze on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Soutzoukakia Smirneika from Meze on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Mezé Greek Tapas Bar & Grille is one of the newer restaurants and brings a Greek flair to the Shrewsbury St dining experience with their tapas themed restaurant. Having been here a few times in the past I was already familiar with their extensive menu of Greek favorites. After reviewing the menu I decided to have one dish that was a favorite of mine and one dish that I have not tried before.

The first plate I ordered was the Meze Pikilla Plate, which was a combination of five of their favorite cold dips. The dips included Tzatziki, taramosalata, tyrokaferi, skordalla, and Melitzanosalata. For most of us we are probably familiar with Tzatziki, but the other dips were equally pleasing. The Melitzanosalata was a roasted eggplant dip with garlic, oil, and vinegar that was blended into a smooth Smokey eggplant spread. The Skordalla was a similarly prepared dish but with potato instead of eggplant. The Tyrokafteri was a pleasantly creamy feta cheese spread with chunks of feta mixed in and last but not least was Taramosalata a Greek caviar spread that was a pink creamy caviar spread that was also delicious. The plate was prepared with a slice of tomato and cucumber separating each spread and a good portion of grilled pita bread. This dish is a perfect dish for sharing and sampling among friends. All of the spreads were worthy of being on this platter and would be a great start to the meal.

For my next course I strayed away from the traditional kabobs and dishes that I have enjoyed here before and opted for a dish called Soutzoukakia Smirneika. The dish was described as mixed ground beef and pork mini loafs, fried, and topped with homemade tomato sauce served on a bed of white rice. I’m not sure if it was my expectations were off or if the dish was suffering an identity crisis, but I would describe this almost as an Italian meatball (shaped like a sausage) and served with a red sauce and a small cup of sticky,cheesy rice. While the dish was well prepared and decent quality it did not quite hit the mark for me.

Overall, Mezé is a great place to go and sample a variety of Greek dishes. The food quality and service were great and the staff has always been friendly and helpful. Mezé is a great place to go with a group of friends and sample a great selection of Greek dishes.

Due to the tapas style eating, photos may not match the foodies review or description.

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Mirada Greek Tapas on Shrewsbury Street

Fresh smelts dipped in homemade batter and golden fried from Meze on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Fresh smelts dipped in homemade batter and golden fried from Meze on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

For our November gathering, the Worcester Foodies visited one of the newest additions to the Worcester restaurant scene – Meze Greek Tapas Bar and Grille on Shrewsbury Street.

Greek Tapas? Well as their website describes it…a meze is not a course, like an appetizer, but rather a dish, that is served alone or with other mezethes as a separate eating experience. The purpose of the meze is twofold: to complement and enhance the taste of a drink and / or to provide the backdrop for a social gathering.

For our group, the mezethes did both. There was beer and wine, ouzo, raki and more. And of course, WorcesterFoodies is always about social gathering, sharing food, stories and meeting up with old friends. We all ordered a few items and as usual, food was passed around the tables. I tasted octopus, salad, olives, cauliflower & broccoli, tzatziki, melitzanosalata, lemon potatoes, grape leaves and a few other dishes that right now I can’t quite remember.

I ordered (and shared) Soutzoukakia Smirneika – mixed ground beef and pork loafs topped with a tomato sauce and served with rice. I also ordered Mirada – fresh smelts dipped in homemade batter and golden fried. Both were outstanding. An enormous portion of smelts arrived first. Butterflied open, they were clean and fresh, crispy and served steaming hot. I also asked to have them prepared with some hot spice. I added just a little salt and pepper and they were outstanding. The Soutzoukakia Smirneika was next and, as I learned from our waitress, it was a very traditional dish. When it arrived you could smell the spicy, aromatic flavors of cumin, cinnamon and nutmeg. The tender beef and pork loafs were topped with a deeply rich and flavorful tomato sauce and all were served with a small portion of white rice that complimented the flavorful meat and sauce perfectly.

I would be remiss if I did not add something nice about our waitress who handled our entire group by herself and was very attentive and knowledgeable. Overall, Meze was very good and I look forward to going back and trying some other dishes from their very extensive menu.

Due to the tapas style eating, photos may not match the foodies review or description.