- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Mezzetta Cafe Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Mediterranean Restaurants Tapas Bars Mediterranean, Tapas Bars [Edit]
681 St Clair Ave WToronto, ON M6C 1A7
Neighbourhood: Wychwood
(416) 658-5687
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 12 pm - 2:30 pm
Mon-Sun 5 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
11 reviews for Mezzetta Cafe Restaurant
11 reviews in English
-
Review from Lauren M.
My official rating: 4.5 stars
Toonie Tuesday upgrade: 5 stars
If I was Wayne C. rating: 3.5 stars
As previously mentioned, this place is indeed a "little gem".
We visited tonight for the Toonie Tuesday special - each dish costs $2.42 on Tuesdays. Bill only came to $30 for 2 people, we had 10 tapas-sized dishes and a juice.
I especially enjoyed the hummus, dream sausage, Sultan's stew, crispy green beans and the eggplant dip.
We also had the beef skewers, swordfish, a salmon dish, a rice dish, and potato moussaka. All good. Rice and potato moussaka were a bit bland. Will probably give those a pass next time, because there are 30 other menu items I want to try!
Also worth noting - the service was absolutely great. We had a very friendly server, she knew the menu well, was quick and efficient.
We arrived early, around 6pm, which seemed to be a perfect time to avoid the rush. Many of the tables were reserved.
Going back to this one for sure! Thanks for the recommendation, Yelpers!Listed in: Picky Eaters
-
Review from Rj P.
9/1/2011
I took my family from out of town here for dinner last night and found the experience to be very good.
My family tends to have very pedestrian tastes and I was a little worried that tapas would be too "out there" for them. However once we arrived and I explained the concept of the menu (many small dishes, reasonably priced) they were all able to find multiple items that they enjoyed a great deal.
Service was prompt, the space is comfortable and warmly Mediterranean. From a cost-perspective Mezzetta is a great deal (more-so on Monday and Tuesdays when dishes are discounted). The food itself was great - wonderful flavors, fresh and served nicely.
Thanks again to Yelp for another good find. Mezzetta is definitely on my repeat list. -
Review from Ellie A.
4/22/2011
If you are the kind of person who loves food variety (test: when was the last time you stuck your fork into another person's plate because you didn't want to miss out?) you are going to love Mezzetta.
The menu is made up of dozens of little dishes that are cheap enough to order by the handful. When I was there with family, my father-in-law said, "I've always wanted to order one of everything on a menu. I can do that here!" He was pretty excited.
While I would say that little on the Mezzetta menu stands out as extraordinary, it's all very good and the experience is what makes it great. Dishes of note: Anything with eggplant is excellent, veggie vine leaves are lemony and good - although a bit mushy, sultan's stew is terrific, roasted peppers and the green beans are divine, falafels are crispy and flavourful. I haven't tried any of the meat dishes, but they look good on other people's tables. Fried yams are lacking in crispness and the houmous is lacking in lemon (go for the baba gannoush instead!) but for only a few dollars a dish, you can afford to experiment.
Service is excellent. True story: my brother-in-law and his girlfriend were there the other day and, it being Passover, couldn't eat the pita bread. Without a word, the server whisked away the bread and replaced it with whole wheat matzah. So kind!
Vegetarian score: 9/10. Tons and tons of choices, you can eat your heart out and not even notice that meat items on the menu.Listed in: The St. Clair Strip
-
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
11/13/2010 6 photos
Love going to UYE event and thanks for Elaine organizing that at Mezzetta Cafe Restaurant! More people More power! These are the dishes I able to have a taste of:
Sharing:
*Tahina - A rich purée of sesame seeds, parsley and garlic - nice and refrefreshing but flavours overpowered by all the other tapas we ordered!
*Houmous - puree of chick peas with tahina and lemon, and a secret blend of spices - A OK with the pita bread
*Eggplant Garlic A bold puree of flame-roasted eggplant, garlic, dill, mint, and vinegar
*Fried Yams - Crispy deep-fried yam chips, dressed with fried onion shavings - Yam! Yum! Giulana witnessed me ate the whole order by myself!
*Potatoe Sambousak - Potato and onion puree wrapped in puff pastry, three pieces dressed with mezziki - brownish looking.. too bad those are not mini chocolate cakes.. dry and uninspiring!
*Exotic Green Beans - Crisp-fried green beans, shaved onion, dill and garlic, dressed spicy hot - not spicy hot at all! But the beans were cooked well, crunchy and fresh! My fave of the night!
*Mushrooms - Tender sautéed button mushrooms served in a garlic vinaigrette - standard, ok but not too exciting!
Not Sharing: (But I made them share with me)
*Kofta - spiced minced beef balls served in a rich tomatoe sauce - Not bad, but not really outstanding..
*Dream Sausage - Flame-grilled beef-lamb sausage, spiced with herbed hot sauce (Stole from Tony F) MEH.. too lamby!
*Fish Shish - Tasty, marinated marlin or swordfish, flame-grilled, 2 skewers (Stole from Giulana B) - GREAT! light and refreshing with a hint of lemon
*Lamb Shish - Savoury chunks of marinated lamb leg, flame-grilled, 2 skewers (Stole from Tony F) - Surprised that I like it! Rich flavour without lamby taste
*Vine Leaves - Herbed minced beef and spiced Basmati rice wrapped in vine leaves and dressed with garlic yogourt and dill (Stole from Giulana) - hey I have no idea I should eat the leaves.. Chinese don't eat the leaves we used that as a wrapping!
*Chicken Shish - Delicate, juicy marinated chicken breast, flame-grilled - A-OK, but not really memorable!
I have a really enjoyable meal... the bills come out to be $15 per person with taxes and tips. I think I don't mind going on a Toonie Tuesday as a value oriented person that will be the way to go!!
*Special thanks for Tony F and Giulana for letting me try their food.. And I hope they will still sit next to me next time when we eating out together!Listed in: UYE Sends Me Here!, A Day in St Clair West!
-
Review from Elaine K.
11/10/2010 3 photos
A great place for dinner with friends. Nice ambiance, really friendly and efficient service and delicious food.
I loved the fact that the food came out quickly, and when it did, it was piping hot! Everything was wonderfully flavourful, crispy when it was supposed to be, and fresh fresh fresh.
I will definitely be returning (on another toonie tuesday.. or loonie monday!) to try everything on the menu! -
Review from Julianna B.
Toronto, ON
4/21/2009
Tasty, inexpensive, and out-of-the-ordinary, Mezzetta is a neighbourhood institution. The food ranges from lucious to tasty, the prices are great, the service is always good, and you can satisfy vegetarians, meat-eaters, and people on weird diets at the same restaurant.
There are deals on Monday and Tuesday nights, but unless you're feeling broke, go the rest of the week when the best chef is working.
My favourites: slow shrimp, dream sausage (aptly named), Persian rice, Oriental green beans, and the best moist, cardamom-scented baklava I've ever had.Listed in: Best food near Wychwood
-
Review from Helen L.
Toronto, ON
9/3/2009
I like tapas because you never feel like you have to commit to one or two dishes for the evening. At Mezzetta Cafe, you can get 10 dishes for $30 on a regular night. They also have other specials during the week like Loonie Monday and Toonie Tuesdays.
Boyfriend and I checked out this place and had a good dinner. Why good but not great? Well, while the food is good, nothing really stood out and their tapas isn't as "refined" as other tapas bar in Toronto.
The good news is there were TONS of vegetarian options so we got the whole experience of being able to choose between options. The dishes are pretty small so their recommendation of ordering 5 dishes per person is right on. My fav for the night was the Sultan's stew. -
Review from Bernadette L.
Toronto, ON
4/4/2010
This place is a gem and I was lucky to find it as St. Clair & Christie is not my usual food scene. A friend who used to live in the hood invited me and after a quick browse at the menu I obliged. (http://www.mezzettares...)
Mezzeta is tiny, with seating for no more than 20-25 at a time. This can make for a cozy meal if you get in, yet frustrating if you're left out in the cold and are starving!
I highly recommend visiting on a Loonie Monday or a Toonie Tuesday. Although the place is completely packed, service is speedy. Your servers will maintain a consistent parade of mezze dishes.
As a self-professed meat lover, I honestly enjoyed the veg dishes most. Sultan's Stew is a must and Fantastic Falafel speaks for itself! Skip the salads. Leave room for everything else!
Make sure to grab a jug of lemonade. It's made with orange blossom water, which makes it extra fragrant and delicious. Super cheap too, at $5.
If you have room for dessert after the 20-dish tapas, enjoy the apricots and creme. More of the orange blossom water infuses the dish. Divine! -
Review from bryon B.
Toronto, ON
9/20/2009
A great budget Mediterranean tapas place that would be one of the best in town for the price, except the fact they microwave a number of the dishes and even the pita bread!? You can ask them to not microwave some dishes, but we were told others are premade and frozen.
Go on Monday or Tuesday for the best deals and dishes around 2 dollars. On those nights, 2 really big people can get seriously full on about 30 dollars including tax and tip. -
Review from eric g.
Toronto, ON
6/16/2010
The great thing about this place is, you can eat as much or as little as you want. The house recommends 10 dishes for two people, for $30 - or less on Loonie Mondays or Toonie Tuesdays. That generally turns out to be just the right amount for the missus and me, but if you're less hungry, you can order as few dishes as you like at $3.25 a pop.
Favourites from last night's visit: kebab fingers (more, please!), potato moussaka, beef sambousak, fried yams. Wouldn't order again: Eggplant Garlic (with, I think, whey powder, which gives it an unpleasant stale-tobacco flavour). Wish we'd ordered but didn't: Sultan's Stew.
Mezzetta is a great neighbourhood resto that's good enough to be a destination, especially on Wednesdays for jazz, and Loonie Mondays and Toonie Tuesdays, as others have pointed out. I am looking forward to our next summer weeknight visit. -
Review from Gabriel D.
8/19/2008
Now admittedly, I haven't been here in about five years, but this place really does mezze right. There are probably a hundred small dishes to choose from on the menu. I was always partial to the Bourekas, but it's all there, all the Middle Eastern favorites...
