A midweek meal to celebrate a friend's birthday started with cocktails at Milgi and ended with a kebab...
Mezza Luna, located on City Road, bills itself as a
Lebanese and Moroccan restaurant. This equates to a menu filled with appetising sounding tagines and couscous, alongside the expected kebab shop classics.
I quaffed a bottle of excellent Casablanca lager
(£3.80) whilst picking from the set menu (2 courses for £9.95,
Sunday-Thursday).
To start, we shared a portion of smooth and well
seasoned hummus and disappointing falafel which were neither moist nor particularly
flavoursome. Starters were accompanied by a bowl of lukewarm and slightly dry flatbreads.
For main, Mrs G ordered Chicken Couscous. Whilst the
huge, rustic-looking plate of food looked the part, it was let down by flabby
chicken, soggy couscous and a one dimensionally sweet sauce.
I ordered the Shish Taok -
Meat
– A
generous quantity of well marinated chicken. Sadly, a couple of minutes spent too
long on the grill meant the meat was a touch too dry and charred.
Bread – Not
included with the dish and as the bread accompanying the starter wasn’t up to
much, I didn’t order any more.
Salad
– A
fresh, well-dressed combination of mixed leaves, cucumber, tomato and olives.
Sauce
– Excellent
creamy yoghurt with just the right hit of garlic.
Other
– A
portion of rice was fragranced nicely with saffron but was a touch on the dry-side.
The
verdict – Despite Mezza Luna’s interesting menu and charming Middle-Eastern
inspired decor, our meal was let down by average food and patchy
service.
The Details:
Address - 159 City Rd Cardiff, South Glamorgan CF24 3BQ
Telephone - 029 2047 2772
Mezza Luna has gone downhil quite a lot in the last couple of years. A shame really, as i used to really enjoy the food.
ReplyDeleteAs someone whose kebabs obsession dwarfs Pete Doherty's need for heroin, i can highly recommend La Shish at the bottom of City Road.
Slightly less greasy than Lilos but with the same awesome quality of bread. Only thing that lets it down slightly is the lack of a garlic sauce. Atmosphere and service are far less hectic too.
@Anonymous - Thanks for the recommendation - I'll add La Shish to the kebab quest list. It's going to take me a lifetime to visit everywhere on City Road!
DeleteWent for a big takeaway on a Tuesday. Mujadara no longer on the menu - except it still is, even on printed menus. No Fatayers either. When I got home another item was missing which I saw the waiter write down, I don't know if I paid for it as no itemised bill. Good Rice Kibbeh, Ful Medames and Mouttabal, Bland Hummus Beiruty, over-dense Falafels, bitter Tabbouleh, OK Batata Haras, Khoubz from a packet, no turnip in the pickles (OK minor niggle but it's a favourite).
ReplyDeleteNot trying hard enough really much better is the newly opened Mezza House up the road with more pastries and the khoubz is made on-site, it's also cheaper. Hopefully the competition will improve ML
@NotLeafy - Cheers for your report on Mezza Luna. Mezza House sounds interesting - will most certainly check it out.
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