What is Mezze Style Dining?

Mezze is a style of dining involving selections of small dishes. Mezze is served throughout the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Western Asia, encompassing a diverse range of cuisines from Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, and Iran, among others. Arabic mezze therefore may differ greatly from Greek mezze. While mezze is similar to tapas and antipasto, it differs from these dishes in that it can serve both as an initial appetizer or an entire meal. As you’d expect, mezze packs a flavourful, spicy punch, with seasonings like za’atar often playing a crucial role. 

Mezze dining: small plates, big flavour

Generally, in mezze dining, the first dishes are a series of cold plates and dips. The focus is on conversation and the shared experience as much as it is on the food. Typical dips include hummus and tzatziki as well as muhammara, which is a scarlet and spicy Syrian dip made from walnuts and red pepper. Dips are often accompanied by olives or dolmas, and of course, quintessential flatbreads such as pita or dry crackers like Maltese galetti. 

Protein comes next in the larger dishes, which are usually shared at a table. Like all mezze foods, these dishes vary by region and season, with island areas and coastal areas often heavy on fresh seafood like octopus, mussels, prawns and fish, which sometimes comes raw, drizzled with lime juice and sprinkled with spices. The savoury Turkish bread known as bourek may be served filled with meat, vegetables and cheeses. In Lebanese mezze in particular, falafel also play a large role. 

Usually, a salad accompanies the mezze spread. A common salad would be tabbouleh or fattoush, which usually features greens, tomatoes, and fried or toasted pieces of flatbread.  Dressings often feature sumac and are generally vinaigrettes, using garlic and olive oil and substituting lemon juice for vinegar. 

Drinks to accompany mezze food 

Mezze may be served with or without alcohol depending on the region. A traditional accompaniment for mezze in many places is a strong distilled liquor such as ouzo, arak, and raki and these drinks are generally consumed with accompaniment by mezze-style food. Beer and wine are also popular.

Maha East menu 

Maha East’s mezze style dining brings in Middle Eastern, Maltese, Lebanese, Turkish, Italian and Greek cuisines among others for a spread both stimulating and satisfying. For a unique cocktail to wash all that down, try an Arak Mule or just ask our bar staff to make your favourite. We specialise in infused araks and rakis, and we have a broad selection of liquors from near and far. Bespoke cocktails are our specialty - as long as we’ve got the ingredients, we can make it. If you’d prefer wine or beer, we have deep hand-picked lists of both.

Get in touch to make a reservation

We’re open for dinner Wednesday to Saturday. We do lunch on Sundays, plus our spring Sunday spritz session, with bottomless Aperol Spritz from 3-5pm. Larger groups will need to dine from the set menu. For large group bookings or events, contact our team.