Restaurant Review - La Mediterranee

Apparently I was late to find about this tremendous restaurant. Of our groups of five (me, Shing, Leslie C, Tammy, and Mike F), I was the only one who hadn't been there multiple times. So let me tell you about Cafe La Mediterranee.

As far as mediterranean food goes, this is really tasty. Tammy, Shing, Leslie and all shared four orders of the Mediterranean Meza. It was WAY WAY WAY too much food for us to eat in one sitting, but you need to get one per person so that you get one of each of the main items: ground lamb balls (not testicles, but lamb meatballs), chicken pomegranate, chicken cilicia in fillo dough, and grecian spinach and feta fillo dough, not to mention dolma, hummus, baba ghanoush, and tabuleh.

I'm trying to pick my favorite of these and it's really hard. I think I'd have to go with the chicken cilicia - it was actually a sweet dish - it was fillo dough filled with chicken, almonds, chickpeas, and raisins and topped with cinnamon. On top of everything else in the meal, I made sure that this was my last bite.

There are locations in Berkeley, Noe Valley, and Fillmore and we were eating at the Berkeley location last Thursday (Jan 21). I thought it had a really good ambience - it felt open and relaxed. If you are going in a group, I suggest that you send one person ahead to write their name down so that you get seated faster. Those of you who are wine aficionados aren't going to find much there to impress you, but they'll give you house wine for $4.50. They do have a full bar, so you can get whatever you like.

Overall, it's a great informal place to eat. Even if you get the Mediterranean Meza, you won't be paying much for dinner - most entree items are in the $9-12 range (the Meza is $16). It could work as a first date or as a place to catch up with old friends.