Restaurant review: Mezzaluna, Bahrain
- Lifestyles
- Travel & Leisure
- Restaurant Reviews
Author: Kyle Pakka
Released 8 January 2004
Mezzaluna
Mezzaluna, with its sumptuous welcome of stone, wood and wrought iron, all delicately lit and colored in warm tones of peach and apricot, is designed to impress, to invite admiration and to raise expectations. The good news is that it delivers, in abundance, on its enticements.
Occupying the open courtyard of an old Bahraini house in Adilya, Mezzaluna was, before restoration, a derelict structure, roofless and with a dirt floor. That previous life is hard to imagine. Now, it seems as if it were always this way. Its incarnation as a sophisticated restaurant seems to emanate naturally from the light-colored stone and the pleasure from the food is reflected in the satisfied faces of the customers, glowing softly in the romantic lighting.
The courtyard, set with stone tile, is flanked by arcades sheltering small rooms furnished with low-slung couches in zebra and leopard skin fabrics arranged around wooden tables. The walls fairly throb in raspberry and peach shades in the muted lighting, perfect for a cozy drink and a languorous, low conversation.
Courtyard Ceiling
The courtyard's ceiling is enclosed with an arched wooden frame set with clear glass. The table lights and wall sconces, reflected in the ceiling, shine down like many pale moons. The lighting in the restaurant is subdued and dramatic, mostly supplied by metal sconces perforated with spiral and starburst designs. Other sconces are made of metal coils embracing ruby-red icicles of red fabric. Chandeliers of the same iron and fabric design seem to float over the tables.
The tables themselves are of solid wood, set with small elegant vases of white flowers, and ringed by comfortable draped chairs. The tableware is heavy hand-forged iron, echoing the sconces and art on the walls. The main dining area tends to get loud the more crowded it is, with the sound bouncing off all the stone, but the high ceiling mitigates this somewhat. The side rooms are quieter. The music was not intrusive and reflected the eclectic menu and clientele. As the night wore on, the crowd got younger and hipper. The noise is quite all right. In a restaurant like this one, it's not noise, it's music; the buzz in the room complements the energy of the staff and the vitality of the dishes.
Many arty touches contributed to a lively, eclectic atmosphere. The bar alcove was crowned with abstract iron sculptures and the entryway to the washrooms was painted in a harlequin pattern. Inside, the washrooms exhibited the same earthy and slightly whimsical air as the dining room: stone tile everywhere, mashrabiya covers for the AC units and water tanks, wooden counters, iron flower vases on the walls. The only false note in the entire place was the incongruous rainbow-patterned towels in the dispensers. The women's washroom has a full-length mirror – a nice touch for a style conscious place.
In the kitchen, the head chef has been at Mezzaluna for the better part of a year, after a decade at a five-star hotel in Kuwait. The restaurant's philosophy is let each flavor in the dish stand out and to use only fresh, flavorful ingredients. The menu changes every few months. Currently, it's a mélange of Mediterranean dishes with the emphasis on flavorful, uncomplicated dishes.
Mezzaluna
Back out at the table, Mezzaluna offers an extensive wine list, and 16 wines by the glass ranging in price from 1.8 to 2.5 BD. Wines are on offer from South Africa, Australia, California, Chile, France, Italy, Sicily, and Argentina, a good mix of reds and whites and even some French rosés. We had a modestly priced Jacobs Creek Cabernet Shiraz, mellow and full-bodied and a good pairing with the variety of tastes on our plates.
Mezzaluna offers several soups and a good selection of appetizers. The night we were there the soups were crab bisque and an aromatic minestrone, priced at 1.4 to 1.7 BD. The starters varied in price from 2.5 to 2.8 BD. We chose shrimp ravioli in "Beurre Blanc" sauce and marinated salmon.
The shrimp dish embodies the restaurant's approach: a simple, unfussy plate, and the food came through with strong notes but no single flavor was overpowering. The pasta was substantial like the best home made pasta, not doughy or rubbery. The cheese was sharp and the sauce creamy and tangy and bursting with sharp sun-dried tomatoes. The salmon was lemony and sweet and very fresh. The appetizers proved the restaurant's intent: zesty and fresh.
A basket of bread from an artisan bakery was served with the appetizers, along with hand-crafted butters in three intriguing varieties: anchovy, green olive and sweet chili, and each was delightful, with the sweet chili being a standout: smoky and roasted and not too hot.
Salads come in several forms for less than 3 BD; we tried the grilled chicken salad, an endive salad with French vinaigrette, marinated chicken, broccoli, parsnips, marinated red peppers, hearts of palm, and sun-dried tomatoes, all served in a bowl woven of puff pastry.
The menu is short but selective and features beef, lamb, poultry, seafood and pasta, including ravioli, gnocchi gorgonzola, saffron risotto with shrimp and snow peas, and angel hair pasta with seafood. Prices range from 3 to 9 BD with Chateaubriand for two costing a bit more.
We took our waiter's advice and ordered the rack of lamb, ginger salmon and the tenderloin steak. The lamb was heavenly tender and, kissed by the grill, slightly smoky and served with a sauce studded with peppercorns, reminiscent of the famous “debris” served by K-Paul's in New Orleans. The lamb came with steamed crunchy cauliflower and carrots and spinach with pine nuts and lemon juice.
The USDA choice tenderloin (since the scare involving U.S. beef, the restaurant offers New Zealand beef as an alternative) was cooked butterfly fashion and was melt-in-your-mouth tender. On the side were scalloped potatoes with pimento – an unusual touch which drew praise from the member of our party who enjoys spicy dishes and a thumbs-down from the guest who likes her potatoes plain. The steak came with four small dishes of sauce – béarnaise red wine, pesto and mustard, crushed green peppercorn and mustard – each distinctive and bursting with flavor, but the steak was so delicious the sauces went unused except for bread dipping.
The lamb and steak were both standout dishes, but the ginger salmon surpassed them: the thick filet was cooked to perfection and the fish, lightly browned from the broiler, was sweet and firm with a gentle ginger tang.
A setting such as Mezzaluna's cries out for dessert and with a pastry chef in the kitchen, one has to indulge no matter how full. With a French press of fresh coffee on the table, we shared a chocolate cigar, apple strudel and chocolate cappuccino. The cigar was a whimsical creation of a chocolate tube or cigar filled with mousse and resting on a frozen glass ashtray heaped with ice cream and sprinkled with fresh berries. The strudel was the seasonal dish, warm and cinnamony with tart, crunchy apples and a berry compote. A cappuccino cup was filled with ultra thick intensely flavored chocolate mousse and topped with spun sugar. The chocoholics at the table pronounced themselves in paradise.
The Mezzaluna, which has the reputation of being the kind of place reserved for special occasions is simply too enjoyable to wait to visit. Restaurants as stylish as the Mezzaluna are sometimes more style than substance, but in this case the substance – the service, food, attention to detail, and value for money – are equal to the stunning ambience.