Mezzetta Cafe Restaurant

Great restaurant, plenty of options, nice ambiance. Order the Sultan stew and the Persian Rice. This combination of cultures is what Canada and Toronto is all about. Don’t forget to finish your meal with Baklava and Turkish Coffee! Definitely recommend this for a classy night out. Portions are bigger than you think.

I had THE worst meal of my entire adult life at this restaurant. I am baffled that there are any positive reviews.
My boyfriend and i ordered several dishes on Sunday to take home.
None of them were edible, and I am pretty sure they were old and had been reheated in the microwave.
The vine leaves were dry and tasted rotten. The lamb was dry and tasteless. The pita was stale!!! The kofta came in a sauce that tasted like jarred tomato sauce. The babaganouj was the only dish that was not spoilt.
We couldn’t eat any of it, and I cannot believe this place is in business.

I love this place. The food is amazing and well priced. The service is great. Only four stars because the chairs and tables are uncomfortable. If they were more comfy I would hang out there all night! Also, maybe a «featured» dish of the week would be nice to spice things up for the regulars. Will be going back soon!

When I heard the idea of visiting a Mediterranean tapas place I engaged the adventure with a yeahh! I really liked the concept of picking 10 different tapas for 36 something bucks and share.
When we arrived to the entrance, I didn’t have a good feeling but they were smart enough to display newspaper notes of approval (from 2009) in the windows, so we went in.
We ordered hummus, eggplant, potato kind of empanadas, Phylos dough stuffed with spinach, shrimp, shoulder veal and lamb kebabs, salmon, some kind of red sauce we couldn’t say what it was, and something else that if I can’t even remember for sure wasn’t worth at all.
The service lacked at lot. She didn’t gave us a glass of water even when we ordered beer and wine… When the dishes came, a guy and the waitress would just smack the dishes in the glass table without explaining what was what.
But what killed every aspiration of a decent meal was the sound of the pip pip on a microwave… Like seriously they cooked it last night (hopefully) and warmed it for us with love in that thing we didn’t even use for popcorn… Try to pretend your meat came from the grill and put the microwave on silence. And yes, after 2 min some dry, chewy meats kebabs were on the table… We ate them for respect to the animals.
The best part of the meal as they recognize was the hummus and the eggplant stew, or I can’t tell because they wouldn’t have the consideration of telling what dish was what.

I sure enjoyed this small, hidden gem. Although I know I may be bit biased because of who I went here with, so I will try to be at least somewhat not biased. But I make no promises!
Who I am kidding? This restaurant is great. In fact, I have been recommending this Mediterranean and Tapas restaurant to close friends for years. It is cozy, on the medium/​small size which actually adds to the vibe of homeyness, without ever being tacky.
Of course, the highlight is the food: Generally light, tasty, varied, healthy, well priced and although I have never gone on their Loonie and Toonie days, it really seems like I should drop by and check them out!
Personally, I am a huge fan of tapas but generally find most restaurants in Toronto warp the recipe by giving you overpriced or undersized offerings in the $ 7 range, and although tapas may be small in size, they are supposed to be inexpensive since half the fun comes out of tasting a varied selection. In Spain, tapas can be as inexpensive as .99 cents of a Euro and in a lot of bodegas give you selected number of them for free. I do not expect that here but at the very least, I would prefer they stick to the spirit of the dish (!) and Mezzeta does that.
Also, FYI, they now have music night, sure there is a $ 8 covers but really, I can’t see how adding live music to your dinner experience could go wrong.
A great place for a date and also to visit with friends, it is a very amiable and malleable location which easy suits different occasions.
One of my personal favourites, specially during the Summer.
Check it out, have fund with their menu! Just do not tell too many of your friends… Let’s keep the place to ourselves. ;-)

This is one of my favorite restaurants in all of Toronto.
I love the cozy private atmosphere in this restaurant. The service is speedy, and the servers are always friendly and treat us with respect.
They offer a wide range of delicious Mediterranean dishes, and I have never had a dish I disliked. And for desert, I love to top of a wonderful dinner with passion fruit in cream.

Who doesn’t love tapas? You get a little bit of everything for a good price, and you leave full. No complaints. Awesome space too.
Only missing a star because it’s merely «good», there’s nothing mind-​blowing about this joint. But seriously, when you’re this good — who cares?

Great spot! All of the ten dishes we ordered were damn tasty. Definitely check this place out. You won’t be disappointed.

My favourite aspect of this place is the atmosphere. Its so warm and inviting, nice for a (first) date if you like your dates casual. The service was excellent. When my partner and I told the waitress to take away one of the plates that we didn’t like, she let us pick another, and was generally really sweet.
The food was a solid «good, not great.» Some plates were definitely more memorable than others. I enjoyed the lamb shish and kofta (five stars on both of those), but the dips were less memorable. The dish that we didn’t like was the eggplant garlic dip (we eat everything, I love eggplant and garlic, and was a bit surprised to not enjoy this), mostly because of the strength of the vinegar and the combo of mint and dill — not my thing
Overall, I would probably go back on loonie Mondays or toonie Tuesdays.

Decent food, nice atmosphere. The waitress was very helpful in giving suggestions. Also note they use Halal meat, which is always a bonus in my books!
Would be interesting to try this on a Wednesday night, when they have live Jazz playing.

Great little place with delicious food and a good value for food and drinks.
We had the dinner for 2 (10 small plates) and it was so much food that we couldn’t finish it!
Everything was cooked and seasoned perfectly, and the meal format was different and exciting. The chefs clearly take pride in their food and pay attention to details.
The highlights for us were the lamb and shrimp kebabs, the grilled meat on both was very tender and crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. The meatballs were also tasty. The baba ghanouj, it had an interesting smoky taste. We also had green beans, hummus and sultans stew which were all delicious. The mixed greens salad was even surprisingly good with a tasty vinaigrette and chopped walnuts on top.
Four stars instead of five due to the service, which was friendly, but the 2 servers seemed inexperienced and a bit overwhelmed by the full restaurant!
Overall a delicious & enjoyable meal, we’ll definitely be back.

I visit this restaurant at least once a year since I moved here in 2007 and it remains my very favourite in Toronto.
You read that right. If I had to choose one top restaurant, it would be Mezzetta.
I love the concept. There are some 50 items on the menu and something for everyone. It is a lot of fun, especially with a small group, to talk and negotiate what you’ll order. The small plates allow you to get many tastes all in one night. It is the ultimate restaurant for anyone with commitment issues!
The food itself is delicious. I don’t think I have tried one of the dishes that wasn’t pretty tasty – and many are really good, even the basics such as the rice.
The service has always been good too; I have never had a problem with slow service or the like.
The value is fair – if you want to stuff yourself silly and spend as little as possible, this is not your place. But if you are looking for an interesting dining experience where you won’t leave hungry or with an empty wallet, this IS your place.
The place can get a little bit crowded depending on the night and time. I would recommend a reservation. I have not been here for the music night. I think it used to be jazz.
They can accommodate a larger party but the ideal size is probably 4 which allows you to sample 20 of the items. A bigger party means more items but remember that the size of the plates stay the same – hence, people might not get to try everything.
I think one of the best times to come here is «first date» night, meaning the first proper date after you’ve met somebody for coffee or a drink. Talking about the menu items can break any remaining ice and sharing the plates helps build a bond. Plus you can then go for a walk along St. Clair.
Most highly recommended!

I really really enjoyed my experience here. A true tapas style menu where the tapas are really reasonable priced and decently sized. Definitely go with friends so you can try a bunch of the dishes. They have quite a big selection enough to keep the meat eaters and veg people happy. The star for me was surprisingly a spicy mint carrot dish. I was not expecting that! The interior is a bit odd with a lot of exposed wood columns. It reminded me of a beach house or something similar.

As far as this neighborhood goes, this is your best bet for eats.
I am vegetarian, so like that there are lots of menu items to choose from. The service has been good when I have eaten there (twice) and now they really impressed me with a catering order I had.
I threw a party for 20 and my bill was around 200 $. As far as price goes, you can’t beat it. The order was easy to make and the owner was very good about helping me make the right number of choices for my guests. As agreed, it was fresh and ready to go when I showed up and they packed it well for our travels home on foot.
The food got many compliments and will certainly use them again!

3.5**
Great dishes, good portions too, but expect be smacked with a good helping of garlic and dill.
4 of us ventured in and ordered away, who could really go wrong with $ 1.50/every other dish? They brought the dishes in a bit of a strange order with some meat dishes coming before the salads, and then 15 mins would pass and another salad would come… This caused us to loose track a bit of what we ordered, and how much was on the way. Needless to say we got too much and were pretty stuffed, yet walked away with a small meals worth of leftovers.
We somehow spent $ 94 with tax and tip altogether, which was a bit of a surprise but I guess even with the discount it adds up… especially when you loose track.
I walked out feeling like I could chase away any vampire within a 5-​mile radius. Also my stomach felt dense and a bit oily from the heavy use of olive oils in a lot of their dishes. I would return on a Tuesday and stick to more of the meat skewers now that I have an idea of the selection!

I came here on a date. A surprise my date had planned. I was skeptical due to (a) the surprise factor and (b) the type of cuisine when he started throwing hints. It was most amusing when we arrived at 7pm (reservation) and it was empty; there was no need to make a reservation!
The service was very efficient. No complaints.
The food. I threw out my skepticism. I was expecting shwarmas but I was delightfully surprised to read the menu and discover so many tasty tapas. This is, in effect, a tapas bar. We ordered the plate for 2, which comes with 10 tapas dishes. We had the lamb, veal and shrimp skewers, a feta and tomato and red onion salad, the hummus, and several veggie tapas, including mushrooms, green beans and carrots, and the persian rice. We had the Cameron’s beer. Good choice.
This is a great restaurant to go to on a 1^st date. You share food, or work together to select the dishes (as my date put it, LOL), and have a very pleasant conversation in a casual environment. To be fair, this guy chose wisely!

It took moving out of the neighbourhood after 3 years before I visited, despite friends’ endorsements for the restaurant for years. My boyfriend does Meatless Monday and we had an errand to do nearby, so I suggested Mezzetta based on those endorsements & my long-​time intention to visit. When we arrived we discovered that on Monday every 2^nd dish up to 15 items costs $ 1.42 (every Tuesday Every «mezze» dish is $ 2.42, limit of 25 per party). The regular price of each food item on the menu is $ 3.50. Way to do Meatless Monday!
We ordered about a dozen dishes. The quality was amazing. We enjoyed all of it. Some standouts: I forgot how good falafel could be and then I had theirs. It was some of the best falafel I’ve had in Toronto, and among the best I’ve had outside Israel. Crispy outside, soft and fluffy inside, spiced just right. The smokiness of the baba gannoush was exactly what I like in that dip. The Sultan’s Stew, an «exotic stew of sautéed and spiced eggplant, zuccini, tomato, green and red bell peppers, and onion», made my mouth happy. The Red Goat salad («goat» being the feta cheese) tasted really fresh.
My least favourite was one of the 2 meat dishes that we ordered (he bent on «Meatless Monday»): The moussaka.
Service: Friendly and fast.
Value: Fantastic (though remember, we went on Monday when the most expensive thing we ordered was a pitcher of lemonade).
My boyfriend wants to make it our regular Monday evening destination. I can’t argue with that. While I might order some meat items — some chicken or lamb shish, perhaps — I’m happy to stick with the many vegetable offerings.
The awards and accolades bestowed upon Mezzetta by local media such as Toronto Life, Post City and Now are well deserved.

Love going to UYE event and thanks for Elaine organizing that at Mezzetta Café 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 — purée of chick peas with tahina and lemon, and a secret blend of spices — A OK with the pita bread
*Eggplant Garlic A bold purée 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 purée 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!

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!

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, Unilocalers!