Mezé Tapas Lounge

Amazing food. Great service. Awesome atmosphere… The food is beyond amazing. I have not tried something that was not amazing. Also, extremely well priced.

This was a very cool place! I brought my boyfriend here for his birthday meal per a coworkers recommendation and we had a really great time! I had not really been to many places in this area –don’t let the surrounding «ambiance» fool you –it’s sort of a tough industrial neighborhood. Looks even a little scary in some parts. –But there are all these hidden gems of restaurants all up and down the streets (places like Next and Publican).
Meze is sort of a modern «twist» on traditional Spanish tapas. I was a little bummed they didn’t have my favorite papas alioli –the creamy delicious potato salad. However, everything else we ordered was pretty awesome. The bacon wrapped dates… holy cow –delicious.
It was a Tuesday night so the service was great –we felt like we were the only ones there… and, pretty much, we were! The space is beautiful… very modern –looks like a club! What a hidden gem! I’m so happy to have found this place. It would make a really good place to come hang out with coworkers after work!
Give Meze a try! It’s really, really nice. I was very impressed!

Seriously, I don’t know what everyone’s problem is with this place. After reading the reviews I decided to be rebellious. So I’m gonna be. Deal with it. This place is out of the way in Fulton Market. If you have a stick up your rear and have to go to fancy schmancy places reviewed by Anthony Bourdain, feel free. Meze and their team were outstanding. Jorge, the sangria maker, whipped us up some excellent sangria. I’ve had a lot in my time, and this was maybe the best I’ve had. Wow. Reading that sentence, it sounds a bit wrong. We had a group of 4, and we all loved Jorge and the Sangria. He was so excited he ran back and whipped us up a batch of white sangria. Equally good, but my taste is more red. Now for the food: In Tapas fashion (and in hunger) we ordered a ton. Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart: Excellent. Peppercorn Beef and Gorgonzola: Good but not my favorite. Bacon Wrapped Dates: Yummmm. Crab Meat Spanikopita: Good but needed a little more spice. Friends had some dishes that weren’t my taste, and they reported: Sauteed Prawns with Jasmine Rice and Peas: Awesome. Merlot Beef Short Ribs: Very Very Good. Fish Tacos: Good (but why did we order this much?)…that was after our second pitcher of sangria. We couldn’t resist so we got dessert too, The Chocolate Tart filled with Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry Coulis. THAT was too much. Really Really rich. But worth a bite. On my way out, the owner gave me his card and thanked us for all the compliments. When I got back to my room and read the card it said, «come back anytime. complimentary bottle of wine on us».
Take a walk down in this area, find Meze and find Jorge. The Sangria IS good.
P. S. My male companion was so impressed with the urinal that he took his IPhone in there, waited for everyone to leave, and took a photo of it. But he won’t give it up. :(

Meze you saved my dinner plans on Friday night. Had a large group coming to town for St. Pats and was struggling to find a place for dinner for 11 people. Meze was able to take us and I will say, I may have found my new favorite Tapas place. Most of the plates are under $ 10 and we were there for a good 3 hours with no feeling of being rushed out of the place.
Let’s see what didn’t we order:
Goat Cheese & Tomato Tart
Grilled Baby Lamb Chops & Roasted Red Pepper Purée
Bacon Wrapped Dates
Grilled or Crispy Calamari — Grilled
Spicy Grilled Sausages
Boursin Stuffed Peppadew
Merlot Beef Short Ribs
Barbecued Chicken Winglets
Home Cured Wild Salmon & Rosemary Cream
Lots and Lots of Sangria
My only choice I didn’t like was the Salmon and that was just me.
Place was not very crowded, but for that area what do expect. I would highly recommend this place compared to the other Tapas places in the city. Not crowded, easy reservations, great food, and great service.
There bar area was fantastic as well
I will be back

A restaurant with a good selection of «tapas» or rather «small plates». There’s influences from Spanish, Mediterranean, Asian, and who-​knows-​where-​else cuisine.
We came here just for a small meal before heading to Aviary. They have good Happy Hour food specials, Tuesday through Friday (5−7pm), with $ 4 plates of the following: Beef Sliders, Spicy Grilled Sausages, Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas, Souvlakia, Greek Pommes Frites, Baba Ganoush, Vegetarian Thai Rolls.
We ordered one of everything, and a pitcher of sangria. It was enough to tide our group of four over for our post-​dinner festivities.
I can’t say the food here is anything special, especially when the restaurant is surrounded by so many other options for foodies (albeit at a much higher $$). If I’m craving tapas, I’d rather go to Café Iberico. (In general, I am also not a fan of fusion food.)
Another thing I have to mention is that it was rather strange how they did not advertise their Happy Hour specials. It was mentioned on their website, and when I asked about it, our server was initially confused, and then had to go searching for the few remnants of their Happy Hour menus.

We were a group of 8 for 7 PM on Friday. Being this size and this time, its hard to find a place that will take a group and work around some food restrictions. Meze did both flawlessly. Service was quick and efficient.
Everyone loved the food — Chicken Curry Bang Bang was a crowd pleaser, as was the Greek fries. I enjoyed the fish taco. The sauce on the potatoes may have actually had crack in it.
I was pretty excited to come because I love sangria and couldn’t wait to try it. I did not love it. It was a cross between Kool-​Aid and a wine cooler, but a bit of a thicker consistency. This is not the best sangria in Chicago. This was my only beef with the place.

went on a scouting mission this past saturday night.
I think this place is good. if you want to meet good looking european people you may have come to the right place. nice vibe overall…
The bartenders are very speedy.
its not like other pretentious bottle service spots in the west loop.
I will be returning

I love Fulton Market. It’s gritty and picturesque, depending on what you believe worthy of photographing. I think it’s ripe with lines and juts and angles that would make a great exhibition.
Meze is just five or six blocks from the Clinton Green Line stop so it’s location is hardly offensive to me. Slightly painful in 18 degree weather, but bundle up and work up some heat on the walk. If you don’t, you’ll certainly warm up at the restaurant. Get the wine or sangria flowing as soon as possible.
I agree with Jelena Z. that this destination is more party spot than foodie den. The plating leaves a lot to be desired, for example, as bacon wrapped dates (the main event) looked like animal droppings with a sprig of wilted parsley having blown it’s way onto the dish. It was icky.. . but the gorgonzola made the bites special. Redemption was found with another sense: taste.
Other highlights: Chicken Curry Bang Bang (everyone’s favorite), papas bravas and the quesadilla (I know, I know, who cares.. . but it was GOOD).
The music was LOUD at 8:30 p.m. Bompin’ out onto Lake, and making it impossible to hear the person next to me. Manager was tight though.. . he turned it down when we asked. The place was packed with huge parties, so the din was already nearly a roar.
I probably won’t go back, but only because I live down the street from Tapas Valencia. And that place is the ish.. . two blocks from the Roosevelt stop. Dig.

Visited Meze after my first choice dining spot was closed. My friend insisted that this was a super spot, so I figured it should be good.
I was surprised to see (since I hadn’t read reviews first) that there was no one in the restaurant — literally — no one. They said they didn’t have many seats available because they had booked them. By the time we left, only one other table was taken, so basically, the entire dining room was completely empty. The restaurant is in a less than traveled location, but seriously, this empty???
She insisted that this was normal, and the food was great, so we set out to order some $ 4 tapas on special. We ordered the sliders, quesedillas, pork skewers, potatoes bravas and then the hummas/​baba ganoush (spell?) from the main menu. I have to say that the sliders, pork and potatoes were tasty. The slider and pork skewer portion sizes, however, were minuscule — they weren’t even appetizer sized. I basically had one bite of pork. Then, the quesedilla, while also tasty, was tiny as well. I have gotten bigger appetizer quesedillas for the same price at other restaurants. Therefore, I don’t really consider the $ 4 tapas a deal — what I would have expected was the normal tapas for a «deal price» if they are listed as a deal. Now, if the regular portion of sliders are 2 sliders… that is even worse!
As to the hummus combination plate with pita and bread… I have to say that I love hummus — simply love it — I could eat entire containers of it in one sitting. This was spinach hummus and it was terrible. It didn’t taste like anything. Eating the pita alone was better. The baba ganoush — I don’t even know what to say — it was also terrible — and didn’t taste like anything at all. We barely touched that plate (well, I ate the pita…). Both were also swimming in oil. I realize there is oil as an ingredient in both, but I don’t typically like to see it leaking out of the food.
Service was great for the most part, though we had to ask for our check a few times. Considering no one else was in the restaurant, we should have not had an issue getting our check.
There was also a wine special (½ priced bottles). However, we ordered one wine and they didn’t have it, so they substituted another. This is fine I suppose, but changes should be reflected on the menu. The one we had was still good.
I can’t really comment on atmosphere. It’s really hard to tell what type of place this is since there weren’t other diners. It seems to be a cute spot, but I’m not sure I would make an effort to go back. Value was a 2, service a 4, food a 2, atmosphere 3, bathrooms 3.

After being extremely dissapointed w/​the food offerings at the taste of randolph. Heard great raves about Meze and the food it had to offer. Ambience was nice but the place was exremely dead around 9pm for a friday, literally 3 tables besides us.
To be quite honest, I even asked the question are you guys still open as I approached the hostess?!?
Bottle of white sangria was pretty good, waitress was cool enough to let us taste sample both before. FYI — The red is too sweet!
I would have to say besides the food being cooked/​prepared perfectly on each dish. The flavors were good but nothing was impressed.
My favorite dish was the Bang bang chicken. Good hints of curry
Besides that everything was just ok. Potatoe Bravas, Gambas al allijo, peppercorn steak, etc…
Looks like really good potential, staff was great, food was just meiocre… Prob more of a lets grab a drink type of place and a small bite.

Can’t say enough good things about this place…
Went here with a large group on a Saturday night and wine bottles were half off!
You know what that means! The glasses were always full and the food just kept coming…
We ordered an array of tapas for the meat eaters as well as the veggies… my favorite has to be the patatas bravas and pomme frites. The kick that the potatoes have was incredible… the combo of fresh feta and squeezed lemon over the skinny fries was delicious… even the roasted vegetables were good!
I love that the service was incredibly friendly and accommodating to such a large loud crowd… Great spot to start or even end the night!

The place was absolutely empty at 9:30pm on a Tuesday night, and probably understandably, and they were about to close down had we not walked in at the time.
The Spinach Hummus & Grilled Pita Bread was decent, Goat Cheese & Tomato Tart was okay, and the Papas Bravas too were decently okay.
Service was fine, but the iPhone beep off a staff member’s phone went off every 1.5mnts for incoming messages (well, they were of course bored having no other tables).
The music and ambiance is what won me over though! Really nice European lounge feel to this place!

Pick this place up and move it to River North and there would be a line out the door. But unfortunately it’s in the Fulton Market area, which has never appealed to me, but to my surprise this place was packed on Saturday night. Not an empty table at the restaurant, not a seat at the bar, the DJ was spinning salsa music and the dance floor was being put to good use by couples. However, by 11:30 pm everyone had cleared out and the place was empty.
The food here is beyond fantastic. It was my friend’s birthday and the six of us ordered a feast of small plates for everyone to share. Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious and here’s a list of what I would recommend: Grilled Baby Lamb Chops & Roasted Red Pepper Purée, Crab Meat Kopitas, Bacon Wrapped Dates, Papas Bravas (roasted potatoes), Spicy Grilled Sausages, Fresh Oysters, Merlot Beef Short Ribs, Chocolate Tart for dessert. Best sangria I’ve had anywhere – strong, not too sweet or bitter, perfect!
Great atmosphere, reasonable prices, valet for $ 8…my only complaint is with the service we received. It started out strong but halfway through dinner our server lost interest in our table and had to be flagged down several times. I had to flag him down to order dessert and tell him to put a candle on one of the chocolate tarts for the birthday girl. We waited and waited and half an hour later, I had to flag him down again to ask him what happened to our dessert and he said it was on the way. Ten minutes later, the chocolate tarts finally came out. So regardless of the poor service, I would say definitely come here to enjoy the food, sangria, and salsa.

Since Keri and I both had this place bookmarked for a good long while, it seemed easy enough to settle on this place last night for some dinner and drinks.
We arrived at about 6 pm and were the only ones in there. I know it’s early, but where was the after-​work crowd? We were led to a table and we looked around. Was this place a lounge? A restaurant? A sports bar (there was a big-​screen tv playing some or other game)? We couldn’t really tell as this place was suffering from some sort of identity crisis. The music didn’t help either. It started out as techno/​club music and then segued into flamenco and then back to something else.
It only got worse when this weird high-​pitched noise startled us. It sounded like a battery was dying in a smoke or CO2 detector. We hoped it would stop as it was not very conducive to a relaxing atmosphere. The waitress came over and she was friendly enough. I asked if they had sangria (as any self-​respecting tapas restaurant should) because I didn’t see it on the menu. She said they sangria as a drink special for $ 5. Sold.
The awful noise kept happening and it was seriously annoying. The server brought out my sangria and we asked her about the noise. She said «Oh, the battery in our smoke detector is low and we need a ladder to change it.» WTF? Go rent a ladder from Home Depot and change that shit. Not to mention, isn’t it kind of paramount that a restaurant has a FUNCTIONING smoke detector?! At that point, the noise was making us all jittery so we decided to eat what we ordered and get the hell outta dodge.
The sangria was probably some of the worst I’ve had. It tasted like straight-​up Yago (the crap I drank in high school) mixed with 7up. It was like drinking carbonated cough syrup. Just wretched.
We hoped we’d fare better with the food, and we did… somewhat anyway.
The low down:
Caprese salad — underripe tomatoes (what was I thinking ordering this in the middle of winter?), flavorless mozzarella
Grilled vegetables — pretty good, but there’s not much you can do to screw this up, and thankfully they didn’t
Baba ghannouj — solidly average, but at least the pita was warm
Bacon-​wrapped dates — I didn’t try these but Keri only ate ²⁄₄ so I’m guessing they weren’t «all that»
Thai vegetable rolls — enjoyable and fresh, and a nice dipping sauce
We had planned on ordering more but at that point the malfunctioning smoke detector noise was too grating so we decided to end our evening there after about 45 minutes. Plus, who wants to sit in an empty restaurant all night? Since we were still hungry, we left and went to Baba Pita down the street.
The food was decent, and I wish Meze well, but I can’t muster much enthusiasm for this place. The stretch of Peoria they’re located on is pretty desolate, so I imagine they don’t get a lot of foot traffic, but I hope they get busier. Still, please fix your dang smoke detector pdq!
*crosses another bookmark off list…*

It was a birthday weekend, and the birthday girl requested tapas. Unilocal came to the rescue, suggested a few gems with the windy city, and Meze was the winner, as it was the closest in proximity to the hotel.
Don’t let this outside or surrounding environment scare you of this place, the inside is chic, with brick walls, eclectic & bright paintings, and dimmed lighting. We were able to partake in the Friday special of $ 20 carafes of sangria, and scored a variety of tapas for the table. Everything was very tasty, all depicting a unique mix of flavors. A favorite of everyone definitely seemed to be the bacon wrapped dates, yet the pappas bravas didn’t knock my socks off.
Our server gets five stars, as she had the obnoxious duty of splitting all checks and figuring out the sangria bill.
I probably wouldn’t make a stop back to this place if I was in the city, as it is a little off the radar, and a tad pricey. However, I will say that their happy hour tapas menu perked up my attention, offering $ 4 plates from 5−7pm!

This is a cute place with a modern décor. I LOVE tapas and came in here when I received a Groupon-​esque deal. We went on a Wednesday night and were happy to find that bottles of wine were ½ price. With that deal and the good food, I was surprised that there were only a few tables there.
The service was very good and so was the food. We split the: fried calamari, caprese salad, greek pomme frites, chipotle chicken quesadillas, fish tacos, and spicy grilled sausages. I really liked the fish tacos and quesadillas. The only thing I would pass on is the spicy grilled sausages — I thought they were just ok.
All in all it is a very cute happy hour place. We definitely would come back and check it out for one of the specials (but the specials make it a good value).

Meze is more about the fun, less about the food.
I recently came here on a Saturday night for a friend’s party. Tapas are synonymous with sangria for me, so I bellied up to the bar and got myself a glass, stat. I was really pleased with the sweet and full concoction… it tasted like it may have been fortified with brandy. Believe me, brandy + sangria is the best! Fantastic price, too: $ 5.
I got to check out some of the menu and though I don’t think the food can be classified as all out Mediterranean, there’s definitely some inspiration there. I tried the Greek pomme frites (you know the drill: fries + garlic and feta) which were quite good and also tried the beef sliders. The sliders were a bit cold when I got to them so I’ll have to try those again to provide a fair assessment. My friends loved them when they first came out though!
So. Around 11 or so (hard to say as I was getting sangria buzzed and lost track of time), the restaurant quickly turns into lounge and then later, a full on club. People everywhere are dancing, bumping, grinding, tango-​ing… but not as cheesy as you’d imagine. Turns out Meze’s an ideal spot for getting some of that downtown hot spot flavor without dealing with long lines, prissy clubbers and the usual zoolanders. And, parking is pretty easy! Great girls’ night destination, too.

I checked out Meze awhile ago and have been meaning to review it ever since.
Meze has a great atmosphere, tables and nice luxurious lounge type couches. I was there for dinner but it also seemed like a place that would transition nicely into the post-​dinner hours for a casual hang out.
A friend and I ordered a selection of tapas and I tried out the sangria. I loved the sangria and would highly recommend it, they also have pretty good specials for it several nights of the week. The tapas were also delicious. I tried the peppercorn beef and the fries with feta on them. I was not disappointed.
I would definitely recommend Meze, it’s a fun atmosphere and the food and drinks are tasty and reasonable!

Totally a sweet spot. Of course it’s out of the way for me, but I knew I had to stop by because I’ve been hearing such great things.
Exposed brick walls, really unique and interesting artwork from local artists (which you can purchase) and a sleek VIP area. Mixed with the amazing music and a chill vibe, it’s a great place to sit back and chat with friends. This would also be the perfect local for a date as it’s very intimate.
I was really blown away by the food, and the word on the street is that their chef has a pretty impressive background (so he knows wassup!)
We tried a variety of small plates including the Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart which had a really tasty plum and tomato basil sauce, the Peppercorn Beef and Gorgonzola (which was my favorite. and I believe I ate the entire thing myself) the sauce which is made with cognac and veal glaze was the perfect touch.
The Crab Meat Kopitas were to die for, they had the perfect amount of flakey texture and the crab meat was so tender. The chipotle sauce on the side was great for dipping! Their hummus was some of the best I’ve ever had, so you need to give that a whirl.
My second favorite item was the Pepper Crusted Tuna which is served cold with wasabi cream on a Won Ton crisp. LOVED IT!
Try their homemade Sangria! I’m typically not a Sangria person, but this was so YUM!
I walked out of there feeling satisfied and relaxed. The food was great, the atmosphere and ambiance were just what I needed and the staff is very accommodating. You need to check this place out now because it’s such a gem.

I really like Meze. Rating on their grand opening would be childish at best. Dinner last night was very tasty, the service was good, and the loungey atmosphere completes the package.
We had 4 tapas plates for the 2 of us and they were all very good. Presentation was simple, which was perfect for the size and type. The waiter did a good job of helping me find something I could eat (I’m allergic to a few things). He knew off the ingredients off the top of his head and only had to check on one menu item with the kitchen. The chef came out to check on us after a few minutes with the food.
The service wasn’t too much but just enough. He didn’t bother us every minute or so, but our water glasses were filled and we weren’t left looking for or waiting for service. Prices weren’t bad at all. Less than $ 40 for the two of us including drinks. We were told the menu would be expanded soon (Friday?). Although, the menu was the perfect size for me, too many options and I get too confused. ;)
We will definitely be going back. Meze is perfect for dinner and a few drinks out without being too clubby or sitting in a tavern.