This place was a pleasant surprise. I went on valentines day and all women were offered a rose and a card that can be used for a free beer on our next visit. Â The bacon wrapped dates were especially delicious and should not be missed. Â The waiter was very attentive, the food was brought out promptly and the overall ambiance was casual yet romantic. Â I will definitely be back.
Review Source: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. Â After reading the reviews I decided to be rebellious. Â So I'm gonna be. Â Deal with it. Â This place is out of the way in Fulton Market. Â If you have a stick up your rear and have to go to fancy schmancy places reviewed by Anthony Bourdain, feel free. Â Meze and their team were outstanding. Â Jorge, the sangria maker, whipped us up some excellent sangria. Â I've had a lot in my time, and this was maybe the best I've had. Â Wow. Â Reading that sentence, it sounds a bit wrong. Â We had a group of 4, and we all loved Jorge and the Sangria. Â He was so excited he ran back and whipped us up a batch of white sangria. Â Equally good, but my taste is more red. Â Â Now for the food: Â In Tapas fashion (and in hunger) we ordered a ton. Â Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart: Â Excellent. Â Peppercorn Beef and Gorgonzola: Â Good but not my favorite. Bacon Wrapped Dates: Â Yummmm. Â Crab Meat Spanikopita: Â 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: Â Awesome. Â Merlot Beef Short Ribs: Â Very Very Good. Â Fish Tacos: Â Good (but why did we order this much?)...that was after our second pitcher of sangria. Â Â We couldn't resist so we got dessert too, The Chocolate Tart filled with Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry Coulis. Â THAT was too much. Â Really Really rich. Â But worth a bite. Â On my way out, the owner gave me his card and thanked us for all the compliments. Â When I got back to my room and read the card it said, "come back anytime. Â complimentary bottle of wine on us". Â
Take a walk down in this area, find Meze and find Jorge. Â The Sangria IS good.
P.S. Â 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. Â But he won't give it up. Â :(
The restaurant was nice but the website indicated they would have food specials which they did not. Â When we asked the waiter he said the website hasn't been updated and the new owner would not honor the prices. Â That sucked big time! Also the waiter became busy and we had to wave him over each time we needed something. Â I am not sure how difficult it is to change a website but a sign on the door or a mention before we ordered would have been helpful.
Review Source:Meze you saved my dinner plans on Friday night. Â Had a large group coming to town for St. Pats and was struggling to find a place for dinner for 11 people. Â Meze was able to take us and I will say, I may have found my new favorite Tapas place. Â 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. Â
Place was not very crowded, but for that area what do expect. Â I would highly recommend this place compared to the other Tapas places in the city. Â 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". Â There's influences from Spanish, Mediterranean, Asian, and who-knows-where-else cuisine. Â
We came here just for a small meal before heading to Aviary. Â They have good Happy Hour food specials, Tuesday through Friday (5-7pm), with $4 plates of the following: Â 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. Â It was enough to tide our group of four over for our post-dinner festivities. Â
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 $$). Â If I'm craving tapas, I'd rather go to Cafe Iberico. Â (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. Â 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.
I am most definitely a fan of Meze's Tapas Lounge. Â Great venue, very pleasant ambiance. Â I have been bit turned off by many of the pretentious restaurants and eateries in the West Loop, but Meze's is its best kept secret. Â The staff is friendly and very accommodating. Â I don't do full plated meals well, so tapas plates and a glass (or two) or wine works well for me. Â The Goat Cheese & Tomato Tart is delish and the bacon wrapped dates are to die for. Although my 11 year old loves the food, I wouldn't recommend it for kids unless they have been exposed to various cuisines. Ideal for date night. Â Try it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Review Source: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. Â 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. Â 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 (1/2 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. Â Heard great raves about Meze and the food it had to offer. Â Ambience was nice but the place was exremely dead around 9pm for a friday, literally 3 tables besides us. Â
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. Â FYI - The red is too sweet!
I would have to say besides the food being cooked/prepared perfectly on each dish. Â The flavors were good but nothing was impressed.
My favorite dish was the Bang bang chicken. Â Good hints of curry
Besides that everything was just ok. Â 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.
This place is a little out of the way, and that's probably why I had never heard of it. Although if the food is great I usually do....
However! I was able to try out this lovely establishment last night when I attended a birthday gathering.
We arrived around 8pm and the place was fairly empty (and by the way, no one greeted us, but we did see our party right away and walked through). The decor was sparse and almost felt a little cold...luckily thanks to the warmth of our server we had no issues with that during the evening!
We drank the red and the white Sangria and it was great! Â Everyone enjoyed it and it was sweet to our liking with pieces of apple and grapes.
For the tapas we had a great variety and everything we tried was good, so I won't go through that list...I'll just mention the ones that stood out to me.
- Chicken Bang-Bang (I think it was called, the menu online is a bit different)
- Papas Bravas
- Home Cured Wild Salmon & Rosemary Cream
- Fish Tacos
- Spinach Hummus, Baba Ganoush & Grilled Pita Bread
- Baked Apple Tart
So if you are thinking of going here and worried about the food...don't be, it was good. We didn't experience that "club thing" happening there that I read about in other reviews, but then again we left at 10pm...
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!
Went with a group of 6 girls for a birthday celebration. Â The sangria was the best I've ever had, not dry or bitter, but not too sweet - perfect, and the whole group loved it. Â It kept us from indulging in the half price wine bottle Sat night special, so a definite winner.
It's a very nice restaurant, that almost seems out of place in the area, especially w/all the nearby construction. Â Don't let that keep you from trying it.
We ordered a lot of different plates, and my favorite was the Beef Tenderloin w/Cognac Peppercorn sauce...I think I used that sauce for a few other dishes:) Â The Crab Meat Kopitas' chipotle sauce had a kick but was good, and the Bacon Wrapped Dates were yummy. Â Didn't care for the Beef Short Ribs - mostly fat and not much meat, but the sauce was really good. Â The Spinach Hummus was really good (we ordered it to munch on while waiting for the rest of the group, and it turned out to be a nice surprise).
We didn't have dessert since we ate so much, but come to think of it, they didn't bring a dessert for the birthday girl - most nice restaurants will do that (they definitely knew about and acknowledged the birthday upon arrival)
This place is douchy. Â It thinks it's something that it's not. Â Food ranges from alright (but nothing you couldn't easily make better at home) to disgusting. Â Their baba ganoush is white and tastes like mayo. Â Wtf. Â The sangria was alright, so that was a plus.
Even though the place was almost completely empty when we were there, they tried to sit us a few inches away from one of the only other tables. Â They also kept messing up. Â They forgot a few things and tried to charge for things that we didn't order.
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!
I could not believe my eyes when I googled "tapas" near my neighborhood and saw this place. Whether it was actually good or not didn't matter...I saw bacon wrapped dates on the menu and I was good to go.
So we show up to Meze (which has the worst location by the way given the construction happening on lake street) and its empty. Not completely since there were 2 tables occupied, but close enough.
The menu was full of the most random tapas items ever. In addition to traditional Spanish tapas, there was an assortment of Greek and Asian inspired tapas dishes as well...which I totally didn't understand. We settled on some fairly normal items:
-Goat Cheese & Tomato tart (good)
-Grilled Baby Lamb Chops (ok but NOT worth the money)
-Bacon Wrapped Dates (delish)
-Papas Bravas (quite possibly the biggest pile of tapas style potatoes ever...but really good)
-Greek Pommes Frites (you read right...Greek french fries. Don't ask me why we did it, but I probably won't get it again)
-Baked Apple Tart (would have been great if it was warm throughout the whole tart)
To accompany this, I had the red sangria ( I think there's only two to choose from...red or white). It's good if you like it a little less tart than some places make it.
The service wasn't bad. Now how that would have been affected by more people is up for debate. I think when the place is empty, its easy to concentrate on how little you see your waitress.
I would go back for a quick bite to eat, but nothing substantial. Perhaps if they make the menu strictly Spanish-style dishes, I would be more inclined to visit more often.
On my recent trip to Chicago, we took a trip to this out-of-the-way tapas restaurant. Â I've only actually experienced tapas in Spain, so I had pretty high hopes!
If it wasn't for the absolutely scrumptious food, this restaurant would maybe have gotten one star. Â Although in a rather unsavory part of town, the interior was luxurious. Â We sat down with a huge group, and I looked around in shock...there was literally NO ONE ELSE in this restaurant...on a FRIDAY night?! Â Needless to say, I was terrified. Â There must be some reason this place is deserted!!
We ordered Sangria with too little, too-small chunks of fruit. Â It had a pretty good taste, but I've had better.
The food was so delicious I can hardly believe this place wasn't packed. Â I split five options with four people, and loved every single one. Â I tried some of the other tapas and they were also delightful. Â I don't think a single person in our group was disappointed here.
The real disappointment came with the service. Â I understand we had a large group, but there were NO other tables, and members of my group caught the waitress texting in the bathroom twice. Â She was hardly ever present at the table, and we probably would have ordered more if she was around. Â
Overall, a rollercoaster of an experience. Â I probably wouldn't go back into the restaurant...but maybe if they started delivery??
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. Â Yelp 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. Â We were able to partake in the Friday special of $20 carafes of sangria, and scored a variety of tapas for the table. Â Everything was very tasty, all depicting a unique mix of flavors. Â 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. Â However, I will say that their happy hour tapas menu perked up my attention, offering $4 plates from 5-7pm!
Above average food, horrible service. Â
We had a company holiday function here last month. Â I was in charge of ordering for the group (with tapas style we figured it would just be easier to leave one or two people in charge). Â The waitress was flat out bitchy to me (I used to wait tables so I try to be overly friendly with servers) and she didn't come by often enough. Â The rest of the restaurant was pretty empty and I'm pretty sure she wasn't the only wait staff there. Â
Atmosphere was relaxed, but a little quiet (this was on a Thursday night).
Food was above average (although some dishes weren't that great) and only mildly over-priced (average tapa was ~$9). Â Oh, and I agree with Marcel S, greek pommes frites were pointless for a tapas place. Â Fries with feta isn't something I want to grab at a sit down place.
Bottome Line: I don't know that I would go back, but that is solely based on the way I was treated.
Went here on a Saturday night for some dinner before checking out the evening's scheduled DJ.
Arrived around 10pm, the place was pretty empty and got a table in the back which was fine. Â The server came right away and returned with the first drinks promptly. Â Saturdays they offer 1/2 off South American bottles of wine!
Ordered the following:
Papas Bravas - which were not too spicy hot, but just right, tasty enough that we ordered a second plate.
Chicken Quesadillas - which were probably the best thing we tried and also merited a second plate.
Sliders - although a bit odd to find on the menu at a tapas restaurant, were ok.
Goats Cheese - I passed on the cheese, but my party said it was "BLAH", so I'll take their word for it.
Bacon Wrapped Dates - these were a bit overcooked for my taste, a bit dry, I've had better.
Total bill for the above mentioned plus (1) bottle of Tamari Reserva Malbec, (1) Corona, (1) Midory Pomegranate Martini was $94
This is where they  lost a star... Meze authorized a hold for $124 on my card, as I write this, I already see that the $94 posted to my account in addition to the $124 hold!!!!  Thats some BS.. I've been to much better restaurants and have never had this happen before.
I was also informed that there was no DJ that evening because they were taking a "break". Â Apparently, not even a promoter can get people in this place.
I gave it 3 Stars because the food wasn't terrible, service was actually OK, however I don't think I'll go back unless there is absolutely no other option, so I am not a "fan".
This is a cute place with a modern decor. I LOVE tapas and came in here when I received a Groupon-esque deal. Â We went on a Wednesday night and were happy to find that bottles of wine were 1/2 price. Â With that deal and the good food, I was surprised that there were only a few tables there. Â This seems like a hidden gem!
The service was very good and so was the food. Â We split the : fried calamari, caprese salad, greek pomme frites, chipotle chicken quesadillas, fish tacos, and spicy grilled sausages. Â I really liked the fish tacos and quesadillas. Â The only thing I would pass on is the spicy grilled sausages - I thought they were just ok. Â
All in all it is a very cute happy hour place and we definitely would come back and check it out on the weekend nights.
Cute place, it was empty when we went although we were there on a Wed night at like 5ish...happy hour time...
pretty good food, we had the peppercorn encrusted tuna, that was really really good!
we had the sliders, greek fries, quesadilla, papas bravas, adn the thai spring rolls-the thai spring rolls were nothing spectacular...sliders were good, and the papas bravas and greek fries were pretty good too.
We also had the choc mousse for dessert, that was very good but I haven't met a chocolate dessert I didnt like!
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'll keep this review short and to the point. The food was outstanding, while everything else is your typical downtown / south loop / west loop set-up...from decor to music to service.
Nothing really stood out, place was decorated nicely (but with Ikea furniture), and the menu could use more selections. But again, what we ordered tasted great, so check out their online menu - if you like what you read, you'll like the taste. We had a part of 5 and our bill came to just $220.
I think this place turns into a club / lounge after dinner time as well, so it's an ok place for pre-game before you hit up the real happening spots.
Great spot in the West Loop! Â I like that the menu goes beyond the standard Spanish fare. Â There was French, Asian and Mediterranean influenced tapas as well. Â Everything was knock your socks off delicious. Â Plus, if that wasn't enough bottles of wine are priced extremely low. Â That could definitely be dangerous! Â
This place is definitely large group friendly, but thankfully has the acoustics down so it's not excessively noisy. Â Food arrives quickly and the staff is super attentive.
Looking forward to stopping in again soon!
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!
Went to Meze last night as a group of 5. Both the bartender and server were friendly,
Shared a wide array of tapas with the crew: Grilled Baby Lamb Chops, Gambas Al Ajillo, Papas Bravas, Crab Meat Kopitas, Greek Pommes Frites, Home Cured Wild Salmon & Rosemary Cream, Cold Poached Prawns, Chicken Cracklings.
Overall, we definitely liked the dishes, with the absolute rock stars being the papas bravas (amazingly creamy and spicy), the crab kopitas (little turnovers filled with well herbed crab, slightly spicy), and the chicken cracklings (surprisingly delicious, perfectly cooked and presented well with a manicured little bone for handling).
While others were good, I don't think any of us remember eating the salmon dish.
The menu is interesting, as it varies away from just traditional tapas items, like incorporating an "American" section where sliders are available. Not that I'm complaining, as the cracklings were from this list, but it was a bit unexpected.
Taking alcohol out of the equation, it came out to be less than $30 pp for dinner, as the tapas are very reasonably priced. My ladies drank the red sangria and claimed it was good, I don't care for sangria so I cannot personally comment.
I'd say this is definitely a good group place to go, as there is ample seating. I live in the hood, so this will definitely be in my neighbourhood rotation.
I'm not sure if it was due to it being Easter weekend, but the restaurant was less than half full at Friday night at 8:30. On previous walk-bys I had noticed it had been fuller at other times. I hope that's the way it stays and this place sticks around for awhile.
3.5 Stars
I went to Mezé Tapas Lounge on a whim. Grocery Bistro was closed on Mondays (with no sign or information on their website, phone, or OpenTable until the day after - not cool). The West Loop isn't the most convenient or developed of neighborhoods, but it's really getting there.
Mezé is more of a Lounge than a Tapas Bar. Yes, they serve tapas but they are more like tastier, better bar food. While their tapas are $3 each on Mondays (only selected ones are), they were average. Not average bad, just average. I had the Papas Bravas (the chipotle aioli is a nice, slightly spicy touch), Baba Ganoush (similar to hummus), and Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart (tasty, even though I dislike goat cheese). The Baked Apple Tart was simplified, modern take of apple pie.
Aside from the so-so food, the lounge is swanky, but not snotty or obnoxious. Bonus points for playing Shiny Toy Guns in the background. The lounge is openly spaced with sexy, dimly lit lights. Mezé is a romantic spot to take a date, especially if you just want to talk, drink, and share small-ish plates of food in hopes of scoring that night (good luck).
There's really nothing Mediterranean about this place, so it's a tad confusing. Â The food is more upscale bar food, like sliders, quesadillas, chicken wings, etc. Â So if you're really craving Medi or you even think you're going to get a hint of Spanish flavor, then do NOT go to Meze. Â I think it's a cool enough spot, decorated nicely, chill atmosphere, but set up more like a lounge than a restaurant. Â It would probably work better as a place to go for cocktails or wine, then get some snacks as you drink and get hungry, rather than going for a full-fledged dinner.
When we went last Sat night, we were STARVING, so I think we gorged on plate after plate of food, not really even caring if it was that good, we just needed calories asap. Â So reflecting on my experience afterwards, I came to the conclusion that I would not go back to Meze and wouldn't recommend it for dinner, but like I mentioned above, good for a snack and drinks. Â We tried a lot of things:
1. Â Goat cheese & tomato tart: Â sounded better than it actually was. Â pretty disappointing for this goat cheese lover.
2. Â Papas bravas: Â this was the best dish we had - highly recomment.
3. Â Greek pommes frites: Â it throwing some feta cheese on top of fries makes it "greek" then ok, but really they are just like tasty garlic fries.
4. Â Beef slides: Â good but nothing special
5. Â Chipotle chicken quesadillas: Â ditto...except the guys really liked this for some unknown reason to me. Â it was served with a large amount of guacamole, so that could be the reason.
6. Â BBQ chicken winglets: Â blech
7. Â Fish tacos: Â double blech...completely tasteless
I can't even talk about the service because that's how terrible it was. Â Splitting the bill literally took 15 mins then it was rung up incorrectly and took another 30 mins to correct this problem. Â Inept waitress. Â At least they gave us a free bottle of wine to make up for it, although we didn't even really like the wine we chose and maybe drank 1/3 of the bottle.
Last night I visited Meze on a hunt to find a nice lounge with moderately priced food and drinks to accomodate our semi-weekly girls happy hour. I found this place on Yelp and figured since it was fairly new and already had great reviews, it would be worth checking out.
When I first walked up, I almost missed it. Is this place even open? It's 6pm, where are the people. Well I guess it is Monday, only my girls and I are the type to seek out drunken bliss on a Monday night as if we are not full time employed. Nevertheless, we stepped in and were immediately greeted and placed in the "VIP section" (Might as well be VIP since we are the only ones here.) Other groups started trickling in shortly after.
I must admit that for small plates, the food was quite taste and well seasoned. We nibbled on spicy grilled sauage, greek pommes fritas, beef sliders (with a spicy kick) and chicken quesdillas. ALL moderately priced at $3 accompanied by $15 carafes of sangria. So after about the 7th carafe and $5 vodka tonic, we stumbled through our wallets and were pleasantly surprised with the total. Only $30 per person for 5 of us. Sweet!
A few annoyances that can easily be avoided in the future:
***There were a few times when the waitress neglected us for quite some time but I realized she was the only one on that night, not to mention there was another huge group so I excused her being a waitstaff veteran myself.
***Also, the music was a little loud in the beginning, but I guess after ownership realized we were screaming over the table in casual conversation, they politely turned down the level. Great observation and immediate reaction!
Ultimately a wonderful experience and I will definitely be back !
My first experience here was very good. I came here with two friends and we had $5 sangria which was tasty and then shared a few tapas. We split potatoes bravos (amazing!), caprese salad (outstanding!), Pepper Crusted Tuna Won Ton crisps (wasabi was a bit too much for me), Prawns with Rice and the Crab Meat Kopitas (yum!) In addition to the food tasting great, I thought the portions were quite generous for small plates.
Although the restaurant was fairly quiet, there were times where I really could have used a water refill so I think our waitress could have been a bit more attentive but she was very sweet and made excellent recommendations from the menu. We loved the atmosphere here - the space was large and loft-like with beautiful artwork, soft lighting and a gorgeous bar. Will be back!
Went to Meze on a Friday night, for a work happy hour. Â This place is great! Â They have Valet for 7 dollars (and street parking is easy!) Â The venue is gorgeous, perfect for a date, doesn't get too loud which is nice.
We organized a party for 60 people, which Stavros was very accomodating!
The 3 dollar Tapas menu was great, being vegetarian there were AMPLE options, the quesadillas were amazing. Â The sangria is perfect, tasty yet not too sweet. Â They have a great wine list, and Tommy at the bar was a lot of fun, and super friendly. Â We only stayed from 430-10 so I am not sure how this place is after 10pm, but I will be going back!
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. Â Prices weren't bad at all. Â Less than $40 for the two of us including drinks. Â We were told the menu would be expanded soon (Friday?). Â 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.
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