Make a Date With Mediterranea in Montclair

Be prepared for the unexpected when you dine at Mediterranea in Montclair.

From the outdoor courtyard, to the hookah lounge next door, to the furniture imported from Syria, this restaurant soars high above anything you’ve ever expected—both in the food and the dining experience.

This treasure at 578 Bloomfield Ave. in Montclair. Mediterranea boasts a colorful menu with excellent food, a wonderful atmosphere and the finest of service.

When diners are seated, waiters serve a vegetable plate, featuring olives, carrots, turnips and pickles seasoned with vinegar. As an accompaniment, warm pita squares are also served.

We chose three different appetizers—two on our own and one based on a recommendation from our waiter, Lance. The Mediterranean platter ($16.95) featured eight different items, including hummus, baba ghannoush, marinated roasted potatoes and musakaah.

Our second choice was the spinach borek ($7.95), spinach and feta cheese rolled in phyllo and fried to a crispy finish, reminiscent of a thin, long egg roll.

Our third appetizer, the waiter-recommended beet and mozzarella salad with basil ($7.95), was really impressive. The dish featured sweet, large red beet slices and chunks of cheese. It was so good we emptied the plate of its entire contents.

For entrées, the menu offers a variety of dishes in many combinations. For instance, there are five different types of kebobs—filet mignon, shrimp, chicken, veggie and a trio (beef, lamb and chicken). All kebob dishes were served on a bed of seasoned basmati rice.

However, for those wanting something different, the menu offers penne Nepalitano ($12.95) or a mariscada platter ($23.95), an assortment of clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari and lobster tail.

We sampled the filet mignon kebob ($21.95) with chunky, thick and well-prepared meat cooked medium that was juicy and spiced with pepper and some other Mediterranean spices.

The chicken kebob ($14.95) featured grilled white-meat chicken with the meat seared with grill lines. The chicken was perfectly prepared and spiced with the ends of the meat crunchy from the grilling.

The vegetable kebob ($13.95) featured onion, eggplant, zucchini, squash and red pepper. The vegetables were crispy and fire roasted to bring out their utmost flavor. The onions were sweet and were a good counterbalance to the other vegetables.

The shrimp kebob ($21.95) was a surprisingly filling dish of six jumbo shrimp beautifully spiced with red and green peppers, onions and cilantro in a lemon garlic sauce. The shrimp were juicy and crunchy and was enjoyed by several people in our group.

Can’t settle on just one type of kebob? Then consider the trio kebob ($23.95) featuring kufta—or beef, lamb and chicken. We sampled the lamb cooked both medium on one portion and medium well in another. 

Dessert was recommended by one of the owners, Mike Homsi, who insisted we try the baklava ($4.95). Homsi said the desserts are made in the kitchen by two of his brothers, chefs at Mediterranea, with imported ingredients. While Homsi would not reveal what was in the baklava, it wasn’t important—the dessert was devoured.

Some other interesting facts about Mediterranea:

■ The restaurant is managed by five brothers with two of the brothers working as chefs and the others handling a variety of jobs at the restaurant.

■ The restaurant décor is full of objet d’art from Syria and around the Middle East.

■ The outdoor courtyard is covered with an awning features approximately 10 tables, each seating about four people and is glass enclosing with two water features on display.

■ Parking is difficult because there is no parking lot for the restaurant. Metered street parking can be difficult.

■ The hookah lounge next door is part of the restaurant.

Mediterranea
578 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair
973-744-1300
mediterraneanj.com
Reservations accepted
BYOB