Location: SF, peninsula or east bay.
I’m looking for a full service restaurant with a great mezze spread with stuff like hummus, muhammara, baba ganoush, ikra etc. Not white table cloth stuffy…similar to the casual vibe at Bavel in LA. Any ideas? Anybody been to Mazra in San Bruno?
Meyhouse is high on my list to try.
Not full-service restaurants:
We randomly ended up at Ikaros last night.
dip platter ($19)
Ikaros mezzes ($26), came with another plate I neglected to photograph with little ramekins of hummus and tzatziki and more pita.
Dolmades (ate one before I remembered to take a picture), spanakopita, tzatziki, baba ganoush, and tirokafteri (surprisingly spicy) were all very good. Keftedes were maybe a little dry but great with the tzatziki.
Plenty of warm pita (pretty sure house-made).
Tiropita, two out of three bites had no cheese. Would not order again.
Hummus was extremely bland, to my taste it needed more tahini, lemon, and garlic. Skordalia tasted like mashed potatoes, could not detect a hint of garlic. I wonder if the chef just hates garlic? Will not order either again.
They have a back patio but it was full, next time I’ll reserve. They also several sidewalk tables.
Maybe take a look at:
Caspian - Mountain View - much more traditional Persian than Bavel
Reems in the Mission. Much more casual than Bavel.
Beit Rima in SF - also more traditional than Bavel but tasty.
Persian, Maykadeh in SF used to be great. I haven’t been in ten years.
