The New Casa de Meze

The New Casa de Meze - Cairns Premiere Latin Dance Venue & Restaurant


Address: Upstairs Level 1, Trilogy on the Esplanade, Corner Aplin Street & The Esplanade,
P O Box 5399, Cairns 4870, Australia.
Ph +61740515550
Fax +61740410166
(after 2pm) Mobile +61401609056
E-mail: info@casademeze.com.au
Homepage: http://www.casademeze.com.au/casa2001.htm

Summary Information

Cuisine Type: Mediterranean and Mexican - Tapas/Meze
Licensed: Full bar and extensive wine list. Sangria on tap.
BYO: No.
Price Range: $20-$40 per main (excluding specials and seafood buffet)
Parking: Nil - street parking only
Disabled Access: Stairs part of main entrance, no wheelchair entrance.
Deals: Early bird discount - 30% reduction of bill if finished by 7:30.
Dress Code: Casual.
Family Friendly: Yes.
Smoking: Yes
Overall Rating 6 out of 10
Food: 6 out of 10
Drinks: 6 out of 10
Service: 7 out of 10
Ambience: 7 out of 10
Value for Money: 7 out of 10
Recommended: Yes. Take your mates, not your dates.

Review

The New Casa de Meze is centrally located in downtown Cairns on the corner of Aplin Street and The Esplanade. Meze has a corner site on the first level of Trilogy on the Esplanade. Presumably this is the more recent incarnation of a previous meze bar owned and operated by the same people. Also, Meze specialise in Latin dance held weekly.

Like a lot of upstairs venues, Meze has competition directly downstairs from the Italian Restaurant, Villa Romana. Villa Romana has superior street frontage and is very popular with those wishing to dine outside at street level. Meze have hired friendly staff that work on the Esplanade and escort patrons upstairs to available tables in the restaurant. The staff are happy to explain the early bird special and are very friendly. The restaurant is located at the top of a staircase where there is a bulletin board of photos from the Latin dance evenings. In addition the board advertises upcoming entertainment events being held at Meze. On the evening Meze was reviewed there was no dancing being held so we are unable to comment on these events, however we expect to cover these in future.

Patrons are greeted in the bar and waiting area of the restaurant on arrival. This is a comfortable area with bars and bar stools where you can enjoy a beer, wine, or sangria on tap if the mood takes you. The sangria is excellent and very refreshing. Alternatively you can just have a bit of chat before heading off to the restaurant proper, or wait for others to arrive. You can even engage in banter with the humorous waiting and cooking staff on site. Frequently the owner will be serving behind the bar and there are some funny exchanges between the groups. The bar is located next to a small 'dance stage' and 'dance floor'. While these are not big enough for a night club, it was our impression that they were adequate for their purpose. Importantly they do not intrude on the overall ambience of the restaurant, which I would describe as "Mediterranean". These areas are utilised for additional table space when there is no dancing. The kitchen is in full view of the patrons which I like, you can keep an eye on things and see how clean they are.

The main attraction of the restaurant itself is the outdoor deck where diners are able to eat a meal whilst making the most of the view of the Cairns waterfront. Diners are seated here first by the staff, and with good reason, it is one of the best views of any restaurant in Cairns. I recommend an early dining experience here to ensure you get a table on the deck with a good view, and are able to be serenaded by the evening Lorikeets. The early bird specials provide an additional incentive to get in early if you needed one.

We weren't too sure what type of cuisine to expect, and that was just as well because what we found was a mixture of Mediterranean, Mexican, Latin, and Italian foods. In short, it was mixed bag with something for everyone. The menu was large (8 pages) plus specials that were explained by our waiter. The size of the menu was daunting, however there were rewards for those that were willing to search through the material. Our waiter was very helpful and recommended the steak 'surf and turf' and the local Moreton Bay Bugs dish. We ordered those two dishes along with the mud crab from the specials board and good old fashioned spaghetti bolognaise to see how the Italian food compared at Meze.

We started with a plate of nachos that were well done. They were actually over done and unfortunately most of the cheese had melted directly onto the stainless steel serving plate that they came on. However the serving size was generous enough to be shared by our table, and there was plenty of sour cream so the nachos weren't completely dried out. With some effort it was possible to extract the cheese from the dish and get some of it onto the chips, however it would have been better if you hadn't had to do this.

The wine list was adequate and featured many wines from overseas (mostly New Zealand) as well as a large number of local wines. There was a lot of chardonnay on the list, however there was something for everyone. The full bar included imported and domestic beer and was a good range. All were listed in the drinks menu, and there was a featured cocktail of the week on the specials boards. That night it was the famous Gypsy King, a concoction of Havana Club, Kahlua, Cream and Cola.

Reef and Beef. This dish came recommended by the waiter and was ordered medium rare. The seafood was said to be fresh, and the beef grain fed for extra tenderness. When it arrived, the presentation of the dish was a little surprising. It appeared as if someone had dropped a seafood chowder on my meal, however once that was gotten over, a treasure trove of fresh seafood awaited in a creamy sauce that mixed with everything else on the plate well. I think that initial impression was created by my expectation of a traditional reef and beef where a few prawns are laid across the steak. This was a welcome departure from the norm when I ventured in to try the dish. While the sauce did not do all that much to enhance the flavour of the steak, it was a welcome accompaniment and rounded out the meal, making it very filling when combined with the potatoes and bok choy. The steak was tender as well as being cooked perfectly as medium rare. The seafood proved to be very fresh as claimed. The seafood 'sauce' included calamari, prawns, fish and mussels. A satisfying dish, sizeable and enough to fill most punters.

Moreton Bay Bugs: Again, this dish came recommended by our waiter. This dish was smaller in size than the reef n beef above and consisted of two bugs cooked and cut in half lengthwise so that the flesh was easy to get at. The bugs was served with boiled rice, salad, and a stick of lemon. The bug had been herbed and flavoured very nicely. While not a large meal, it was extremely well prepared and very tasty. The herbs used enhanced the flavour of the bugs, which again were very fresh.

Mudcrab: This dish was from the specials board and consisted of one steamed mudcrab served with spaghetti tossed in olive oil with tomato, red onion, lemon juice, and basil. The crab had been steamed with herbs which permeated the crab meat and gave it a delicate and tasty hint of herb throughout. This is, as always, a messy dish and came with all necessary equipment to crack the crab open and get into it. It is better to be experienced in this art before ordering this dish or else your tablemates, and other patrons can end up with more of your dinner than you did. The dish was presented well and looked the part when it arrived.

Spaghetti Bolognaise: Meze came up trumps with a huge serve of one of Italy's most famous dishes. Good traditional spaghetti noodles with a rich meat and tomato sauce. Heavy influence of garlic and herbs really rounded out this dish and made for good eating. I could not eat the entire dish and had to leave some for the restaurant, and was mightily full when I left Meze. I was disappointed not to be offered parmesan cheese, or for any to be on the dish as the perfect garnish to this dish.

The service was good on the whole. When we first arrived it was excellent, however there was a personnel change during the course of our meal. The waiter who took our orders and seated us was friendly, efficient, funny, and most helpful. He arrived at the right time, wasn't pushy in terms of taking our order or the time we took to decide and made good recommendations. However, when our meals were delivered by our second waiter of the evening, while he was friendly and efficient, we were disappointed that some of the basics weren't followed. We weren't offered black pepper for any of the meals, nor was cheese made available for the Italian meal.

We were all replete after our mains and no one had room for the deserts that were featured in the desert fridge located in the restaurant. The deserts included a very rich looking mud cake, mango cheesecake, and other assorted cakes. It might pay to save some room for the deserts as they did look very good and we hope to go back to Meze again and try the deserts on offer. Our review will be updated when we are able to do this.

Meze maintain a web presence with a simple home page. The web page has a small photo montage of shots from the restaurant and of the view off the deck. It also contains contact details including an e-mail address. The web page is the bare minimum and could do with the inclusion of menus and wine lists.

Overall we were impressed by Meze and would recommend it to those seeking standard food. Meze is family friendly, and when dining in the early evening you can expect that children will be present. With the early bird discount our meals were very reasonably priced. There is no parking offered by Meze as far as we could tell, and it did not seem like there was any disabled access to the restaurant, the only access that we saw was via the stairway. If you are out with a bunch of friends looking for some good hearty food, Meze is the place to go. If you time it right, there'll even be some Latin dancing thrown in! Overall I’d give it a 6 out of 10 for the gourmet.