"I am still reeling from that lunch" -- memorable words from my co-worker that summed up our lunch excursion to Fava Mezze. We tried out this place thanks to Scoutmob, I think. It's a new Mediterranean resto located next to Antico Pizza. The place is small, somewhat sparse, but clean. The owner is a large, boisterous, and quirky guy who was extremely pleased with the simplicity of the menu which was mainly split into sandwiches and sides. "Everything is $6! Makes it easier" he boomed. They do not take credit cards because he's "from the old country" but for your convenience, there is an ATM on the premises.
He recommended that our party get the mezze sampler for 4 ($35) since it was a better deal. It came with 2 meats and 3 vegetable sides. We chose the lamb kebobs and chicken shwarma for our meats; grape leaves, falafel, and a fava bean dip for the vegetable sides.
What we got was a small plate with 2 small grape leaves, 2 very small falafel, and some fava bean dip. Quizzically wondering how we were going to split this less than plentiful bounty, we pointed this out to the owner who boomed "Man you know how it is. You tell the kitchen and sometimes they just never get it right. I'll take care of ya!" Ok sorta funny. For a second.
We got a second plate of the same, small portions, and an extra side of hummus on the house. The pita was fluffy and actually pretty great. "It's the real stuff. Comes from a bakery!" But then, things didn't fare much better with the meats. We receive 2 wrapped gyros. Again, really? We're suppose to share that? The gyros were good though mostly stuffed with salad and the lamb kebob sandwich had roughly 3 cubes of lamb in it.
I calculated that if we'd gotten 2 sandwiches and 3 sides separately - it would've come to $30. We paid $5 more to get what appeared to be single serving portions. Despite the Scoutmob discount, I'd be hard pressed to go back. It's a pricey lunch -- you're basically out about $12 if you want a side to go with your sandwich. Drinks? No clue. We weren't really offered water or beverages until we were mostly done picking through the sandwiches.
Overall food was okay. The staff, not just the owner, were pretty quirky, sometimes downright surly. If you stick with sandwiches, you may fare better. Also, the owner will tack on tip for everyone, not just large parties. I heard him say to someone at the register: "That'll be $6 even, includes tax. Oh and $2 for tip so your total will be $8." That takes some balls. read more
