Kafe Meze

TL;DR: There are so many places around Brisbane that many would say are the best ways to represent Greek food. To me, this is at least a runner-up. The food is fresh and without pretension, coming right as it is. Sometimes all that needs to be done to hit the spot each time is know what works, and just go for it.

Right from its unfortunate closure as one of the top places in West End - not just for Greek cuisine, but for all kinds of food - hope has not been lost with Kafe Meze, looking towards the horizon and finding shop in a couple of places elsewhere in Brisbane. One of them brings us to the refurbished area of Stone's Corner, which boasts itself quite the range and high quality average when it comes to getting a place to eat. It has been a fair while, and they may well have feathered the nest followed up by furnishing it nicely. In other words, Kafe Meze is here to stay in Stone's Corner and hopefully it is not going away - I say that because the many mouthfuls of soulvaki meat I had transported me right back to those times in the West End courtyard.

This was another weekend where back-to-back PPV events were showing on the WWE Network which was not unlike the NXT and Big Four showings which have become commonplace. We were onto Extreme Rules this time, and nevertheless it was back to the drawing board with which place took the fancy for this event. After several attempts getting around to the classical Kafe Meze, here was its chance to shine. In not too long between deciding and confirming, what it took was a trip onto the UberEats app to plug the order in and Bob's your uncle.

It was a very quick affair getting the food from the kitchen, into the car, and all the way to the house. What they definitely have kept up is an efficient method of customer service. Additionally, it might have been during the school holiday period since the Uber worker this time was a fairly young lady possibly getting some work experience on the side. Since these are some hard times finding any sort of work, the tip I gave this young lady was a generous one. It was not only that, but the fact she was very pleasant upon arrival.

Compared to the old guard, what they got on offer is slimmed down a fair bit. Some exception does apply occasionally, their main envisioned focus is a Greek version of a barbecue complete with more meat than you might care to poke a stick at. That is the coat of pain; the canvas is like with any self-respecting Greek place, whether fancy or hole-in-the-wall - all about sharing, and being homely. That is apparent from the first section, starting with the dips and bread before going off to numerous mezes and then the aforementioned barbecued meats. A little later on, they have their specialties which are mostly seafood.

Yet if anything were to attest what I said about the canvas of the eatery being about sharing, you would need to look no further than at their numerous meze platters. There's a variety in seafood, one for the barbecued meats, and one for more traditional dishes. A smaller version of these is available for individual appetites, with the "mikro plates", along with "megalo plates" that give clients the choice of two meats, and it would not be a self-respecting Greek place is there was not at least an option for souvlaki wraps on the menu. Suffice to say, this is a pretty nice selection of eats to have.

Upon looking at it several times, even when trying to cut down on sugar it does get the confession it always looks a little strange not having any desserts on the menu to finish things off. Right here, a baklava, or Turkish delight, or something simple like that would have sufficed. I still leave here a happy camper, but just saying.

It would be absolutely foolish not to utilsie the order in getting a meze of some sort - this made it possibly the easiest UberEats order yet, if not at least as far as the WWE pairing has gone since its inception. All those aforementioned meze plates were what made it so easy, and I went with the smaller meat meze aimed at one to two people. With each meze plate, there were the extras of a Greek salad, some fries, and pita bread, in which the most latter there was paired perfectly with tzasiki. Added onto that base were several kefedes (or chicken meatballs), a couple of pieces of haloumi cheese, plus a delicious trio of chicken, lamb, and pork souvlaki  

Because I can be a bit of gluttonous S.O.B. at times, I was somewhat eying off the bigger meat meze which would have added on some lamb cutlets, two varieties of sausage, and some olives. That could have gone well, no denying that; however, even this small sucker is enough to fill up a couple of big stomachs. Me being me threw a couple of extras into the mix. One of them had to be dolmades, the giant platter just seemed lacking without them. One of the sausages which would have been in the big pack also found its way into the mix: "Pastourama", or the spicy paprika sausage.

All that it takes to bring me back to realising that Greek cuisine is among the best in the world will be how they do their kebabs. It is really unique, and unlike how any other cuisine manages to cook and prepare the meat for their kebabs. They must slow cook the giant pieces of meat over the charcoal and fire, which slowly melds the flesh and the fat into something that is smoother than the most boutique butter you could find. All that meat on the platter was plentiful, and the flavours were all brought out really well - even the subtlety of the chicken managed to make itself known.

That was just the beginning of the beauty that was beholden throughout the selection. The haloumi cheese was hot, and bubbly, proving its worth after all these years. Adding even more on, the sausage was appropriately smoky in flavour, and had a great pork mince base. Maybe the absolute favourite to end them all would be the chicken meatballs. Meatballs themselves are always quite delectable, yet something about the taste and the texture when it comes to chicken meatballs. While the flavour it has is a whole lot lighter, something so distinct comes through the mince meat. Cementing just how tasty they are, a crisped coating around it finishes it off nicely.

Ending all of it was the three basic sides to each meze plate: the Greek salad, the fries, and the pita bread. With pita bread, there is no need to give it any introduction. When it is served pipping hot, it is fantastic with whatever you pair it with: cheese, sausage, meats, dip, even plain. The fries this time were delicious, just need them to be hot and crispy along with having a good, salty seasoning. The portion they gave was pretty generous. Even with the salad - and I am not a salad fan by any means - was quite good. It possibly has to do with the black olives, and the feta cheese they got mixed in. A little bit of freshness with the tomatoes also didn't hurt either.

Any Brisbanite who has been lived in this town for a number of years can attest that Kafe Meze was once practically an institution in West End, particularly among the Greek community. It was nothing about being the finest among the finest, but more so the vibe that it had - very open, family friendly, and the food was great up until the end. Seeing the empty spot in its familiar West End position brought up sadness until vague whispers occurred that it - in part - was moving and opening up elsewhere. While the Stone's Corner aesthetic surely won't be anywhere the same as the old one, what still remains is that the food still tastes great: it manages to be fresh, colourful, tasty, and filling.