Mezze is a spread of small shared dishes, both hot and cold, that arrive to the centre of the table so everyone reaches in and shares. It is not a starter course you finish before the main. In our family it is the meal itself, the way we have always eaten Sunday lunch together.

What is mezze and how is it served?

Mezze is the way food comes to the table in Armenian and Middle Eastern homes. Instead of each person getting one plate, a range of dishes lands in the middle: dips, salads, warm grilled things, bread. You take a little of this, a little of that, and you keep going.

Everything going to the centre is the point, not an accident. The table is set up for passing, tasting, and talking. Nobody is waiting on their own plate while someone else eats. It is hospitality built into the food itself, and it is how we grew up eating after church on Sundays.

Is mezze a starter or the whole meal?

It can be either, and that is up to you. A small mezze spread makes a lovely opening before grilled plates. A larger one, with enough hot and cold dishes, is a full meal on its own.

If you want mezze as the whole dinner, lean on more dishes and add bread and rice. If you want it as the opening act, keep it to a few dips and a salad, then move on to the grill.

Hot mezze versus cold mezze

The spread works best when you balance the two. Cold mezze is the make-ahead half: dips and fresh salads that sit happily on the table. Hot mezze is the just-off-the- grill half that arrives warm and gets eaten first.

Cold: our hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara dips, plus tabouli and Armenian salad.
Hot: grilled plates like shish tawook and kabab, toshka, sujuk, and our signature kibbe.

A good rule is to have something cool and fresh to reach for between the warm, savoury bites. That contrast is what keeps a long lunch going.

How many mezze dishes should I order?

Here is the practical part almost nobody explains. Think in dishes per group, and count dips and salads separately from grilled plates.

For four people: three or four cold dishes (a couple of dips and a salad or two) plus two grilled plates to share. That is a generous spread with leftovers.
For eight people: four or five cold dishes and three or four grilled plates. Mix the grill so there is beef, chicken and something like kibbe or toshka.
For a large table of twelve or more: build out from there, roughly one grilled plate for every two or three people, plus a full range of dips and both salads so there is always something within arm’s reach.

These are starting points, not rules. If mezze is the whole meal, add a dish or two. If it is the opening act before mains, order lighter. When in doubt, more cold dishes stretch a table further than you would think.

What should I order first if I have never eaten here?

Start with the dips. Order hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara together so you can taste the range, add warm bread, and pick one salad. Then choose two grilled plates, ideally one chicken and one beef, so the table has variety.

That is the whole script. Dips and bread, a fresh salad, a couple of things off the grill. You cannot really go wrong, and the menu guide walks through the rest whenever you are ready.

Can a mezze spread feed vegetarians without a separate order?

Yes, and this is one of the quiet strengths of eating this way. Because mezze is shared, the vegetarian dishes are simply part of the same table rather than a special order set aside for one person.

Our dips are all vegetarian, both salads are vegetarian, and we make a grilled vegetable plate for the grill side. Build the spread with those and everyone eats from the middle together, which is exactly the point of mezze in the first place.

Have a look at the full menu to plan your spread, read our Sunday lunch tradition for the feeling behind it, or get in touch about ordering for your table here in the Fraser Valley.

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