You may have seen the word “mezze” (or “meze”) written on menus around Melbourne, not knowing what it meant. Quite simply, mezze refers to small dishes common in Middle Eastern cuisine. A typical mezze-style spread comprises small plates of snacks, dips, and salads. Mezze is designed to be shared as starters, served at the beginning of a multi-course meal before the larger dishes arrive. Of course, however, you can still enjoy mezze on their own as a light meal.
At Sezar, we’ve got the art of the Middle Eastern mezze down pat. Whether you prefer to go old school and enjoy a selection of mezze before ripping your teeth into one of our mains or only have a limited window to enjoy a pre-theatre drink and a couple of mezze to dibble on before the show, you know you’ll be in good hands with our mouth-watering mezze dishes.
Zucchini Flower: For many Armenians, Zucchini Flowers are a savoury appetiser that they’ve grown up with and love. Our version is filled with a unique mixture of cheese & herb, fried until crispy and accompanied with tomato jam. Zucchini Flower’s light and delicate flavour makes it a perfect mezze for the spring and summer months.
Hommus: We’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like hommus — and what’s not to like about this Middle Eastern staple? Traditionally made with cooked, mashed chickpeas and blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt, hummus is healthy, delicious — and insanely addictive. At Sezar, we add a special ingredient to our version: brown butter. Served with lavash crackers, we think ours is the best incarnation of hommus in Melbourne.
Taramasalata: Our menu features another classic Middle Eastern dip, the taramasalata. For the uninitiated, it’s a dip made with cured white fish roe, mixed with olive oil and lemon juice. Smooth and delicate, it’s a dip that will keep you wanting more. Served with fresh herbs and crisp lavash, we see entire tables order serving after serving of this dip.
Kataifi wrapped lamb: Last but certainly not least, we have our kataifi wrapped lamb. So what is kataifi? Well, we use the same flaky sheets of filo pastry used for our boreg, except that we shred the dough into fine strands so they look like thin noodles. We then wrap the dough around our moorish lamb neck filling and serve it with little dollops of our sesame sauce.
Bastourma and egg: This is another dish that’s been a firm Sezar favourite right from day one. Bastourma is the name given to the popular Armenian cold cut of dry-cured beef and air-dried beef, not dissimilar to pastrami. It’s flavoured with an aromatic paste made by combining crushed cumin, garlic, hot paprika, and fenugreek. At Sezar, we serve bastourma with egg and garlic jam on toasted brioche.