Orange blossom

Mecca Bah Restaurant Review | Thank you @MeccaBahACT

I think I’ve enjoyed dinner at the Mecca Bah at least half a dozen times

It’s a lovely Friday night in Spring and Bron and I have a reservation at the Mecca Bah in Manuka. We’ve been there many times and I’ve written about it on the old blog

Our reservation is for 7 pm and we arrive a little early. We shown to our table by the charming Maître d’. We’re seated at what I think is the best table in the restaurant. It’s right next to the gas fire. You all know how much I dislike the cold so this was perfect. We were told that if it got too warm we could ask to have the heat setting changed. 

The gas fire was lovely and warm. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 12800
The gas fire was lovely and warm. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 12800

Not long after we’re seated we’re greeted by our waiter for the evening. He’s a very friendly and cheerful bloke who was keen to offer us his insights and assistance with any questions we may have. 

Bron is pretty keen that we have the duck baklava (we know it as ducklava) so that’s the first thing we ask for. Along with the ducklava we choose the baked halloumi with pomegranate, mint salad and lemon. Our friendly waiter explains these two entrées are small and suggests the salad we want, viz., the roasted pumpkin salad with toasted cumin seeds, pine nuts and shanklish cheese would be best served with the entrées and it can be kept to span across the dinner as the mains arrive. That turns out to be excellent advice. 

Duck baklava or ducklava as we like to call it. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800
Duck baklava or ducklava as we like to call it. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800
Baked Halloumi with pomegranate, mint salad and lemon. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/6sec, ISO 12800
Baked Halloumi with pomegranate, mint salad and lemon. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/6sec, ISO 12800
Roasted Pumpkin salad with toasted cumin seeds, pine nuts and Shanklish cheese. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800
Roasted Pumpkin salad with toasted cumin seeds, pine nuts and Shanklish cheese. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800
My plate with the ducklava, halloumi and pumpkin salad. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/13sec, ISO 12800
My plate with the ducklava, halloumi and pumpkin salad. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/13sec, ISO 12800

The duck baklava has a lovely taste. You get the duck flavour coupled with the sweetness of the honeyed filo pastry. With only two pieces each I eat one at the start and finish my entrée eating with the second. The baked halloumi is new to us. We’ve never had halloumi baked, it has a lovely soft richness that combines beautifully with the pomegranate, mint and lemon. The pumpkin salad looks like a small serve but a spoon or so goes a long way and is a great accompaniment with our entrée choices. It has a lovely spicy after taste that gets you when you least expect it. 


For our main meal dishes we chose the chicken with cinnamon, raisins, almond, sesame and honey Moroccan tagine along with the chargrilled lamb shish with fragrant rice pilaf and eggplant imam biyaldi. The shish comes out in spectacular fashion with the lamb attached to a skewer hanging from a stand and dangling over the rice and eggplant. 

Chicken with cinnamon, raisins, almond, sesame and honey Moroccan Tagine.  SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800
Chicken with cinnamon, raisins, almond, sesame and honey Moroccan Tagine. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/8sec, ISO 12800
Chargrilled lamb shish. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/10sec, ISO 12800
Chargrilled lamb shish. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/10sec, ISO 12800
Chargrilled lamb shish with fragrant rice pilaf and eggplant imam biyaldi.  SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/5sec, ISO 12800
Chargrilled lamb shish with fragrant rice pilaf and eggplant imam biyaldi. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/5sec, ISO 12800

The lamb has a lovely chargrilled flavour and remains beautifully tender. The rice and eggplant have distinctive but very complementary flavours. The eggplant is very refreshing. The chicken tagine is a real winner and I’m particularly happy to have scored a thigh portion. Along with the pumpkin salad we’re starting to feel full. 


 

Our friendly waiter clears our dishes and asks about dessert. We never say no to looking at the dessert menu 🙂 Bron reckons she couldn’t fit in dessert, so I choose the orange blossom cheesecake with pomegranate, raspberry and honey syrup along with date and vanilla ice cream. Even though Bron said she didn’t want dessert the Maître d’ comes out with a large serving and two spoons. What a star! 

Orange blossom cheesecake with pomegranate, raspberry and honey syrup along with date and vanilla ice cream. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/10sec, ISO 12800
Orange blossom cheesecake with pomegranate, raspberry and honey syrup along with date and vanilla ice cream. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/6.3, 1/10sec, ISO 12800

This was a fantastic meal and I’m grateful that it was compliments of the Mecca Bah. The Maître d’ manages the restaurant’s twitter account @MeccaBahACT and recently offered us a complimentary meal. I don’t normally accept offers like this but I was taken by his genuine generosity and I felt it would be rude not to accept. Thank you very much Mecca Bah ACT.

I look forward to a return visit to the Mecca Bah ACT. I’m very happy to recommend this restaurant to anyone. The menu is amazing and will suit most palates. 


 
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For my thoughts on the food photography in this post please check out the post at Gary Lum Photography.


 

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