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Mezze offers just what you would think — small, sharable plates of Mediterranean food. And what food it is! It’s flavorful and fun, and Mezze’s location, a semi-open space with an indoor tree (you’ll just have to see for yourself), complements the menu nicely. You can almost forget that you’re on La Cienega Boulevard a stone’s throw away from the Beverly Center.

My favorite “side” dishes at a recent dinner were the beet salad with chickpeas, sheep’s milk yogurt and haloumi cheese, and the Nantes carrots with harissa and lebne yogurt cheese. Both items were well-balanced and flavorful, especially the carrots.

The more substantial dishes really impressed me; I even liked the lamb in the Hashweh Risotto, which came topped with fried lemon, and I don’t normally like lamb. The shawarma made with brisket, amba (a tangy mango condiment) and house pickles are fun and satisfying. The white bass, with sea beans, cauliflower and coriander, was perfectly cooked and seasoned.

My favorite dessert was hands-down the Date & Ameretti Parfait with mascarpone and Turkish coffee — and I don’t normally like dates, either! The mix of textures and different types of sweet, but not too sweet, flavors was surprising and delightful. I would definitely order it again.

As for the cocktails, these were more hit-or-miss for me. The Baharat Milk, with Barbancourt rum 8 year, Remy VS cognac, Baharat (spiced) milk and pistachios, was delicious though heavy, but the George Dickel Pickle, made with whiskey, mustard seed, lemon, celery, pickle and serrano pepper, was not my taste at all (though Esther of estarLA liked it). You win some, you lose some. No matter; I’ll be back for the food.

Note: This meal was hosted.

Gonpachi's courtyard

Restaurant Row on La Cienega Boulevard has been long known for its large, overly expensive eateries — Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Benihana, Woo Lae Oak, The Stinking Rose. But the Row’s Gonpachi Beverly Hills, though large, is one of the best values on that strip with its incredibly fresh-tasting sushi-grade fish and satisfying hot dishes, including robata.

I was recently invited to dinner at Gonpachi to try out its new menu. I hadn’t been to the restaurant for years, and only for happy hour, so I was excited to go back. The courtyard is lush with foliage and a koi pond, and the interior is reminiscent of the film Kill Bill (which was filmed at the Tokyo location of Gonpachi). All this really sets the scene for the fine meals served here.

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