Mediterraneo's in Ocean Springs

Over the weekend my wife and I dined at Mediterraneo's in Ocean Springs. They serve a fusion of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine in a cozy bistro setting on Government Street in the downtown.

This being our first time to dine at Mediterraneo's we decided to take advantage of their tapas menu and order and share several different items. Now the lighting and setting of this small eatery doesn't work well for photography so I am not able to include photos of the items, so I'll do my best to describe them.

We ordered four items from the tapas menu – Hummus, Spanakopita, Seared Scallops and Spanish Shrimp.

While waiting for the tapas plates to arrive we were served a small loaf of artisan style olive bread with an olive oil and balsamic with garlic and spices for dipping. The olive bread was quite good with an excellent texture and was nice and warm when it got to the table.

The hummus was served chilled with pita wedges and a little olive oil. The hummus was good, it was not quite as good as I was expecting but was better than what you can expect from most chain restaurants.

The Spanakopita was exceptional, the phylo crust was near perfect with generous portions of spinach and the feta cheese was very high quality. Served piping hot from the kitchen garnished nicely on the plate the presentation simple and elegant.

The seared scallops were also excellent! Far too often when ordering scallops they come rubbery and almost inedible. These seared scallops were cooked very well and the seasoning complimented the dish without being over powering. They were served on a bed shredded cabbage and avocado with a cilantro infused mayo. The avocado was a perfect compliment to the scallops.

The highlight of the meal may have been the Spanish Shrimp. Fresh white shrimp sauteed in an infusion of garlic, Cointreau (orange liquor), olive oil and lemon with crushed red peppers. The contract of sweet and spicy was a fantastic combination and brought out the clean deep water flavor of the white shrimp. Slices of toasted baguette were served with the shrimp for dipping in the saute.

We finished the meal by sharing a baklava dessert. Again the phylo crust was well made and the filling was very nice. Unlike some places they didn't try to drown the baklava with honey and it was served with a caramel sauce that complimented the desert very well.

In all this was one of the more enjoyable dining experiences that we've had in quite some time. Mediterraneos is an elegant but not pretentious bistro where you won't feel out of place in jeans and a polo. The service was good and our server was attentive. The presentation of each dish was well received. A classical guitarist playing and it set the mood for a romantic dinner.

One of the best parts of the entire evening is that because of the tapas menu we were able to sample a variety of items and have desert for about $40.00 including tip.