By Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up minorganmichael@yahoo.com
The word ‘meze’ or ‘mezze’ was found traditionally in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and came to mean a selection of small dishes served to accompany alcoholic drinks or as appetizers before a main meal (1)
It has become ‘le rigueur’ these days for many restaurants to feature mezze, or their Spanish equivalent, tapas on their menus. Many of these restaurants offer them exclusively, allowing diners the opportunity to select a variety of dishes to share . The Chinese equivalent dim sum has been around for centuries and follows the same credo of sharing .
Greek cuisine is certainly no stranger to this cuisine boasting many ‘ouzeri’ cafes throughout Greece offering these mezze exclusively on their menus. There are now many of these mezze style restaurants in Montreal all offering a wonderful smorgasbord of these tasty dishes. I have dined at a number of these restaurants and, with one notable exception that is thankfully no longer in existence, I have enjoyed them all.
One of the very best Mediterranean mezze restaurants in the city, Ikanos on McGill Street in Old Montreal, is a relative newcomer . It is located in one of those magnificent Old Montreal buildings with exposed white washed brick walls, a towering ceiling artfully lowered with massive hanging beams of stained wood. The dining area is spread out over various levels and features a magnificent mirrored sit up bar, waist high leather upholstered banquettes throughout, with some chairs wrapped in white faux fur adding a rustic touch to its otherwise elegant surroundings.
As its name might suggest, Ikanos is certainly not your average Greek restaurant. The cuisine here can best be described as contemporary Mediterranean executed boldly and in a very creative way.
The menu is 100% mezze. While it offers dishes of every variety it would seem to change slightly with the seasons and with the availability of fresh ingredients. The mezze include dishes with shrimp, tuna, red snapper, scallops, quail, pork, octopus and grilled King Ering mushrooms, just to name a few. All of them are priced between $9 and $17.
They also feature a variety of grilled seafood prepared in their unique and authentic Josper Oven typically found in traditional tapas or mezze restaurants.
In addition to their individual selections they also offer a tasting menu, a large variety of mezze at $68 per person, with the option of choosing a wine pairing at $52 per person.
We were advised by our server that a selection of 5 to 7 mezze would be more than enough for two people.
The service at Ikanos is efficient, professional, relaxed and above all friendly, with the servers taking the time to explain each mezze when it arrives at your table. The dishes are served in duos rather than all at once giving you ample time to savor each one.
While the cooking and the ingredients are obviously of a very high standard, the plating and presentation of each dish is paramount, enhancing the understanding that we eat first with our eyes.
Quite honestly it was hard to find fault with any of the mezze we sampled.
As instructed we chose a selection of seven dishes.
Our first ‘duo’ was a mackerel escabeche with hummus, kalamata tapenade and fried and natural chick peas ($15) and a bowl of tempura fried zucchini slices with a garlic flavored yogurt dipping sauce ($11).
The mackerel escabeche, prepared by frying or poaching the mackerel and marinating it in an acidic mix of either flavored vinegar or citrus juices was wonderful, its soft melting texture was emboldened by the assertive olive tapenade and the creamy hummus…. a perfection of both flavors and textures!
The fried zucchini slices were delicious in their feta flavored tempura batter with garlic yogurt sauce a great foil for the saltiness of the fried zucchini.
Our next mezze duo was a dish of grilled octopus ($14) and a small bowl of Greek salad ($9). The octopus, perfectly grilled and tender, was simply and traditionally garnished with capers, lemon, olive oil and pickled red onions…sublime, some of the best I have tasted, exemplifying the philosophy that simplicity and great fresh ingredients will trump all! The bowl of Greek salad was traditional in presentation and included succulent sweet wedges of super ripe tomatoes (hard to find mid winter in Montréal!), discs of small Lebanese cucumbers and a liberal crumbling of a luxurious creamy Greek feta.
The final duo consisted of grilled shrimp with a tomato roasted red pepper sauce, feta saganaki and olives ($14) and Josper Oven grilled sea bass with sautéed heirloom zucchini, grilled green onion and a fish fumet ($15). The grilled shrimp consisted of two jumbo shrimp perfectly grilled and moist sitting atop a roasted red pepper sauce, that, in my opinion, could have been a bit ‘saucier”, mine was a bit too heavy on the sautéed onions. The sea bass was again perfectly cooked, moist on the inside with a small piece of crispy skin on top. This was the one dish in my opinion that lacked flavor. This may have been because the fish was served in a fish fumet that was impossible to fully appreciate along with the fish when eating with just a fork, a spoon might have helped us appreciate the combination with the fish fumet.
Our final mezze was Greek comfort food at its finest, a pork croquette, pork meatballs, garlicky mashed potatoes and gravy ($17). I could have enjoyed this dish in larger portions, as an entire meal on this cold winter evening . It consisted of a breaded fried crisp pork croquette, a trio of meltingly tender pork meatballs all perched on top of a generous dollop of silky smooth garlic enhanced pureed potatoes and wine scented gravy…superb!
All though we were both ‘full’ after this banquet we opted for a shared mezze dessert from a dessert menu thankfully completely devoid of the traditional baklavas etc. We chose a sinful concoction of chocolate cake encased in a rich chocolate glaze, served with a tangerine caramel flavored ice cream, a painting of tangerine jam and a spattering of chocolate wafers crumbs. A sublime ending to an amazing meal of contemporary Mediterranean cuisine that featured bold flavors, wonderful contrasting textures, the freshest of ingredients all beautifully presented and served by a wait staff that was more than accommodating.
We accompanied our meal with a pleasant dry and fruity Greek white wine, Atlantis ($49)
Ikanos is a wonderful addition to Montreal’s fabled restaurant repertoire. It most definitely takes Greek and Mediterranean cuisine to new creative and decidedly exciting contemporary heights. It is a dining experience to be savored over and over again.
Our meal came to $177 (including wine and taxes)
Ikanos now offers a Lunch Table d’Hôte at $22 Monday to Friday
112 McGill St
Telephone: 514 842-0867
Website: www.restaurantikanos.com
Hours
Mon – Fri: 11h30 – 14h30 17h30 – 22h30
Sat: 17h30 – 22h30
(1) wikipedia
