Mezze Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Canterbury

Want incredible Turkish food and amazing customer service?? DONT GO HERE. A la Turka is your best bet.

Absolutely the worst customer service and staff attitude in Canterbury. The food is good but not worth having to deal with the staff. Every single time we have been, the staff have guilt tripped us into buying drinks even though we only drink water. But we went back anyway because the food was good.

This summer we went with the family for some late night Turkish tea (no food). The restaurant was empty and they refused us a space and a staff member physically pushed me out of the restaurant because we couldn't just order tea...we decided we never would go back and have told all our friends the same. Totally unacceptable behavior.

Tonight a friend of mine really wanted Turkish food and thinking we won't have to deal with the rude staff I suggested maybe tulip. On deliveroo they said they are not serving lamb, he wanted a mixed grill. We called to ask if they could substitute the lamb for a chicken kebab only for the staff to shout "you don't tell me what to substitute it with . I tell YOU what I will substitute it for ." No apologies, no thank you. Absolutely zero respect and zero customer service. They put such a bad name to Turkish people. I don't know where the people who work here were raised and why they think it is okay to treat and speak with people who basically pay their bills the way they do . I don't think they quite realize without customers they would be shut down in less than a month.

Should also mention we were very frequent visitors of this restaurant even celebrating birthdays here...

I've been here twice, several months apart, and had mixed-to-good experiences.

I should first say that the decor is pleasant, the service is excellent, and the prices are reasonable (especially for a venue located on Canterbury high street).

The food is generally delicious in terms of taste. It's usually rich without being too heavy, and expertly seasoned. If you're interested in recommendations, I personally recommend the Albanian Liver starter, as well as the Lamb Casserole main. Both dishes are close to perfection.

Less good are the Falafel starter (too small) and the Lamb Shank main (very plain, and not much meat). I, and another person, ordered Lamb Shank on separate occasions, and we were independently disappointed.

However, it speaks to the calibre of the staff working there that we discussed our perspective about this dish, and they were at least receptive to our views without recrimination or defensiveness. They seem like a good bunch.

My only real issue with the Tulip is that the portions are slightly on the small side if you're of above-average height like myself. If you want to be full you might have to buy some sides. If Tulip could increase the portions by 20-25% these guys would be overall worth about a 4.5-star in my book.

I'd tentatively recommend this as the best Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant in town, from the four I've tried to date. There's definitely room for improvement, but overall my visits have been quite satisfying...

Although the restaurants aesthetic is really classy and Mediterranean, the atmosphere and service were not up to par.

It was extremely stuffy and hot inside, very humid. It was a bit hard to breathe and enjoy the food while my face was red and sweating from the heat. There was also a strong sweating smell from the entire restaurant when we walked in. It almost hit your face. I'm not sure if this was the staff or a customer sweating and smelling bad, but I'm not surprised due to how hot it was inside. It was actually cooler outside compared to the inside due to a soft breeze.

When asked if there was AC or a fan or some sort of ventilation inside the restaurant, the staff replied with attitude: "It will only last for a week, so we don't need it" this felt extremely disheartening and a very blunt response.

I love Turkish restaurants not only for the food but for the atmosphere where you can come in and be expected to be treated like family. However, at Mezze Bar & Grill, that's not the case.

The main part of the experience is meant to be food, and the food was alright. The price does not reflect the value of the food regarding quality and portion size. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the atmosphere was decent.

Would not recommend after walking around Canterbury all day due to how hot it is. Recommend winter...