Mediterranean Grill — Restaurant in Helena

Update! 8 months later. 10/6 I wanted to give this place one more chance. FAILED Came in to a empty restaurant. Rachel, the waitress, greeted me by asking what I needed. What? Apparently she did not like working on a Monday night. I told her 1 person. Again, they sat me at the same place before, extremely small table right next to a pillar. Apparently they do this so they don't have to clean a whole table. Right when I sat, I told her exactly what I wanted. So instead of placing my order, she walked away and just bs'd with the staff. I sat and sat, no water, no salad or soup. Not once did she smile or ask me if I wanted a drink. I got up and left. Sorry Mediterranean grill. You failed the public again and lost a great paying customer who had money to spend.

3/16 I have been coming here forever ordering the seafood linguini every time. Until Tonite. They sat me at extremely small table next to a pillar. They never asked me where I wanted to be sat. I asked for a raspberry iced tea. He said they don't have that. BS! I get it everytime. The restaurant was dead maybe 4 other people, that's it. I use to love coming here until today. The staff is walking around while my plate is dying in the window for over 10 minutes while he is trying to get change for a $5 bill. The cream sauce isn't for sitting in a warmer. I had to ask for my plate in the window because he was oblivious while he asked everyone for change of a $5 bill. I use to love dipping my bread in the sauce. Except, there was no sauce. Then he had the nerve to argue with me. Who said this was a 4 star restaurant? McDonald's would of been better than Tonite. I won't be back. He was rude by saying my platter was not dying. I'm a ex chef, I know dying. My pasta was dry and clumped from the window warmer. I had other waitresses trying to satisfy me. This...

Short of Hopes & Expectations…

A birthday dinner for my wife took us to one of her favorite cuisines…the delights of the Mediterranean.

We began with a sampler plate with three appetizers. This was very good with the fresh baked pita bread.

I followed with a Greek salad. This was fine but nothing memorable.

We then followed with our entree. My wife had a salad with a grilled salmon fillet on top. The presentation was excellent…tfe salmon cooked to order…and the salad was swimming in dressing. After a few bites my wife was done after just a couple of bites. Around the edges of the salad the plate held enough dressing for many salads.

I had grilled swordfish on a bed of rice with sautéed seasonal vegetables. The swordfish and rice was fine - just grilled pieces with no seasoning OE spices. The vegetables- mush - way over cooked squash and beans. Again, no seasoning or spices. Lifeless.

We hoped for a better dining experience. I think what bothered me most was the staff never checked to see if something was wrong with the salad before my visibly unhappy wife.

When we were obviously finished my wife offered some feedback on the salad. With this uneaten salad message came the priceless response:

“Would you like a box to take the salad home?”

In disbelief we responded if we didn’t eat it here why would we take it away to eat later?

The bill came. All charges for a satisfactory meal were on the tab. Only problem was the meal wasn’t satisfactory. In most nice restaurants when something is wrong and unsatisfactory, the item is comped. Not this evening. Full price for a dissatisfaction experience.

The high hopes were not realized.

Happy...

I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner here. Service was beyond excellent, and the food was in a class all its own. I have never visited the Mediterranean area, but I have enjoyed meals from many Mediterranean, Greek, Italian, and Turkish restaurants over the years, so I think I have a reasonable expectation of what authentic Mediterranean food should taste like (hint, it does not taste like olive garden... it's MUCH better).

I had stuffed grape leaves for the appetizer, the Gnocchi di Ricotta for the entré, and Künefe (which I'd never tried before) for desert. All items came out with obviously fresh ingredients, and very hot, the food didn't sit around, and the wonderful wait staff made sure of that, they also made sure my beverage was always full, but did so without being at all intrusive or interrupting conversation at the table. Their excellent service made this an extremely pleasant dining experience with wonderful food.

I must admit, I was a bit concerned by the fairly generic sounding name that this place has that it would have generic, over Americanized food like one of the fast food or quick serve Italian restaurant chains... it absolutely does not! The food was premium quality, and very reasonably priced.

I will look forward to returning whenever I'm in the Helena area! Thank you to all the staff that provided such a great...