It may be called The Mediterranean Bar and Restaurant, but one would be forgiven for thinking its an Italian restaurant for the wide selection of pasta and pizza dishes it serves.
Add to the fact that its executive chef, Nikolay Rocco, is a genuine Northern Italian who talks food as passionately as Sabahans talk politics, and you know you’re in good hands, no matter what the cuisine is.
Focusing more on northern mediterranean cuisine, Mediterranean Bar and Restaurant serve food from Italy, Greece and Spain, where olive oil is prominent in the cooking.
Rocco recently added 24 new dishes to Mediterranean Bar and Restaurant, bringing the total menu items to 68, divided into appetisers, salads and soups, pastas and pizzas, seafood and main dishes.
Generous portions of beef tenderloins, more than 220g, is one of its most popular dishes as well as the gratinated scallops and any kind of seafood, which are always popular with tourists.
The new menu offerings promise to be tantalising, fresh and always good value for money. To start with, the Insalata di Mare, or Salad of the Sea, is a big portion brimming with scallops, squid and other delectable seafood that can be shared among two or three.
For seafood and cheese lovers, there is the mussels mornay, a bed of five local mussels, drenched in parmesan, mozarella and cheddar cheese.
If you prefer a soup, the Amalfitana, a rich tomato-based seafood soup is a healthy option.
Speaking of healthy, dishes for the waistline conscious include one of the highlights in the new menu; the sole fish livornese; sole fish fillets cooked in tomato-based sauce with a generous portion of vegetables.
Also highly recommended is the red snapper ravioli. Made with homemade pasta and covered with a light cream sauce.
The jumbo skewer, another new item on the menu, is chunks of seasoned meat interspersed with peppers and onion, all with an idividually grilled taste. Fresh salad and roasted potatoes accompanies the skewer.
Other new items on the menu is stewed beef tenderloin, marinated in red wine, and served with red cabbage and mashed potatoes. For dessert, the warm chocolate cake, crusty on the outside, goo-ey on the inside, is a good choice.
The restaurant itself is simply furnished. The open kitchen in the middle takes up most of the room on the inside of the restaurant but the high ceilings and glass walls makes it look spacious.
The bar along the front is a nice addition, but most prefer to enjoy their dinner al fresco on the restaurant’s terrace, where creepers and lots of foliage surrounding the dining tables create an exotic ambience in contrast to the cool concrete inside.
Whether you’re looking to have a romantic meal, a venue for your next class reunion, or just a quiet family dinner, hit the spot in the all the right places at Mediterranean Bar and Restaurant.
