Meze Meze

One of the restaurants in Naxos we absolutely loved (and loved so much that we went twice) was Meze Meze (sometimes listed as Meze 2). During our first night in Naxos, after we dined at Popi's Grill, we strolled around the waterfront area, gazing at all the other restaurants to figure out where we might want to go during the remainder of our stay. Meze Meze was packed that night. It was packed again the next night when we walked by on our trip to Milkato. We definitely wanted to try it to see what all the fuss was about.

We decided to try a bunch of different dishes for our first dinner there, but one thing we definitely wanted to spotlight was the potato. Potatoes from Naxos are famous throughout Greece (not just our opinion, see here and here), so we couldn't wait to try them. We picked out 2 different dishes featuring the potato, but unintentionally ended up with even more potatoes on the table to try.

But first, we started with drinks. A opted for a large Mythos beer (€3, all prices are from 3 years ago, so it's likely they've changed, but we're including it to give you an idea of what things cost in Naxos) so it came in a large mug.

Bigger serving of beer

M got our standard bottle of Mythos beer (€2.50). Not much to say about these, since they're pretty much the same Mythos beers we got all through Greece. Fresh, crisp beer, perfect for a relaxing vacation. They also just taste better in Greece since they don't have very far to go after being bottled.

M loves this pic because of the gorgeous blue sky behind our white table

The first thing to arrive was the basket of bread. 3 years later, not really sure what type of bread it was, but it wasn't anything extraordinary. At this point, we didn't really know we could return the bread and not have to pay for it. (Is that a thing all over Europe or just in Greece?) It was only €1.60 so we didn't mind, and it was also useful for the saganaki that we ordered that night.

Bread and utensils basket

We ordered 5 different things that night. One was saganaki, which, in this case, was deep fried Naxian gruyere (€5). We love getting saganaki at home and this was our 4th (at least) saganaki on our honeymoon. We seriously love eating saganaki, whether it's griddled or baked or fried or lit on fire in front of our face. There's just something about cooked Greek cheeses that is so delicious. This one came in one deep fried block on top of a bed of lettuce, and it was really good.

Fried cheese = always good

The first of the potato dishes we tried was the fresh Naxian fried potatoes with kefalotiri local cheese (€3.30). Best cheese fries ever. The fries were relatively standard but seemed to be hand-cut, crisp on the outside, and meaty with potato on the inside. It was here that we first really first understood why Naxian potatoes are so highly praised. There is just this rich potato flavor that doesn't always come out in regular potatoes. The grated kefalotiri cheese was perfect for the fries, and much better than regular melted yellow cheese or cheese sauce. Like some other cheeses, it doesn't melt as easily, so it stays intact as you eat the fries. We really loved these cheese fries, but the amount of fries stuffed onto this little plate was massive.

Best cheese fries ever

We also got some taramosalata (€3.50), for which the bread also came in handy. This was pretty good, a little creamier and thinner than some of the other spreads we had gotten in Mykonos (this was the 3rd or 4th time we got taramosalata on the trip). While it was pretty good from what we remember, we were so distracted by the potatoes at this meal that we don't remember that much about the taramosalata and how it compared to the other ones on the trip.

Taramosalata

The plate of the day was octopus with tomato sauce and onion in the oven (€7). Considering that we were in the Greek islands, we definitely wanted to get some seafood. From the description, we didn't realize that we were ordering a third dish with potatoes, but there was a good amount of fries stuffed in next to the octopus. M isn't always a fan of octopus as sometimes it can be a bit tough and chewy, but this octopus was amazing. It was stewed (or braised) and it was so soft and tender. It almost melted in your mouth. The sauce was full of onions and other wonderful flavors, which made the fries at the bottom of the plate taste even better. The octopus was so incredibly fresh, which was no surprise, seeing as how later on in our trip, we saw one of the guys from the restaurant pulling octopus out of the water in the harbor. Can't beat that. Quite possibly one of the best octopus dishes we've ever eaten. Really glad this was the special.

Amazing octopus ... and fries

The last dish we ordered was the Naxian potato salad (boiled potato, tomato, pepper, onion, caper, olives, oregano, xinomizithra local cheese) (€7.50). This might look or sound familiar because it was on both of our favorite dishes of 2011 lists. We weren't really sure what to expect from this potato salad, but what we got was a gigantic (biggest plate on the table) bowl filled with chunks of potatoes, mixed with vegetables, cheese, seasonings, and dressing. There had to be at least 2 or 3 medium to large sized boiled potatoes in there. It was incredibly filling, but the potatoes were so amazing that we forced ourselves to try to finish it off. We couldn't leave potatoes this good abandoned in the bowl just because we were really full!

Amazing potato salad

This salad was really something else. Normally when we think of potato salad, we think of the small chunks of potatoes in either a mayo based or mustard based sauce. Yes, there were chunks of potatoes, but they were the most flavorful potatoes we ever had, and they had no heavy sauce to mask the flavor. The fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and green peppers added freshness and depth to the salad. The olives and cheese added a little saltiness, and the salad was dressed simply with olive oil and lemon. It was such an amazing salad that every time we see it, we wish we could have a bowl of it, but you can only really get this in Naxos if you want it this fresh and tasty. Nothing compares to those Naxian potatoes.

But the meal wasn't over yet. We thought we were done but then the server brought over a bowl of yogurt with honey and caramelized oranges, and 2 small shot glasses of green citron (which, if you remember from our citron visit, was our favorite variety of citron). We hadn't been expecting this after dinner treat, but it was a wonderful way to round out our meal, even if we were insanely full. It was also complimentary (unlike the bread), which we weren't used to at all, but welcomed. The citron is also a digestif so it worked perfectly.

After dinner provisions

We were pretty satisfied with our first meal at Meze Meze and completely understood why they had such crowds. The food was excellent, all around, and while we probably wouldn't get things like the taramosalata again because they were fairly standard, there were zero misses on the table and lots of outstanding plates. We had such a great variety - cheese, fish, spreads, seafood, and lots of potatoes. Meze Meze had 4 Naxian cheeses listed on the menu and we tried 3 in the meal (kefalotiri, gruyere, xinomizithra; only missing the xinotiro), so we got a pretty good sampling of Naxian specialties in our meal.

The total cost of our dinner was a little over €33 (in today's USD, that's only about $41). Not much more than our previous dinner at Taverna Lefteris which was far outside the main Naxos Town area, and we got a tremendous amount of delicious food. We were too full for Milkato (as much as we wanted more gelato) and did a good bit of walking around to digest before rolling ourselves back to the hotel for the night. We couldn't wait to return to Meze Meze for another meal, but we were sure of 1 thing. No matter how good those potatoes were and how much we loved them, we could not do another meal of potatoes. We had enough potatoes in one night to last us for the rest of our time in Naxos!

Meze Meze is located right off the waterfront in Naxos Town/Chora.