This popular Moroccan and Middle-eastern themed restaurant has chains in Melbourne and Brisbane. Mecca Bah comes highly recommended as one of Canberra ‘s must dine in’ places. The interiors itself is impressive. Richly adorned with cozy ottomans, beautifully draped fabrics, and Tunisian ceramics, Mecca Bah is opulent without being flashy.
The menu had an interesting list of mezzes, tagines, grills and turkish pizzas. Searching for dishes that would give a true middle-eastern feel, we ordered two mezzes. The Lebanese sausages and spicy chickpea salad ( AUD$10.80 ) and Kataifi pastry filled with Middle Eastern cheeses ( AUD 11.00 ). A classic moroccan dish would be a tagine and we opted for the Spicy Moroccan Tagines served with couscous – Lamb with preserved lemon, green olive & harissa AUD$21.00
Note :
Harissa is a Tunisian hot red paste made from chilli peppers. It can be used as a condiment or, most commonly, as an ingredient. It’s also found in other North African cuisines like Morocco and Algeria. For less heat, remove seeds from chillies.
Lamb Tagine
I paused after tasting each dish. There was something very wrong. I wasn’t liking the dishes. I found the dishes too bland, lacking in flavor. There weren’t any burst of flavours from the spices. The chickpea salad tasted basically of unflavoured chickpeas. The Kataifi pastry didn’t have any bite to it and same thing with the lamb tagine. We had to ask for extra chili to put some flavor to the dishes. I’ve read countless good reviews about Mecca Bah which made me wonder whether we just ordered the wrong dishes or it was just the chef’s bad day. But at a $60 bill for two, I would opt to try other restaurants than give Mecca Bah another chance.
Summary : The interiors are great. Mecca Bah is definitely a hanging out place but I wasn’t impressed with the food at all. It’s not authentic and there are a lot more better Middle-Eastern/Moroccan restaurants out there.
Mecca Bah
25-29 Manuka Tce, Flinders Way, Manuka, ACT
Tel : (02) 6260 6700
Whiff and a Sip 