ME VA ME KITCHEN EXPRESS

Healthy, quick meal options are always a challenge when eating out. One of the new choices popping up around town is Me Va Me, a quick service restaurant serving fresh, made to order, Mediterranean cuisine like their famous creamy hummus and grilled lamb skewers. There are currently 3 locations in the GTA, downtown Toronto, Markham Cinemas and North York. The Hubby and I stopped by the shiny new Markham location for dinner and was joined by Oleg from Me Va Me to introduce us to their menu.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

Our dinner was on a Saturday night at 7pm and every seat in the restaurant was taken. Customers placed their order at the counter, received a tracker and was free sit anywhere inside the restaurant. Every table was equipped with a device linked to the tracker. Thus, once an order was ready, servers could find the customer and deliver the food straight to their seat. A good number of servers also circulated the dining area clearing plates and could be easily flagged down if needed.

We first sat at bar seats with a view into the kitchen where laffa bread was being freshly baked. The baker used a machine to flatten out each ball of dough and manually placed them into the incredibly hot clay oven. Oleg estimated the Markham location to go through 40-50kg of dough a day. At the bar was a selection of Ontario wines on tap! What I’ve always wanted at home. The Hubby tried the refreshing signature Lemonana drink, a slushie mint lemonade, while I sipped on a glass of pinot grigio.

After watching the laffa bread being made, I wanted to get my hands on some. We ordered a trio dip plate ($11.95), which came with 2 large pitas. Of the dips available, I chose the hummus, baba ganoush and fried eggplant. All three were delicious. The hummus was extra creamy with a rich garlic flavour. My favourite dip was the baba ganoush with the touch of citrus. Meanwhile, The Hubby really enjoyed the fried eggplant that was sweeter and smokey. From the Hot N’ Crispy section of the menu, we tried the falafel (6 pieces for $5.45) and moroccan cigars (6 pieces for $6.95), seasoned beef rolled in phyllo pastry and fried. Both were served with a side of tahini sauce. I prefered the classic falafel that were crunchy and not oily but I did find the moroccan cigars more flavourful and better seasoned.

For mains, I sampled three “Box” meals. Each order came with a protein, side and salad. Prices ranged from $10.95 for falafel to $17.95 for grilled lamb skewers. Portions of each plate were huge and The Hubby and I could have easily split one order. In fact, we really should have since we ended up taking lots of leftovers home.

I tasted the grilled chicken skewers, grilled lamb skewers and chicken schnitzel. Each order was served with three mini skewers of meat. The chicken breast had beautiful grill marks and I was impressed with how juicy and tender they were. The lamb was also delicious, tender, gamey and grilled to medium doneness. The chicken schnitzel was as big as my head, thin, crispy and I loved the added sesame seeds in the coating.

From the options for sides and salads, I tried the basmati rice, grilled vegetables and potato wedges with dill and garlic. Of the three, the potato wedges won my heart with their strong herb seasoning and crispy exterior. The 3 salad choices available were ME Salad (mixed greens with a house dressing), greek and caesar. I really enjoyed the house dressing, which was sweet and tangy with the fresh vegetables.

With the many delicious and healthy options at Me Va Me, I could choose to indulge or get my daily serving of vegetables.