There are a few contenders for the best mezze in Phuket scattered around the island, more notably in Patong; however, the one that shines amongst the rest is the revamped Metzo’s Bistro and Bar at the five-star Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort on the upper-west coast. I recently attended a fabulous dinner party to celebrate the relaunch of the restaurant and I count myself lucky to have experienced such delicious food that I thought wasn’t possible to find outside of the Middle East. Having been brought up to grow and love these types of food, given some of my heritage, you can only imagine how excited I was about attending the dinner.
The new Metzo’s features an open kitchen, private dining spaces, and an all-new mezze and tapas counter. A full service cocktail bar leads out to a new garden terrace area through large concertina doors.
The whole night was well organised and upon arrival, we were all greeted with a drinks reception, which allowed for some mingling before we were taken to our designated tables.
At the tables we were welcomed with our very own personalised menu with each of our names printed on the top – a nice touch.
The menu was immaculately prepared by Metzo’s celebrated Lebanese chef, Mustapha Haj Omar, an expert and master chef on Mediterranean dishes from countries such as Morocco, Spain, Greece, Lebanon, Italy, Turkey and Egypt, to name a few.
First up, the table was served with a platter of mezze dishes, including hummus, moutabal (purée of grilled eggplants), baba ghanouj (grilled eggplants), bruschetta, falafel, chicken wings, cheese rakakat (tasty crispy feta-cheese-stuffed pastries), as well as Spanish-style sautéed shrimps. Alongside these came refreshing tabbouleh salad, calamari, and more. A few of us tried hard not to over do it on the pita bread and hummus starter, but it was too delicious not to and I was already starting to feel full!
Generous plates of meat then followed, including chicken shish taouk, lamb shank tajine, shish kebabs and lamb cutlets, all of which was enjoyed with rice or couscous. And who could forget the tantalising seafood selection that followed? Although I’m not one for the food of the sea, I have to admit it appeared to be a plate of dreams for anyone that was passionate about their seafood. Everything from grilled sea bass fillets and grilled tiger prawns to reef fish fillet and the heavenly tuna steak (according to my colleague it was the best tuna she’d ever had in Phuket).
After all the mains were served, I slipped into a food coma and truthfully believed I was done for the night, but as soon as we were presented with the tempting plates of dessert, I knew I was in trouble.
Boy oh boy, were we in for a treat. The most inspiring and delightful dish was the baklava, a traditional treat in the Middle East. It was a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with honey. Chef Mustapha did an impeccable job at producing a faultless, home-cooked, yet traditional serving of the prized dessert.
Overall the evening was truly fantastic. From the service, to the wines and craft beer selection, to the quality of fresh ingredients, to the level of professionalism that the whole team conveyed, the dinner party was a fabulous way to celebrate the relaunch of Metzo’s. For anyone who enjoys these types of dishes and cooking, be sure to check it out, you’ll be in for a great night and will be spoilt for choice.
For reservations, email metzos@outrigger.co.th. Or call +66 (0)76 360 600