Mediterra

Although Mediterra was fairly packed for a Sunday lunch, the restaurant maintained a casually elegant ambience, an effect achieved by chic decor and beautiful wood paneling. Unfortunately, the lunch menu was rather limited — sandwiches and salads comprised most of the entree choices. I also expected more authentic Mediterranean dishes but found that the menu had more Italian and Spanish influences. Setting my confusion aside, I elected to order the Wester Ross Scottish Salmon while a friend got the Spring Rigatoni, as per the suggestion of our pleasantly attentive waiter.

After giving back our menus, our waiter brought a basket of warm bread (always a good sign). The bread, freshly baked by Terra Momo Bread Company (run by Mediterra's owner) on Witherspoon Street, was nothing short of fantastic — it was moist and chewy and had a perfectly hard crust. After soaking it in the restaurant’s “special” herbal olive oil, I was immediately addicted.

The entrees came out with remarkable speed — I was only finishing up my second piece of bread before I was forced to turn my attention to my main course.

The salmon dish was definitely not the most aesthetically pleasing — a decently sized piece of salmon was surrounded by a mishmash of random vegetables (including sunchokes, carrots and asparagus) all on top of a sunchoke puree. Despite being visually displeasing, the salmon itself was cooked perfectly, with a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, and the crispy, intensely flavorful skin acted as the perfect balance. Though the vegetables were well cooked and the puree was perfectly sweet and nutty, unfortunately the dish did not cohere. The vegetables overwhelmed the salmon, which was supposed to be the star of the dish, and no one flavor stood out.

The rigatoni also had a similar issue — for one, there were more snow peas in the dish than pasta. However, the rigatoni was the perfect firmness and the peas were crispy without having a raw taste. The flakes of Parmesan-Reggiano cheese were a nice surprise — the sharp, nutty taste added a bit of flair to an otherwise standard pasta dish. The black truffle and hen-of-the-woods were also interesting (and delectable) choices that challenged the dish’s unexciting name. But again, the dish lacked unity.

While the service was friendly and the creativity admirable, Mediterra's execution was somewhat lacking. Despite these reservations, I will certainly be back for more (especially for the bread).

3.5 out of 5 paws

Pros: Eclectic dishes, bread baskets.