Mediterranean Cafe

This is basically a Mexican restaurant with a smattering of uninspired Latin and Mediterranean food. Funny if you go to Europe people identify ""latin"" with all the Latin-speaking countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Romania, (and (possibly) Latin America)). In the US it is only countries south of the US border. Go figure. The place was pretty empty when I was there but looked as though it may be festive when it is full and the entertainment is hopping. I was disappointed with my meal. I was expecting linguine with ""pesto"" and received overcooked linguine drowned in cream sauce with green speckles that tasted more like the spinach and parsley filler that was added to it. I am Italian, grew up eating Italian food, lived in Italy for 3.5 years, and have eaten basil pesto in Genoa (where it is the official regional dish). NO cream sauce in pesto anywhere. Makes me think that the cook staff doesn't know what real pesto is or added cream sauce with a few flakes of basil to save money. The other name for this place is ""La Margarita"". I think they should just stop advertising as a Latin/Mediterranean cafe and stick to the Mexican motif or cut much of the Mexican menu and add more ""authentic"" Latin/Med food. IF I ever go back I will probably try the other ""authentic"" Med foods or the pizza. more

I went there with a group of friends over the weekend for Dinner. After dinner we went to their newly added bar (Suite 23). It is a full service bar with live music. The atmosphere, food and music were all great. We had the Wood-Oven baked pizza, it was the best I ever had. It is about time that someone in Columbus opened a great bar with live music and food in the north side of town. This will be our new entertainment destination, where we will not have to deal with the downtown crowd, lack of parking spots and cover charges. \r Pros: Great authentic Food, friendly service staff, well stocked Martini bar more

I cannot believe that we had a party of 20-25 with reservations and had one waitress with a nasty disposition, a buffet that had no heat, food that was lousey, and an added on gratuity of a whopping 18%. It took 25 minutes for a pina colada, 15 minutes to get a warm beer, and repeated requests to leave a pitcher of lemonade on the table were denied over and over for no apparent reason. A table with 8 people were given 6 rolls, one table was completely denied rolls, and again, all served with a snarl from a person who obviously hated her job. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.\r \r Several members of this party work at a LARGE company in Columbus, and several more work on Ft. Benning. All of us have a bad taste in our mouth about this experience and will not hesitate to spread the word!!! Nothing we love to do more than trash a restaraunt that had bad food and service. There are way too many great places in Columbus to eat than to waste another visit here. Cons: Service, food, lighting (too poor to read teeny tiny menu) more

We reserved a party of 25. They closed 1/2 a section from us and told us we couldn't use the booths they were reserved for anohter party. No other party showed. Orders from the bar took 15-20 minutes for bottled beer and mixed drinks took up to 1/2 an hour. Buffet was cold for the members of our party who did order that, otherwise the food from the kitchen was good. Our waitress had an attitude problem and when i went to pay my ticket she was up front complaining about us. Unprofessional waitress. 18% gratuity was added to all checks (she didn't deserve that much). Will never eat here again. Cons: poor service, bad lighting, cold buffet more

A year ago I would not have recommended this restaurant. The smoke was so bad you could not smell the wonderful spices and food. Now that Columbus in nonsmoking, we tried it again. It was really good. The lamb chops were awesome. The humus appeared to be homemade and it was very good. The portion sizes were good. There was live music that was very nice. We can't wait to go back. I have heard that the service can be spotty, but they have redecorated and it really is a very nice restaurant for Columbus. Unfortunately they feel they need a buffet for this town and it did not look appealing, but was an excellent value. I recommend ordering off the menu. Restaurants like this should really be supported. Pros: Locally run, Great Food, Good Wine Values Cons: Location, Service, Buffet more