Each month we choose a new restaurant every time trying out a different cuisine. In April 2011 we chose to dine out at a Kurdish restaurant which made deciding on a restaurant relatively easy – since there are very few Kurdish restaurants in Cape Town:
I’ve only heard good stories about Mesopotamia – situated on Long Street – before we went there and that everyone had to pay a cover charge of 10 Rand because there would be a performance by belly dancers. I could have closed my eyes and refused to pay – but the manager didn’t seem like she would have understood that kind of humor. The food – so i heard – would also be very very good.
We arrived there @ 7pm. Atmosphere was really nice and seemed very authentic. I’ve been to Turkey before – I am assuming that the Kurdish culture is very similar. Carpets were hanging from the walls & ceilings while Kurdish music was playing throughout the evening.
Also, there were no chairs like you can see in the picture above and the lighting was very dim with candles being lit on each table. We had to sit on cushions….for 4 hours….4 very long hours. I can’t say I enjoyed that part of the evening. I couldn’t even eat properly sitting like that because the table was too far away. Although it did provide a new dining experience.
Now to the belly dancing. I quite enjoyed that one…for the first 5 mins – but after 20 mins it was …. a tiny bit too much. They also increased the volume of the music for the performance. I couldn’t even talk to the person next to me. And the most stressful part was that she invited others to join – and everyone she asked seemed to accept her invitation. I can’t belly-dance and I definitively don’t want to try. So I had what seemed like a very serious conversation about economics with the person next to me. I wouldn’t even give her the chance to ask me – that was my strategy! It worked very well!
Now to the food. Their menu wasn’t that big. We could choose from around 10 dishes. I chose Chicken Guvech which is oven baked chicken with mushrooms, green pepper and cheese in a claypot for 71 bucks. Couldn’t complain – loved it. The flavours were complementing each other perfectly – it was very delicious. My friends somehow managed to order all the same dish: Tigris Chicken which is fried then slow cooked with vegetables in a sweet & sour soup for R65. They didn’t seem too impressed afterwards though.
Mesopotamia is not for everyone. You either love it or hate it…. or think it is just okay. I thought it was just okay. It was a new experience and I would recommend it to everyone who hasn’t been there yet…but to go here for a second time… I don’t think so.