“It’s inspired by my mom.”
That’s how Executive Chef Ed Scarpone sums up the vision behind Mama Mezze, the new Eastern Mediterranean restaurant located on Broadway between West 25th and 26th.
“It’s like what we all grew up with eating, what their mother would cook them growing up… from Moroccan dips, spreads, small plates that you would eat at a table with your parents, your grandparents, your family,” Scarpone said.
Open since the first week of June, the restaurant is already packed with guests — and tables are filling up fast.
Step inside Mama Mezze, and it feels like golden hour all day long. The room is sunlit and open, filled with playful colors, hand-laid tile, and greenery that climbs the walls. Towering over the dining room is a citrus tree, while bright yellow and green accents add to the coastal feel. Some tables are tucked away in cozy nooks, offering an intimate spot to eat. Dining in Mama Mezze is how you would feel if you were traveling along the Mediterranean Coast.
So, what’s on the table? Think Eastern Mediterranean spreads, wood-fired skewers, and flavorful herb-packed salads – all designed to be shared. The dishes pull inspiration from places like Morocco, Northern Africa, Italy, France, Greece, and more.
Scarpone points to the arayes as being a classic standout: pita stuffed with seasoned beef kofta grilled until crispy on the outside and juicy inside.
“It’s like a seasoned hamburger stuffed inside of pita,” he said. “It’s my favorite thing on the menu.”
He is also proud of the hummus, which is cooked and blended fresh every morning, served warm and topped with zhug, tahini, and olive oil.
“We never cool it down. So it’s blended and stays room temperature until at the end of the day, served like it should, and then it’s thrown out at the end of the night, and we do it again the next day,” Scarpone remarked.
Even though the hummus and arayes have gotten plenty of attention, Scarpone says one of the biggest surprises has been the whipped feta.
“The whipped feta is like a secret sleeper hit,” he said. “It’s like our number one selling thing.”
The spreads are meant to shine alongside the house-made za’atar bread, a 24-hour fermented dough baked every morning and throughout the day in the wood-fired oven.
While the Mama Mezze team had a sense of what might take off, the early days have brought surprises.
“We opened with an idea of what would sell — and it’s been a little different than what we expected,” Scarpone said. “We are selling a lot of the skewers over rice and salads.”
Scarpone says that the menu is created with flexibility in mind. Where diners will be able to mix and match combinations – like shrimp skewers over a chopped salad one day, or a Caesar salad with grilled salmon the next.
“It’s kind of a choose-your-own-adventure thing,” he added.
For Scarpone, it is not all about having packed tables; it is about consistency and curiosity. He wants Mama Mezze to be the kind of place where people return, and feel excited to try something new every time they do.
“I want people to want to try everything on the menu – to come back, not be able to eat it all, and want to come back the next day and eat the rest of it,” he said.
Mama Mezze may be new, but it is already becoming a spot that people want to return to — and try something different each time.
For more information, visit mamamezze.com.
