New Taste Tuesday: Mediterranea

Mediterranea boasts a fully gluten-free menu with a variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. What really stands out about Mediterranea’s menu is its inventive, drool-worthy recipes.

Scallops Provençal, roasted beet risotto, layered eggplant tart – it all sounds amazing! All you focus on is the creativity and flavor of each dish, not the fact that it’s also very healthy. And that’s the beauty of this Grant Park restaurant: You feel like you’re indulging in the most decadent food, but dining at Mediterranea won’t break your healthy eating habits. In fact, it may enhance them.

WHY GO: Because gluten-free has never tasted this good!

THE VIBE: Comfortably minimalistic, both inside and out. Mediterranea has a lovely rooftop patio that’s ideal for fall brunches or after work drinks.

(c) Facebook/Mediterranea

DRINK THIS: Golda kombucha. This oak-aged, locally brewed concoction does wonders for your gut and actually tastes great! You can’t go wrong with flavors like peach ginger, elderberry thyme, or lavender lemonade, and the light carbonation adds a refreshing touch.

On Wednesday nights, definitely peruse the wine selection, seeing as all bottles are half off every hump day.

EAT THIS: Order one of everything, bring a big group, and share! But seriously, this is a tough one for me… so difficult to pick just one or two favorites, because everything at Mediterranea is delicious.

The flatbread pizza (nom nom nom)

For lunch, our table shared the flatbread pizza, and then I nommed on the turkey souvlaki sandwich. The latter is wrapped in what is essentially a potato crepe, and it is so tasty! As for the flatbread pizza, it is topped with fresh mozzarella, ricotta and seasonal veggies, and you cannot tell the dough is gluten-free!

The turkey souvlaki wrap, served with a side salad

The Nicoise salad: Sushi-grade tuna, green beans, potatoes, olives, hard boiled egg

For dinner, you absolutely have to start with the quartet of spreads. If you’re a carnivore, try one of the seafood dishes as your entrée, like the pan-roasted scallops or the pan-roasted branzino. And there are lots of options for the non-meat-eaters, but the involtini looks especially enticing: Thinly sliced zucchini rolled around pan-fried haloumi cheese, served on top of a rice blend, pine nuts, yellow pepper coulis and tomato sauce. Yum!

Quartet of spreads: Calabrese chickpea, white bean, beet, eggplant (c) Yelp/Mediterranea

Pan-seared scallops Provencal with tomatoes, roasted peppers, fennel, garlic & herbs (c) Yelp/Mediterranea

And as any proper Atlanta eatery, Mediterranea offers brunch on the weekends. I’m looking forward to trying this menu, filled with green shakshuka, smoked trout buckwheat crepe and blackberry cream cheese French toast.

The green shakshuka: Soft-baked eggs in braised greens with garlic yogurt and paprika (c) Yelp/Mediterranea

LOGISTICS: Mediterranea is located in Grant Park and is within walking distance of the zoo. It’s open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday, and a brunch menu is available on Saturday and Sunday mornings.