Mirage Mezze, Units 27/28, Shrewsbury Market Hall, Shoplatch, Shrewsbury, SY1 1QG (Tel: 07760 537448)
Mirage Mezze brings a delicious authentic taste of the Middle East to Shrewsbury. Nestled in a corner of Shrewsbury Market Hall, this 25 seater cafe and shop opened in January 2011 and has been tingling my tastebuds ever since.
Mirage is a great place to rest from shopping for a leisurely lunch, or a reviving nibble on some baklava. Ideally placed in the market you can watch the world go by and think about what else to buy from the local small scale sellers and producers around you.
The restaurant is run by Nadia, a le cordon bleu chef who lives in Shrewsbury who set up the business with her family. Sharing her passion for mezze style food, the food includes meat and vegetable dishes, homemade hommous, tabouleh and seasoned rice with vegetables as well as a selection of traditional and everyday drinks. A large number of the dishes are vegetarian, which is fantastic for me.
There is a choice of wraps, mezze dishes and kebabs and a selection of baklava for dessert. Beverages include tea, coffee and cold drinks along with bedouin tea (sweet and savoury, made with sage – a tasty pick-me-up), mint tea and wine.
The kitchen is semi-open so you can see that the food is freshly prepared. The staff are delightful, very knowledgeable about the food that they have made and are serviing and eager to please.
The building itself is a 1960s concrete market hall, but with the market atmosphere, colourful decor and brass tables Mirage really does give an illusion of being somewhere quite different to Shrewsbury.
The market hall itself is well served with lifts and toilets, which although dated, work just fine.
I get regular cravings for the grilled halloumi wrap with a side of houmus and a glass of mint tea, and can also recommend the Batata Harra and Tabouleh. If it’s been a particularly gruelling shopping trip lunch costs around £10.00, or you can pick up wraps to takeaway for around £3.00. You can have a look at the menu in more detail by visiting the website.
PS If you love the food from Mirage, Arabian Flavours: Recipes and Tales of Arab Life has some lovely authentic recipes and stories: it is one of the most used books in my kitchen, and a delight to read whilst cooking.
Please note, I have an amazon affiliate account, I won’t receive anything if you click the link to the book above, but I may get compensation if you buy the book I have featured in this post.
