What a meze menu is and how to set one out.

What does meze mean?

Meze (MEZ-ay) is also spelled mezze or mezé. In Arabic-speaking countries you'll also see mazza, and in Greek the plural is mezedes. Wikipedia defines meze as "a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in Eastern Mediterranean cuisines." The word came into these languages from Turkish meze, which goes back to a Persian word meaning "taste" or "relish".

There's no wrong spelling. Turkish and Greek restaurants usually write meze, and Lebanese restaurants often write mezze. Pick the one your cuisine uses and keep it the same across the menu.

Where is meze from, and what do people drink with it?

Meze belongs to many countries, and the details change from one to the next:

• Turkey. Meze is the heart of the meyhane, a traditional tavern. Turkey's official tourism site describes meyhanes "serving a range of meze along with a glass of rakı, the most popular spirit in Türkiye."
• Greece. Mezedes come with ouzo or tsipouro at an ouzeri, often as a plate or two of snacks with the drink.
• Cyprus. Meze is usually a full meal. The island's tourism site says: "Typically there should be around 15-20 dishes, including the dips and bread, but some places may include up to 30 dishes."
• The Levant. In Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine, Wikipedia notes that "meze is often a meal in its own right." The classic drink is arak.
• The Balkans. Meze leans on cured meats, cheese and salads, often with rakia.

Rakı, ouzo and arak are all anise spirits, often served with water or ice in a tall glass. Rakı and arak turn milky white when water goes in, which is why Turkey's tourism site says rakı is known as lion's milk. Wine and beer are common at the meze table too.

Not every meze table has alcohol, though. In many Muslim-majority countries, meze is part of the meal rather than a snack for drinking. List a few good non-alcoholic drinks, like ayran or fresh lemonade with mint, next to the spirits.

Cold meze and hot meze

Most meze meals start cold and move to hot. A Cyprus Mail guide puts it simply: "most meze dishes begin with cold starters before moving on to hot dishes."

• Cold meze: dips like hummus, haydari (thick yogurt with herbs) and taramosalata, olives, white cheese, stuffed vine leaves, salads like tabbouleh, smoky eggplant.
• Hot meze: grilled halloumi, falafel, cheese pastries, fried calamari, grilled octopus, small skewers.

In Turkey, the hot plates served between the cold meze and the main course are often called ara sıcak, "the hot in-between". The Turkish recipe site Yemek.com explains that meze are usually served cold and ara sıcak, as the name says, hot.

Split your menu the same way: cold meze, hot meze, then grills or mains. That's also the order the kitchen sends them.

Meze vs tapas

Both are small plates for sharing, and both go well with a drink. The differences are in where they're from and how they're ordered.

Our tapas menu guide covers the Spanish sizes in more detail.

Set meze or by the plate?

There are two common ways to sell meze, and many restaurants offer both.

By the plate. Each dish has its own price, and guests build their own table. This suits small groups and bar seating. Tell guests roughly how many plates to order, based on your portions.

A set meze for the table. The kitchen sends a run of dishes for one price per person. In Cyprus, the Cyprus Mail guide says "Meze is usually ordered per person, with a minimum of two persons, but shared by everyone at the table." Guests often choose a meat, fish or mixed meze, and the kitchen picks the dishes, usually by season.

A set meze needs more explaining than a single dish. On the menu, say:

• the price per person and the minimum number of guests
• roughly how many dishes come, and whether bread and dessert are included
• whether there's a vegetarian version
• that dishes arrive in waves, so nobody orders extra starters

That last point matters. The same guide warns that "the biggest mistake is ordering extra food before the meze arrives." Ask about allergies when guests order, not halfway through. Pricing a set meze works like any shared group meal; our family-style dining guide shows how to check that the price covers a full table.

What a meze menu can look like

On Menupresso, put the set meze in its own section, switch off Individual dish prices, and write the price per person and the minimum party size in the introduction. Cold and hot meze can each have a section, with Vegetarian and Vegan labels on the plates that qualify. The Taverna and Mezze Mosaic designs in our template library are made for this kind of menu. For full samples, see our Greek restaurant menu and Middle Eastern restaurant menu.