Mezza Luna, City Road, Cardiff

A long room where the eye is drawn to the flames of the charcoal grill, Mezza Luna offers a menu influenced by both Lebanese and Moroccan traditions. And if that sounds unusual, then perhaps uniquely among the grill houses on City Road, there is alcohol on offer. I tried a crisp Lebanese Almaza pilsener. My wife's designated driver Virgin mojito was very well rated. 

From the mezze menu, hot crisp-shelled kibbeh break open to reveal spiced minced lamb. Hummus is powerfully garlicky; we have a brief but informative chat about the finer points of making hummus daily, when the strength of different batches of garlic and lemons is so variable. This serving certainly packs a potent punch. 

Mouttabal, cousin to baba ghanouj, has a properly deep, rich smokiness, and is served here studded with pomegranate seeds. There's plenty of toasted flatbread to go round.

F'ul moukala- broad beans fried in garlic and olive oil- is a fresh way to present my favourite vegetable and provide some virtuous greenery among all the meats. Fattoush 

The chicken in our shish taouks is excellent. It's paired with toum-a pungently garlicky paste- which is seriously breath-troubling and all the better for it. 

Next, an experiment. A duck shawarma is superb from first mouthful to last; breast has been marinated and roasted until almost all of the fat renders away, leaving tiny slivers of crisp skin to be mixed in with dense meat. Just before serving, it's laced with pomegranate molasses for a hint of citrus tang. 

This deserves to be a regular on the menu. It makes you wonder why nowhere else locally is serving this, and make you want to applaud Mezza Luna for thinking this one up: I'll be a guinea pig every of the week for food like this. A Giant Duck-Eating Guinea Pig, which sounds like one of those ultra-low budget things you get on the SyFy channel late at night.  

'Andalusian tagine' is a mix of long grain rice, mussels, prawns and squid- a take on a cross between a tagine and a paella which should grate against my Iberian genes but which actually works rather well; the rice is fluffy and long-grain rather than the traditional Calasparra or Bomba and the mussels, squid and prawns are faultlessly done. 

We are in no shape for desserts- portion sizes are hearty, here- but take some baklava home. That's very good, too: Mezza Luna is a strong contender on City Road, among serious competition, and comes recommended; because from food to welcome, there's plenty here to set it apart.

Mezza Luna
159 City Rd, 
Cardiff 
CF24 3BQ
www.mezzalunacardiff.co.uk

Hours: 
Sunday 5:30–11pm
Monday 5:30–11pm
Tuesday 5:30–11pm
Wednesday 5:30–11pm
Thursday 5:30–11pm
Friday 5:30–11pm
Saturday 5:30–11pm