We may have aged out of the nightclub scene, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t like to dabble in trendy spots every so often.  And for a while there, the Meatpacking District looked like it had lost its edginess in favor of brands like Apple and RH. However, with the presence of Mēdüzā Mediterrania, it’s like the days of Lotus and Abe & Arthur are back.  This is our take on Mēdüzā in the Meatpacking District.

Atmosphere

In a word, Mēdüzā is a vibe. If you’ve ever been to Noema, Mēdüzā restaurant in NYC is the closest we’ve come to an authentic piece of Mykonos on our isle of Manhattan. The restaurant itself is a stunner, with interior trees and elegant Grecian villa vibes. If you envision an even more elevated Avra Madison with Mykonos music, you have yourself Mēdüzā. What makes it next-level, is that there are thoughtful design details everywhere. The shelves are lined with pottery and artifacts, as though EyeSwoon came in and accessorized the restaurant. Not to knock on Avra Madison (it’s still beautiful), but the furniture, booths and design make Avra Madison look out-of-date. Mēdüzā is one of the prettiest places to dine right now.

Pick Your Spot

The main dining room has a wooden sculpture on the ceiling, and is dimly-lit to create a more club vibe. There’s a back dining room behind the bar that is a touch quieter and more of a brighter cream-and-beige oasis. If you have your parents in, or people my age that you want to talk to, this is probably the better option. However, if you want to be in the mix that is the heart of Mēdüzā, the main dining is where to be.

The crowd is beautiful and clearly affluent. Mēdüzā is one of those places with a dress code. While you can wear jeans, this is also a place that you can dress up for a big night out.

Food + Beverage

For a place whose DNA is about the scene, the food is quite respectable. Noema is one of my favorite restaurants in Mykonos. At Noema, they achieve the near-impossible of Michelin-level cuisine set in one of the best scenes on the island. Mēdüzā is not going to win a Michelin star, but the food is solid. They have an array of mezes that are generously portioned — liek the hummus and whipped smoked aubergine that are served alongside pita. If you’re with a big group, they have the impressive seafood towers. Also, they highlight dishes like the Way carpaccio and hamachi, which we just didn’t have enough room for. I would go back to try the hamachi, as that dish is usually right up my pescatarian alley.

What we did order besides meze was the artichoke salad and spiced prawns to start. The artichoke salad was a tad overdressed with a bit too much parmesan for my taste, but not offensively so that I didn’t eat it. I enjoyed the prawns that were prepared Robata-style and served with a red pepper sauce. The prawns come in skewers of two. If you have additional diners interested, they’ll add on another prawn for $12/each. In retrospect, I would have also added the butter fish robata, which is another house specialty.

For the main courses, we split the house specialty of cacio e pepe with black truffle and the pistachio crusted salmon. I wasn’t wowed by the cacio, which didn’t have enough of that emulsified sauce — though they were generous on the truffle. The pasta tasted like it was made fresh though, so in lieu of this dish I would go for the lobster pasta instead, for my next visit.

The Favorite Part of My Meal

My favorite dish was the salmon, but ironically, it was the only dish that was portioned for a super model. However the 3-4 ounces of salmon came out beautifully cooked on top of a corn purée. I would order this again, and not share it next time. The point throughout my review is that I would actually come back for brunch, another dinner, or for a fun night out. It’s not that the food was exceptional, but it was good enough and the scene was tops.

A quick note before I move on in this Mēdüzā review, is that the desserts were portioned for a football player. It’s no surprise this is a favorite spot of Travis Kelce when he’s in town visiting Taylor. The olive oil cake and berry cake were a bit similar in taste profile, but are a crowd-pleaser.

Service

For a place this trendy, all touchpoints from the maître d’ stand to the servers and busboy team have no attitude at all. That’s not to say that this is Michelin-level service, but they do make everyone generally feel welcome. The busboys are the most attentive when you sit down for your meal. Servers do make their best 90% effort to check on you and time your meal properly. It can be chaotic during the busy Wednesday to Saturday evenings, but service at Mēdüzā restaurant does run relatively well.

Overall: 7.5/10

The food is decent at Mēdüzā, and the score is brought up greatly by the atmosphere. Mēdüzā is a little piece of Mykonos in NYC.

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FAQs

Q: Where is Mēdüzā Mediterrania located?

A: Mēdüzā Mediterrania is located at 657 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014 in the Meatpacking District neighborhood.

Q: What are the hours of operation of Mēdüzā Mediterrania?

A: Mēdüzā Mediterrania’s hours of operation are as follows: