There was a time a couple of years ago where restaurants Mecca and Mecca Bah were HOT, HOT, HOT. Then Mecca was sold off and Mecca Bah shifted to Docklands. I think it’s been off the Melbourne foodie radar ever since.
Mecca Bah takes up a prime position in Newquay as the glass-housed restaurant juts out from the boardwalk with water views back to the city. I really don’t have the answer to why Docklands hasn’t really taken off for Melburnians, but every time I visit I think to myself ‘it’s quite pleasant here, by the water – why don’t more people come to enjoy it?’.
On a weeknight Mecca Bah was popular with families, couples and work teams. I suspect it’s because the restaurant provides accessible Middle Eastern/Moroccan food at a reasonable price. N and I were not too hungry, so we shared an entrée of chicken bastilla and a vegetable tagine ($18.50).
The bastilla was a quite good – two pillows of flaky puff pastry encasing some gently spiced chicken. The vegetable tagine was nothing special – you can’t really go wrong with flavour-infused sauce soaked up by couscous. My small complaint would be that the huge unchopped chunks of vegetables gave it the dish a sloppy, unrefined look and made it difficult to eat.
We declined to try the desserts. They didn’t have any particularly Middle Eastern/Moroccan choices and the prices (around $14) were curiously out of proportion with the rest of menu. Instead we opted to have two scoops of creamy handmade gelati from Limonetto ($4.20), watching the sun set over the Westgate Bridge.
All in all, Mecca Bah wasn’t a terrible experience, just a bit uninspiring and it did not hit the heights I remember from its heyday. It’s probably one of the better options in the unexciting dining scene in Docklands, but it’s certainly not somewhere I’d be rushing back to visit – no matter what the views.
- Mecca Bah, 55a Newquay Promenade, Docklands +61 3 9642 1300
- Limonetto, 35 New Quay Promenade, Docklands +61 3 9642 5001
Yep that’s just about right. I had a great meal there a couple of years ago. Now it’s just boring. They always had the preserved lemon in the tagines cranked back for skip tastes… Now I couldn’t taste any at all!
Hi Zardoz
Yep, definitely don’t recall any preserved lemon in my tagine. Sigh.
Jetsetting Joyce
Hmm.. so a definite fail then? No point going out of the way into Docklands then .. lalala
.-= msihua´s last blog ..Attica @ Ripponlea =-.
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| May 11, 2010, 6:27 pm
Hi msihua
Docklands is on my tramline and I have yet to find a dining reason to go out there….I believe the Sunday markets might be quite nice and they have fun activities on occasionally.
Jetsetting Joyce
Docklands is such a culinary black hole.
You’d think with so many DINKs and Yuppies living/working there, there would be a thriving market for really good, high-end food, but it’s such a soul-less area, perhaps those folks prefer to head into the city to eat. I know I would.
.-= Ruth´s last blog ..Food carts of Melbourne (all four of them) =-.
Twitter: rbbrown
| May 12, 2010, 3:51 pm
Well, I was considering going there but you’ve put me off a bit. The food in the photos looks quite good.
Been quite a while since I’ve been down to the Docklands. Looks like there isn’t a lot a reason to rush back.
I’ve heard a lot about Meccabah but have not had a chance to go. The photos look great, but your review has caused me to move this to the bottom of my list. Still there, just not a priority right now. Thanks for the thorough review
I think I’m going to give it a try. Hopefully they have their act together and are getting better. I like to go out to eat for the atmosphere and view as well as the food, and the view should be great. How as the gelato? I’d go to the ends of the earth for genuine Italian style gelato.
Mecca Bah popularity has really deteriorated after several years. I’ve been there a couple of times and I think the food is just average. They have a decent price though.
Yip. Seriously I can’t believe they sell dessert for 14 bucks though. I mean some people just don’t seem to get it. I would still try this type of food, especially the bastilla which seems awesome. But anyway, thanks for the honest review as it is appreciated.
That a bit pricey for dessert. Oh, well..If it’s the nice view that they’ve got, then it can be a nice place for coffee or a glass of wine instead of food.