Quick answer
Mezze is a selection of small Lebanese dishes — dips, salads, pastries and grills — served together to share at the start of, or as, a meal. Think hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, fatayer, falafel and kibbeh. It is the heart of Lebanese hospitality: generous, sociable and endlessly varied. For a shared meal, aim for 6–10 different dishes.
Ask any Lebanese family about a good meal and they will describe a table full of little plates. That is mezze — from maza, “to taste” — and it is the most joyful way to eat. It is designed for sharing, conversation and generosity, and it is the foundation of almost everything we cater. Here is a simple guide to the dishes and how to build the perfect spread. For the culinary background, the term is well documented on Wikipedia’s meze entry.
Cold mezze
Hummus, baba ghanoush (moutabal), muhammara, labneh, tabbouleh, fattoush, stuffed vine leaves and pickles — served with warm Arabic bread. These are the cooling, fresh, tangy foundations of the table, and many are naturally vegan.
Hot mezze
Falafel, kibbeh, cheese and spinach fatayer, sambousek, batata harra, grilled halloumi and makanek sausages. Hot mezze brings warmth, crunch and richness to balance the cool dips and sharp salads.
How to build the perfect mezze spread
Balance is everything. Pair creamy dips with fresh, sharp salads; mix vegetarian and meat; include something crunchy, something soft, something tangy; and always lay on plenty of warm bread. Aim for variety over quantity of any one dish — the joy is in the tasting. For a shared meal, 6–10 different dishes lets everyone find favourites. A mezze spread also makes a stunning grazing table centrepiece.
Mezze at events
Because it is shareable and inclusive, mezze is ideal for weddings, corporate events and parties alike — it welcomes guests, breaks the ice, and quietly covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal diets in one spread. It is why mezze underpins almost every menu on our catering menu.
The culture behind mezze
Mezze is not really a course — it is a way of eating, and of being together. In Lebanon a mezze table can stretch to dozens of small plates and last for hours, with food arriving slowly, conversation flowing, and no one in a hurry. That spirit of unhurried generosity is what we try to bring to every event: a table where guests linger, share, and feel properly welcomed rather than merely fed.
Mezze etiquette and serving
Mezze is served all at once, in the middle of the table, for everyone to share — there is no “your plate, my plate.” Bread is the utensil for scooping dips, dishes are passed freely, and it is polite to try a little of everything. Serving it this way instantly makes a gathering feel warmer and more sociable, which is exactly why it works so well at events.
Frequently asked questions
Both — mezze can open a meal, or become the whole meal when you serve enough variety.
For a shared meal, aim for 6–10 different dishes so everyone finds favourites.
Very — a large share of mezze is naturally plant-based, so it caters to vegans and vegetarians effortlessly.
Both are small sharing plates, but mezze is Levantine — built around dips, breads, salads and grills — while tapas is Spanish.
Want mezze at your event? Ask us to cater a spread.