Carola Ann's Mossel Bay mezze

 27 May 2023

 

CAROLA ANN’S

38 Marsh Street, Mossel Bay Central, Mossel Bay

 

According to the wife today’s mezze was “decidedly average” and for me, in the Southern Cape, I’d settle for average, given the number of times we’ve had emphatically below average food.

 

The wife and I were in the Hartenbos area again and ventured forth this afternoon for a late lunch in the slowly-but-surely gentrifying centre of Mossel Bay, a town I’d never had a high opinion of as destination but is apparently improving by the day.

 

Carola Ann’s is situated in an impressive, old, corner building that might once have been a luxurious residence   and its setting and interior are very inviting, with tables on  two levels out front and dark wooden floors and a cosy bistro look and style inside. There is also a deli with many sweet treats and a freezer with pre-prepared meals in foil containers.

 

Oh, and if this kind of place doesn’t bounce your rubber ball, there’s a biker bar up the road. 

 

We were given a mezze menu, served from 15h00 to 21h00. 

 

Mindful of our penchant for going berserk when ordering small plates, we stuck to two choices each: the hummus plate (R82), spiced fish samosas (R79), pork and poached pear spring rolls (R74) and Mediterranean style wedges (R60.)

 

The wife had a gin berry cocktail, I drank a beer and there was a bottle of sparkling water for the table.

 

As mentioned, the wife was not overly impressed with the food and I can’t argue with her considered, expert judgement 

 

I thought that the samosas were perfectly crisp and light but that the fish wasn’t conspicuously spicy and the accompanying tzatziki and pesto were out of place and did not complement the dish. It’s hard to fathom the logic  here. You don’t want wet things with a samosa, unless it’s your beer.

 

The crisp pork spring rolls were good though the meat might’ve been tastier with a smidgen more flavour and the shell was oddly pale for a deep fried item. The aioli served with it was not pleasant and we ate none of it after the initial fingertip taste test. 

 

The house made hummus came with pomegranate glazed Arabian beef kofta. The hummus was tasteless and too stodgy and there was an odd, unsettling sweetness from the pomegranate. The koftas were okay but very solid.

 

The crisp, flavourful wedges topped with soft Feta cheese were probably the best things on the table yet the Feta was quite necessary as the wedges, under the crisp exterior, were slightly dry.

 

I have one further issue, and it’s prevalent with small plates, and that is, even if the mezze is intended for sharing and there were two of us, we got three samosas and three spring rolls.  These things aren’t quite made for halving.

 

The wife rounded off her meal with a pleasant vanilla cupcake and an Americano and I had an espresso.

 

The bill came to R514,00 before tip.

 

The  ambience on the stoep out front, in the warmth of the sun and with a view towards the sea, was very agreeable, the service was friendly and efficient (though we felt that we waited a fraction too long for our food to arrive) yet the food can simply be described as “not bad” and not compelling enough to justify a  return. 

 

However, it would be a great spot for hanging out on the stoep on a lovely sunny day, with something sweet and a coffee,  cocktail or beer.