Mousa

We dined at Mousa before seeing a show at the Rialto.
We have been to this location before when it was a steakhouse.
The ambience is wonderful.
There’s a long bar when you first walk in and the dining room is past that.
They have a small parking lot in back of the restaurant and the restaurant is right by a large parking garage so there’s plenty of parking. Monica was our server and she was friendly and provided good service.
The young man who filled our water glasses and cleared our dishes, was on top of everything as well.
We were given a complimentary shot of ouzo before starting our meal.
It’s a licorice tasting alcohol.
My husband ordered a glass of Greek wine as well. My husband and I ordered small plates and shared everything.
We started with the saganaki, which was served with a plate of pita triangles.
It was a very generous size of cheese, but unfortunately it wasn’t flamed at the table so it wasn’t melty or gooey or sizzling hot.
It was warm, but disappointing not to have that wonderful melting cheese.
I’ve never been to a Greek restaurant where they didn’t flame the cheese at the table and then douse the flames with fresh lemon. Next, we had the grilled octopus.
Again, a very generous portion, and it was presented beautifully.
However, as you got into the thicker portion of the octopus, it was very chewy.
I had to leave some on the plate after spitting it out because it was rubbery and I couldn’t chew through it. At this point in our meal, my husband ordered a second glass of wine which didn’t show up until the very end of our dining experience.
Monica apologizing for the long wait when it appeared saying there was a new bartender. We also ordered the lamb meatballs.
Home run on this small plate.
Four small meatballs served on a bed of tzatziki sauce, which is a yogurt cucumber sauce.
The meatballs were very flavorful and the creamy sauce added something special to each bite. Since my husband‘s wine did not show up until we were done with our small plates, we decided to add a dessert while he drank his wine.
The Italian lemon cake we ordered for dessert was fabulous.
It’s a light yellow cake filled with lemon cream and dusted with powdered sugar.
Very good! I ordered a cappuccino to go along with dessert, but Monica came back saying that they couldn’t make it because they were out of milk.
How does a restaurant not have milk in their refrigerator? The restaurant just opened for business at the dinner hour so it wasn’t like they were opened all day and ran out. Mousa is popular, every table was filled and the reviews from others are good.
We came here because of the good reviews.
Maybe it was just an off night for us, but the chewy octopus, not flaming the cheese at the table so it’s sizzling hot and melting, and not having any milk on hand for a cappuccino two hours after opening your doors won’t bring us back.
It’s too bad because it’s a half a block away from the Rialto and so convenient.
I can’t recommend this restaurant, but give it a try because others have rated it highly.
Like I said, it might’ve just been an off night.

Came in spur of the moment, (I was starving) ordered kefte.dinner but had to make a run so I dropped off the pasta w/ meat sauce to my pregnant person so she wouldn't spazz came back from my run put tin in the oven and VOILA meatballs were still RAW, oh yeah flavor wasn't bad until I got to the Middle sooooo imagine if I hadn't made that run and didn't put the tin in the oven on broil to warm for 5 minutes...
Again RAW ...
P.S.
my pregnant friend enjoyed her pasta and it wasn't RAW.
Best wishes Mousa-

The complimentary shot of ouzo was interesting and a nice surprise to start the meal. The server made great recommendations and answered all of our questions about the menu well. The greek food was awesome! It seemed to be a good value.