"Outcome of a dream..."

...is an accurate description of Mantee Cafe . Another family owned and operated restaurant, Mantee Cafe is a quaint and elegant place serving authentic Mediterranean cuisine.

This was one of the few times I decided to try something different than what I usually eat and I was decently satisfied.

We had apparently walked in from the "back" of the restaurant and the actual entrance of the restaurant is in the back patio. This was interesting and when we got to the patio, it was so beautiful. I loved the decor. It was elegant yet cozy. The yellow lighting through the entire patio (lamps, chandeliers, ceiling lights, candles, Christmas), antique furniture and decorations.

When we got there (around 5:30 pm) there were a few open tables and we were lucky to get the last one outside in the patio. Throughout the night, every single party that came in had reservations and the wait time was about one hour 15 minutes. If you plan on coming here, make reservations!

We had a hard time reading the menu because everything was so authentic! We asked the server to explain the dishes to us and she did a great job. She also recommended some dishes that were popular.

Based on her suggestions, we ordered a hot appetizer called Mantee's Traditional (what the restaurant is named after), a house special called Mantee's Basterma and an entree called Kashkash Kebab.

As we waited for our dishes, we got pita bread and a type of flat bread along with a sesame/olive oil sauce. I love it when restaurants give you bread or something to keep you munching while you're waiting.

Mantee's Traditional is baked ravioli stuffed with Angus ground meat that is covered in garlic yogurt sauce. When I dug into this dish, I had expected to see raviolis the size of those in Chef Boyardee's microwaveable cans. However, the raviolis were tiny. They were the size of seashells. They really were bite-sized. Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed this dish because the raviolis were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The tangy yogurt sauce also made my mouth water so I just wanted to eat one ravioli after another. Because they're so small, you don't even realize how much you're eating. We had almost finished this dish before the house special came.

Mantee's Basterma was slices of baguette topped with Armenian beef prosciutto and a quail egg. I love baguette and proscuitto so I ordered this. It was indeed tasty. Also bite sized, the food disappears quickly. The baguette was crispy and the meat was tender and juicy. However, I wasn't a fan of the quail eggs. For some reason, they tasted a little game-y. But the consistency was perfect. Not too runny but not too hard.

Kashkash Kebab is seasoned ground beef topped with spicy charbroiled tomato. It comes with rice. I usually don't like sausages but this was delicious because the ground meat wasn't packed too tightly. When I cut into it, the meat would come loose and it was seasoned thoroughly. The rice was infused with some kind of soft, brown, stringy thing. I had no idea what it was but it added a bit of something extra to what is usually bland rice. It was a nice touch and complemented the strong flavors of the meat and sauce well.

I love trying new food so I really enjoyed my dining experience here. In addition, the decor and atmosphere really added to my meal. 4 stars!