Years ago, I happened upon The Mediterranean (Med) in Boulder. I had two young children with me but didn’t think twice about entering, lured by glimpses of colorful tiles, a fountain and intimate seating in a beautiful patio with dappled sunlight. Food from Mediterranean regions (Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Morocco and Lebanon) on the menu only confirmed that I had happened upon an oasis. A few minutes in, with only glasses of water on the table and tempting menus in hands, the kids had a meltdown. A nasty one. The kind where there is no hope of pulling them out of it and the only solution is to skulk out in shame. I vowed to return soon – that was more than 10 years ago!
On a late summer visit to Boulder, where I stopped in at some of my favorite shops, I remembered The Mediterranean and rushed there. It was even better than I remember, having expanded with a Tuscan-sleek interior that has a completely different vibe than the busier-looking patio outside. There it all was – the wall of tile, cozy tables, large pots of flowers and a menu in which everything, (every. single. thing.) sounded good. That doesn’t happen much, does it?!
We’d seen men walking through the restaurant carrying trays of rounded, freshly-baked bread from their in-house bakery, high above their heads. So when a basket of crusty bread arrived to tide us over, we were pretty excited. Our server told us most people love the tapas and make a meal of a variety of them but he also encouraged us to try some of the entrees too such as sandwiches, kabobs, grilled meat and fish and wood-fired pizzas, which are often overlooked but shouldn’t be.
We started out with some tapas, including mussels, shrimp and a lamb skewer, fully intending to then get an entree to try too but then 3pm came around, the start of daily happy hours that go till 6:30 every day. With tapas and drink deals, we decided to just try a few more tapas and enjoy some sangria. Those tempting entrees are just more reason to return soon, even if it’s too cold to sit on that luscious patio.
Everything we had was excellent. We began to wonder if we were enjoying everything so much because of the whole experience, balmy breezes, beautiful atmosphere and the ability to block out everything else and really pretend we were in the Mediterranean. But then we decided that while all of that was glorious, the food was really good all on its own. Everything else was just the frosting on the cake.
The Mediterranean is located at 1002 Walnut Street in Boulder. You can also make reservations through Open Table.
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