My most recent travels have been to Barcelona, where I loved the natural wines, and Tel Aviv, where I fell in love with Middle Eastern food. Back home, I kept longing for both. But now, Mecca, specialized in natural wines and food from the Middle East, has opened its doors in the North of Rotterdam, making me a very, very happy girl.
Mecca is situated on the Noordsingel, a charming, old part of the city by the water, surrounded by beautiful trees. The interior is stunning, based on the Middle East, with beautiful colours, fabrics, stone and tiles. The beautifully shaped bar and espresso machine in the middle of the room are an instant eye-catcher. This is also where you will find the food specials of the day. They have a set menu with things like bread, hummus, baba ghanoush and falafel, but also a lot of changing specialties like roasted cauliflower, potato and lamb stew, tortilla, and much more. The Middle Eastern flavours are amazing, fresh and fragrant — I could really go there every day. The natural wines, from Blije Wijnen (Happy Wines) are great in combination with the flavours of the food, but they also have lots of great-looking fresh lemonades.
Mecca is open every day of the week, from breakfast till late. The North of Rotterdam is a great area to explore, with plenty of other nice things to see and do like: Mono, Noorderboulevard, Pijnackerplein and Man Met Bril Coffee Headquarters.
