Jack’s Lobster Shack has recently moved a town away, and in its place on Union Ave is Chef Mediterranean, an unexpected addition to the food life of Cresskill, NJ. 

As the name implies, Chef Mediterranean’s menu consists of Mediterranean food, though not the kind I imagined. When I think Mediterranean, I think of Caprese salad, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and shrimp scampi. But, this restaurant features cuisine from the eastern part of the Mediterranean, with the menu consisting of many eggplant-based appetizers and various preparations of lamb and chicken. 

The menu emphasized the food’s authenticity: most of the items were written in Turkish, with English descriptions. As Suzanne Slovak and I reviewed the options, our waiter brought us a basket of pita and ciabatta bread and a small dish of herbed dipping oil. For appetizers, we ordered Babaghanoush ($9) and Stuffed Grape Leaves ($11). 

The babaghanoush – pureed smoked eggplant with garlic and sesame oil – was served in a concave clay dish, wide and generous enough so that we didn’t have to take turns dipping our pita. The ciabatta bread’s open crumb surface allowed the dipping oil’s rich herbs to be soaked into the bread. The crunchy outside contrasted the soft, oil-soaked inside, exposing layers of delight.

We were less impressed with the stuffed grape leaves, filled with rice, herbs, spices, parsley, and onion; although they sounded flavorful from the menu description, the real dish fell flat. And apparently you can eat the leaves? Definitely unexpected! 

I ordered a Lamb Shish Kebab ($26) as my entrée, which came with eight sizable pieces of tender lamb, charcoal broiled to the perfect medium rare. Suzanne’s dish was the Adana Kebab ($22), two charcoal-broiled lamb patties which were just as flavorful, though a bit dry. All entrées came with rice, grilled tomatoes, peppers, and onions, making the high cost (at least, high to a high schooler with no income) seem more reasonable.

With our entrees came new silverware, replacing those used on the appetizers, and revealing Chef Mediterranean’s unexpected level of fine dining. After I saw each table’s white tablecloth and folded napkins, I anticipated a sophisticated experience, but I didn’t expect this level of service. With every other restaurant on that Cresskill’s main avenue being mostly takeout (CU Latte, Ray’s pizza, Cresskill Hot Bagels) or casual dine-in (Hanani, Madison Cafe & Grill), the elegance and formality of Chef Mediterranean were unexpected. It had even replaced Jack’s Lobster Shack, a notably casual restaurant with paper menus doubling as placemats.

Overall, my experience at Chef Mediterranean was beyond satisfactory, and I’ve been itching to return (once I save up some money). But a word of warning before you go, be open to trying new foods and maybe wear something a bit more formal than the sweatpants I wore.