For those of you who consider yourselves true NHIE fans, you already know we had an opportunity to taste our way around the Mediterranean recently when we stopped in to Kurdi’s Fresh Mediterranean Grill in Downtown Tampa (If you don’t know what I mean, follow us now on Instagram and Twitter to see all the shenanigans we partake in when we aren’t publishing blog posts).
Anyways, Ryan and I had stopped into the downtown spot a few years back when it first opened in 2011 and found it to be alright. At that time, it boasted a gelato bar and all white furniture and didn’t leave much to our love of Mediterranean food.
Well, we heard about an overhaul in the restaurant and reworking of the menu including a new head chef and thought, let’s give it another try! So one Friday evening, Allison, myself and Ryan “cleared our schedules” and made our way to Kurdi’s downtown. Our new favorite foodie app, Tastemade, came along with us too! Check out our video review by clicking the link below.
Kurdi’s Fresh Mediterranean Grill
Just on the walk up to the restaurant, we immediately became excited about what was in store. The Bob Hope Band was in town playing a set right out front for the guests of the restaurant and we were excited to hear their interesting rendition of our favorite middle school classic made famous by Britney Spears, Hit Me Baby One More Time. At this point, Allison and I were ready to go and we walked inside to find a newly worked restaurant. Gone was the gelato bar and it was replaced with something way better, a real bar! Serving up wine and craft beers from around the area, we ordered ourselves some wine and took a seat at a corner table.
We were welcomed with open arms and were given a quick rundown of the menu. On this new menu, there were so many delicious items, that we had trouble making a decision as to what to order. After some debating amongst the crew, we chose a few things to get started. The Fried Calamari (which we ordered extra crispy, just the way we like it), was accompanied by a delicious, sweet pepper jelly. We also snagged an order of the Seared Scallops. They were amazing!
For our entrees, we tried to pick three very different dishes. That led us to the Chicken Shawarma Platter, the Beef Medallions with carrots and mashed potatoes, a deliciously seasoned piece of lamb (a special off the menu for the night), and a Grilled Chicken Greek Salad. The food came out pretty quickly and let’s just say there wasn’t much time to snap a pic because of how delicious it smelled and looked. We immediately dug in and to our enjoyment, the food was everything we wanted it to be and more! We ate and ate through a bunch of dishes and eventually realized there wouldn’t be much room for dessert if we didn’t slow down.
We agreed that by limiting what we ordered this time, it would allow us the fun and excitement of coming back to enjoy the rest of the items we didn’t get to taste. We met the head chef, Fred Behner, who came and visited our table, which he does a lot, making us feel extra special. He explained that he’s the man behind the newly designed menu and the one who worked to create the new tastes of the Mediterranean at Kurdi’s. After sharing some fun facts and info with us about the restaurant, like the craft beer you can ONLY get at Kurdi’s, we agreed to have some baklava and vanilla gelato before we heading out.
We had such an awesome time at Kurdi’s and if you love supporting the local cause in our area like we do, you MUST stop in to try out some of their signature dishes. If you are lucky enough to stop in on the right night, you may even get to hear some live music while you eat. The Bob Hope Band will be back on Gasparilla to play some more of their great music and Kurdi’s is serving up a great Chef’s Valentine’s Dinner as well! Check out the EVENTS CALENDAR for more info they are running and remember, let them know we sent ya!
Enjoy!
Nicholas
NHIE Guys 