Which Meze Are You? The Cast of a Good Evening – Part 1
In a mezedopolio, something happens that hardly happens in any other restaurant: nobody orders “their” dish. The plates land in the middle, the forks start wandering, and after ten minutes no one remembers who ordered what. That is no accident – that is the actual recipe.
So today we are not asking what is on the table, but who is sitting around it. Because every good group works like a good meze table: it needs different people who complete each other.
A word with food inside
The Greek word for company and companionship is syntrofiá (συντροφιά). Listen closely and you will hear trofí in it – food. Being with someone means, at its core in Greek: eating with someone. Even the English “companion” and the German “Kumpan” go back to the idea of the bread-fellow – Latin cum panis, “with bread”. Two languages, one thought: friends are the people you share with.
Why there are never six identical plates
Picture a table with six bowls of tzatziki. You might get full – but it would not be an evening. A meze table lives on the fact that every plate can do something different: one cools, another burns, one is soft, one is crunchy. Only the mix makes you keep eating, keep talking and order one more round.
People are no different. A group of identical people runs out of conversation quickly. A group of different people has plenty to do until midnight.
The cast: Which meze are you?
We have collected seven typical guests at the table. No science, just a wink – read and decide whom you recognize:
The Fava – creamy, calm, takes on any flavor. The person who is never loud and without whom the group falls apart.
The Saganaki – arrives hot, with a grand entrance, wants to be eaten immediately. Whoever comes late gets cold cheese. The person who walks into every room as if someone had just switched on the light.
The Tzatziki – makes everyone else better and hardly takes up any space itself. The diplomat at the table.
The Olive – small, unassuming, but already there before you ordered. The friend who always arrives first and saves the best seat.
The Vine Leaf – carefully wrapped, full of surprises inside. The quiet person who tells the best story after the second glass.
The Bread – never plays the lead, but carries everything. The organizer who sorts out the date, the taxi and the table without anyone asking.
The Chili – one bite, and the conversation changes direction. The person who starts with “But honestly …”.
So? Whom do you recognize – yourself, your sister, the colleague with the chili attitude? Maybe someone is even missing from our cast.
Now it is your turn
Below this article you will find two comments from us. Reply directly to one of them:
Team “I am …” – Which meze are you, and which is your best friend? For example: “I am the vine leaf, and my person is the bread.”
Team “Missing from the table” – Which meze is missing from our cast, and who in your group would it be?
The big question
What makes the best table: seven opposites rubbing against each other – or people who all tick exactly the same way? Simply add one word to your answer: “Opposites” or “Like-minded”. We will keep count and reveal in part two who won.
88 days until New Year’s Eve: one meze per week
Today there are 88 days left until New Year’s Eve (31.12.2026) and 89 until New Year’s Day – a good twelve weeks. Our mini experiment: until New Year’s Eve, write one person each week and tell them which meze they are for you, and why. Twelve weeks, twelve messages – and at the turn of the year you will be sitting at a very full table.
Part 2 after the break
Our holiday closure begins today: we are closed through 15 October and open again for you on Friday, 16 October. Part 2 follows after that – with your answers, the most beautiful table companies and the result of the big question.
At the Drachmen Fest, the four-course menu cost 29 drachmas – the next Fest comes in a year, as every year. Until then: a meze table is never finished. There is always room for one more plate.
Your Mastiha Berlin Team
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