Mozart Cafe is an excellent restaurant that happens to be kosher. By that I mean the food is great whether or not you care that it’s kosher. But be careful – some items are pricey.
It’s in a plaza off Powerline Road south of Palmetto, not far past Olive Garden, at the light where El Camino Real meets Powerline. There are a few other restaurants in the plaza including Butcher Block Grill and an Asian place appropriately named Asia.
Mozart Cafe has both indoor and outdoor seating. There’s a lot of space and pleasant decor.
The menu is diverse to an extent. There are appetizers, pizzas, sandwiches, entrees and even sushi. Look closely and you realize there’s no beef or chicken, just fish and vegetables.
This is a kosher thing, because they have dairy products there’s no “meat.” But fish doesn’t count as meat. Don’t ask me to explain that. I’m Jewish and I’ve never understood it.
We started with a hummus appetizer, served Israeli style with mushrooms. It was outstanding, the best hummus I’ve ever had and I eat it a lot. The pita bread it came with was thick, almost doughy, with dabs of either oil or butter in spots.
I was going to order a bruschetta appetizer too, but the waiter suggested the mushroom bruschetta instead. It was a good call – another delicious dish.
My companion ordered a sushi roll with salmon and avocado. It’s not on the menu but that was no problem. Having lived in Japan I’m pretty picky about sushi. This was excellent. The salmon was fresh with a buttery melt-in-your-mouth texture. It was also one of the most reasonably priced items.
We were full, but for the sake of our readers we felt we should try a dessert. There were a few choices mostly involving chocolate. When the waiter described an unnamed “dome” with dark chocolate, chocolate mousse, milk chocolate and more, we were sold. It was not a sacrifice.
And here’s what it looks like inside:
Our tab was about $40 before tip, which is more than we usually spend for lunch. But it was a lot of food, very good, plus a dessert.
We think the lunch and dinner menu are the same so prices might seem more reasonable at dinner time.
We should also mention the staff and atmosphere. Our server (Nick?) was bright, happy, helpful and interesting. The place as a whole has character. If you’re not open to it I could see that rubbing you the wrong way. But we loved it.
