Tapas restaurant Mezzeto in Oxford has closed but will reopen with new concept

Mezzeto in Walton Street has been a popular eatery for a number of years but has now closed its doors on a temporary basis.

A sign on the window says: “Mezzeto is now closed for further notice.”

The restaurant, inspired by the vibrant ingredients of the southern Mediterranean coast, spanning tapas to mezze, attracted plenty of positive reviews on TripAdvisor before it closed.

Jupiterbees from Lancashire, who visited with his son last month, gave Mezzeto a five-star rating on TripAdvisor.

He wrote: “This is a lovely restaurant located in the Jericho area of Oxford.

“Service was really friendly, efficient and prompt, we were made to feel really valued and welcome.

“The food was excellent, we were very well advised and enjoyed everything we ordered. Would highly recommend!”

Mezzeto’s overall TripAdvisor rating was 4.5 out of five.

The restaurant is run by Melih Tanyeri, who also owns tapas bar Al-Andalus in Little Clarendon Street.

He said: “People who came to Mezzeto were loyal customers but the menu didn’t work quite as well as it does in Al-Andalus and we are going to refurbish and come back with a new concept.

“We are still working on a number of ideas and we will be keeping those a secret for the time being but we plan to open again in a few months’ time.”

The Oxford Times’ restaurant reviewer Chris Gray enjoyed his visit to Mezzeto when he tried it out in 2015. He wrote: “Mezzeto was once a newsagent’s, and after that a sandwich shop and delicatessen in the ownership of an enterprising Turk called Melih Tanyeri.

"His first business in Oxford was a shoe shop in St Michael’s Street that he turned into the restaurant Melt. Later he opened the tapas bar Al-Andalus in Little Clarendon Street, the perennially trendy thoroughfare to which the Walton Street ‘strip’ serves as a sort of annexe. Al-Andalus still goes strong.

“The skill that has gone into his creation of Mezzeto is evident in its subtle lighting, stripped-to the-brick walls and a well-stocked bar to break up what could otherwise feel, owing to its length, a corridor-like interior.”

Labour city councillor for Jericho and Osney Colin Cook said restaurants came and went with ‘amazing regularity’.

"He added: “If Al-Andalus is offering similar cuisine then it’s possible that the competition could force one restaurant out of the game.”

Giggling Squid Thai restaurant opened earlier this year on the site of the former Loch Fyne restaurant which shut after 17 years.