Mundo Makes for a Great Date Spot

I’ll be completely honest – if I read Mundo’s menu prior to visiting the restaurant, I probably would have decided to pick a different place.  The restaurant is a mix of Turkish/Mediterranean/Argentinian, with a lot of vegetarian-friendly dishes.  I’ve always heard this place was definitely worth checking out, but as someone not as familiar with these cuisines, it wasn’t something I’d actively seek out – but I am certainly glad I did.

Mundo is located four stops into Queens in Astoria (off of Broadway), and a block away from the train. The restaurant is also pretty small, so if in a party larger than 2, I’d recommend making reservations.  It seats about 24 people, so is definitely better for smaller groups.

Red Sonja Courtesy of Amuse Bouche

While one of us had been to Mundo before, our waiter helped guide our menu selections.  We started with a carafe of a hot spiced mulled wine, which was absolutely fabulous, and perfect on a colder night. I’m not a red drinker, but couldn’t help but finish my share of it rather quickly – it was that good.  To start, we ordered the red sonja, which was made of lentil patties and cracked wheat, with spices served over lettuce.  Basically, it tasted like a more flavorful hummus, and we were instructed to eat it as lettuce wraps.

Next, we had a spinach and feta empanada.  I love anything with spinach in it, and mixed with feta, it was like eating creamed spinach in a baked bread crust, so naturally this was a favorite.

Our waiter encouraged us to try the Peruvian causa, and this was my least favorite dish.  According to the menu, it’s smooth layers of mushrooms, beets, avocado, yellow-ahi potato & dill topped with red onion, fresh red & green pepper – or as the waiter described it, a layer of mashed potatoes, with beets in the middle and potatoes on top, like a casserole.  It was good, but both of us were a tad surprised that it was served cold.  We also decided to split the Turkish dumplings, which were filled with ground beef and you could dip them into a garlic and yogurt sauce. At this point I was pretty full, but I liked the dish. It was definitely something I felt was good worth splitting – I’m not sure I’d want to eat the whole thing, but it was good to have a few bites of it.

Most entrees at Mundo are between $15-20, with appetizers costing between $4-$10, so really your bill can vary depending on if you are going the splitsies route or the entree and app route.

I liked Mundo as a date spot just because we weren’t rushed, servers were attentive filling water glasses without being all up in our faces – and with it being small, we could have had them be all up in our faces – and it was a great place to share.  Whether going on a date or with just a friend, you may also want to consider Mundo if you or a friend is vegetarian  - at least your friend won’t feel like they are choosing from only a few options.

Photo courtesy of Bradley from Amuse*Bouche.