Canal Bistro Mediterranean Grille

We took a chance. We acted on a whim. We threw caution to the wind. Saturday we happened by the spot that was once, we seem to recall, a perfumery to find it transformed into a chic little outdoor café, done up like a Mediterranean piazza with terrazzo topped tables and deep red umbrellas. Now, I must admit to a certain prejudice against what Indianapolis calls "Mediterranean." Ten times out of nine, it's just another gyros stand with the same progression of hummus, greek salad, gyros, falafel, etc.

And so was this.

But we were already sitting down. Just as I was about to sigh and give myself over to yet another version of sliced "meat" on "pita" with "tzatziki," on the table next to me (containing whom I assume is the owner) was delivered scrumptious-smelling platters of kebabs. I inhaled my sigh and headed for the kebab section of the menu. (Lucky for us, since it turns out they were out of gyro meat anyway.) My esteemed colleague ordered the lamb, I ordered the "mixed grill" (lamb and chicken).

The hummus arrived first. It was good, drizzled with olive oil and what I'm guessing is paprika. Our salads were pretty basic, fresher than most and composed of greens that were actually green. But the kebabs. Oh, the kebabs. We could smell them before we could see them, redolent of some mysterious spice and that new grill smell that you can only get with grilling (unless you're Bubb's Burgers in Carmel, but that's a puzzle for another day). Our server slid them off of skewers that were easily over a foot long, more like long thin swords than those spindly things that come with your GrillNEat Tool Party Pack.

Be warned. "Mixed Grill" does not mean half of one meat and half of another. Oh no. It means easily over a foot each of two meats plus grilled veggies (onions, peppers, tomatoes). The chicken is divine. Nicely spiced without heading into the heavily-coated "this is the chicken, right?" place like some "Mediterranean" restaurants. The lamb was in chunks tender enough that the butter knife sufficed. The rice alongside was pretty much rice, but that didn't really matter. We are not people to take home leftovers, these leftovers we took home.

If you're looking for an extensive wine/beer list or a server who knows what Perrier is, this isn't your place. But if you are looking for yummy grilled meats on a fabulous deck overlooking the Broad Ripple canal wildlife, this is it. And, for a restaurant that had only been open six days when we were there, we definitely don't regret taking the chance.