AS soon as you walk towards Meze restaurant in the oh-so-quiet night streets of Brighouse you know you’re in for a good night.

They’ve transformed an old building into something that grabs the attention with its ultra-smart orange and yellow appearance.

It kind of beckons you in.

It’s smart inside too – and they do it with mirrors. A huge one on a wall gives the impression that Meze is twice the size it actually is.

No doubt a few unlucky diners may have walked bang into it.

The owners are, quite rightly, clearly proud of their chic Greek and Turkish taverna. The service is great from the moment you walk through the door – just pleasant, friendly, assuring and patient.

You get a sense of immediate relaxation.

Every dish is explained, every need met and nothing is too much trouble. Surely that’s how all restaurants should be.

Meze is Greek for a selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East as an appetiser course.

Naturally Meze offers far more than that.

Still, we went for a joint starter that gave a taster of a few. Olives and chillies were first to arrive – the olives decidedly vinegary and the chillies, well we’d incorporate them into the meal.

A Greek salad with chunks of feta cheese followed complete with bowls showing the full range of dips – taramasalata (fish roe), tsatsiki (yoghurt, cucumber and garlic), houmous (chickpeas) and ezme (crushed tomato and chilli). Just stick your warm pitta bread in and enjoy.

The entire plate was finished – and the last bit of every dip. Enough said.

The range isn’t vast, but what Meze does it does exceedingly well. My beef stifado was the tenderest meat I’ve ever had and came with plenty of its own stock – brilliant for a traditional gravy fan. Stews don’t come any meatier. The vegetable was a vibrant mix too including potatoes, red cabbage, full-flavoured mushrooms and carrots.

Ruth also went traditional with moussaka. This had a drier than expected texture – I normally associate with white sauce but not this one. Ruth’s made plenty of moussaka in her time and thought this captured the very essence of the dish. I bow to her superior knowledge.

Fish fans are swimming in culinary bliss with choices such as kalamari, tiger prawns or even sardines for starters followed by salmon or swordfish.

The vegetarian meze includes cheese pastry, potato keftedes, imam bayildi (braised eggplant stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes), briam (oven-roasted vegetable casserole) and spinach pastry.

I’m just glad I’m not one.

The meat meze includes chicken pastry, dolmades (vine leaves stuffed with long grain rice, toasted pine nuts and herbs), kofte (minced lamb meatballs with herbs), chicken kebab, beef stifado and rice.

Both mezes start with a selection of dips, Greek salad, olives and chillies. They are £16.95 per person.

The traditional Greek desert was small, gooey with honey and nuts. Just the right to top off a meal to remember.

Monday to Thursday a two-course meal costs £12.95 per person.

House wine – white, rose and red – is reasonably priced at £9.95 a bottle. The rose is quite dry.

Meze features exotic belly dancing every Saturday night. What? On a full stomach!