saji's story
when you first walk into mesa, you will surely be greeted with the lovely wafting aromas of freshly roasted spices and rich curries cooking away - followed by the infectious smile and vivacious energy of our head chef and owner, saji george. as she will probably tell you, saji has been scouring Jacksonville for a place to open her own restaurant for over 20 years. she had always dreamt to open her own restaurant and had almost given up hope when at long last, in early 2021, she stumbled upon 4260 herschel street.
with the uncertainty of a global pandemic and her lack of experience in the restaurant industry looming over her, she decidedly opened mesa (the Malayalam word for table) with the support of her family and her own unyielding drive. after months of hard work, many setbacks, and patiently waiting for our furniture - we opened our doors for our soft opening tasting menus in september of 2021. the first nights were slow but word quickly spread and we became the hole-in-the-wall spot for those in the know.
as we move forward, we hope to continue to provide delicious and nutritious meals for our community and educate our guests on a part of Indian cuisine that may be new to them - south Indian cuisine. we also aim to merge and blend our culture and cuisine with our experiences growing up and living in America so as to offer fun and innovative takes while paying homage to the classic dishes we grew up on.
in India, guest is considered God (Atithi Devo Bhava) and at mesa, we strive to carry this ethos from the moment you step into our restaurant to the moment you leave. our food is made fresh daily with the highest quality ingredients and most importantly, love.
at mesa, we don't compromise on quality -- we avoid processed vegetable oils and only use the best cooking oils including coconut oil, ghee, and we use expeller-pressed palm oil in our fryer. we believe that food is nourishment and we want every guest to feel as though they came to eat at our home, our table, our mesa.
we hope to see you soon...
with love,
saji and our family at mesa
മേശ
tuesday through friday, 5 PM to 6 PM