Restaurant Review: Zaytinya

My favorite restaurant in DC, hands down, is Zaytinya.

The restaurant labels itself as "innovative Turkish, Greek and Lebanese cuisine." This scared me a bit at first, as I am not the world's most adventurous eater. And while I have yet to be brave enough to try menu items like snails, octopus and goat, I have eaten quite a few dishes there and have been thoroughly pleased by all.

The food is served "mezze" style, meaning "small plates." For someone like me who doesn't tend to eat huge amounts of food at meals, this is perfect, and allows me to have a meal for a fairly cheap price, considering the classyness of the restaurant yumminess you get. On my last trip, I ate there with my sorority sister Jaime, and we split five plates. That cost us each about $22, not including drinks. And that's the most I've ever spent there.

Upstairs of Zaytinya

The atmosphere is very classy, though you don't have to be dressed to the nines to eat here. You'll see people wearing anything from nice jeans to suits and dresses. But, as a midwest girl used to chain restaurants like TGI Friday's and Applebees (not complaining, I very much enjoy these places), eating at Zaytinya felt like being on Sex and the City. The walls are blue and white, and the decorations include jugs of olive oil. The upstairs seating area, which can be used for private parties, even has a fireplace. Some of the seats are comfy couches with pillows.

The Zaytinya bar

If you don't make a reservation, which you can do online, you'll have to wait. Every time I've been told 45 minutes to an hour, but I've never waited more than 20 or 30 minutes for a table. And don't worry, while you're waiting you can hang out at the bar. Their wine list is the only one in the U.S. that features only wines from the Eastern Mediterranean. They also have some creative cocktails. My personal favorite isn't on the menu any more, but it's called Aphrodite's pear, with pear-flavored vodka and a thin pear slice on top.




The food here is the best part. Here are some of my favorites:

Zaytinya's epic fried squid

• Fried Squid - crispy squid, garlic yogurt sauce - $8.00
• Translation - THE BEST CALAMARI YOU WILL EVER HAVE!!!
• Patates Tiganites Me Yaourti - crispy potatoes, yogurt, caper salt - $5.50
• Translation - french fries with a mayonnaise-like white sauce on top
• Garides Saganaki - sauteed shrimp with tomatoes, green onions, keflograviera cheese, ouzo - $10.50



Kibbeh Nayeh

• Translation - little shrimps in fried cheese, the kind they usually set on fire at Greek restaurants
• Kibbeh Nayeh - Lebanese style beef tartare ground to order, bulgur wheat, radish, mint, pita chips - $7.50
• Translation - I was SHOCKED I liked this. It's minced, raw beef. The seasoning on it is very good and you eat it on pita chips.
• Urfta biftek - grilled sirloin, urfta pepper, cumin, baby lettuces, caramelized sesame - $10.50



Shish Taouk

• Translation - a little sirloin with yummy spices (not spicy though), on a bed of little greens with a tasty, very sweet dressing
• Shish Taouk - grilled chicken, sumac, onions, garlic tuom, grilled tomatoes. Breast - $9.50.
• Translation - little chunks of chicken with a tasty white garlicy sauce you can dip in, thinly slice red onions and two baby grilled tomatoes on the side.
• *Every table gets warm, tasty bread an oil and vinegar to dip in

The tasty bread

I know, a lot of that food probably sounded very strange, but trust me, it's DELICIOUS! This is where my roommate and I always take guests staying with us for a weekend. Unless the guests are kids. This place is NOT kid-friendly. But if you're in DC and don't have small children, you have to try Zaytinya.

The Facts:

Menu: Eastern Mediterranean small plates. Not your typical food, and you may need some translation for the names of menu items, but absolutely tasty nonetheless. Variety of vegetable and meat dishes, desserts, creative drinks, wines from the Eastern Mediterranean.

Price: not bad to expensive, depending on how much you order. A glass of wine is $6.50-$14, small plates are $5-$14. Sunday-Friday, 4:30-6:30 p.m. and Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30-11:30 p.m. they have $4 select cocktails, beers, wines and small plates

Location: 701 9th St. NW, Washington, DC 20001; closest metro is Gallery Place/Chinatown

Hours: Sunday and Monday - 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday - 11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday - 11:30 a.m. - midnight

Rating: *****