Eva M.
Yelp
No change to previous review. All content there is still relevant, except they update their menu regularly so not all dishes stay available. They still have the dinner/upscale dining, the casual wraps take-out window, and bar seating happy hour menu. The restaurant has nice deco. They aim for upscale, and their prices reflect it. In retrospect, it is expensive for what the food is. Our server today was constantly hurrying us, offering to take our plates away at all times. No one is waiting for a table, and it wasn't near closing time. It was rather annoying. Dropping 0.5 stars, bringing a 2.7 average food rating to 2.2, rounding down to 2 Stars for this review.
Newly tried dishes, all from dinner menu:
Moushakal (mezze mix) $28 + extra Arabic bread, $4 - 2 Stars
This mezze platter comes with a little dollop of Basal Labneh (yogurt), Baba Ganoush (eggplant), Hummus, and Muhammara (red pepper). I honestly have had better versions of each one, most recently in San Francisco. What I object to the most is the price. That is very expensive for the amount of food we got.
Halloumi, $7 (I think) - 3 Stars
This dish contains 5 pieces of grilled salty cheese. One of my table mates loved it. Another said it could be crispier. 2 others were neutral.
Batata Harra, $16 - 3.5 Stars
Menu: crispy fingerling potatoes, green garlic bi zeit, pickled fresno, labneh toum
This is one of the better dishes. Well-seasoned, crispy fried. A spendy French fries, sort of.
Aleppo Spiced Eggplant, $23 - 2.5 Stars
Menu: roasted eggplant, naz khatoon, red shatta, aleppo, herbs
It doesn't seem possible for a dish that visually looks very good to taste ok+. Somehow, there's too much going on. The roasted eggplant didn't retain "body", so it's much more on the squishy side than the roasted firm side. And each strip is sitting on a lot of sauce, such that if it was firmer, it isn't anymore. The idea is good; the execution is not. Plus, it's also expensive. There are about 1.5 to 2 (Chinese?) eggplants on this plate.
Shish Taouk, $28 - 2.5 Stars
Menu: yogurt-marinated chicken kebab, sugar snap peas, morel mushrooms, black lime toum, fresh herb mix
The chicken is well seasoned and flavorful. I might order this again, but I suspect I will not be returning to this restaurant.