Spork and Knife

This post has been a long time in the making. Months ago I attended a Balducci’s food demonstration hosted by none-other-than Zaytinyia’s Head Chef, Mike Isabella. We chopped and chatted for quite a few hours (AKA Chef Isabella was nice enough to put up with my 10,000 questions), he talked about his time spent cooking overseas, his love of his Italian heritage and life in a high-powered kitchen. I asked questions that probably made him chuckle, like ,”How do restaurants dice their tomatoes so perfectly?”. (I can’t be the ONLY person to have pondered this!)

After a solid 3 hours of making tabbouleh, cucumber yogurt soup & Turkish chicken and walnut salad, all delicious and all from Zaytinya, we parted ways with me promising to stop by and give the restaurant a try. ( I know, I know…how can I have lived here for so long and not tried Zaytinya?! Obviously an oversight on my part.)

Skip to the Friday night a few weeks ago when D and I decided to take the parents out. (Or was that, they decided to take us out?) After a parking fiasco similar to this one, we strolled into Zaytinya and took our seats on the second floor-right by the fireplace. A perfect spot except the guys complained that it was too hot. (Why is it men always have to ruin the ambiance? I kid, I kid.) We mentioned this and within 2 seconds our lovely waiter had the problem (err, a problem to the guys. I was quite cozy) fixed.

The Sommelier came by our table, asked a few questions about our tastes and picked out a wonderful bottle of Greek wine for us to try. (The name escapes me now, but I will post it later.) On top of the wine we ordered a round of hommus to compliment the pita bread already on the table.

As we devoured the fluffy pita and creamy hommus, Chef Isabella dropped by to say hi. (I know, my jaw dropped as well.) It’s nice to see a chef in the front-of-the-house and the gesture was more than appreciated.

On to the food.

From this point on, the number of dishes headed to our table were too many to recount, but I’m going to hit the highlights (there were many).

• Imam Bayildi (Ottoman style roasted eggplant stuffed with onions and tomatoes) A favorite among all 4 of us, and perfect for any vegetarians.
• Octopus Santorini (grilled baby octopus, marinated onions, capers and yellow split pea puree) D’s favorite. The flavors were clean and fresh…a very light dish.
  
• Sea Scallops (seared scallops with yogurt-dill sauce) The yogurt sauce shows up in various forms throughout the menu and was a personal favorite. This style was creamy with just the right amount of dill to bite the tongue and the scallops were cooked perfectly with just a touch of ocean flavor.
  
• Kibbeh (beef and wheat fritters stuffed with almonds, pinenuts and currants and served with labneh) Yum’s the word. Think of these as the Mediterranean version of a hushpuppy. Obviously a low-brow comparison, but the flavors were all-over-the-place, complimenting each other nicely.
  

I’m skipping over a few that no-doubt deserve to be mentioned, but I must get to the star of the night. A combination of lamb dishes sent out by the chef. Rightly named…

• Lamb Four Ways WoW, WoW, Wow. The lamb was tender and juicy and the herbs popped with flavor. Its been a long time since I had lamb cooked to this level.

For the short version of the night: The atmosphere is fun and vibrant with a large open space that would be perfect for large groups. The noise level in the center of the dining room has the potential to get loud, so asking for a tucked away spot is a must for the hard of hearing or those looking to have a quiet conversation.

The service was on-point and extremely friendly. Our waiter knew his dishes and openly suggested a few favorites after hearing our likes and dislikes and the Sommelier picked a wonderful bottle of wine, taking the time to let it decant so we could enjoy it at its best. I’ve heard tales of water glasses going empty for long periods of time or rushed dinners but experienced nothing of the sort.

As for the food: I can say that I’ve paid a lot more for far inferior cuisine. I would order almost everything again and each dish kept me packing-it in-despite almost reaching the point of miserably full. (AKA Chipmunk face) DC is lucky to have such a great restaurant, and Chef Jose Andres has a man of talent running his kitchen, showcasing the flavors of Greece, Turkey and Lebanon in all their glory.

Prices are moderate and you could spend very little or a lot depending on your mood. Since everything is mezze style, 2-3 dishes (ranging from roughly $7-$10 each) could fill most.

Overall, the experience was a memorable one. I’m placing Zaytinya high on the list of go-to spots. Here’s hoping they can repeat this experience time and time again.

Zaytinya

corner of 9th and G Streets, NW
701 9th Street NW Washington,DC 20004

(202) 638-0800
(202) 638-6969

Parking
Valet parking after 5:15 pm, seven day a week.

$11

Metro

Zaytinya is located two blocks from the Archives/Naval Memorial station on the Green and Yellow lines. It’s across the street from the Gallery Place stop on the Red line, the 9th and G Streets exit.