When my friend asked us to go out to Zaytinya, a chic Middle Eastern tapas (they call them mezze) restaurant in the China Town area of DC (9th and G), I said “yes” quicker than I had to run to catch my train today. Why did I say yes so assuredly? Well, because this was not my first time there, and I’d been looking for an excuse to return. Perhaps this is one of the higher compliments that I can pay a place. I mean, there are tons of places in DC and the surrounding areas in Virginia, plus I enjoy cooking and eating at home, if not for just the caloric and monetary benefits. So if I can be excited about going back to a place in a relatively short time horizon and enjoy it both times, you should probably take notice as well.

The atmosphere is pretty trendy and the place pretty hopping, even on a Tuesday, at Zaytinya. We waited about 25 minutes with no reservation, so I would definitely recommend one on the weekends and maybe even on the weekdays.

The prices are moderate here with many of the mezze in the six to eight dollar range. We ordered three cocktails and eight mezze and got out of there for under $90.

THE MENU

The delightful part about this menu is its depth, with a wide array of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes spanning across a variety of Middle Eastern countries, from Greece to Turkey to Israel, but all with a clearly Med motif. The classics are there, with grape leaves, hummus and spanokopita, but the real interest here is in the creativity running through the menu. While this was a pretty vegetarian meal, with two lifelong vegetarians and me, a vegetarian lover, there were several very interesting meat entrees, including crispy skirt steak, mahanek (sausage), several lamb dishes, mussels and a swordfish kabob.

[The dishes we ate are reviewed individually below.]

All in all, the meal was immensely satisfying. A good meal of tapas (or mezze) is great because you get to try so many things and really balance out your taste buds. And like a well differentiated stock portfolio, even with a couple dishes that were just okay, there were enough great ones to make the meal terrific.

And when I am asked to go there a third time someday, I imagine my answer “yes” will come even quicker yet.

I had a wonderful dining experience at Zaytinya. The food is great and the menu has a wide variety of vegetarian and seafood options – I really enjoyed the salmon and the stuffed eggplant. It has a varied menu, with plenty of meat, seafood, and vegetable options.

It has some of the best tabbouleh in the city. The hummus was quite good as well, although a bit too oily for my taste.

The food comes out as it is ready, tapas-style. The portions are small, which was wonderful so I could try some of everything! For 4 people, I believe we ordered about 9 items for lunch, which was a great amount. Expect the seafood to take a little longer, but it is well-worth the wait, especially for the crab cakes.

My only complaint – I would have liked the bread to be a bit warmer! The waiters are really good at replacing the bread when the table is running low, which was a huge plus.

Besides the food, the restaurant itself is chic (lots of glass used in the architecture) and has a very up-scale feel for such moderately priced food. It is located in a great part of the city, and I would go back any time!

Probably the most misspelled restaurant name in DC! I love the large menu full of interesting meze. Tonight we kept it simple with baba ghannoush, braised lamb with eggplant and shrimp with garlic, dill and oh, did I mention the garlic? Unique (in an enjoyable way) wine list and delicious cocktails too. Valet parking available.

I really liked most of the dishes but I loved the “Havuç Köftesi” which is a carrot fritter but way better than it sounds. I thought the service was great.

Good mix of Mediterranean food. Love the lamb and pork sausages. Small portions perfect for sharing. But be warned that the price of those little plates adds up fast so plan on spending 45+/pp including a glass of wine each & tip. The patio is a nice place to sit and enjoy some people-watching also, but the service was a bit slow. But all in all a good dinner, I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could.

My favorite restuarant in D.C. The food is always so good and flavorful. The spanikopita is outstanding.

Great, innovative Mediterranean cuisine — the hummus is a must, as is any lamb dish — with a hip atmosphere. Zaytina loses one star for less-than-quality service, but an unattentive waiter isn’t enough to keep me away from the place.