The Cedars of Lebanon is an easily-overlooked cafe right on the corner of the Old Greenbelt…read moreShopping Center which is a lovely hidden gem. I spent every summer in this town, growing up, and I never discovered this restaurant until a precious friend brought me here a few years ago. It's a dated, though efficient, and charming, cafe with fresh dishes you might love. Firstly, if you plan on having lunch here on a Monday, make sure you are able to finish by 2:45 since they close by 3pm. All other days, they are open past 8pm. We started with the sweet potato soup despite the fact that the reviews for the lentil soup here are the highest. Yes! If it's featured: get it! The turmeric and coconut milk make this soup delightful. The herbs made it so fresh and there was just the right amount of sweetness and gentle heat. Parsley really adds to this recipe and I'm not usually a fan of this herb. The pitas are soft, thin and light. Love them. We needed to order more. I've never had such paper-thin pitas. Yum! I love love love the hummus, here. It is nothing short of divine. The flavors are fabulous and deeply complex. You can really taste the tahini. The olive oil is mild and delicious. I exclaimed, "the hummus was the best ever." And then 5 minutes later, I read a review by Yelper James H. where he says it's the best ever and, "... this hummus at Cedars of Lebanon might have ruined all other hummus for me forever." While I've had similar swooning feelings over the hummus at Lebanese Taverna in Tyson's Corner, this hummus is at least a top contender if not the metro DC area's hummus winner. The cucumber mint yogurt salad is nice, cold and refreshing. You can really taste the mint. I would order this yogurt salad with every meal. The falafel pizza is unusual and fresh. Straight away-- you can taste the tahini, parsley and couscous. The dough is grainy and natural. And there are radishes on this falafel pizza: not overpowering. For the $9 or so pricepoint, this dish is a true labor of love. To prep all of these vegetables, even with food processors, must take time. How novel of a dish! Put the yogurt salad on this pizza. You will thank me. And I only did it because I was watching someone else slather it on. There were at least 12 desserts on the menu. Meow. If we weren't so full of pita, hummus, tahini and fresh veggies, we certainly would love to taste a few of these. As well as the Turkish coffee, with an authentic ceramic and metal carafé presentation.

Pretty easy, breezy no-frills restaurant…read more We stopped by Cedars of Lebanon, because it was one of the few places that had outdoor seating and was not full. The restaurant has a small outdoor dining area with three four-seater tables, which was find for our two dogs. The experience overall was pretty low key, which necessarily is not a bad thing. Although there is waiter/waitress service, you will have to order your food at the cashier's counter. Actually, maybe that's only a thing if you are dining outside. The menu has a nice mix of Middle Eastern dishes. I went with a beef (or maybe it was lamb) kabob plate. The portions were fine and my meal was pretty good. It was not out of this world amazing, but it got the job done. I thought that the prices were pretty good for the area and the amount of food received. Although the food was fine, I do not think that I would go out of my way (e.g., driving more than 30 minutes) to dine here. Just be aware that the restaurant does not serve alcoholic beverages.

The cafeteria of the mosque was a very pleasant place to visit The restaurant was clean comfortable…read moreand very close to the mosque which made us feel peaceful Being able to pray in such a beautiful atmosphere and then enjoy our meal here became one of the best moments of our trip The food was very tasty and we especially want to thank Hena who served our meals She was kind friendly and very helpful and her warm attitude made our experience much better The only partthat made us feel a bit uncomfortable was the young male cashier He did not seem very friendly and looked like he was working unwillingly If he could be more welcoming and smile more visitors would feel more relaxed and happy Overall we enjoyed our time here and we are thankful for the positive parts of our experience especially thanks to Hena

The food was alright. The food wasn't amazing but it also wasn't the worst. For me I was…read moredisappointed in the small portions for the price. Most of the menu options were in the $20s. We got the Kebab with chicken and beef. We also ordered the Doner Sandwich. The kebab platter was better than the sandwich. The Sammie had no sauce or extra flavor to it. The bread and meat were good, it was just missing something. We also got their tea and dessert which was the highlight for me!! I bought two of the deserts and tea. They include tax which is 20% There's a big garage under ground Beautiful grounds and friendly people Ambiance is very relaxed and not too strict

Fantastic quality fast casual place with an abundance of options to choose from. The place was…read moreclean and servers were very friendly. I enjoyed every bite and left feeling like I got my moneys worth, which is saying some given their prices. I also appreciate that they accept InKind which made it a bit cheaper. I'd definitely come back!

I stopped here because I wanted something different and healthy and quick before my workout. The…read morechickpeas, chicken and feta cheese with veggies are hummus were a great source of protein for my day!

This place is awesome. We placed a large group order, made up of individual orders and this…read morerestaurant was 100% accurate with all 10 of our orders. I made my owner online and it was very easy to do. The owner was so nice while we waited for our order. There is metered street parking available for this restaurant and I did not have an issue finding a spot. I personally ordered the Greek Philly. I was was thoroughly impressed with my food. First, the portion size was huge. I could not finish it in one sitting. Second, it came with a huge salad, which I was not expecting. The salad was delicious, the Philly was delicious. The fries.....not so much. They were crispy and hard. The salad and Philly were both tasty and packed with flavor. I cannot say enough about this place. They have a wide assortment of food including gyros, salads, soups, wraps, paninis, burgers, skewers/kabobs mezza, and antipasti. They also have worldwide booze, including imported beers. I am glad that I was able to experience this food and highly recommend checking this place out.

Good spot with good options. First off the inside of the…read morerestaurant is much nicer and classier than the outdoor seating. It's well decorated with comfy chairs and a good vibe. Outside feels like a complete different place (so pick indoor seating). Second, the staff is very friendly. We ordered several of their appetizers for our group and they were all delicious. Their kabab plates were a hit. They also offered a good selection of drinks. Minor thing, and it is from personal experience only: their menus are printed on black paper and in a plastic sleeve. Reminds me of the bad touristy places in Europe. It did not represent how good the food was, because usually we run away from this Massive Plastic menus... so I Joel one day they will update them to something nicer for a better first feel.

This place is in a great corner location, the food was delicious, and the staff were friendly…read moreoverall. We had a reservation to make sure we got a table, and the restaurant was completely full when we arrived. The only downside was that after being seated outside, we felt a little forgotten for the first 30 minutes or so. No one came by with water or to check in, and it seemed like the staff may not have realized a new table had been seated until we flagged down the outside host. There were also swarm of flies hovering around the outdoor tables, which another table pointed out and then we started noticing too. Aside from that, the experience was good overall. The inside dining area definitely had a dressier vibe compared to the patio seating, and once we were helped, the food made up for the slow start.

Placed a large order via Uber Eats since restaurant will not accept takeout orders directly…read more Restaurant does not allow any specifications when ordering through Uber Eats - for example, one person wanted one ingredient held from her salad. Uber Eats lacked description for Zaytinya's food items (such as the ounces of the drinks) and some items (such as the horta salata) were not as pictured. There were no extra napkins in our bag. The Coke came in bottles but we didn't receive any bottle openers. To top it off, we had three food items missing. I called the restaurant again to let them know about the missing food - they were unapologetic and didn't know what the proper protocol was to fix the situation. The service was subpar and the servings were small. Won't be back. The next day we had food delivered from another local restaurant where both the food and service were outstanding, unlike at Zaytinya. UPDATE: After writing the Yelp review, a general manager at Zaytinya emailed me the following: "..."The restaurant normally offers takeout, but the location was actually closed that day for a private event. However, since the order had come through, we tried to honor it. The mujadara and 2 orders of rice were missing because we hadn't prepped those items, as they were not offered for the buyout..." The restaurant knew on Friday what I was ordering for Tuesday. They had plenty of time to reach out to me and tell me they would be closed and wouldn't be able to fulfill the order. Instead, they knowingly sent out an order without all of the food for our group and charged as if we received everything. This shows a lack of professionalism and is disrespectful.

We came here on Sunday afternoon before a wine festival and they were pretty busy but we were able…read moreto be sat for the 4 of us without a problem. This was in a shopping center so we didn't have any issues with parking. Everyone was so friendly when we walked in and even with it being busy, service was fairly quick. Cute decor inside. We started off with a couple of sangrias, the red one was really good. We ordered the Spread Sampler, the Double Cooked Octopus, and thr Grilled Sucuk. The spread was delicious and came with warm pita breads, we were also able to order more when we ran out. I definitely recommend getting the Sampler to try the different spreads as all of them were amazing. The octopus was incredibly tender and flavor as was the Sucuk. I wish we were hungrier when we came but we had a great time and would definitely be back to try the rest of the menu.

Lots to like at Smyrna!…read more I highly recommend the 3-course express lunch menu, which includes a starter and dessert. At $24 as of this writing, this is a great value! Decorated in clean blue and white colors, Smyrna has an appealing feel. Smyrna also has a rear patio open during good weather. We were started out with very decent complimentary warm pita bread. For my first (starter) course, I ordered the chicken avgolemono soup. While the soup was packed with tender chicken, I was disappointed that the soup didn't really have much of a tart, lemony flavor. It actually was bland. But what more than made up for the avgolemono soup was the beef Keftdedes I chose for my second course. This dish came with absolutely the best tomato-based sauce I've ever had anywhere anytime! Delicious and fabulous!! The beef keftdedes were plump ground beef patties served over little squares of pita bread and topped with the tomato sauce and also a yogurt sauce. JP ordered the Imam Bayildi, which was good. It came with roasted eggplant, diced tomatoes and diced onions. For our third course (dessert), I ordered the Revani, which was a moist dense semolina cake topped with ice cream and chocolate shavings. Outstanding flavor and texture. Perfect! JP ordered the walnut baklava which was excellent. Service was friendly and fine. Other than the avgolemono soup, this was indeed a five star dining experience.

My buddy and I visited a few years ago when this place was still The Perfect Pita ... We each were…read morein a pita mood and ordered and they were quite enjoyable! I remember i got one of the veggie hummus ones. It has just recently rebranded and updated, though you still see some of the old signage around. With the updates have come a few (just a few) new items, including flan. I envy the people who have access to this little cafe because the pitas are hearty and allegedly the coffee is really good. They have plenty of salads, veggie cups, and desserts as well. I see that other regulars have mentioned the price going up here, but to me this is relatively inexpensive. What they charge $10 for, I see some places charge $15. I think it is a nice cafe to have in the area and I wish them success with their latest rebrand. Hope they do well!

This is in the building where I work. The food is good. It can be a bit pricey but in the pinch…read moreit's a good alternative. The restaurant is always clean the staff is always friendly and the customer service is always great. I didn't actually know they had an app so if you download the app you do get points and that way you can use some of those points and take a few dollars off of your meal. Although I wouldn't come down here and eat everyday because of the prices but I will definitely come down maybe once or twice a week.

Me and my parents went yesterday to celebrate Mother's Day! I will say that the atmosphere was…read morebreathtakingly gorgeous with its beautiful Turkish mosaic lamps and little sun flowers hanging from the ceiling. Absolutely fantastic service. The gentleman at the front who I assumed was the owner was an absolute sweet heart and was very friendly with us picking out our seat. Loved the food too. We had humus for an appetizer. My mom had shrimp kabab, I had beef kabab and dad had the veggie kabab. Everything was cooked perfectly and was delicious. Even desert was good. My mom loved her baklava and I had pudding cake. Thank you so much for making my mom's Mother's Day special!

We entered for great food and a break from the chilly outdoors and got one of the two…read more I'll skip to the service and the food. The hostess was good, she wanted to seat us in an enclosed section, saying it was warmer. The waitress returned to our table often and met all of our needs. The food was yummy and fresh. I enjoyed bringing some home to eat the next day. This restaurant should have 3 dollar signs because 95% of the entrees are over $30. One star is lost for atmosphere. No matter how nice the decor was, needing my coat and scarf to eat indoors was ridiculous. You see the reason we weren't seated in the warmer section (the hostess's words) was because the owner told her to seat us elsewhere. We learned that he was the owner when our waitress gave us rice pudding from Rudy. We didn't complain and that pudding almost earned the star back. UNTIL my husband stopped at a room heater that was positioned away from our table. Ugh

Dining with my friend on Lebanese cuisine was a delightful culinary adventure filled with surprises…read moreand delights. Moussaka: A classic Lebanese dish. Eggplant and hummus were simmered until soft and flavorful, with a subtle smoky aroma. The addition of mint leaves enhanced the flavor. Bone Marrow: Beef tartare with bone marrow and pomegranate seeds--how interesting! The first two provided a rich, fatty texture and intense aroma, while the latter burst in your mouth occasionally, juicy, tangy, and refreshing. Brussels Sprouts: Brussels sprouts with grapes, walnuts, fig jam, and mint yogurt--a whimsical yet magical combination... The Brussels sprouts offered a fresh, vegetal aroma and a slightly roasted aroma; the walnuts provided a nutty richness and crunch; the fruit provided a fresh sweet and sour taste and plenty of juice; and the yogurt acted as a binder between the flavors while adding a touch of minty coolness. Duck Shawarma: My friend and I thought: ...Peking duck? The skin was soft, the meat tender, not gamey, with a subtle smoky flavor; the fig and lemon sauce was sweet and refreshing; the small pita pillows held the meat securely, better than the lettuce what might have been too cold. Lamb Stuffed Grape Leaves: Black rice was wrapped in grape leaves and simmered with minced lamb. The rice absorbed the fragrance of the grape leaves, similar to lotus leaves (my friend and I thought: lamb version of sticky rice chicken糯米雞...?). The lamb, however, was served separately at the bottom of the pot and didn't absorb much flavor; overall, it was intensely sour. In short, this dish was a bit oddly designed, and it was the only one we didn't finish because the sourness was unbearable. Pita Bread: The bread was thin yet chewy, with a rough, slightly powdery surface, making it substantial and satisfying. I especially loved the "everything wrapped in a big pancake" style! This restaurant is located on the wharf near the Potomac River and boasts beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows. The spring sunlight streamed in softly.

Tried ilili DC recently and honestly loved the vibe as much as the food. The space feels upscale…read morewithout being stuffy, and the energy at The Wharf makes it a great dinner spot for a date night or group outing. The mezze was fresh and flavorful, especially the labneh and hummus, and the patatas bravas absolutely lived up to the hype. Service was attentive even though the restaurant was packed. It's definitely on the pricier side, but the atmosphere and quality made it worth it for a special night out.