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Visited Lebanese Taverna with a group of friends from work. We headed in a wee bit early for our 7pm reservation and were promptly seated at a tiny round table in the middle of the small dining room. The environment was warm and cozy, but made me nervous with my large floppy menu when wine and cocktail glasses joined our overcrowded table scape. After a while of perusing their extensive menu I just gave up and plopped the menu on the floor, so I could avoid disaster with my coworkers fruity cocktail.
Wine selection was good and they have a full bar to serve you any drink you would desire.
The staff was attentive and quick to serve the food and clear empty dishes from our table. All food ordered was flavorful and appetizing as displayed on the plate. Everyone enjoyed their selections and we all ended up with doggie bags for lunch the next day.
Prices seemed a bit high, and if less food was served and the prices were lowered, this might result in a more appealing set up. However, if you have never tried this type of food before, be sure you get an assortment of the "Mezza" plates, which are small plates to share with your entire party. Enough of these little tasty treasures could fill you while providing a very nice assortment of flavors and textures.
With my bad experiences with Lebanese food in the past, I was a bitter skeptic to this spot. As I begrudgingly came here upon promises that this Lebanese Taverna was different because it was the original, I noted the shanty excuse for a parking lot in front of the restaurant. But once I stepped in, everything changed. The tables were clean and the place just felt fresh, the staff immediately sat us and I started my journey.
We ended up ordering the grilled combo (I forgot the name, the $25 one) and left very satisfied with this decision. I was most impressed with the variety we got: hommos, that salsa thing, chicken, beef, pork, and a couple of other that I can't remember at this point. The main thing to note here was the freshness of all the ingredients used, and how much meat they gave you! One of my small minded criticism with Lebanese Taverna was that they didn't give you enough meat options.
For meat lovers and those looking to give Lebanese cuisine another chance.
This place totally rocked my world!
We showed up about an hour before the place was to close but our waiter did not rush us in the least.
The food here was amazing- we ended up ordering a little bit of everything and one of my top 5 dishes out of any culture is kibbeh nayeh. I cannot find this dish prepared the right way anywhere, but it was perfect (as were the other dishes) and I could have made a meal out of a couple of these plates!
I was not disappointed by anything I received having had Lebanese home cooking on several occasions; every bite of it just popped with flavor. I would highly recommend ordering the small servings of the dishes and create a tapas type of environment (that's what we did).
Also, an extra bonus is the pricing is incredibly reasonable. If you're craving authentic Lebanese- go here!
The mall at Tysons Corner is full of chain restaurants, e.g. the dreaded Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's, and Legal Seafoods. So after a long day of mingling, I thought it'd be good to mix it up and go to the Lebanese Taverna.
We had the Shawarma as an appetizer, which made me feel better about not ordering it as an entree. I'd recommend getting the hummus to go with the bread they have, as the olive oil is a little bland.
Both of us ordered seafood. Note that the seafood combination comes with this pine nut paste that tastes delicious. My salmon was fine, but I stuffed myself a little too much with the bread.
Nothing really stood out, so I can't recommend going here except if you want to avoid American food at Tysons Corner.
Awesome. Seriously......AWESOME. I love the one in Rockville and the one here is even better. Not sure what to say, food/menu was very good, very reasonable prices. Great!!!
Others can write about the virtues of this food better than I, but bottom line is this is by far the best Lebanese food in the area. Reasonable prices, especially for mezzas, and consistently great food regardless of dish.
Favorites here include chicken shwarma and grape leaves. And of course, the best hommos, served warm with fresh pita bread.
Go!
The food at this place was okay, but damn its pricey. I didn't think it was anything that special. This Lebanese Taverna was the original restaurant in the DC area and now they have a few other locations too. So they have done pretty well for themselves.
The parking here kinda sucks, but there is plenty of street parking.
The food was pretty standard middle eastern, but I doubt I'll be coming back since its so pricey. I didn't think anything in the Westover Hood was that upscale, but they proved me wrong.
Great. Felafel could be better...
The food and wine were good. Four stars would be the review but...
My people arrived in town late and starving. A mix of vegetarians and carnivores wanted to share stories and food and wine at 10:15 on a Friday night.
The sign on the window says they are open until 10:30 and when we walked in we checked to verify that they were still serving. A few tables, mostly 6+ parties lingered over coffee and stories.
The wait staff had, apparently, nothing to do. After being seated for almost five seconds a waiter was recommending unsolicited advice on a very good bottle of wine to my girlfriend who had to say clearly twice that she/we wanted to review the options before deciding on wine. And then within a space of two minutes we were asked by two other people if we needed any help or wanted anything. Finally, the fourth person to bug us before we could read all the headings of the menu explained that the kitchen staff wanted to clean the grill at 10:30 and we should get our order in soon so they could do that. You know what? That's fine. I sympathize with their situation. I will even take steps to be accommodating, but if you don't get out of my face for a second I'm going to get up and walk out. So I sent off the most annoying of the waiters with an order for some hummus and he seemed happy to have something to do.
Once we got our orders in and wine glasses filled everything turned out okay. The food was delicious and the prices seemed appropriate. For tapas our four-top table was a little crowded, and the dining room was rather chilly, but that wasn't enough of a problem to sour the whole experience. (although those are the kinds of details that sew up five star reviews from me)
The next time I go it will be earlier and then perhaps I'll come back and give another star, but not this time.
Let me just say that I am not a big fan of Lebanese food. I have tried time and again to get into but there is just something about it that is always just a tick off for me to really enjoy it. That being said, this place is awesome. I have tried just about every vegetarian option on the menu and didn't find a single thing that wasn't excellent.
I will say that a couple times the staff was a bit brusque or perhaps rude is a more accurate term? I just tell myself it is a cultural difference. Who knows. I just don't let it bother me.
They have a good alcohol selection that pairs well with the food. Definitely order the SHANKLEESH "aged sheep feta blended with paprika rolled in zaatar (sesame, thyme and sumac)." Holy hell that is some good cheese. Seriously. I am sure I could eat myself sick on that stuff.
The baklava is not the best I have ever had but it is good none the less.
Thanks for taking us here Suzanne. It was crowded which tells of how good the food is. Make a reservation! We had the eggplant mezza, which I was leary about. It was very very good. I had the ouzi, and I'd order it again. The baklava was better than what I make and I don't say that very often!
I heard great things about this place, so we took a visiting friend there. It's cuisine is run-of-the-mill middle eastern, only slightly better than what is offered at the pita place in the Pentagon City Mall. The disappointing factor for all of this, however, was the prices are twice that of the mall.
Decor-wise a very nice place, just not worth the money. My barber is Lebanese and when I complained to him about LT, he recommended Aladdin in Shirlington. I have yet to try it, but will let you know if I do.
This place is about a mile from my house, but I only make it here about once a year. I should go more often- from the baba ghanoush to the shwarma to the drinks, everything tastes great. This place is always busy, so make a reservation. My table enjoyed the eggplant mezza, the ouzi, and the fatteh with lamb. The dessert was good too- baklava- and a sizeable portion of it. It's not the cheapest place to eat, but is consistently good.
This is my favorite restaurant in the world. This location is the original and I always feel like I'm going to my Lebanese grandmother's for dinner. The staff here is so friendly and attentive and the food is always amazing. I moved to Chicago a year ago and desperately miss the moussaka, falafel, hummus, grape leaves, and freshly baked bread. I wish they could ship it to me!
This is the original Lebanese Taverna. It's small and cozy and the manager is very friendly. It was a 10-15 minute wait so we started with a drink at the bar. The apple mojito was a little too sweet and didn't taste like there was any alcohol in it. Shortly after, we were escorted to our table.
I wasn't hungry enough for an entree (I had a late lunch) so I stuck with the tapa/appetizer-size mezzas ($5-8 a plate). The Shrimp Katafy is shrimp breaded in shredded phyllo and fried. The Sambousik was my favorite - deep fried pastry shells stuffed with ground meat and nuts. The last dish was the Chicken Shawarma with a garlic puree which was good but not as good as my friend's Shawarma mezza.
I love variety in my food and I can always count on Lebanese Taverna for that. Oh and the bread is incredible!
Some of the best Lebanese Food in the area!
I've been to a lot of their locations, but this is my favorite. In fact, I believe this is the original location. You can't go wrong with this choice.
Everything on the menu is great, but my favorite dish is the "fetet batinjan" (no idea if I'm spelling it right), which has chick peas, yogurt, eggplant, mint, radishes, toasted pita bread, pomegranite seeds...I know, it sounds like an odd array of ingredients, but trust me--it comes together very well. You won't regret it!
You can't go wrong with the staples like their hummus, tabouleh, etc.
If you're looking for your new favorite Lebanase restaurant, give this place a shot!
The Chicken Shawarma and the Shish Taouk are excellent. My friends and I are obsessed with the Fatyer B'Jibne appetizer. The hummus is great and the pita bread they give is additive. The restaurant can be crowed as they have limited space and the parking is a challenge. the service is good and overall it's a pleasant experience. The pentagon row location has better seating and better parking.
I went here for lunch and ordered the vegetarian mezza. It was like a sampler platter. Anyway, the food was great but more than I wanted to pay. Plus the waiter charged me too much, but I didn't have time to argue.
Did a cooking demonstration there for a friend's bday. Had a blast! Part of the fun was the crowd, and the unlimited wine. Our group sort of helped cook, though I think we were distracted. The food was very tasty and integrated lots of veggies. You eat upstairs in the market, and feel very cool owning the restaurant for yourself.
The original Lebanese Taverna location. This place has been here forever. The recent renovation makes for some nice ambiance, although the service is pretty brusque because the restaurant is always packed.
The food is very good, but the prices have been skyrocketing lately. Great first date or neighborhood dinner place. Extremely consistent, although I'm partial to Layalina over Lebanese Taverna any day.
Monday nights can't be beat - half off on a truly good wine list and always consistent, Middle Eastern fare.
Jousef is back after a stint at the posh Old Town sister restaurant (100 King) and all is well again in the world.
Also good for take out - stop at the bar, have a glass of the organic Austrian pinot noir and chat with the friendly staff. Still haven't worked up the guts to challenge anybody to a game of backgammon!
This branch of the Lebanese Taverna chain is a welcome icon in Westover!
Excellent. Worth the price.
Was told it would be 15 min. for a table for three . Waiting in the bar I had a draft ale that was cold and refreshing. After exactly 15 minutes - we were taken to our table. Had the baba ganoush to start (mezza) - it was lovely - creamy, lemony, nice spice - very fresh taste. It was perfect with the warm bread. Chicken shawarma was nicely flavored but a tiny bit dry. Our party had several vegetarian mezza items, and a lamb dish. All were nicely prepared with good spice, flavor and texture.
I will certainly be going back again for another dinner!
This place rocks -- the food is on par with native cooks (friends of mine are from Lebanon). All of the dishes I've ordered are excellent, and the service is very accommodating (anyone with kids will understand). The jallab and Almaza are my fav drinks.
The food reminded me of the stuff my Mom used to make when I was little. It's definitely traditional Middle Eastern food. Some of the things I ordered tasted really weird compared to other places I've had the same order at, so I can't give them a 5 out of 5. Hummus and Tabbouleh are good there. The traditional style of all eating from one huge serving plate is kinda cool, but I like that it's optional.
We went last night, and the service, food, and atmosphere were still great, after all these years. Nowadays there are many middle eastern places--this is still a cut above the rest.
This place is all right. I've definitely had better kabobs at other less expensive restaurants. However the service is great. And the location is perfect for those working in the Tyson's area.
Local franchise with good food and friendly staff. Order 6 dishes to share (good for 2 people) from the mezza menu to get the most variety. Lebanese Taverna also offers cooking classes at another local location.
Arlington, VA
Ah! This place was good. Now im an amateur with lebanese food with the exception of schwarma. So we told the host that we would go by his recommendations!!!! We simply sat back and were all game to be suprised!!!!
We were served 4 dishes, we particularly enjoyed 2 very much
1. beef schwarma served with Hummus which was Exceptional!!!!
I dont usually like hummus served at all places, but it had a freshness to it!!! This was indeed the tastiest beef schwarma i have had !!!!! the salad the host served us alongside complimented it perfectly and yes ! the bread was fresh and dry but again tasty.
2 Thin slices of lamb cooked grilled and served with cilantro, parsley and olive oil dressing! Excellent , succulent, tender and flavorful!
3. the 3rd dish was called camel wings, but basically chicken wings with garlic dressing, done well but it was something that was common elsewhere, so wont give it credit for its uniqueness in flavor.
4. Some kind of sausages which was flavored with cinnamon i think. This was ok.
For desert the server recommended a bread pudding garnished with coconut shavings, raisins, and pistachio and served with whipped creaming - our gustatory senses were quite content with this final dish! it was warm and yummmmmmmmmmmm! sooo good, soo different and definitely the best bread pudding ever!!!!!!!!!
Wine and alcohol list - Its pretty elaborate and my friend quite enjoyed his wine! I decided to try something new and went for the non alcoholic beverage called - jallad. This was sweet and refreshing, a very different flavor ,similar to sherbet, it was made of raisins and dates and topped with pine nuts!!!! NIiiiiiiiice.
As far as the pricing is concerned we went overboard but i think one can safely make an awesome meal between 10- 12 bucks a person if u order right!
Loved the place and another thing i liked about it is how u can vary the size of ur order. I can never have huge portions of food, and the mezza serves just the right quantity for those who dont like humungus servings!!!!
GREAT place!!!!!!!! Highly recommendable!!!!!!!! will definitely go back!" Friend Quick Search
this place gets everything right when it comes to restaurants!
i frequented the place the entire 4+ years i lived in the area and i've never been disappointed. you can eat meze or large entrees. they've got a nice selection of wine and the food is outstanding no matter what you eat. after a little trial and error, i usually get the same thing when i find something i like at a restaurant, but i don't think i've ever eaten the same thing twice in a row at this place. as someone with a good deal of experience with middle eastern food it's all really good and authentic.
aside from the food though, the entire atmosphere is just right. it's tight and there are several tables squeezed into the space but it's still an awesome place to eat on a date or with a group. what's more is that the staff is always friendly and attentive. your food is brought to you with a sense of urgency, your water glass isn't allowed to get empty and the staff will remembers your face, appreciates your patronage and they go out of their way to be friendly to children and adults alike.
it's quite refreshing to be able to go to a place like this. there are several locations in the area, but since everything is done so well there, i've happily gone out of the way to return to this one. one of my favorite go to spots!
Had lunch here yesterday and it was amazing as always. Falafel, shawarma, shrimp katafy, and camel wings, washed down with Lebanese Almaza beer. You could go here many times and get an assortment of mezzes and not have the same thing twice...and it would all be good. Best tip: If you like realy, really (really) hot sauce, by all means get an order of Harissa Sauce (Moroccan chile paste) for "dipping" (actually applying a few small drops per bite...this stuff is incendiary)!! Service is perfect.
Went here for dinner with friends. Service was excellent. Food was good but portions were way small and overpriced. Tysons has bigger portions for the same price so you are better off there. Also arabic tea is pretty well known so hot water and lipton doesnt really cut it....oh well, i'll stick to Tysons Taverna
love this kind of food but it really screws with my stomach. too heavy and not worth the digestive woes that will follow
Arlington, VA
Category: Middle Eastern
Arlington, VA
Category: Mediterranean
Arlington, VA
Category: Middle Eastern
Arlington, VA
Category: Vegetarian
Falls Church, VA
Category: Latin American
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
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