Mama Ayesha's

1967 Calvert St NW
Washington, DC 20009-1501
202-232-5431
http://www.mamaayeshas.com/

I ate here and had the Koo 'sa Mahshi - yellow squash stuffed with lamb, rice, and spices in a tomato sauce. It was solid, but not remarkable. It was on the bland side. My dinner companion had a regular kabob and said it was pretty good, although a couple pieces were far too rare. They were $16 and $19 respectively with most dinner entrees being in that range.
As an appetizer we had Labneh - farmer's cheese made from yogurt in olive oil. It was good, but not remarkable.
The best attribute of this restaurant was the decor and ambiance. While it felt a little old inside somehow, the restaurant had nice streams of water, walls of plants dividing the space, ornate globes hanging from the ceiling, and nice patterns. The restaurant overall seemed to be a deep red shade, which was a little odd. We had a nice window seat.
The service was good, friendly, and helpful. The restaurant was not too busy at the time.

Overall, I might try it again - perhaps my dish just wasn't the best, but Astor Mediterranean and Lebanese Taverna were better.

Lebanese Taverna - Woodley Park

2641 Connecticut Ave. NW • Washington, DC, 20008 • (202) 265-8681 (directly across the street from the Woodley Park metro stop)

http://www.lebanesetaverna.com/

MENU (as of 3/6/2011)

So I finally revisited the Woodley Park location for Lebanese Taverna. First off, I should admit that I wasn't as impressed with the decor as I remember having been. I would not put it above the Bethesda decor.

In all other respects, Lebanese Taverna was as good as I remembered it. The server was even particularly attentive and charming.

Just as I have done on every other visit to a Lebanese Taverna, I split a bunch of mezze with someone rather than try an entree. I had a white wine with my meal and it was good to solid (really I just remember the food).

Lebanese Taverna had a hummus menu where you could choose and customize your own hummus. We had the Spicy Hummus and topped it with the Tomatoes & Feta. It was amazing. I have never had a better hummus in my life.

I also got the makdous (cured baby eggplant stuffed with walnuts, garlic, lemon, olive oil, pomegranate) again, which my date was curious about. She didn't seem to like it much, although I thought it was pretty good. It was a bit too strong in spice and garlic though and should have been more subtle. Not their best dish.

The Halloum cheese (with tomatoes, olive oil, olives and sauteed) was pretty good too, but nothing special.

Sadly, I cannot remember the other mezze or two that we had, despite remembering at least one being quite good.

Overall, I escaped with a $41.25 bill before tip, which included wine, and was easily enough food (more than my date could eat).


Summary of all 3 locations

Review of Bethesda location

Lebanese Taverna - Bethesda

A week ago I visited the Bethesda location of Lebanese Taverna. Despite the Woodley Park location being one of my favorite DC restaurants, this is my first Lebanese Taverna visit since I started this blog.

Anyway, Bethesda location is a convenient walk from the Bethesda metro with plenty of parking around. The decor is pretty nice with high ceilings and, unlike many downtown DC places, not designed to be loud. (Note: My earlier comment that "The Woodley Park location is more impressive though." is retracted upon visiting the Woodley Park location again. They're both different, but both are quite nice in decor and ambiance.)

Lebanese Taverna does offer entrees, but I have always gotten several Mezze and shared them with people allowing me a wide variety of tastes. My dishes at this location this time were very good. I had the Kibbeh (meatballs of beef, lamb, burghul, pine nuts, almonds with yogurt), the shwarma (carved lamb & beef with tahini sauce), makdous (cured baby eggplant stuffed with walnuts, garlic, lemon, olive oil, pomegranate), the shankleesh (spiced aged feta), and some baba ghanough (eggplant dip). Most were strong, pungent and excellent, with baba ghanough being nothing special (although the person I split the meal with loves it here) and the baby eggplant/makdous being only pretty good, but not necessarily for everyone.

I have again been impressed by Lebanese Taverna, although I would probably rate Cava Mezze as slightly better than this visit, although you really cannot go wrong with either. I also need to remind myself to try an entree next time. I have had an entree from Lebanese Taverna catered into a former job site, which was extraordinary, but I do not know if it was from the Bethesda or Woodley Park location (equidistant).

(My rundown on the other locations)

Lebanese Taverna

Woodley Park location
2641 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, DC, 20008 (202) 265-8681

Full review of more recent visit HERE.

Overall, the experience was superb. On my first trip I sampled many dishes with several friends and almost everything was amazing. Later, I had catered food for a work lunch which was very, very tasty as well. Very cool decor inside. Spacious. Very convenient being right outside the Woodley Park metro stop.

Bethesda location
7141 Arlington Road, Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 951-8681

I dined here more recently and have a full post up HERE, but the food was quite good and the decor nice as well. Easily walkable from Bethesda metro stop. I would rate it as commensurate with the Woodley Park location.

Pentagon City location
1101 South Joyce Street, Pentagon Row, Arlington, VA, 22202 (703) 415-8681

Overall, the food was solid. I went as a party of 6 and not all of the dishes were good, but those I chose were quite good, as were a few others. Easily walkable from Pentagon City metro stop. The decor was not as impressive as the Woodley Park location or Bethesda location, both of which I prefer.

Other locations
Although I have not visited them, the website lists additional locations at:

Baltimore - 719 S. President Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 244-5533
Located on the corner of S. President and Lancaster Streets in the newly developed Harbor East!

Arlington - 5900 Washington Boulevard, Arlington, VA, 22205 (703) 241-8681
The original Lebanese Taverna restaurant serving the Westover Community of Arlington.

Tyson's Galleria - 1840 G International Drive, McLean, VA 22102 (703) 847-5244
Located on the ground level of Tysons Galleria, this restaurant features a large outdoor cafe, captain's table in the lounge and plenty of free parking.