Zaytinya - Washington DC

Hey guys, I know this post has been long-delayed. I really haven't had the time to devote to it, and I still don't now. I decided I would make it up to you by doing short entry interspersed by a series of photos. Sorry for the blurriness (dim lighting). Zaytinya was recommended to me by a grad school friend, Tali, who went to Georgetown for undergrad. I must say that he has very good taste. Lucky for him, because it would have been sad bump in our friendship if the restaurant sucked. =) Thanks, Tali!

Zaytinya is a mezze restaurant. A shorthand way to describe that would be to say it's the Mediterranean version of Spanish tapas. However, it's so much more than that. The flavors are very thoughtful together. There are a lot of influences present in each dish, as well.

Coming from an Asian family, eating family style is very close to my heart. The principles here are quite different though: small plates and beautiful presentation meant to invite sharing and discussion of tastes are quite different from huge platters of home cooked, messy you-too-skinny-let-me-put-more-food-on your-plate Chinese family dinners. I must say I love both.

Nick, Emily, and I walked over from our awesome hotel. The interior of Zaytinya is cool, hip, modern, and intimate. We each ordered three dishes that came out in groups of three. The kitchen thoughtfully grouped them together into a three course dinner that worked. This was amazing because we each have different tastes. They also served us unlimited puffy, warm pita with Greek olive oil and pomegranate (a twist on the olive oil and balsamic). The pita probably had me declaring my love for the place alone. Emily and Nick both ordered dessert while I had tea.

Course one:
Santorini fava (yellow split pea) soup (S)
Kolokithokeftedes - zucchini and cheese patties, caper-yogurt sauce (E)
Cretan Snails Skordalia - sautéed snails, garlic broth, ouzo, parsley, potato puree (N)


Course two:
Octopus Santorini - grilled baby octopus, marinated onions, capers, yellow split pea puree (S)
Fish special with really great cabbage that I cannot remember (E)
Spanakopita - house made phyllo, spinach, feta cheese (N)


Course three:
Moroccan Couscous Tagine - portobello mushroom, chick peas, sultans radish, harissa broth (S)
Chicken Melanzano - slow cooked chicken breast, zatar pomegranate, charred eggplant puree (E)
Short Rib Kapama - braised boneless short ribs, tomato-cinnamon stew (N)


Dessert:

Hand Crafted Blooming Tea - white tea with marigold and jasmine (S)

Chocolate Visne - milk chocolate cream with cherry sorbet and three caramels (E)
Turkish Coffee Chocolate - warm chocolate cake, bittersweet chocolate flan, and cardamom espuma finished with espresso syrup (N)

We each declared our favorites of each course. I would say the soup, octopus, and short ribs were clear winners. Debating the merits of each dish made the dinner very enjoyable. However, there were some clunkers. I would not recommend the spanakopita. It looked like a giant eggroll.

I look forward to returning sometime with friends that enjoy food. Emily and Nick were excellent dinner companions. It was nice to enjoy this place because I hadn't had a nice, moderately upscale dinner in a while. If you're ever in the DC area, make sure to stop by this gem of a restaurant.