Restaurants
Zaytinya 
Quick Take
Greek tapas, glamorous setting, gallant service.
Reader Reviews [8]
Thank You
Thank you for submitting a review. Please check back soon.
Reviews
this is a chef andres restaurant?
For my birthday, I was treated to lunch. Perhaps it was the wrong day of the week, or perhaps it would have simply been better to stick to the price fixe menu, but I really wanted to have the hunkar begendi, so I ordered off the menu. What a disappointment. The lamb was hard, knotty, and tough, tasted simply boiled sans seasoning, and the eggplant puree it was sitting on did nothing to complement the lamb, instead it was simply spread so thin that it merely served to cover an otherwise beautiful serving dish. This used to be an amazing dish. I get better lamb dishes from my afghan takeaway!
Great place, great food, great for groups
We had a party of 20 and the accomodations, service and food were all superb. Highly recommended for those looking to start a great night out on the town. Will definitely be back as soon as possible.
Uninspired and Loud
Maybe it was the funky cheese. Maybe it was the loud fat woman yelling to her friend sitting across from her. Maybe it was the large empty and minimalist space that created the wall of noise. But I was unimpressed with my first Jose Andres experience. I enjoy Made in Spain and I'm a tapas fan (Cava's is quite good). But the crispy skirt steak was not crispy, the jalapenos and onions accompanying it proved the crunch. The steak simply shredded itself when touched by a fork. Neither aptly named, nor (it seemed) properly prepared. The kabab of ground lamb was spciy and flavorful and was probably the best of the dishes I tried. The rose water katyffi (sp) tasted like orange sherbert and lacked any resemblance to katyffi. Let down.
One of DC's finest!
Amazing food combined with an exciting scene make for one of the best dining experiences in our Nation's Capitol.
4 star food and service
I chose Zaytinya as the only restaurant I would go to while in DC chaperoning a student who participated in Poetry Out Loud national finals. I made an online reservation and informed them that my student won regionals and would be a national finalist. They greeted him upon entry and the kitchen and general manager congratulated him too. I was impressed that a tony restuarant would be so thoughtful toward a teen. The food was outstanding. We had Baby Squash Salata, Pipe Dream, Chicken Kibbeh,Arayes, Roasted Cauliflower, and Baba Ghannouge. Every item was outstanding but the Baba Ghannouge was transcendent. And the other reviews are correct -- the pita are outstanding -- little steamy puffs of heaven.
Incredible food, definetely worth a try
I heard some people say that DC doesn't have as many good restaurants as New York or other big cities. I think they need to try Zaytinya, it will change their minds. Their Mediterranean (Greek/Turkish) food is amazing, and I also loved their white Greek wines, I didn't know Greece produced such delicious wines. They tend to be very busy so you do have to go early or make a reservation way in advance. both times I went with friends, we found space at the bar area after a little wait. The great food is worth the wait and the price, but it is on the expensive side. On my budget, couldn't afford to go very often.
awesome!
the ambiance is beautiful, the staff are attentive, and the food is delicious!! we went for restaurant week and everything we tried was wonderful. we will be back!
Wonderful service
We went to Zaytinya on Sunday . The service was wonderful. our server was well informed and able to explain the many unfamiliar dishes quite well. Everything she recommended we loved. The manager even came by once to see if we were enjoying our meal. The wine recommendations were also wonderful. we do not get into the city much, and Zaytinya was the best DC dinning experience we have had in a long time.
Request Removal of a User Review
You have chosen to submit a user review for possible removal by our editorial staff due to its offensive or inappropriate nature. Please confirm that you would like the review submitted for evaluation. If our editors find that the review does not fall within our user review guidelines, then it will be removed promptly.
Your Review Has Been Posted
Thanks, for your thoughts!
To see the review, refresh your page. Please remember that washingtonpost.com
reserves the right to remove a review without any warning if it does not
satisfy WPNI Rules for Posting Content.
Thank You
The user review that you selected has been submitted for evaluation by our editors. It usually takes us about 5-7 days to evaluate a review.
Thanks for the notification!
