I want to check that out. I went to his buddy/Top Chef World All Star competitor Ali Ghazee’s restaurant in Amman last month and it was fantastic.
Thoroughly enjoyed my dinner here last night. They still have some issues to sort out, but this is definitely a spot I’ll head back to. Here’s what landed on our table:
Mezze Platter
Hummus
Spicy Hummus
Babaghanouj
Muhammara
Falafel
Marinated Olives
Garlic Labneh
Wood Roasted Matchuba
Bata Harrara
This was the perfect way to start a meal with a group, in this case of 4. All of the mezze were somewhere between good to very good with no misses at all. The pita was freshly made and came out warm and while it wasn’t bad by any means it was not my favorite pita I’ve ever had.
Za’atar Man’oushe
This is a must get if you dine here. I imagine man’oushe is like $1.50 on the streets of Lebanon, but I was had no problem paying $19 because it was absolutely delicious.
Ahi Tuna Crudo
This was straight up bad. Terrible quality of fish that honestly shouldn’t have been served. I would never have ordered this here, but others at the table wanted it.
Whole Daurade
Delicious whole fish with zhoug, jalapenos, and a charred lemon. This was a favorite at the table.
Shawarma Skirt Steak
Cooked properly, but served a touch cold. Overlooking the temp issue the steak was quite good.
Fries
Very good fries
Baklava
Very good
Date Cheesecake
My least favorite of the desserts, but still pretty good
Passionfruit Muhalabieh
Fantastic dessert
I didn’t have any drinks last night, but the others at the table were happy with their on and off (cosmopolitans) menu drinks.
i had low expectations coming in, mainly because hotel restaurant, but i was pretty impressed with the food. everything was very good to great. highlights were the mezze platter, specifically the spicy hummus, muhammara, matbucha, and potatoes. also, scallops, duck, lamb and baklava. service was the only miss.
@boourns @CiaoBob review forthcoming?
hummus - chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil
spicy hummus - hummus topped with spicy chili sambal
babaghanouj - charred eggplant, tahini, lemon, yogurt
muhammara - roasted red pepper, cilantro oil, walnuts
falafel - ground chickpeas, herbs, tahini sauce, mint, tomato
marinated olives - green and black olives, chill, lemon
garlic labneh - strained yogurt, confit garlic, pickled eggplant
wood-roasted matbucha - tomatoes, red pepper, onion, garlic
batata harra - triple cooked potatoes, garlic, cilantro, chilies
arnabit tahini - fried cauliflower, dukkah spice
grilled maine scallop - vanilla, fennel, green shatta, orange, puffed rice
octopus - potato, chorizo butter, lemon relish
roasted rainbow carrots - labneh, hot honey, za’atar
dry-aged rohan duck - honey, rose
olive crusted rack of lamb - garlic yogurt, dehydrated olives
Brings up a good topic: Best hotel food in L.A.?
Loved the duck, even though the skin got a tiny bit burnt over the grill. Octopus was good, but surprised how small the portion of octopus was considering how much scallop we got… almost makes we wonder if they upsized the scallop for our 3 person party.
Mezza platter is worth it if you have more than two people. We saw several folks get it as a pair, but I think you’ll struggle to finish much more after that. muhammara > spicy hummus > batata harra == falafel for me.
San Laurel though I haven’t tried said Lebanese restaurant.
Warrior: I’d put this restaurant halfway between the average Lebanese restaurant and Bavel in terms of both food quality and style. Solid food across the board (including the whole mezze platter), with no misses but no standouts either. I found the overall experience less appealing than the food itself. Charmless dining room with no Middle Eastern flair. Slow service. While Resy always shows that they have no open tables, the reality—at least tonight—was that the restaurant was half full.
Peony: I liked the restaurant yesterday [Lustig] more than this one.
That is true…and weird.
I stand corrected
Haven’t looked for a few months so that was an uninformed post!
It’s haphazard. Resy was showing no spots at all for dinner last night–just the “Notify” button. But I called and easily made a reservation. Many times in the past month or so, I’ve wanted to try Ladyhawk, but Resy showed no reservations. Could be their goal is to ensure that hotel guests can dine there if they want? Dunno.