The Pita House

Great service, wonderful food, and good prices! We will definitely be back!

Never been to a Lebanese place before, but it’s seems in line with Greek or Mediterranean food. While I heard of Lebanon I have no idea where it’s at. I’d guess it’s by Croatia or something. So with that I ordered the combo Schwarma which seemed basic. Not overly thrilling but good. My wife got the vegetarian mixed appitizer platter. What we loved was the smoked eggplant hummus type stuff. Overall it was okay but the service was great. Always had water and helpful staff with a nice décor.

Gyro was SUPER yumz!
Tried my friend’s fish sandwich thingy also, both very good! The atmosphere is ok, kinda crammed, but also right in downtown, so I guess I can’t blame them for making due with what they got. My friends and I had a booth, so we were comfortable.
The waiter was kinda a dingbat and not as attentive as I care for, but got our check promptly and everything was correct.
The food was what I most cared for! The prices arn’t bad either. Very fair. & it’s right near some good shopping! So that’s a plus!
Would go back if I’m in this area again.

Very quality and consistent food. Everything has great flavor and it is made fresh.

Very yummy lebanese food. Very fresh and price is reasonable. We had falafel, grape leaves and chicken shawarma. Very delicious. Ambiance is nice too, service is wonderful. Can’t wait to go back!

Good to come here to satisfy mediterranean cravings. Prices are fair too. Nothing to rave about, decent food but nothing crazy. The chicken Shish Tawouk is my favorite with incredibly seasoned chicken kabobs!

I am a loyal Pita house lunch goer! This is minutes from my job and I usually will get the shawarma combination. I have tried many items and have customized my favorite meal down to a science with their 3 or 5 combo meal (I choose the 5 combo a tend to favor these: *Falafel– perfect every time;
*Humus or i’ll ask for the *Lebanese salad in place of the avocado salad;
*Beef or Chicken Shawarma sometimes both!
*Sambousick cheese (fried cheese in dough– delish!);
and then usually sub on of the items for their *Rice.
they are easily one of the best spots to eat authentic Lebanese cuisine! always a fan! My only pet peeve and room for improvement to this spot is sometimes when i have gone to grab take out employees who smoke outside the restaurant near the back may not realize it seeps through to the take out area. Cant stand the smell so i usually avoid sitting right by their counter and grab a seat over in a booth until my lunch is ready. I know right… not a good look thus the 4 and not a 5 but the food is very good never been disappointed on that note!

Outstanding traditional Lebanese cuisine with great service and atmosphere. Highly recommend.

I once gave the Pita house 5 stars; I’ve been going since the old location on Cameron Street, everything was always fantastic and delicious! I went last week for an early lunch, hadn’t been in a long time — as my work location moved so I haven’t been able to frequent like I did for almost 8 years! We got there when it opened shortly after 11am, they were still vacuuming but sat us.
We ordered hummus and pita and 2 chicken and cheese’s. Mine had a hair rolled into it, which I discovered about 3 bites in. I didn’t remove it — I left it in place to show our waiter. He took my plate, came back about 5 minutes later and told me that the kitchen all had hair nets on so he wasn’t sure what to tell me. So… ok? Are you suggesting I made it up? You saw it with your own two eyes? I’m not one to complain, really, I usually give glowing reviews and support as many local businesses as I can but I ate 3 bites of food. He said he’d love to take it off the bill for me, but the man who could do that wasn’t there and he wasn’t sure when he’d be getting in. He also told me I could just come in next time and tell them I had a hair in my food and they owed me a meal. OK, I’ll just walk in off the street with no documentation and demand a free meal.
It was just a really disappointing experience that the staff didn’t rectify. I was so excited to eat there too, it had been so long :(

I got the gyro and my father in law got the sovlaki.
The gyro was very flavorful. However the menu did not specify what type of meat that is utilized in the dish. I had no idea if I was getting lamb, chicken of beef. And to be honest I still have no idea what type of meat was in my gyro. I wish there was more tzakiki sauce. The tzakiki sauce is the white Greek yogurt sauce loaded with fresh cucumber. This sandwich is $ 7.50. It was decently filling and I think it’s a good deal!
The sovlaki had good flavor in the beef cubes.

THE SHAWARMA HERE IS AMAZING!!! Try the shawarma combination; you will not regret it! The dish includes chicken and beef, both which are cooked to perfection. It also comes with rice, a portion of salad, and pita bread as well. The appetizers here are also delicious… hommos, falafel, spinach pie, kibbeh… they are all tasty.
If you are on King Street this restaurant is a clear go to when searching for a great sit down middle eastern meal, with just as good service.

This place was okay. Our appetizer stuffed grape leaves were overly salty, but came out about 5 minutes after we ordered them. For the entrees I got the chicken shawarma, and my friend for the beef shawarma. Both were good, but they didn’t «wow» us. We got the pistachio baklava for dessert, and it was brought out to us about 3 minutes after we ordered it. Cold, dry, but good nonetheless. Very mixed feelings about the place, but probably would not go back.

We ordered delivery from the pita house this evening when wanting to be lazy but trying to stay on the somewhat healthy side. My fiancé ordered the chicken shawarma and I ordered the chicken kabob. Both were decent, but nothing overly spectacular. The meat was tender and flavorful. I had hoped the kabob would have more onions and peppers on it. There was one small 1 inch piece of red pepper and a few pieces of grilled onion.
Mine was served with a side salad that had very fresh tomatoes on it, along with one piece of cucumber and two small pieces of green pepper. The dressing was light and very flavorful.
Delivery was 45 minutes as quoted. The person who took our order over the phone had a hard time hearing us and had to ask us a few times our order again. We were worried it would arrive incorrect, but everything arrived as expected and still hot.
We will likely order from them again when we’re looking for a lazy delivery meal that isn’t pizza or subs.

My foodie friend is from the native region this food is made from and gives it a double thumbs up. Having visited the region myself I have to say that its very authentic and wonderfully flavored. Makes you think they have grandmas recipe box in the back and are following all the loving steps she takes to make it perfect.
A big plus is that they deliver in my neighbor hood as well! I cant wait to get the Mix platter again. It makes sharing so much easier! Bravo Pita House!!!

I loooove The Pita House. I’ve eaten here twice in the last two years and it’s now somewhere I absolutely have to dine at during my D.C. trips. Since I tend to stay in hotels that are located not that far down the street in Arlington it’s a convenient place to grab a meal — and man, the food!
The first time I ate here, a family member and I wandered in later in the evening after a very long drive; at that point we just wanted some light bites so we wouldn’t be starving at 3AM. The Pita House offered that, and they didn’t disappoint. This was over a year ago now but I clearly remember that super friendly staff checking in on us frequently, and even apologizing for «slow service». And that was maybe 10, 15 minutes after we ordered? THAT’S slow, we thought? During that visit we ordered a mixed platter of appetizers with excellent grape leaves, spinach and cheese pies, and other Middle Eastern must-​eats.
Visit #2, which was much more recent, was honestly even better — I came with the same family member and we got to taste even more of the menu. Once again it was like the food came out within minutes, and the promptness was all the more impressive because the place was hopping and full of several large groups. This time the two of us enjoyed a regular Lebanese salad and a couple cheese and meat pies, as well as a 3-​plate sampler of avocado salad, kibbeh bites, and spinach pies. All of these things were absolutely delicious, particularly because each featured a different array of spices that were mixed right into the dishes and which complimented the other ingredients. The spinach pies were surprisingly light and flavorful, and I also enjoyed my avocado salad; while most avocado salads are basically garden salads with slices of avocado on top, this one was was almost all avocado with a few cucumbers and other small greens — absolutely wonderful for an avocado lover like myself. And the kibbeh! The kibbeh here is made up of ground beef, ground lamb, crushed wheat shells and pine nuts, and it is the best kibbeh I’ve ever had. It’s a must when you eat here as far as I’m concerned.
Needless to say, I love the food here. Add in the fact that the place has always had region-​appropriate music playing at a decent volume and that the place has always been lit to a comfortable level, and you have an eatery that is, in my opinion, pretty perfect. I absolutely recommend this place and wish I lived nearby so I could stop in more often!

Ive passed this place a million times thinking it was an extra casual carryout-​like restaurant based on the look of the awning outside. This time around I was in a casual mood and wanted to try something new so I checked Unilocal and walked in the door. To my surprise, the restaurant was much nicer than it appeared from the outside. It was quaint and dimly lit.
I ordered a «combination» with three items of my choosing. I went with the beef shawarma, hommos, and kibbeh and it came with warm pita bread. The kibbeh was probably the best Ive had. The beef shawarma and hommos were decent. I also ordered a glass of Pinot Noir which they skimped on. I watched as they brought out someone else’s glass of wine and they skimped on theirs too. The service was otherwise good.
I love Mediterranean food and plan to go back and try other items on the menu but will skip the wine next time.

Ordered takeout from here a few weeks back in which the chicken schwarma platter and fatteh blahmeh (stewed lamb with butter and pine nuts) were sampled and I was sorely disappointed. Considering there was a back and forth rivalry with Layla’s (now closed) as to the best Mediterranean restaurant in Old Town, perhaps now that their competition is gone, the standards have been lowered. I almost wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt that somehow the quality may have been compromised by ordering takeout and the dishes needed to be sampled immediately, but having looked at other Unilocaler’s photos and reviews as well as proudly admitting that I recently ordered takeout of a similar dish from Raouche Café in Falls Church close to closing time where I ate my food in the backseat of my car, I can say that good Lebanese food remains tasty no matter the place, time, or circumstance.
Starting with the chicken schwarma, my chicken looked just like the ones in the Unilocal photos, where it appears dry, stringy, all-​white chicken covered with clumps of seasoning that do not appear to be incorporated into the chicken. The chicken was either way overcooked or poor quality since it was as rubbery and overly salty as they come with a non-​pleasing vinegary dressing that reminded me of my college days of drizzling cheap italian dressing over a frozen piece of chicken and overgrilling it on the George Foreman grill. The rice and salad were decent but nowhere near as flavorful as other Lebanese joints in the area.
As for the lamb dish, I feel bad for whoever came up with the name because the cooks must have taken it to heart by literally putting the «blah» and «meh» into the blahmeh. Minor gripe, the dish is served with slivered almonds, not pine nuts as advertised on their menu. Major gripe, again the quality of the lamb was dry and overly gamey. The garlicky yogurt sauce was probably my favorite part of the entire meal, since I had to use all of it to salvage both meats.
Perhaps the vegetarian options are their strengths, but I’ve also read other reviewers commenting on them being excessively greasy (props to Venu N. for incorporating the Exxon-​Valdez oil spill into a Unilocal review). But with the plethora of high quality Lebanese joints scattered throughout the DMV and the slightly higher price point by nature of being located in Old Town, I can’t say I would be inclined to return.

This place is solid. For the location (in the heart of the bustling Old Town), the prices are decent. The food was fresh, well prepared, and portions were filling.
I had the combination platter for my meal (hummus, baba, falafel, etc). It was good. The only low point was the pita. It’s thin and dry. Other than that — I enjoyed my meal.
The place has a nice atmosphere — business casual with dim lighting. Great for a business lunch and/​or a first date.
I’d go back. Three stars in my book because I’ve definitely had better — but I’ve absolutely had WAY worse. You won’t go wrong at this place, and as the rating description states — I feel this place is «A-​OK.»

Amazing food! My friend was craving some Lebanese food and i instantly thought, what better place than The Pita House, after reading the reviews here, i knew i had to try this place and i am glad i did!
I came here and ordered food for 2 to go. The restaurant looks really nice from inside and the servers were very pleasant to deal with. They took my order and i was in and out in less than 15 mins with hot and delicious food!
My friend loved the Falafel, as she likes them crispy, perfect with the hummus. The Vegetarian Combo Platter was packed with flavorful dishes. It’s a bit on the pricey side but worth it.
The Kenafe was amazing! I’ve had it at a few places before but it doesn’t come close to this place. The falafel sandwich was a bit dry (it could’ve used a bit more sauce) but it was good regardless.
As a vegetarian, this place is heavenly as they have plenty of options.
It’s street parking as it is most restaurants on king street. I didn’t like the fact that you can see the kitchen as you are sitting in the dining area. For the most part, the restaurant has the elegant and fancy feel to it, as you go up the steps, it starts to feel like a local pizza counter, where you can see everything going on in the kitchen.
I will be back for more as i want to try everything on their menu and next time, i will dine in so i can rate that experience as well.

We walked in on New Year’s Eve after 8:30pm and waited 20 minutes for a table but it was worth it.
The sujok is an amazing appetizer. I also had the fattoush and can honestly say it is the best fattoush I have had in a long long time. It had scallions in it and just the right amount of sumac the spice.
Most of our party had the special which was mencef. I had the mixed grill. The kofta was juicy and cooked to perfection. The rice is a refreshing change from the usual yellow or white rice you get in middle eastern restaurants. It had some nuts in it too. It was great.
The restaurant is small and there is really no where to stand when people Are walking in to put their name down. O those poor moms with their strollers looked so stressed because of the limited space.
The service was fantastic. The ambiance was also calm and welcoming. I loved the Christmas tree.
There are parking garages around this area so don’t sweat it. I really enjoyed our visit here and plan to return soon. Initially I wanted to give them four stars but really it was a great night and they deserve five.