Lebanese Taverna

Express lunch… No. Shawarma and soup were both a huge disappointment. Shawarma was lukewarm (to be nice). Fries were soggy. Soup was bland and the lentils were not tender. Not a fun experience. Take your desire for this cuisine elsewhere

Arguably the best Mediterranean and Lebanese food in the DC area. Although it’s not casual like the Lebanese taverna take outs it’s just as good. If you’re looking for a good sit down middle eastern restaruant this should be good for you. Overall the service and food are excellent.

Lebanese Taverna was very good. This could be a family dinner, dinner date after or before movie or just don’t feel like cooking and want to go out. I had taverna platter with lamb, hummus, fattoush and something else I forget. Nice house Syrah Went with the meal. From sit down to dinner and out 35 min and didn’t feel rushed. Server and greeter both checked in twice to make sure everything was good. The food is fresh flavorful and appropriate portion. I enjoyed it!

I first tried this Lebanese Taverna earlier this year and truthfully, completely forget that it is around. Getting a coupon in my Valpak recently sparked me memory! Armed with my $ 20 off of $ 60 dinner coupon my friend and I returned to Lebanese Taverna.
As is our style, we chose to sit at the bar. The service was excellent — not intrusive, but definitely attentive. We started off with a full carafe of red wine sangria ($ 31) which was just as good as we remembered. I personally like a bit more brandy in my sangria, but this was very tasty. The bartender came over to refill our glasses as needed and always added extra ice to them. They don’t fill the carafe with ice, so this was great! We split three tapas — the Shanklesh ($ 8.50), the Hummus Sampler ($ 12), and the Shrimp Arak ($ 9). The shanklesh was full of flavor. The only downfall was it came with a little mini pitcher of something. Upon tasting it, we realized it was olive oil. The person who delivered this item should have educated us on why they brought it, however when the bartender swung by we asked and he shared (apparently some people think it is a bit dry and needs extra oil — we did not so we didn’t use it). The hummus sampler comes with three kinds of hummus and some veggies. The spicy hummus is very spicy!!! I like spice but it may have even been a bit much for me. The regular hummus and garlic hummus are definitely my favorites (and my friends). Although we were pretty much full, we knew we needed to hit $ 60 on our bill so we ordered the shirmp arak appetizer. This item was delicious — even though arak is very strong (oh hello black licorice), the shrimp and onions were not overwhelmed by it.
We realized last night that we need to remember to come here in our regular rotation!

the passion fruist/​ginger/​lemon/​everything juice was awesome. steep price at $ 7 but well worth it. the food itself was ok but left hungry for more.

I really liked it here. I personally liked the service. He wasnt very vocal, but was alert and quick and I dont like the in your face service anyways. The food was outstanding though. Very good!

Food tasted great as usual but was disappointed on a delivery order. The amount of food was cut by ¹⁄₃.

I’ve been to better LT locations, and it’s just plain unfortunate that the construction has encroached upon their outdoor seating. Friendly service, lots of seating inside, street and garage parking in the area if you don’t care to Metro. Bread is extra light and best eaten while warm, with the wheat alternative tasting extra cardboard-​y at room temperature. Lamb in our Taverna platter was lightly seasoned and cooked through, with long-​grain rice that was cooked until limp. Baba ghanoush was tastier than the m’saka. Spicy hommos had a strong kick, but the garlic hommus had more flavor thanks to the chicken shawarma. With how convenient and healthy an option this is, I’m sure we’ll be back to try a For Fig Sake and more mezzas.

It was okay, with a twist. For vegetarians the menu leans heavily into chickpeas, eggplants and tomatoes– and gets boring rapidly, despite the fun, casual appearance of the occasional pomegranate seed or zataar sprinkle. The pumpkin was over-​fried, spinach overcooked, and my homemade babaghanoush (sp) and hummus are better. However, I enjoyed it, it was more street food than anything else, on elegant plates and bring on the pretty pink pomegranate seeds.
I did not order meat but the man did — meat and fries and seemed quite happy but not anxious to revisit. I give 4 stars not 3 because the environment has been given thought and our waiter Mohammad was pretty cool and on top of things. And Dc food is not SF or NY and I am growing accustomed to the «humph» at being served food here, besides I «L“ove the puffy pita :)

Loved the ladies bathroom! Food was good too!
I had the lamb and it changed my life.
I will definitely be back.

Stay away! What a disappointment. To sum it up we got rotten hummus and garlic paste. We heard so many good things and we went for my birthday. We got a pushy waiter who basically forced us to get the family meal. When we received the hummus we immediately realized it was rotten. The waiter gave us a look like we had done something wrong. Then the garlic paste has come out at different times. One was ok the rest were rotten. It made the rest of the meal very uncomfortable wondering if everything else was rotten. They offered no explanation other then «it was in the fridge». The bill was outrageous considering the rotten sides. Plain and simple we will NEVER go back and tell anyone who will listen to go to yekta or Baccus (spelling wrong I’m sure). Save a trip to the bathroom and to the bank and avoid this place for sure.

Ate an early dinner here in May of 2015. We ordered several appetizers including the hummus platter. The bread was warm and SO delicious. Everything we ordered was delicious! Our server was very kind and prompt. I just hope the other locations around Maryland are just as good. Can’t wait to return.

We have checked several locations before. Had much better memories about Connecticut ave. location.
Baba ganush was good but small portion even for meze, kebab lamb was just ok… plenty of onion on the side –cheap and not eatable… drink $ 10. Bred was cool not really eatable.
We spent $ 60 including 2 mezes and 1 kebab, 1 drink and 1 coffe. No desire to come back.

The food was okay. It was not nearly as good as other locations. Our waiter was friendly. However, his breath was so rancid smelling, it was a major turn off. The whole table could smell it, even from a few feet away. Needless to say, I most likely will never visit this location again.

I think this place has the best humus ever.
I did not like the lamb tartare, however. I think with tartare, a varied texture is important and it lacked that. It had the same consistency of a raw meat patty which played with my mind.

HH here was just okay (4pm to 7pm).
The prices are reasonable but the food was not spectacular.
Drinks:
Red sangria a bit too sweet and that says a lot because I usually like my drinks sweeter.
For fig sake was a bourbon with lemon and fig syrup. This was delicious!
Food:
The bottomless hommus was the best thing we ate. The pita comes out hot and fresh and the hommus was seasoned perfectly.
The fried artichokes had too much of a vinegary flavor and when I cut it in half something clear (oil/​water?) oozed out.
Calamari was deliciously crispy and the marinara sauce that accompanied it was great!
Unfortunately, the falafel we ordered never came out but fortunately we were not charged for it. Guess the waiter totally forgot we asked for it.

Today was our second visit here. Our first visit was a pleasant enough experience; friendly service and «ok» food.
Today the service was still friendly but the food was really bad. Stale and Rubbery. I mentioned the lack of freshness to our server. His response didn’t help: «Maybe it’s because we were closed yesterday.»
Really? Gotta serve everything in the kitchen no matter how long it’s been sitting there?

From the moment stepping into the restaurant, we were warmly welcomed, and seated quickly. Using the OpenTable reservation, was able to note to the server and manager about the birthday, and they were very discreet about it (I asked to make sure, and they were already on top of things!) It was impressive because most other places just disregard any notes given.
It was my first time to this location, and the ambiance was like a real restaurant — definitely date-​worthy to go. The other location (s) (I’m thinking the Rockville Town Center one) is more laid back, casual, open-​table — sit-​anywhere-​you-​like.
Loving the ambiance of this location, the prompt service, and of course, the food.
One thing that I forgot to ask was if the validate parking. Would’ve been nice if they do.

Our reviews always contain four main rating topics:
FOOD
The quality of the food here is extraordinary. Always fresh and top quality. If you enjoy Mediterranean/​Middle Eastern food you will love this place for their traditional Lebanese dishes and desserts.
SERVICE
We have been here five times already and the service is always great. Servers are always attentive, polite and very well trained.
PRICE
The food is reasonably priced but perhaps a little pricey for those looking for affordability as a priority.
EXPERIENCE
The restaurant is very well decorated with a touch of modern styles and middle eastern influences. This is a place for everyone looking to have a great dinner experience with your partner or a group of friends.

It’s the fresh elliptical whole wheat or plain pita that comes steaming out of the oven and served with the zatar that makes one who likes wheat very happy. The olive oil and spices in the zatar are so tasty, I could eat the pita and zatar only and be happy!
The servers here are always accommodating and friendly. They will always address food issues and allergies with care and diligence. They are always busy here on the weekends and evenings, but they have never been rude or inattentive.
If you cannot have gluten or dairy, they will cater to your needs. They have a menu that sometimes you can ask that just lists the allergens by item.
I love their salads like tabbouleh (fresh tomatoes and parsley) and fattoush, but their appetizers are also so tasty like the grape leaves and falafel and cauliflower (tahini, pine nuts and parsley). Traditionalists will enjoy the hummus (trio?) or the bottomless hummus happy hour? Moussaka is good, too, eggplant! Don’t be shy about a wrap if you’d prefer that, though there’s carb overload since they will bring you pita to satiate your carb cravings!
The entrees are ok, like stuffed seasonal vegetables (kudos because the rice is not just salted and peppered but flavored with spices and pine nuts!) but it’s the salads and appetizers that make this diner happiest. The food is always good, as is the service. I have been to 3 other affiliates, and I like this one best for food, décor, service and experience.