Bashir’s Taverna

We split the couscous special – with lamb, chicken, and vegetables – on a Saturday evening, which was definitely enough for two. It was divine. Hands down, best couscous ever. The vegetables were cooked so well that they absorbed all of the flavors and literally melted in my mouth. The lamb and chicken were fantastic as well. The appetizers were fantastic. Best Dolma ever. The salad was on point as well with just the right amount of dressing.
The wait staff was awesome. Our waiter explained everything in detail, how it was cooked, and was well-​versed in the menu. I drink A LOT of water and our glasses were never half-​empty.
They even gave us a couple strawberry tarts on the house as we were leaving. That was a wonderful gesture of kindness. I would’ve probably opted for at least one of the deserts from the very well-​presented tray if we didn’t already have desert ready at home.
Great location on the downtown mall, awesome décor, and furniture is really cool. I love sitting on a couch for dinner. It’s casual and fun. Definitely have to throw this one in the rotation.

My favorite lunch spot in the Universe. Eclectic flavors, sizeable portions, and reasonable prices. These Big Apple transplants by way of Persia Know food and are great for catering as well!

The food is amazing, and the service is great. i really love this little gem located near the pavillion at the pedestrian mall :)

I have never been so disrespected by anyone in the service business before. We ordered dessert. It tasted literally like public bathroom soap. We thought it was rose water but the owner claims there was no rose water in it. The only other thing that could taste like that is soap… When we asked for it to be taken away they charged us for it anyways. The restaurant owner had a fit saying our taste was inappropriate and said he would charge for it anyways. He made an outburst in front of the whole restaurant telling other customers that we were rude by insulting his dessert. Don’t touch this place with a 10 foot pole. And if you do, make sure you like everything you are served or the owner will flip out and make you pay anyways. EDIT: my mother ordered the salad dressing on the side instead of having her salad tossed it in. The owner said they he was offended that she didn’t trust his salad dressing when really she has an allergy and could risk anaphylaxis by eating it. What a jerk.

Excellent food, excellent service. Try the baked ham, it’s delicious.

While I love this restaurant. And the food is to die for, on more than one occasion I’ve seen the owner’s wife absolutely berating the poor young girls that work there. Always needlessly. Right in front of guests (not that they should do it anywhere). I don’t think they know you can hear from the kitchen into the dining room. I can’t go to a place that treats their employees that way again.

We recently hosted a rehearsal dinner at Bashir’s Taverna. Bashir allowed us to take over the restaurant for an entire Friday night and helped us plan a menu that included multiple appetizers and desserts, plus allowed each guest to choose a chicken, lamb, salmon or veggie entrée. A full bar was also provided. The party came off without a hitch. The food was excellent and well served. Bashir paid attention to the flow of the party and knew just when to serve a course, wait a bit, etc. This allowed us to enjoy our guests and our party. Thank you Bashir and staff for your work, for caring and for some really good food.

We happened upon this lovely place on Saturday night and had a great meal. We were impressed with care and quality preparation of each part of the meal. Can’t comment on the ham, which looked intriguing (the critical reviewer doesn’t mention if she had it … plus this place is billed Mediterranean not Lebanese. We didn’t have the ham, because the lamb caught our eyes. It was about 8 p.m. and while they were fairly busy we each got great cuts. Baklava was fresh and sweet.
Prices didn’t seem that high to me, The locals will hate this remark … but you could drop this into Penn Quarter or DuPont Circle in DC and it could likely earn a following as a cozy little place with a quality small menu. and do well in that niche. No challenge to Jose Andres, but this is reliable quality food.
Service was absolutely fine. Server did very well with a noisy big table next to us as well.

I love this place. The food, the staff, the music-​just found out that they do dinner Friday and Saturday with music and belly dancing on Saturday and often music on Friday. (I used to go there just to get lunch)
Middle eastern food is one of my favorites and not easy to find in central Virginia. Their baba ganoush (not sure how to spell it but its the classic eggplant dish), hummus, grilled vegetables, felafel, various lamb dishes etc-​all great and they make their own baklava. There are also other dishes outside Mediterranean fare that are wonderful-​I have been slowly trying them all-​takes time which makes it fun. I took several friends there recently to rave reviews.

Amen, Dean L. I was trying to figure out how apricot glazed ham was Lebanese. What is going on with the NYT that they called it sublime? The messas were meh. The food was too ordinary for such high prices. The wine list could be more extensive and better. We rarely got water refilled. And they ran out of the mango for mango capirinhas.
But the belly dancer was fun.

My experiences at Bashir’s have been characterized by inattentive servers and a rude owner. The food is all right, but not really authentic, and it’s too expensive. There are better options in town for middle eastern food, Aromas, Arianna Kabob, and others.