Zaytinya by José Andrés

The steaming hot bread with the baba ghanoush and the hummus with lamb were the stars of the show right at the beginning. Too good to even get a pic of before they were half gone. The rest was fine but I'd go back again just for the dips and sips

Food was underwhelming. Textures were off, flavors were off, vegetables didn't seem fresh, dishes were unbalanced. Service was sloppy, kept turning away as I was speaking, and rushed us in an empty restaurant. Atmosphere was cool, but definitely not worth the low quality food and service. DC is a great food city, go somewhere else.

We went to Zaytinya for restaurant week and it did not disappoint! So many fun dishes to try (we shared everything we got, which seems like the best way to do it) and everything was fresh and delicious. Hard to tell if the criticisms I had were just because I got too full to really enjoy it (restaurant week is way more courses than I’m used to), so I think I’ll just share the positives. The watermelon salad was CRAZY refreshing and such a fun combination of flavors. The brussel sprouts for me were hall of fame good. The hummus was delicious and the fresh pitas made them all the better. Will definitely be going back to Zaytinya!