7141 Arlington Rd
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 951-8681
This is more than just a restaurant, this is an inspiring story about the Abi-Najm Family, and the American Dream come true.
When I think about 1976, I think of a couple of things like;
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak forming the Apple Computer Company,
and The United States Bicentennial (200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence).
But across the Atlantic in the Mediterranean sea, the Lebanese civil war has just began, resulting in a mass exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
"Tanios and Marie Abi-Najm along with their five young children, immigrated to the United States in 1976.
Chef's Platter - Sampling of hommus, baba ghanoush, tabouleh, lebneh, grape leaf, falafel, fatayer spinach, kibbeh, and m'saka.
In the middle of the night, the family boarded a cargo ship to escape the Civil War in Lebanon bringing only what they could carry. The final destination was Arlington, Virginia where other family members had already been living."
With dedication, family values and hard work, three years later; Welcome to Lebanese Taverna.
With dedication, family values and hard work, three years later; Welcome to Lebanese Taverna.
Now, I'm not here to give you a history lesson, but I'm always curious of how things came about and thought I'd pass it on to you, my readers.
Anyways, there's the prologue to this blog, and I hope you enjoyed that little piece of information.
... Moving on.
It was the eve of my 31st birthday, Mallette and I have just gotten back home. Not long after, we hopped back in the car with her parents and headed to Bethesda for dinner.
Upon approach, Arlington road really caught my attention. With pretty lights adorning the trees along the road, and cute little stores displaying Christmas decorations, this place seems like it came out of a fairy tale book, especially during this time of year.
As we drove past the restaurant to find parking at the library across the road, Lebanese Taverna surely stood out amongst the beauty of this gorgeous row of shops with it's large welcoming entrance on the corner, framed with street plants and down-lights, with a big backlit sign above it, as well as another identical sign along side of the building.
This restaurant sets it tone with a large, welcoming contemporary wooden door which opens through to the host counter, with a hanging curtain divider and a little waiting area.
As you walk through the dining room, you will see booth seating along the wall on the far side with gorgeous low-hanging crystal chandeliers above them, tables for larger groups in the center with a long sofa bench diving up the space, and smaller tables along the window next to curtains draping down from the high ceiling.
A work of art in interior design, the huge dining room is broken up into sections with the smart use of dim focal lighting, display shelves, low-hanging designer chandeliers and ceiling patterns. Bringing intimacy, coziness and a sense of privacy for patrons on each table.
We took our seat by the window and studied their comprehensive menu, and after some guidance and recommendations from our lovely waiter, we ordered:
Mouzat - Slow cooked lamb shank with artichoke, potato, tomato, and lamb reduction.
Grilled Lamb - Sliced American Lamb loin with three herb sauce, grilled vegetables, and potatoes.
Chicken Farrouj - roasted and deboned half freebird chicken with grilled vegetables, and potatoes.
The Chef's platter was amazing. The hommus was freshly made and had a great texture, the stuffed grape leaves was flavorful and the M'saka was exquisite. At this point, I was very impressed with their stuffed grape leaves, as too many times stuffed grape leaves can appear to be imbalanced with too much leaf and not enough stuffing. Also, too many times does the olive oil and/or lemon juice over powers this dish, but not these ones, these were perfect.
The Baba ghanoush was absolutely great but the lebneh was surprisingly divine. I don't really pay too much attention to lebneh, but this was an exception.
Lebneh, put simply, is just strained yoghurt. While still retaining the original flavor of the yoghurt, whey is strained out which then gives it a thicker consistency.
What makes this particular Lebneh divine is that they've managed to hold on to the creaminess of the yoghurt, and kept the tartiness at bay which is often not the case with other lebnehs I've had in the past.
Couple this with their warm pita bread = bliss.
However, with all those praises, I did find the falafel and kibbeh to be slightly on the dry side, but that might just be a matter of personal preference. Apart from that, everything else was good.
We shared this dish between the four of us. It was the perfect starter.
For Entreé, Mallette and I shared the Mouzat. In hindsight, we made the right choice, because the portion was quite large.
This lamb shank was slow cooked to perfection and soaked in jus, the meat literally melted off the bone. (I mean, will you look at the photo!) The artichoke gave a nice depth to the flavors in this dish, along side with the potatoes, but I did find the tomatoes to be slightly out of place, again, might just be a matter of personal preference.
I didn't get a chance to try the other dishes, but they all looked amazing, especially the Lamb (see second photo below):
The service here was also top tier. Very professional but at the same time light hearted and friendly. There was zero hesitation when it comes to answering questions about recommendations and suggestions which is a good insight to how well staff are trained here.
In conclusion, for anything from romantic couples, families and/or big gathering of friends, Lebanese Taverna will meet your every criteria.
With six Restaurant and four café locations across Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland, there's no reason why you shouldn't stumble upon this wonderful, family-owned, local chain of restaurants.
Enjoy Mediterranean food made with passion, served in a contemporary space by one of the first families to introduce Lebanese cuisine in the US; Since 1979!
Lebanese Taverna has come to symbolize the realization of dreams and the rewards of dedication for us. Good food is enjoyed in good company.
What I wish to say to you is; thank you and welcome to my home" Tanios Abi-Najm
Everything about this place is inspiring, thanks Lebanese Taverna for sharing your passion with us.
