Heyyaa Neyla

My team decided to celebrate an successful 2011 with a (rainy) night out in Georgetown. First we stopped by Cafe Milano for a cocktail.  Jim & Cristina opted for dirty martini's, whereas Chrissy and myself went out on a very delicious limb and ordered a "Red Earl." This drink was an inspired martini (vodka, lemoncello and raspberry puree) that went down a little too easily. It was strong, and reminded me of summer, but was not overly sweet. We had reservations at Neyla and had a great meal. Although it was restaurant week, we were also able to order from the regular menu as well.

We started off with Hummus & Baba Ghannoug. They were both beyond fresh and served as bowls filled with high quality olive oil  in the actual ceramic bowls they came out in. The girls were very impressed by the light and fluffy pitas, and I enjoyed some fresh cucumber & tomato slices with freshly squeezed lemon.

 I ordered the shrimp appetizer, which came out super fresh with a tomato and garlic concasse. The shrimp was actually hand delivered by Executive Chef Abdul (pictured below) as the first batch that came out had pita already in the dish. The server was very apologetic, and Chef Abdul assured us that there was no gluten in the second appetizer.

 

Chef Abdul

 The Mouhammara available on the restaurant week and regular menu was an interesting red pepper puree with loads of texture from the walnuts and radish

Our Entrees:

- I had the Grilled Lamb Chops marinated in lemon, harissa, mint, olive oil  which were perfectly cooked and came with a bed of arugula and garlic whip to lighten up the dish. (Regular Menu)

-Cristina and Jim both ordered the roasted lamb shank with smoked eggplant puree, baby carrots, burgundy lamb jus . The notes of cardamom that popped through were amazing. The dish was served in the copper pot/tangine the lamb was braised in, it could have been accompanied with some greens to cut through the richness. (Restaurant Week)

- Chrissy ordered coriander almond crust, wild mushroom risotto, meyer lemon vinaigrette. The salmon was a little dry, but the risotto was excellent. (Restaurant Week)

The ambiance is very unique and made me feel as if I were in a chic Arabic tent. We ordered a very nice Lebanese wine that had quite the decanting. The servers were really moving the decanter as the wine tightens up from the hot dry desert of Lebanon in transit to humid DC. The wine was very nice, especially with the lamb.

All and all we had a great night. I would definitely return to Neyla, especially on their outside patio with the space heaters. The only true complaint was the weather, who wants to walk around Georgetown in the rain!

Photo Credit: Neyla.com