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Zaytinya Review

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Zaytinya

$$, Middle Eastern, Downtown

User Rating: *** 3.5

Fodor's Review:

Zaytinya. This sophisticated urban dining room with soaring ceilings is a local favorite for meeting friends or dining with a group. Zaytinya, which means "olive oil" in Turkish, devotes practically its entire menu to Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese small plates, known as meze. To get the full experience, make a meal of three or four of these such as the popular braised lamb with eggplant puree and cheese, or the baba ghanoush, made of mashed eggplant. So many options make this a great choice for vegetarians and meat lovers alike. Reservations for times after 6:30 are not accepted; come prepared to wait on Friday and Saturday nights. Bellydancers perform on Wednesday nights.

Member Reviews & Ratings:

Ehhh

Posted by Mab85 from NYC on 7/29/08

The service was pretty terrible, from our waiter asking us whether we had ordered too much (and making us feel disgusting - I just think waiters should refrain from commenting on patrons' orders) to forgetting to bring dishes and drinks. He even said he had forgotten my friend's drink and had realized it when he looked over at him and wondered why he wasn't drinking. The food was pretty good and very interesting. I wasn't thrilled beyond compare.

FOOD: 4.0

ATMOSPHERE: 5.0

SERVICE: 2.0

VALUE: 4.0

RATING: 3.8

A festival for the palate

Posted by bethrich from Maine on 4/11/07

My 22 year old son and I ate at Zatinya in March '07, managing to grab a 6:30 reservation. Our waiter was warm and knowlegeable, the food absolutely delicious - unique, flavorful and satisfying - but we were seated between the bar and the door, which was noisy& distracting. The warm pita's and Lebonese wine almost made up for it.

FOOD: 5.0

ATMOSPHERE: 4.0

SERVICE: 5.0

VALUE: 5.0

RATING: 4.8

Don't go there hungry

Posted by mklein from Michigan on 2/1/07

My husband and I ate there in Dec. 2006. What a disappointment! When they say little dishes, do they have to be quite so little? We would have had to eat a lot of those little dishes to make a meal. One chicken dish was just that - 6 little pieces of chicken, no veggies, no decorative touches and it wasn't that tasty a dish. In fact, none of the dishes was particularly good. We walked out just shaking our heads. We won't go there again - EVER.

FOOD: 1.0

ATMOSPHERE: 3.0

SERVICE: 3.0

VALUE: 1.0

RATING: 1.8