Food? Amazing. Mimosas? Amazing. All you can eat? Equally amazing. Ishmail took such good care of our party of 10. read more

Pleasant ambiance. Friendly staff. Good food. We ordered the big slow roasted lamb dinner item - taste was good, however I think the dish could have been executed better. After a few bites of the lamb, I was left with so many grape leaf rolls. Maybe the ratio was a bit off for me. Adana kabab was really tasty and I wish the entree would come with two of them. read more

We loved our brunch experience at Ala this weekend! First, the inside seating is comfy, stylish, and a vibe! Their buffet-style brunch was always being replenished with fresh food, and there was a TON of it! Everything was delicious, from the cold mezze to the baklava! The bottomless mimosa option was also fun to add to our meal! Additionally, we loved the made-to-order entrees, they came quick and hot! The Fall Latke was also so good and the Shakshuka! All of the staff were kind and efficient! Special shout out to Zeineb! She was warm, friendly, and very accommodating to whatever we needed! We enjoyed our meal (& mimosas) so much! Can't wait to come back here and highly recommend a group brunch at Ala! read more

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SO GOOD!! I came for bottomless brunch with a few friends and had an absolute blast. I loved making my own mimosas-- such a fun idea. My only complaint is that I didn't know what I was eating most of the time, so I wish the servers told us what they were serving us. Especially important for those with food allergies. Luckily, everything was delicious read more

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Came for the bottomless brunch with a party of 6 and expected more from Ala tbh. Server at first did not want to bring us mimosas to our table (said we could go to the bar) even though the menu mentioned we could ask for drinks at our table. Eventually it worked out but it took some requesting. We tried almost the entire menu; while the food was good, it wasn't memorable or remarkable. The Feta Croquettes were pretty good, as was the Labneh Parfait and Batata Hara. Fried Halloumi was not melty at all, in fact was a little tough, and Baba Ghanoush was fine (but I have had better). For mains, the Shakshouka Omelet was okay (very eggy....), and the Sibil Eggs (sesame bagel with runny egg) was decent as well. I enjoyed my Dolma but it was served cold and hard to eat in a bowl as it was served (I wanted to be able to cut my dolma with a knife). One of the best things we ate was actually the Chocolate Mousse, surprisingly. Not too sweet, it was creamy and rich and chocolate-y. Could have this dish again for sure. Overall, probably won't come back but glad we tried it. Nothing to write home about - looks like menu has changed for the worse from before. read more

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I came here for happy hour yesterday and really enjoyed the experience. The bar service was pretty good. I liked the Spinach Croquettes and Raki Tray. I plan on returning for sure. read more

ala - Levant - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Come check out their brunch on the weekend! It includes unlimited mimosas and a three course menu which you can choose from. The staff were sweet and attentive to us during the entire time. Brunch does last for 90 mins. Loved the bright ambiance inside and outside of the restaurant. Definitely want to come back to try other items on their menu. read more

ala - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I read several rave reviews on Yelp about Ala before I went. It was a quiet lunch after Christmas. Service was courteous, food was different and creative, the prices were on the higher end. I got a cup of Julius Meinl Drip coffee when I checked in on Yelp. 4*Fried Halloumi-fried cheese with pine honey, dukkah and chives. It was unique and I liked the texture. Honey gave the dish some mild sweetness. 3*Golden cauliflower-Turmeric roasted cauliflower head, dukkah pesto, lemon tahini, pomegranate seeds, preserved apricot, sumac herb salad: it was certainly different from any cauliflower I have ever eaten. The portion was decent and healthy. 3*Red Snapper- Fried red snapper fillet with hummus sauce, pickle, and crushed coriander seeds. It was recommended by the waiter, but I didn't think it was their best. The fish was not that fresh or tender. It was an interesting mixture of flavors. read more

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I have been to this restaurant more times than I can count now and they NEVER miss. Everything on the menu is delicious and the staff are always so kind and efficient. The restaurant itself (both outdoor and indoor seating) are so cute and perfect for a cost efficient girls day. read more

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I love Ala. I've been going for years, back when they used to be a different name. The bottomless brunch is exceptional. They have great happy hour deals. And I still have to go for dinner. Not to mention the service is friendly and helpful. I highly recommend the Chilbir and Lahmacun together. As the Chilbir only come with a little bit a bread, the Lahmacun pairs really well. And the acidity from the labneh helps cut the meat on the Lahmacun. The eggs in the Chilbir were perfectly jammy also. Just which there was more delicious bread! The Lahmacun was filling and and delicious. And the tawook was crunch and light. A but dry but would order it again. Ambiance was excellent also:) read more

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Great brunch with unlimited mimosas(only $8 extra!!) I've wanting to try this place for a while and finally get to try their brunch. Too bad that they changed the unlimited food to 3 courses, but we loved most items we got. $8 unlimited mimosas is hard to find in DC nowadays, especially it's a self serve bar that you can get champagne without juice if you prefer, also the berries are nice additions to the mimosa bar. I liked most food items except the fried halloumi, it's just not my type of food. Will be back again and hopefully to try dinner next time! read more

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Ala is a Middle Eastern restaurant in the Dupont Circle area. The menu is Levantine known for meze spreads of of hot and cold dishes, most notably hummus, tabbouleh and baba ghanoush, accompanied by bread. We were a party of 4 and we did the bottomless brunch with bottomless mimosas. We ordered baba ghanoush, hummus, feta croquette, crab omelette and samboosa, quzi kofta burger, latke and karanab. For dessert, we had halva mousse and antep baklava. The servers were very attentive and the food came out pretty quickly. I really enjoyed their mimosas! It is a bit on the pricey end but the portions are pretty decent. The food is classic Middle Eastern and very flavorful. Each reservation has a 90 minute limit starting from the reservation time but the servers were nice enough to give us an extra 30 minutes especially since the brunch hour was about to close. We stayed in the upper floor with multiple people. It didn't feel crowded and the ambience was very Mediterranean. I've been here once before for dinner. I would definitely be open to come back. read more

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Great vibe coming in-- I was seated early, even though my friend wasn't there yet. Our server Kimverly was so accommodating-- she let me order off the happy hour menu with 15 minutes to spare! Drinks and baba ghanoush were incredible! You will probably want to order some pita for the baba ghanoush-- just comes with two pieces of "chips." I love the SHISH BATINJAN-- which was eggplant over pearl couscous. Flavors were wonderful. Will definitely come back for happy hour or to try out brunch! read more

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Food was so so so so good!!! I especially loved the mixed spreads and lamb kebab. The cocktails were fantastic too. Service was great and the ambiance was very relaxing and nice-- the dining chairs were super fluffy and nice to sit on. read more

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Located near DuPont circle, this place is amazing! We got some mocktails and the spiced trail is amazing! The food here is so flavorful and really good. Everything we tried was really good! I look forward to going back again! The ambiance is really chill and it's located near the metro station. read more

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Surprised this place had solid reviews. Maybe the dinner experience is better than the brunch experience, which was just OK / below average. Starting off: the food was bottomless but I didn't realize half of it was self-serve at a buffet style setup. This would be ok if it didn't mean no hot food, particularly pita being hard and room temperature. I mean, you come to a Mediterranean place for warm fresh pita, no? Yet the pita was literally the same as an airport Delta lounge. Very disappointed in that, but the spreads and other options were decent. Last/biggest complaint, don't call it "bottomless" brunch if you're going to limit a group of 13 people to 1-2 bottles of champagne at a time. We weren't being even a little bit loud or obnoxious, it seemed like management was just being cheap. The server tried to be nice about it, but kept saying he had to check with his manager to see if he could bring more than 1 bottle of champagne for 13 people. I mean c'mon, it's bottomless brunch and we spent almost $1000. The atmosphere was overall good, a bit loud upstairs with multiple big groups but nothing too bad. Main courses were decent, the chicken and Adana slider being particularly crowd favorites, but certain ones like the gyro felt lazily thrown together. Guess that's what you get when it's bottomless food too, which was more bottomless than the $5 bottles of champagne... There are better options in DC, so overall I wouldn't recommend. read more

Came here with two friends for brunch and wasn't sure what to expect. I was so happy we came here though! Definitely a more "cute grown up brunch" compared to some bottomless brunch experiences. It was a great vibe though. We were seated upstairs and the ambiance was so romantic and cozy, yet chic? Not sure how else to describe it, but it works. Our food was incredible. We ordered different items with the intention of sharing tapas style and I'm so glad we did because everything was so good! Highly recommend the following: Fried Halloumi, Shakshuka, Chicken Kabob, Harissa Hummus We also liked their mimosa bar which had different syrups and fruits to customize your mimosa. I recommend adding fruits first, then champagne, a splash of juice, then your syrup. Stir slightly. If you add the syrup first it'll be stuck at the bottom of your drink. read more

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The Bethesda location just opened up and it's tucked away on Fairmont ave. Very cozy setting and cute patio! Went for happy hour and it was perfection and the amount of food that came was a lot. Got the Brussels and potato's and it was so crunchy and yummy, Faith was our waitress and she was welcoming and answered all our questions. Celebrated a birthday and we got baklava! I have been to the DC location but happy the Bethesda one has opened as it is closer. read more

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I've been to Ala a few times for brunch and dinner, always a reliable option in the area! I like the setup of the dining room - not only are the decors super cute it is spacious enough so we can talk at a comfortable volume even when the restaurant gets quite crowded and busy. I also appreciate the staff always coming to introduce themselves soon after we get seated. They can get a little overwhelmed when service is busy but they make the effort to take care of everyone. I've never had a bad bite here, but some dishes are great and flavorful while others are meh. I think the $34 brunch 3-course prix fixe is great in value and they offer quite a variety of options. Some highlights of the brunch menu are the baba ghanoush with warm pita, shrimp mihlama, and baklava. I was pleasantly surprised by the shrimp mihlama - the perfectly tender prawns, delicious sauce, and creamy grits, not to mention it's $22 on its own. They are usually quite busy during weekend brunch services so not all dishes come out pipping hot. The falafel benedict was not the best experience - the poached eggs were slightly overcooked and the hollandaise got cold. For the dinner menu, my favorites are the cauliflower and shish kebab. The cauliflower kind of blew us away for the presentation and how unique and flavorful it was. The dessert menu is always quite strong here, definitely would recommend the baklava but don't think you can go wrong with any options. read more

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I finally visited this place! We made reservations on resy a couple of days before and stopped by for Sunday brunch. There is a fixed brunch menu with bottomless mimosas (or Bloody Mary's) and 3 courses. We started with the fried halloumi, which was crunchy but also soft inside, very interesting dish. Next I had the Sucuk Benedict, which was a Sucuk sausage and Benedict, with what seemed like flatbread at the bottom, but it was super hard for me to cut through and eat the "bread" so I didn't really feel like I was able to fully enjoy that dish. My friend got the baba ganouche, which I slightly preferred to my Sucuk Benedict. For dessert, we both got the chocolate mousse which was sooo good--Highly recommend this! Our service was great! The waitress was very helpful whenever we had questions and/or wanted recommendations. It was a great brunch experience and will recommend that you stop by for your Mediterranean cravings. read more

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Came for brunch and it was sooooooo good. Highly recommend coming for brunch. Loved the cocktails too. Great atmosphere. Make a reservation!

We got the restaurant week brunch 3 course and drink deal. For the starters, we got labneh and Batata Hara. Both starters were so good definitely recommend them and we also got more pita everytime we finished them. For the main course I got falafel Benedict, it was alright and the portion size was pretty small. For the dessert we got the halva mousse and baklava and I loved both of them! The restaurant is absolutely beautiful and very aesthetic. Everyone at the restaurant was super kind and food came out pretty quick. read more

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What a fantastic brunch spot! Ala is a Levantine restaurant featured in the Michelin Guide. Its bottomless brunch features bottomless mimosas--you get to self-pour your own champagne and choose from an assortment of juices, tinctures, and fruit toppings. You also get bottomless starters, which consists of Labneh (Kefir cheese), Lavender infused milk cream, Harissa hummus, dolma sea. Then, you get to choose one main dish and then an additional dish for dessert. My table ordered the Musakhan tawook (breaded fried chicken), Toum beef gyro, and spinach bourekas. For dessert, we had two orders of Caraway toast with tahini choicloate sauce and one Zerde (tumeric rice pudding). Everything was fantastic. For $44, this bottomless brunch is a great value. read more

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I visited Ala back when it first opened and everyone was hyping it up all over social media. While the food was good and the interior decor was pretty, our service was incredibly awful. It took painfully long to order food & drinks, and then painfully long to receive said food and drinks. (Like to the point we were there for 1.5 hours and could only order 1 drink between the 3 of us.) Our server would disappear and just seemed uninterested in providing any recommendations. While I always thought I'd go give it another try in hopes it'd be better the second time around, I just never made it back. On another note... the food presentation was pretty and worth taking photos of! read more

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We came here for Mother's Day brunch. The service was initially very slow but the manager took over and was very responsive. Overall brunch options with egg dishes were limited. read more

Yummy! If this spot wasn't such a hike, I would come here on a weekly basis. The food is complex and flavorful! Our server was incredible and she had the best recommendations. Can't wait to be back here again for another delicious meal. read more

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Had the nicest brunch with the ladies today! Our server Harrison was fantastic and the new hostess was very accommodating with adding two to our reservation. The brunch options for the buffet had so many great choices, I really enjoyed the dolmades and baba ghanoush. This is a great option for groups and everyone can order what they want. We definitely will want to keep this one in the rotation as the food was delicious and the service was on point! read more

Each dish was well-prepared and flavorful, with a nice variety to choose from. The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming, with excellent service. read more

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The restaurant where we had dinner (Ala DC - Lebanese with a twist, as they market themselves) was so-so (at best). The food and wine were mediocre, the service was lousy. Sad really for the people who organized it all of that ... and put an awful lot of effort. read more

Sometimes Yelp works. As a believer in the law of large numbers and looking for a great place for dinner, I let a four star average with nearly one thousand reviews guide me to DC's ala. In retrospect I am bewildered how some Yelpers rated it less than a five. Sometimes, much less -- a bunch of ones seems both ridiculous and harsh. However, the site is full of reviewers who'll bestow one star just because the hostess didn't bow and scrape in between cartwheels when they arrived. Bastards. Ala (ala) right off DuPont Circle is a wonderfully inspired Mediterranean eatery with upscale atmospherics to spare. We started with some very flavorful baba ganoush, marinated lamb and spiced cauliflower - finishing with an otherworldly chicken Tawook and roasted peppers. In the future when I'm enduring a lousy dinner, I'll think back on this meal to remind me that superb dining isn't dead. Thank you ala. As an aside, it still baffles me that with such an inspired inside dining space, the majority of patrons choose to eat outside facing the street. It's almost like take-out without dishes to clean up afterwards. To each their own I suppose but for me, I would have missed part of the pleasure of dining out in such a wonderfully immersive environment. "Mediterranean Industrial" must be a thing that I totally missed. Five easy, well deserved stars. read more

Service was really good. Went here during the set brunch menu. I didn't realize this was the case when I made the reservation. It would've been over to order a la carte instead. The appetizers were tasty with baba ganoush, tabbouleh, hummus, olives, labneh, lavash bread, and balkaymak with honey. The second course was average. We had the soujuk sausage with eggs (a little salty), Adana burger, Turkish chicken tenders, and crab omelette. Nothing I had I would crave later on. read more

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We had a great experience at Ala which had lots of vegetarian options. The service was great and the staff were very attentive and explained the dishes when we were ordering. The food tasted exceptional but the dips and the bread were my favourite part. The prices were on a big on the higher side but the quality of food and service makes its all worth it. We will definitely be back here soon. read more

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Overpriced. The food is okay but looks better than it tastes. Brussel sprouts were over salted. The falafel was $14 for only THREE small patties and seemed like the sangria was overly sweet read more

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Service was friendly and nice. The bubbles bar was such an interesting concept, though bottomless mimosas can get loud in an enclosed space. The temperature was a bit hot but thankfully they turned a fan on. We got bottomless mimosas (for 90 minutes) and the 3 course fixed price menu. Everything was incredibly flavorful but my favorites were the halloumi, roasted butternut squash, and the pumpkin spice fried dough. We were recommended to not try the lamb burger, which we should have listened to. The middle was still raw and unappetizing. The $14 bottomless mimosa bar is such an interesting concept, I'd like to come back again and try different juice and syrup combinations. We were seated a bit late for or reservation due to the party before us lingering, but our server let us have an extra round of bubbly when our reservation time ended. read more

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What a fantastic experience. This is my 3rd visit to Ala, once during Restaurant Week, and all have been fantastic. Service. I'm putting this first. I've had great service experiences (5*!) from my visits. This time, definitely 5* service from Katerina. She was great with recommendations, checking in, and ensuring everything was to our satisfaction. We went small plates with Harissa Hummus, Rocca Salad, Lahmacun, Adana Kebap, Golden Cauliflower, and Toum Ribs Gyro. Wow, so so good. Hard to pick a favorite but enjoyed the handheld experiences with the kebap and gyro. Both were amazing, so juicy, and flavorful. I did like the gyro for its toppings (sorry, no pic). The kebap was a big log of meat (nontiny stick here!) and so juicy and tasty. The sauce was nice too. I enjoyed the others too. The hummus was good with some cool toppings and loved the arugula on the salad. Maybe the Lahmacun was my least favorite and memorable but still tasty. Great atmosphere. It has a cool vibe at the bar (past visit), patio, and indoor too. You can't go wrong. Definitely add this to your go-to list. It is even worth a cross town drive. read more

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Great drink variety, customer service, and food. I ordered the Lahmacun, Levant, and Salalah cocktail. I tried a bunch of samples from my group at my table and in general. We had outdoor seating and it's romantic and inviting. Our waiter was attentive and ensured we were satisfied. Their Lahmacun was tasty and flavorful. I enjoyed the ample amount of herbs and fresh lemon juice to accompany the flatbread. I would suggest adding a little more beef to taste it since I tasted mostly the tomato sauce, spices, and the eggplant. Overall, I'd come again for the Levant drink and their brunch. DRINKS: The Levant was my favorite cocktail- the sweet pomegranate paired well with the Sumac rim. I don't think the Salalah cocktail is similar to the Levant since grapefruit is in it. I learned I don't like grapefruit since that drink is too citrusy or tastes like fruit juice or soda to me. Their Halfeti cocktail is innovative- the rose itself tastes delicious and the drink is perfumey, floral, and weird in a good way. Their red wine sangria is delicious as well- not too sweet but you taste the infused fruit. Personally, I did not like the mishmish or pandora cocktail. The pandora is too lavender and gin for me- my least favorite. Mishmish for me tasted like fruit juices. Levant 9.5/10 Red Wine Sangria 7/10 Halfeti 6/10 Salalah 4/10 Mishmish 2/10 Pandora 1/10 read more

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Nice spot, cool ambiance. Good happy hour deals. Nice staff. Food is decent. Would recommend reservations.

polished atmosphere and attentive, detail-oriented service. delicious food as well. not too overpriced. it has wine selections from Ramallah which was awesome. gave free champagne and dessert for Wiley and my anniversary. I got Moussaka (not pictured) and it was Wiley's fav, very flavorful. read more

Honestly this place is cutting corners and it is beyond obvious. I asked for a Bloody Mary and got straight tomato juice. The implementation of the "buffet" around what used to be their bar is a pathetic way to attempt to "serve" their customers with cheap fillers. It seems to actually just be a (not at all subtle) way of cutting down labor costs on wait staff. The whole experience suffers as a result. After 4 visits, this time we won't be back. read more

Let's start with the service. Ishmael was so sweet and explained the menu so well. The restaurant is beautiful! The food was amazing. We tried the baba ganoush, hummus, Brussels sprouts, broccolini, tabbouleh and prime rib kebab. All of it was delicious and came with fresh baked pita. On our way out another staff member took our picture and made sure we were happy with how it looked! Thank you Ala for making our trip to DC extra special! read more

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