by Melissa W. on Zahav is an interesting experience, but maybe not quite as amazing as most of these reviews would suggest. I'm no stranger to Middle Eastern cuisine, so that's not why I didn't love this place. It's just that most of the food I tried here was merely okay. The hummus and laffa were good. The salatim were okay; the presentation was nice and the flavors were unique and interesting, but very strong/spiced to the point of overpowering: either extremely pickled, salty, sour, or sumac'ed. The appetizers did not impress me much either; the borekas were kind of dry and average and the lamb's tongue was inedibly gamey with a definite barnyard flavor. The haloumi was good but a little over-fried, and our fried cauliflower was burnt. The sweetbreads I didn't particularly care for, but maybe I'm just not a fan of thymus. Also, they weren't offering the raw kibbeh during restaurant week (we went during restaurant week by accident), which was very disappointing. I tried a similar dish in Turkey and it was fantastic. I had hoped Zahav's would compare, but that remains to be seen. The steak entree was delicious (the Farsi) but the portion was minuscule. For dessert I had the halva mousse, which was so overly sweet I could barely force down half of it. I believe my dining companions were not thrilled with their desserts either (baklava burnt, semifreddo melted). The service was great and the atmosphere was classy. But because the portions are so small, I don't think the a la carte menu would have been worth it. Going during restaurant week was barely worth the price. I really wanted to like this place and had been wanting to try it for quite some time, but it just didn't impress me. Going once was okay, but I don't think I'll be going back (except maybe to try the raw kibbeh).
by JAMBY ROI M. on VERY discriminating door. DO NOT TRY TO WALK IN. GET ON THE LIST. They will not let just anyone through. Great service as long as you stick with the same staff that walked you in-- eye contact, eye contact, eye contact. THANK YOU MR. BENJAMIN GREENFIELD for the EXCELLENT SERVICE!!! I had a BLAST!
