Zaytinya

Zaytinya is a mezze restaurant run by José Andrés and his group in Washington, DC. Its shared small plates take their cue from the kitchens of Turkey, Greece and Lebanon.

Andrés had come to the city to lead the kitchen at Jaleo in 1993, and Zaytinya opened in 2002 as part of the circle of restaurants that grew around him. It went on to earn a Bib Gourmand from Michelin, and a second Zaytinya was later opened at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Andrés also gathered Mediterranean recipes into a cookbook that carries the restaurant's name. That a mezze house was chosen for a cookbook and a second city shows how central this style became to his group.

The building gives the food plenty of space. A tall dining room sits under an open mezzanine, with a smaller bar, a separate area called the blue room and a sheltered terrace. One visitor found the room bright and lively, and halal chicken can be arranged when asked for ahead. Because the plates are small and arrive in waves, the same menu works for a quick stop at the bar or a long evening at a crowded table.

The menu is long, and a handful of specials sit on top of it. Dishes over the years have included htipiti, a spread of marinated roasted red peppers with feta and thyme, eaten with warm pita, and hummus crowned with spiced ground lamb, pine nuts, pickled wild cucumber and mint. Halloumi comes seared and paired with dates, pomegranate and orange, while one special set local truffle and a soft egg on pide flatbread with kasar cheese. To drink there are Greek and Turkish wines, a Lebanese rosé, and arak and ouzo, with a glossary at the back to explain the grapes. Cooking from several countries side by side lets a table compare how neighbours treat the same lamb or cheese.