ala - Bethesda

I don't even know where to begin... First, it's good to know that there is a parking garage across the street from the restaurant, BUT beware because it closes at 11 PM. Back to the restaurant... when walking in, the ambiance gave off a homie vibe. It was beautiful! My friends, and I did the tasting experience in the Levant wine, and cocktails. There was so much food, and everything was delicious! I was too busy eating and enjoying life, so I didn't have many pictures. I highly recommend the hummus, karanab (brussel sprouts), short ribs pide (flatbread), and soujouk pide (flatbread), and my favorite cocktail was levant. Our waiter was ADAM. Helpful, funny, charming, and extremely nice. He helped elevate our experience and ensured we were well cared for. Honestly, the entire staff was helpful and friendly. The manager was super sweet as well. If you're thinking about not going to ala, think again! I'll be back.

TLDR: The food was slightly above average, but the service was subpar. When we made the reservation, we wanted 11 or 11:30AM, but only 12PM was available so we settled for that. I assumed based on the available times, the restaurant must be very busy for brunch. Upon arrival, the restaurant was nearly empty. There were maybe 3 other parties there. I didn't understand why we couldn't have made an earlier reservation. When we sat down, the waitress informed us that drinks were included because we were a "large group". I was a little confused and wanted clarification, so I asked if it was included in the $36 bottomless brunch. The waitress said that the $36 bottomless plates and $12 bottomless drinks are bundled when you have a large group. This was not noted anywhere on their menu or website (at least not obviously, I even double checked before writing this review) and I would also not count 5 people as a large group. It just felt strange and made us all feel a little uncomfortable. When we finished our first plates, we waited a long time for our waitress to come back even though there were 4-5 other parties at the restaurant. We had to ask another waiter to take our order and she FINALLY comes up behind him when she realized what was happening. Then she talks to him for a minute or so after we got our order down with him and comes back to us to "check our orders". It just felt sloppy to not check on a table more often if this is a timed bottomless brunch. Then, the restaurant was very strict about the 2 hour time limit even though there were very few parties in the restaurant and we were done eating and just chatting. She checked on us and told us we had 20 minutes left on our reservation and then when the 2 hours was up, she immediately brought our check over to tell us we were done. The hostesses and waiters all seem friendly and they say hello, but the practices seem more shady than anything.As for the food, the dips lacked flavor and the crab omelette was heavily seasoned with Old Bay, which didn't feel like it fit the overall food profile. The short rib gyro was decent, but nothing too special. I would say the fall latke was actually the best and most unique thing I ate there. I wish I had ordered it sooner so I could've enjoyed more of it. Though the food was okay, I wouldn't come back anytime soon for $48 +tax bottomless food/drink again.

Loved walking into Ala! I almost walked right by it so make sure you look for the sign because all the restaurants are so close together. It was super cute inside, but the tables are kind of close to each other and in the aisle. We went on Saturday for brunch during restaurant week. We did the all you can eat plus one mimosa. The buffet was nice. We were able to get all of our cheeses and dips plus desserts and a chocolate fountain. The food was amazing. I can't pinpoint my favorite dish because everything was so flavorful. I highly recommend going! A parking garage is right across the street or around the corner.

This is such a cute spot! I loved the interior decoration - super cozy ambiance, it felt like you were in someone's family home or in a foreign city. Service was super friendly - from the wait staff to the front desk! I came for happy hour and snacks - drinks were great ... we enjoyed the levant and the bulut. The mixed spreads assortment was a little underwhelming in size and the fact that it only came with 1 singular pita, but the flavors were there! The flatbread was also super tasty, but again a pretty small portion. I would love to come back here and try more of their menu!

We visited Ala in Bethesda for their Restaurant Week brunch menu. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with a Middle Eastern flair. There are stunning displays of wine and wall art. The DC restaurant has received a Michelin star. Their brunch menu offers both buffet and a tapas menu. There is a large buffet filled with everything from deviled eggs, hummus, a variety of cheeses, and some salads. I really appreciated the selection of cheeses. The pita bread was fresh, soft, and tasty. I was not a fan of their spreads. Then, you are allowed to order from a menu of tapas style small plates from crab omelettes, gyros, potato pancakes, and smoked salmon on toast. I found a lot of inconsistencies with the food. My crab omelette had a fishy taste, the crab didn't taste fresh, so I didn't eat it. Next, the gyro meat was tough and tasteless. It was served on a prepackaged taco shell which was rubbery. The potato pancake was drenched in zatar and that was not listed on the menu ingredients. Why would you mix apple pie flavors with a heavy handed spice? I left that dish too. The tastiest dish was the smoked salmon on toast. Unfortunately, they had small shrimp on top that were overcooked to a hard tough texture. I removed them. The smoked salmon and creme fresh base topping was delicious. The dill mustard brought a bright punch of flavor. There was a large display of desserts. But, many of them were tasteless and cold. The best dessert, hands down was the baklava. It was heavenly. It was crunchy, nutty, delicate, with a sweet honey taste. They also had a chocolate fountain that you could dip fruit or cake into. The cake was tasteless. My friend even tried dipping the cold cake in chocolate, but even that didn't help. The service was excellent. We had a great server who was very polite and nice. I also really liked my mimosa. It was refreshing and thirst quenching. So, stunning ambiance, great service, excellent baklava. But, the food was not memorable, the cost was high, and I wouldn't go back. Maybe, my experience was an outlier, but my friend ended up getting sick after our visit. So, that sealed the deal for me.

I came here for a dinner with a client and the food was so delicious. This is a newer place in the area so I wasn't sure how food and service would be, but everything was great. I really enjoyed the set up of the tables, as well as the over ambiance. The food was great and plentiful. We tried so many things but I loved the potatoes and the wine. Will definitely be back.

We came here to have a quiet new years eve dinner before celebrating at home. The waitress was very nice and helpful. We had several Mezza plates and she was able to make all but one gluten free. The hummus was great (I was pleasantly surprised by a sweet note). The falafels were great (but does have cross-contamination due to the fryer). The chicken skewer was also great. I had the beef skewer which I really liked and had some very nice and spicy sauce to accompany. My dad loved the branzino, and my wife love the lamb shank. We all walked out satisfied and saying we will definitely return. The place use to be an Italian resteraunt called Positanos. And the decor still had some remenants of the Italian vibe.Overall this is definitely a place to go for middle eastern food - the waitress said the dishes are mostly Turkish, but with heavy middle eastern influences from Jordan, Syria, etc.

Cozy hip atmosphere, food is delicious, presentation fabulous! I've been twice now & can't wait to return & try new dishes. A wonderful experience.

Delicious food and the sweetest, above and beyond servers! Maybe the best labne and ribeye I've ever had. And a gorgeous cozy atmosphere.

Went here for a very nice dinner. The service was great, the ambiance was wonderful and the food was delicious. The flatbread and the falafel were our favorites! I really enjoyed that it was tapas style so we could try a lot of different dishes. I definitely recommend going here if you're looking for a fun relaxing dinner with amazing vibes!