Láylí Mediterranean

Been here twice! Excited to see a nice Mediterranean restaurant in Clarendon ! Lovely decor and music. We love the service, food and ambiance! They have plenty of comfortable outdoor seating. We ordered drinks and appetizers and will return for main dishes soon!

This is one of the new restaurants that have opened up in Arlington. It's right across Circa on Wilson Blvd. There it's lots of outdoor seating, which is amazing with the music that they play. On a nice day, definitely book the outdoor seating. The service was incredible. Our server was very sweet and attentive, and they were very quick in cleaning up the empty plates. Now to the food. One thing to note is that the portion size is quite small, for the price you pay. You definitely get a lot more food at other Mediterranean restaurants. So keep that in mind. The drinks are amazing, and the small portions go perfect with Happy Hour. We were there for dinner and thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is all we ordered:- Zaatar Fries: these are amazing. So well seasoned. We finished it all. - Batatas Bravas: this was a bit disappointing. It was bland and definitely not the kind I've eaten at other restaurants. We left half of it. It felt more like a potato vegetable dish as opposed to the traditional Batatas Bravas. - Falafel: delicious. You only get 3 pieces per order. But they taste great. - Dip Trio: the dips are very small in size, but we loved them. The pita bread was nice and warm. They don't have any vegetarian entree on the menu, which was a bit disappointing. The eggplant dish also had lamb in it. We ordered enough appetizers to keep us full, but would be great if they could add some vegetarian options as entree. Now to the dessert. Do NOT miss out on the desserts. We got the Baklava and Layli Delight, and they both were absolutely delicious. The baklava comes with an assortment, and each of them were incredible. The Layli Delight was delicious as well. We completely wiped out our plates. Surprisingly, the dessert portion were bigger than the food portions Highly recommend this place. We loved the ambiance, the drinks, the music, and overall experience.

We found the coffee bar opened outdoor during the day. They had baked goods, Gelato and various drinks (hot and cold).You can sit in the patio area while the restaurant is closed. Drink and baked goods was delicious.Looking forward to trying their dinner/restaurant soon!

I was hoping to enjoy this location, but I found myself fairly disappointed. I tried a number of their small plates to share, and they were all okay, nothing to write home about. I ordered a glass of wine but it had gone bad. The waiter was apologetic and replaced it with an alternative. Ambiance wise, the music here is very loud. I wasn't exactly sure what kind of vibe they were trying to create, as it was fairly empty at the time we were there (earlier in the evening). When walking by, I've seen it busier later into the night, so the louder music could make more sense to me then... but listening to loud deep house made for an odd dining experience. The overall experience was middling in terms of food and ambiance, but considering they're a newer restaurant, I hope that they're able to improve as they get their feet under themselves.

My friend and I have heard how the service at Láylí was pretty rocky when they first opened so we waited a month before stopping by. It's in a prime location right outside the Clarendon Metro, which was very convenient. Our server was helpful and we got our food pretty quickly.DIP TRIO - 18This comes with three dips -- hummus, labneh, and one of muhammara (roasted red pepper dip) or tirokafteri (creamy red pepper dip with feta). This time around, we chose the tirokafteri which ended up being our favorite because it was lightly spicy, but the feta cheese made it so creamy and delicious. The hummus was very typical and nothing crazy and same with the labneh. They give you a big portion of pita bread here and we had a hard time finishing. This is a good option if you share with 2 or 3 others.WARAK ENAB - 12This was grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomato and parsley. The flavor of grape leaves is very unique. It's not one I can describe well because I don't eat it often enough. Each order comes with six nearly wrapped grape leaves and my friend enjoyed this a lot (since she is a fan of it). I would recommend it to try!LAMB SHANK FOR TWO - 56For this price, the portion size was pretty worth it. We got a fat lamb shank that was super tender and juicy, sitting on top of a savory lamb jus that was delicious. The lamb was very good and we enjoyed that with the saffron rice we got with it (topped with pomegranate seeds and scallions). Again, lots of meat on the shank and we ended up having enough for another meal. The vegetables on the side was steamed and salted well. I enjoyed the broccolini, asparagus, and carrots. I would recommend the lamb shank if you're looking to splurge a bit.In terms of ambiance, it would have been better if they opened the windows and doors because the voices of other groups/parties were definitely amplified based on the interior structure. It was really hard to hear one another since it was so loud inside. Overall, the food was decent, but we both agree we'd try other Mediterranean restaurants before circling back to this one.

Our Uber driver dropped us off at the wrong intersection while visiting DC and noticed Layli Mediterranean restaurant next to us. It was an hour from closing on a Tuesday night, but lots of customers enjoying their meals.We reviewed the menu at the hostess counter and was quickly informed the kitchen is closing soon and if wanting to order to do so asap. We were seated and quickly ordered our appetizers and drinks. We placed our orders while appetizers were delivered and enjoyed the trio dip with warm pita bread.We did notice they forgot my order when they delivered one of the meals. Our server didn't check on us as someone else delivered the food. It wasn't until 20 minutes later my meal was served and no apology not that I was expecting one. Overall the food was good, but service was no where near what DC restaurants usually have. Will try other restaurants in the area, hopefully their service will live up to DC expectations.

The bright purple lights and just opened sign drew us in to try this new restaurant. There was a live dj playing vibey music and great outdoor space. We sat at the bar and got drinks and a few apps. The drink was fine but the food was incredibly bland and not anything to call home about. I hope the food gets better the longer they are open but will probably not be back to try because for the price, it's not worth it in my opinion.

Incredible hidden gem!I visited Layli for date night and it did not disappoint! Not only is the food incredible but the spot itself is really cool. They have indoor and outdoor seating (the patio is quite spacious!).For food, we share the hummus & duck appetizer which was delicious (wish they had gluten free outta bread but the veggies worked for dipping). My bf got the lamb chops and I got the scallops. The lamb was cooked perfectly and the chops were quite huge. The scallops were pretty large and served over a cauliflower puree. Everything was very delicious!The he service was wonderful and our server provided great recommendations and was quite attentive.

Came here for brunch, being Lebanese myself i was looking for authentic cuisine. My server Lina was wonderful and kept the $1 mimosas coming for their pre-fixed brunch. The crab benedict and manoushe were my favorite! My friends really wanted to try the Pistachio Espresso martini and they accommodated for us :)! I'll definitely be back!

Amazing food. Beautiful decor. The chicken was out of this world. Yum. I definitely recommend this place.