Layla Restaurant in Old Town (Restaurant Review)

There's a new Lebanese restaurant in Old Town Alexandria called Layla. It's right next to The Majestic. We met friends there last night and I was impressed with it. Seems like overnight, it took the place of a lovely Vietnamese restaurant, Non La. Let's hope Layla fares better in this very competitive area.

Here's my review on a 30 point scaling...

The ambiance hasn't changed much since it was Non La--the restaurant is small and simple. They've added a few photographs of Lebanon and a hooka and such. Not unpleasant just nothing fabulous. Ambiance: 18.

Service was good without being obtrusive. We were seated by the kitchen but that's better than being seated by the bathroom. Did I mention it's a small place? :) Our waitress kept our pita basket well stocked and our glasses full and she was knowledgeable. Service: 25.

Veg options: Plenty. Although we are not completely vegetarian anymore (we've been eating fish/seafood for the last month or so--but that's another story), there are plenty of yummy options for vegetarians. We ordered an apetizer tray to share and everything on it (hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie) was wonderful and well presented. Certainly plenty more veg options on the menu. Veg options: 27.

Food: Everything we had was delicious and well presented: 27.

Cost: Very reasonable. Hubby and I each had two drinks, our 1/2 of the appetizer tray, an entree each, and hubby had a Lebanese coffee (thick as tar and kept him awake all night so beware this is the real McCoy!) and it cost us only $30. That's almost unheard of in Old Town. Cost: 28.

Overall: A very nice experience! Overall average: 25.

JoeBob says "Check it out!" and let's give Layla a chance to make it!