Yayla Bistro, Arlington Virginia

Searching for a lunch quiet, quick, yet memorable spot on the way from George Washington’s Mount Vernon to Great Falls National Park we discovered Yayla Bistro [2201 N Westmoreland St, Arlington, VA 22213], a restaurant serving upscale Mediterranean cuisine.

yayla_bistro_arlington_1There is both indoor and outdoor seating, but since we were in the middle of an August heatwave, we chose in. The service is impeccable, this is a family owned restaurant and you can tell they really care about your experience. The warm complimentary bread and olive tapenade was extremely tasty.

yayla_bistro_arlington_5I just recently started eating olives and I can’t get enough of them, and these were top notch. Seeing as this spread was so good, we decided to get the trio of spreads as an appetizer. We chose the patlican kozleme made of roasted eggplant, htipiti made of roasted red peppers and feta, and the cacik made of Greek yogurt, cucumber, and spices.

yayla_bistro_arlington_4Each was so unique and fresh, exuding the flavor of its ingredients. I’m not the biggest fan of salads, but I knew the week ahead was going to consist of southern cuisine…so I went with a falafel salad. It was actually really filling and good (not boring as I find a lot of salads to be), lots of chunky veggies, baked falafel, and a homemade dressing.

yayla_bistro_arlington_3Jeff went for a the lahmacun pideler, or flat bread, and he loved the mix of spices.

yayla_bistro_arlingtonOn top it had ground beef, lamb, onions, garlic, and crushed red peppers, it came with mixed greens. We decided to go for lunch dessert. The apricot delight was too interesting to pass up.

yayla_bistro_arlington_2Fresh apricots stuffed with walnuts over vanilla mascarpone cheese, topped with caramel and pistachios. It had so many unique textures, I loved the creaminess of the mascarpone, the chewy apricots, and the crunchy pistachios. I’m a total sucker for anything caramel, and sprinkling the mint on top made each bite ever so fresh. We were definitely satisfied with our lunch break spot, mission accomplished.

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