Best Authentic Restaurants in Ashland

We love the ambiance but got crowded quickly which is expected during holiday season. Two of us were dining and another friend dropped by but the restaurant could not accommodate him by adding another chair saying we had made reservations for only 2 people. That was a bummer! We were almost done dining too so not sure why we couldn't be given an additional space for a few minutes. Food was good, server was good too.

We were really pleased with the food. We kept our order simple by taking them up on their pre-packaged "works" offering - $50/pp (2 min) which included several starters and assorted grilled kebabs over rice plus dessert. Their take on baba ganoush was excellent - I make the stuff myself, and I'm pretty pleased with mine...Theirs was better. In fact better than I've had from anywhere else. The humus was also excellent as were the grape leaves. The kibbe was exceptional both as to ratio of meat to grain and also texture and flavor. Fattoush salad, labne - everything on the table was exemplary. Honestly, I'm a tough grader and this stuff was far better than expected and worth a trip there all by itself. Then the grilled meats - the lamb, the chicken, the kofta (really interesting) all excellent as well. Some nice grilled veg as well. The rice was the only let-down, and frankly at this point with their overachievement everywhere else - who cares? Dessert included was baklava - a good example, but not a highlight for me. Bottom line for me is these folks know how to cook, seem to have some real tradition driving their recipes (as they are distinctive), and offered way more quality and quantity (did I mention quantity) than expected. My cocktail was also good, btw. I am mostly disappointed by suburban restaurants, but not so this time. This discerning diner will definitely return.

We dined in the bar area at a booth, having an early meal at 5pm. The service, food, and seating were all fantastic. However, by the end of our meal, the noise level was so loud, we couldn’t hear each other speak. We intentionally dined early in the evening to avoid this issue, but to no avail. If you want a quieter space, I’d certainly recommend the dining room.

Awesome service and food! We enjoyed our time. Will go back.