About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Láylí, 3033 Wilson Blvd., Arlington.
Zenola was the victim of bad timing. Chef Samer Zeitoun opened the place, his first restaurant serving the cuisine of his native Lebanon, in fall 2019. It excited Vienna diners and earned a rave from Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema, but ultimately couldn’t survive pandemic pressures.
With Láylí, which opens today, June 7, the chef and his family are giving it another shot—this time in Clarendon.
The Beirut-born Zeitoun’s specialties at Zenola will all reappear: kibbeh, stuffed zucchini, and wood-fired mixed grill with chicken taouk, beef kabob, kefta, and arayes. He’ll also bring back signature mezze like warak enab (Lebanese-style stuffed grape leaves) and kibbe nayyeh (Shenandoah Valley lamb tartare with bulgur wheat), and serve riffs on Greek taverna snacks. As at Zenola’s, Láylí’s dessert menu will include traditional Lebanese pastries like ismailiyah and kashta.
But Láylí isn’t Zenola v. 2.0. The restaurant’s name is derived from the Arabic word for “evening,” and it will stay open until midnight. Láylí’s focal point is its foliage-filled patio with mood lighting, a second bar, and an outdoor lounge. A DJ will spin (at a modest volume to allow for conversation), and the bar will sling cocktails like spicy pomegranate mezcalitas and pistachio-pesto sours.
“The clients change from area to area,” Samer says. “Arlington has more young people, they want late night food.”
Compared to Zenola, Láylí may feel more approachable and casual, though that mainly comes down to the food’s presentation. Láylí’s dishes will be served like classic, shareable eastern Mediterranean small plates, and will shed some of the ultra-delicate, artistic techniques Zeitoun used at Zenola, where some plates resembled Kandinsky paintings.
Before Zenola, which Zeitoun opened with his daughters, he and brother Walid ran Cafe Paradiso, an Italian restaurant in Woodley Park, for nearly 30 years. But with Láylí, the brothers are returning to their roots— childhood recipes and a style of dining meant to evoke the Levant.
At a pre-opening dinner, the Zeitoun brothers’ friends and family (many from Lebanon) stayed late.
“The feedback was incredible,” Walid says. “People told us they felt like they were on vacation near their home.”
