Zaytinya — Restaurant in Culver City

I was already mentally prepared to spend an insane amount of money for a microscopic amount of food. But even WITH THAT mindset, this place is extremely disappointing and makes me irate for the price point.

I'll start with the positives: vibe is nice and warm except for the dirty stained carpet. That's it.

Negatives: Waiter seemed distracted the whole time had to ask twice for everything - water, a box, bread.

Bread came out cold and they try to refill you up constantly to distract you from how small the portion sizes are.

HOMMUS: You can literally get this exact same flavor at Trader Joe's. Nothing special.

TABBOULI: an absolute sodium + vinegar bomb. so salty it made me grimace and i had to grab a piece of bread to counteract it. Salt mostly came from this weird white sauce underneath each lettuce wrap.

ZAYTINYA FRIES: Super plain fries with a slight za’atar seasoning (could buy tastier frozen fries from costco) with another salty white sauce

BANTIJIAN BIL LABAN (crispy eggplant): just tastes like a fried piece of dough on a layer of another… you guessed it… sour and salty white sauce.

SHISH TAOUK & KOFTE: hilariously so small that people at my table had to look away when they unveiled it. Chicken was so mediocrely seasoned a gym bro’s chicken breast is probably tastier. Also came with another very salty white sauce. The beef was disturbingly very soft.

OCTOPUS SANTORINI: not sure how something can taste both burnt and fishy, but somehow this place manages to achieve that.

The icing on the cake was that a nearby waitress hit me on the head with a tray. Didn’t even have the spatial awareness to know or acknowledge it happened.

If you want good Mediterranean food for 25% of the price, i recommend Sunnin or Nuka. Much more authentic, balanced, and fairly priced!

Jose Andres and his "brand" conned me. Please don't let him con you too....

I want to start by saying that I really liked this place. I’m not here to critique it from the perspective of someone looking for fully traditional flavors—I understand and appreciate that the chef adds their own creative touches.

The service was outstanding—an easy 10/10! The staff was professional, and handled everything well. Although we had to wait about 30 minutes, they managed the situation with great professionalism, and we left feeling very happy.

Now, about the food:

First, serving a cold salad with meat in a copper (or copper-look) plate doesn’t quite work. Copper is typically used for hot dishes, and the presentation didn’t align with that concept. We ate cold meat in an enclosed plating...

The lamb—this was a real letdown. Lamb in the U.S. already has a distinct taste and smell, but the bigger issue was the Adana kebab. It wasn’t even close to what Adana Kebap should be. The size, seasoning, and texture of the ground meat were completely off—it should have a coarser grind with thicker pieces. Adana without meat fat... We tasted only but didnt finish, Big fail, I'm sorry.

Then there was the dish called Baharat—which literally means "spice"—but it had no spices at all. Not even a pinch of salt! That was disappointing. I believe you tried to do some marinate before but we didn't taste that either.

On a brighter note, the Turkish coffee and chocolate dessert with (mastic) ice cream was absolutely incredible. The pinch of salt on top—a classic touch to enhance the flavors—worked beautifully. I loved it!

Will come again to try the rest...

I've been here twice now, and whilst there are some great aspects of this place, overall I've left a bit disappointed (and even a bit sick).

The first time I went the server seemed ill informed about the menu. The second time the server, Mike, was 5 stars! He was incredibly friendly, educated and helpful guiding us through the menu.

Food-wise, I've tried the following dishes:

BABA GHANNOUGE FATTOUSH DOLMADES SEARED HALLOUMI IMAM BAYILDI SEA SCALLOPS BLACK COD SALMON ADANA KEBAB

My dining partners had the CHICKEN SOUP AVGOLEMONO (loved!), GREEK YOGURT AND PEARS (liked) and pear sorbet (also loved!)

For me, the baba ghannouge and imam bayildi stand out.

I will never order seafood here again. It's incredibly underwhelming and just wasn't good. The cod and the salmon fell short, overcooked and clearly not very fresh. The scallops were the worst scallops I've ever tasted. The texture was stringy and the flavor was off. That may or may not be the reason my stomach felt sick after the meal.

Everything else - the fattoush, dolmades, adana kebab were average.

The restaurant would could be improved by 1) upping their seafood game, significantly, and 2) improving the consistency. The service experience was far and away different my second visit than the first (and they were only a couple weeks apart).

I'd consider returning, but I'd stay away from the seafood and just hope I end up with the...