Yayla Bistro — Restaurant in Falls Church

Yesterday I arrived in Falls Church for a concert at the Wolf Trap. I had never been here, so spent a lovely afternoon exploring. On my way to the metro for the concert, I stopped into Yayla for a couple of glasses of (delicious) Spanish cava. While there, I checked out the menu. Was so impressed I decided that today I would dine there. So, so glad I did! I couldn't find anyone to go to the concert, Jethro Tull, my favorite band of all time since I was 12. Can you believe it? So I'm up here in Falls Church on my own. Sometimes women dining alone aren't treated very well. Not at Yayla! The entire staff were friendly, courteous, and filled with wonderful suggestions about what dishes I might like to try. I wound up going with 3 mezes. The other choice was an entree, so next time I'm up here I'll probably go that route. The mezes I had were, quite simply, astonishingly good. The first was a scallops special. Not on the menu, but the preparation is the same as a hot meze fish dish, which is. Next I tried the grilled calamari. In the wrong hands this can be like chewing on rubber bands. At Yayla, the calamari came out perfectly grilled, tender, and as flavorful as you please. Finally, I tried the Turkish tortellini, filled with ground beef and lamb with a yogurt sauce as well as a homemade tomato sauce. Really, really superb! The cava, Los Monteros, was lovely. Refreshing and not sweet, just as great cava should be. I then switched to a glass of their New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Sniffing before sipping, I felt transported to a beautiful meadow. The taste of this wine was top notch. As you can see, I am now a devoted fan of Yayla Bistro and HIGHLY recommend you go. You will love it! I wish they would open one in my town, Wilmington, NC. Come on guys, if you're reading this, any chance at all of that? I'd be there all the time! Thank you for a stunning dining experience! Your...

I'm sorry, I just don't understand the rave reviews at all. Bland food, uninspired presentation, and completely overpriced based on what you get in both quality and quantity. My wife had the filet minion. The menu says it's marinated, but it had no flavor at all - it wasn't even salted - and it was, maybe, four ounces of meat. She ordered it medium well and got a mix of med rare to medium. It was served with plain white rice; a pile of raw, grated carrot; and pickled cabbage that was almost certainly out of a jar. $24 for that? I had the weekly, Friday/Saturday night special Iskender (shaved beef and lamb) kabob. Again, even with some kind of red sauce on it, no flavor at all and dry/dull meat. Served over bread cubes with a giant pond of white sauce as the only accompaniment. Correction: there was a dried out, flavorless cooked tomato too. While there was more meat than my wife's entree, I still have no idea how they justify $22 for that We started with the mezze platter for two: Two dolma, two boregi, and three small piles of assorted dips - all of which were good - but for $20? Come on. The final straw was that it was 85 degrees outside and they didn't have the A/C on. I was sweating at my table. This is actually the second time we've eaten here, but I didn't realize this was the same place when I made the reservation. When we pulled up we both kind of groaned, and my wife said "Isn't this the overpriced place with the normal food?" Regardless we thought we'd give it a second try. I wish we hadn't and had just gone to Agora, Zatinya, or Cafe Divan like we usually do and had an amazing meal for...

Stop everything you're doing right now and BOOK A RESERVATION. This resturant is absolutely phenomenal, from the food to the staff and the wine selection. I don't know how this was my first time here because everything was delightful. Started off with Turkish rosé which I've never had before and it was quite good, paired well with the mezze platter as our starter. The chefs cigars & dolmas were my favourites and the spreads were all so tasty. We did the grilled mixed grill platter for 2 which had a little bit of everything and OH MY STARS. The Filet mignon was so tender and tasty with a smokey flavour as well as the Lamb chop. The kebab was SO good too, full of flavour and I would eat a whole platter of it alone. The chicken was prepared perfectly, not dry and it came with pilaf & rice, a couple tomatoes, brocoli and peppers. Definitely get the platter if you want a little bit of everything. We even took some home cause we didn't finish it all. We also had dinner paired with a Turkish red wine, also a first for me which was so smokey and paired PERFECTLY with the entrée. Ended the night with baklava & apricot delight paired with Turkish coffee for my friend and Turkish tea for me. The expierence was amasing, took our breath away each time they brought out a dish. Overall such a gem and I highly reccomend. Your favourite NoVA gremlin food reviewer, Insta...