Maya Bistro — Restaurant in Virginia

Always a pleasure to eat here. While they only have a small (free) parking lot, I’ve never had an issue getting parked. The staff are friendly and attentive, with a relaxing casual setting appropriate for family and friends. The menu is wide enough to satisfy just about anyone, and the food is great. On my last visit, we started out with the Maya trio, ordering the hummus, baba ganoush, and patlican kozleme (one of my favorites). For my main meal I opted to try the baked zucchini. It’s good, but I have other favorites I tend to drift to. My wife had the manti (which I always enjoy) and son had the sucuk (although I love the lamacun). We finished the meal off with knefe, a MUST TRY.

This is a great place to take a loved one, or family. The food, service, and atmosphere are all great. I’ve always had a very positive experience here. There’s some parking in front of the restaurant and there’s also street parking. The menu selection is diverse enough that everyone should be able to find something they’ll enjoy. This time I started with the patlican kozleme, which is absolutely delicious, and the beyti yogurt. My wife ordered the baked zucchini, although I think it was slightly overcooked. But everything is always delicious. And you have to have the knefe!

Amazing food. Amazing service. From the moment my wife and I entered the restaurant, we felt like part of the family. The staff were so friendly and helpful. We tried 3 different spreads (htipiti, baba ganoush, and patlican kozleme), the mousaka, Adana, baklava, and kunefe. Everything was absolutely delicious. The atmosphere was very casual but in a very relaxing way. This has definitely become a place to go to regularly. Others were...

Authentic Turkish family-run restaurant bursting with flavor. The synergy and close-knit family dynamic is truly impressive. Everyone pitches in from the siblings servers who double up as bartenders to the father in chief hosting and managing the restaurant, while the mom/aunts/uncles preserve their secret family recipes and pepper in the spices in the kitchen.

The complementary pillowy soft Turkish bread similar to focaccia is divine! We devoured the the entire loaf and got another round!

The Maya Mezze for 2 is a fun sampler of Turkish dishes with a platter of hummus, eggplant-based Patlican Kozleme, Htipiti red pepper & feta dip, falafel, Turkish cigars stuffed with feta cheese, and Bamya okra (substituted them over Dolmas). Of all the mini apps, the hummus, cheesy Turkish cigars, and crispy and tender falafel with perfect consistency without being dry or oily were my favorite. Highly recommend trying the Mezze!

The crispy Zucchini Cake were tasty and fun to try! The Spanokopita with lots of layers of phyllo dough and stuffed with spinach and feta was quite filling.

Our server was super nice and gave us Baklava on the house! Although we were stuffed to the brim, we thoroughly enjoyed all the crispy layers of phyllo dough and walnuts coated with honey and sprinkled with crunchy pistachio crumbs. We polished off a clean plate, there wasn't a morsel to spare! My hubby enjoyed his foamy cappuccino. A sweet ending to a delicious savory meal!

Although there's no outdoor seating, there's plenty of seating inside. Looking forward to coming back and exploring the rest...

My wife and I stopped by here for the first time, so I wanted to provide my honest feedback:

Food:

Grilled Calamari (I do not recommend it, the calamari was chewy and flavorless) Shrimp Tavi (I was under the impression that it would be a unique and tasty dish, but unfortunately, the shrimp didn't have enough flavor, and needed additional love) Adana Kabob (the kabob itself was tasty and perfectly seasoned, but based on the price point, they should've increased the portion size and added an extra adana kabob) Branzino (sadly, overall, it lacked flavor and did not match the price point) Manti (the traditional sauce that the manti is topped with lacked flavor and the dumplings literally had no meat) Maya Cigars (highly recommend, perfectly cooked) Knafeh (one of the best I've had in the area, extremely tasty) Apricot Delight (unique dish and tasty, but you must appreciate this flavor profile)

Service:

Our server was extremely friendly and professional, she was genuinely interested in helping us and checking in on us, as needed. ⚠️ Please note: they automatically add gratuity (which was not to their benefit, as we normally tip over 20%)

Atmosphere:

A small, intimate setting with minimal traffic. We were the only ones there. The inside the restaurant felt extremely stuffy and unpleasant. It seemed like the AC was turned off, which is bizarre as it was almost unbearable.

Overall, the price points do not match the portion sizes, so we will likely not return. Otherwise, it was a decent...