Maydan — Restaurant in Washington

I came to DC over the summer, to see the sights and eat the food. The sights didn't disappoint. Absolutely iconic stuff that revitalizes your confidence that this country can be frustrating at times, but that progress always prevails. The food also didn't disappoint, and I feel like Maydan is a great example of what I mean here.

Gone are the days of the Michelin Guide being mostly about fancy French cuisine or high end sushi. If you look at the Starred DC restaurants, you'll see Indian, Colombian, Peruvian, and Middle Eastern, here in Maydan. First of all, I love a Starred restaurant in which you can order a la cart. It makes this great food more accessible, which is good for everyone.

Finding the place is almost like finding a speakeasy. It's located down an alley, and the door is definitely not clearly labeled. It's not labeled, but the door certainly stands out. When you walk to where Google Maps wants you to go, you definitely should feel like you're in the right place. Just have faith and open the door.

Luckily, I was right, and I followed my hostess through the grill and bar area and up the stairs to my table. What a vibe. It felt like some sort of underground club scene, like in the movie Blade. You walk by their massive grill that is cooking with real wood and fire on giant metal grates. You feel the heat as you walk by.

When you get seated, you'll be looking around at the contemporary Middle Eastern décor for the rest of the night. I was lucky, we got seated above the giant hearth, so I could glace down occasionally and watch them cook their veggies and meat on the licking flames. Very cool.

That was five long paragraphs about not a lot, so let's finally get to the food. While I am happy that they offer a la carte stuff, their version of a tasting menu, their Tawle Menu, I just could not turn it down. It was too much good stuff and it was designed to be eaten community style. Instantly sold.

It came out in about four different courses. The first block of food was three beautiful dips and that sweet, charred Halloumi cheese. Along with a plate of veggies and a type of flatbread that reminded me of a pita, and the server made it clear to us it was all you can eat, which is perfect.

Everything was good. The best thing was the Muhammara (walnut, roasted red pepper, pomegranate molasses). Very deep and peppery and sweet, with nice chunks of walnut throughout. Unless you're a cheese person, then you'll think the Halloumi is the best.

Then, you'll get the chicken, some roasted veggies (I had asparagus), and a couple of nice, fresh salads. The chicken was juicy and charred to perfection. So were the veggies, and it was blasted with harissa and lemon and chives and stuff. Keep some of your bread and dips, to pair with this course.

Somewhere in the middle of that course, you'll get your Center Plate. Your main event. I got the Ribeye (adjika, blue fenugreek). And you'll also get the four condiments (Toum, Chermoula, Tahina, and Harissa). Take all those and slather it over every bite and get some bread and just have a good time.

Overall, this was a really amazing evening. The atmosphere, the service, the food. It's on par with some Two Starred restaurants I've experienced before. Looking back, I'm pretty sure this was my 2nd favorite meal of the trip. If I come back to the area, I will definitely be...

I moved to D.C. in September and had been itching to eat at Maydan for months. I was thrilled to secure a reservation for a best friend reunion dinner at 8:00 PM on a Wednesday. After hearing so much hype, I expected to become a regular customer, but I left extremely disappointed and would not recommend Maydan.

I noted in my reservation that it was a special occasion and hoped we’d be seated in the main area of the restaurant, which I’ve heard is beautiful. Instead, we were seated upstairs in a corner near the stairwell at a table meant for six. Two of us arrived early to enjoy a drink at the bar, which was nice, but when the rest of our party joined, we waited 15 minutes before asking someone to send our server.

Our waitress finally came without menus for the second half of our group. She didn’t introduce herself or welcome us—she simply asked what we wanted to drink. We shared a menu from the end of the table and quickly ordered as she stood there, offering no insight or suggestions, which was odd for an "upscale" Michelin-starred restaurant.

The appetizers were good but served in very small portions. We ordered 6–7 plates for four people, and none of the food remained. The shrimp dish had only 5–6 pieces, just enough for one shrimp per person. Similarly, the chicken portion was tiny, comparable to a 6-piece chicken nugget meal split between four. The pita bread was stale and hard, though we ate it out of hunger.

Service remained inattentive. Our waitress checked on drinks once while we still had full glasses, then didn’t return until the meal was nearly over. After our plates were cleared, we waited to leave but had to flag her down for the check. When it came, the bill was $89 per person, and one card was missing. The waitress didn’t mention the 20% automatic tip included in the check, which I only noticed by reading the fine print. Despite the poor service, we almost tipped again on top of the included gratuity.

We searched for the missing card, checking our bags and wallets, but it was nowhere to be found. The register was 15 feet away, so we were confused. When we asked the waitress, she said she hadn’t received a fourth card and had only charged three. We all ended up on the floor with flashlights, looking for it.

The manager arrived and, in a curt tone, said, “We’re looking for it, but don’t know where it is.” His lack of accountability or apology was frustrating, and he seemed annoyed to be involved. Neither he nor the server asked for our contact information in case it turned up. Eventually, the hostess found the card on the floor near another table. She was the only staff member who handled the situation well. Afterward, our server apologized, but the manager didn’t. He helped search for about five minutes, then walked away.

We left feeling extremely let down. Our friend, who once considered Maydan her favorite restaurant, was especially disappointed. I rarely write reviews, but I hope this saves others from being fooled by a...

I get why they lost their Michelin star… We had what can only be described as a zero-star experience, with one star added for the kindness of the waitstaff and bartenders. Unfortunately, management and the hostess staff were the complete opposite.

Despite the lightening, we were seated outside on the patio because our reservation was technically for outdoor seating. We understood and didn’t push back (initially).

The patio was essentially a sauna. It was extremely hot and humid, everyone was visibly sweating, and there was active lightning outside. As the ONLY patrons seated out there, we asked if they could turn on the outdoor fans (facing the table), but the hostess said no – citing a “safety hazard” due to the lightning. Which is confusing, because… they still chose to seat us outside in a lightning storm, in a metal-furnished patio. I was literally touching a metal pole.

We tried to be good sports and asked if there was another table available. The hostess told us they were “confirmed until 9:30 p.m.” but would check. She never returned.

Our waiter came shortly after, took one step in the tent and immediately said, “It’s scorching in here. Do you want me to see if there’s seating inside?” We were relieved. We told him we had asked and were told no. I told him I was less concerned about the heat – but the real ‘safety hazard’ is sitting outside during a lightning storm, touching a metal pole. He agreed and kindly brought us inside.

The hostesses then told us we could sit at the bar and that a lounge table would open up in 30 minutes. Not even five minutes later, we received an emergency tornado alert telling us to seek shelter immediately – a tornado had touched down just three minutes from the restaurant.

At 7:15 p.m. (1hr past our reservation time), my brother-in-law politely asked the hostess if there was an update. She responded with altitude, “You’ve only been waiting 10 minutes.” It was so unnecessary and unprofessional.

At 7:30 p.m., they (I think the manager?) came to take us to our table and didn’t say a word about any of it…

The food itself was decent – pretty good – but nowhere near worth the $700 bill (as we knew it would cost), given how we were treated. The biggest issue here is safety and preparedness. This cannot be the first time this restaurant has had inclement weather. Yet, there seemed to be no contingency plan for when patio reservations were no longer safe. Instead of taking a proactive approach and calling us to cancel or moving us inside, they seated us outside in a dangerous weather situation, made us feel like we were the problem, and only took action after we insisted something be done.

If plugging in a fan during a storm is a safety hazard, then seating customers outside during a tornado and lightning storm absolutely is too.

Hospitality and safety should be table stakes at this price point – and both were sorely lacking, as is the...