“The generation before me was all chefs,” recalls Rabih Abi-Aad. “In my little village in Lebanon, Dfoun, 80 percent of the population are chefs.” In fact, Abi-Aad says, there were at least six chefs in his parents’ generation in his family, and both of his sisters have joined him in his calling, albeit far from Vienna. Abi-Aad says he left school at 12 to join his uncle in the kitchen and hasn’t looked back.
The chef has accrued a storied culinary background, including ownership of Me Jana in Arlington, which he sold in 2021. But Seray is something new and different — Abi-Aad calls it modern Lebanese — and he is proud to share an aesthetic and cuisine rarely seen outside Beirut. The chic dining room augurs good things, and what’s on plates seals the deal: This restaurant is a cut above the mom-and-pop hummus purveyors we already know and love in NoVA.
Seray has hummus, too, and the airy whip is available topped with either whole chickpeas or, as Seray’s Hummus, tiny cubes of marinated beef tenderloin. Paired with warm, sandal-shaped pita, most diners would be content to call that alone a meal.
But for those still hungry, there are many options. Most of the menu is composed of appetizers, both cold and hot. Among dips, the very best is the vegan mhammara, Abi-Aad’s take on my favorite of all the world’s red-pepper pastes. It’s both blended with, and decorated with, crunchy walnuts, and spiked with pomegranate molasses for a sweet-tart flavor that accentuates the roasted peppers.
There are no fewer than 22 hot appetizers, and most of those that I tried are worthy of tasting. In the future, I would skip the fishy-smelling grilled calamari in favor of the cinnamon-and-clove-scented makanek sausage. Served in tart lemon sauce, the petite beef sausages are an explosion of spice and citrus that delights on a level that the squid does not, despite the fact that Abi-Aad says he sells 200 pounds of it a week.
One dish that definitely fits the “modern” bill is the grilled halloumi cheese. Abi-Aad’s creation features squeaky, seared curds topped with dates, pear, watermelon, and microgreens for a delightful dance of salty and sweet, juicy and crisp. It’s undoubtedly Lebanese, but also something I would expect to see at any Modern American restaurant, where such a combination and pretty plating would be equally welcome.
While the visual attributes of the restaurant are part of what raises it to the upper echelons of Lebanese restaurants in our region, it wouldn’t be fair not to pay handsome tribute to the kebabs. Abi-Aad says that the meaty skewers are what made him fall in love with food in the first place, and you’re likely to feel similarly smitten.
Served on colorful speckled plates, the mixed grill is the best bet for those who can’t decide on a single protein. A mound of rice with vermicelli, a scoop of creamy garlic whip, grill-blistered tomato, and parsley salad create a colorful pairing for the protein. It’s impossible to select a highlight among the three meats. Chicken taouk is deeply marinated for optimal tenderness, while the beef kebab features meaty cubes cooked to a juice-dripping medium. The kafta kebab features minced beef and lamb blended with onions and spices that pairs with the garlic sauce for the biggest punch of allium power.
The most expensive item on the menu, the $46 branzino, is also one that any fish lover should order. “Would you like it fileted or whole?” my server asked when I ordered the sea bass. Whole, of course, but what arrived was somewhere in the middle. I was delighted to discover that I’d received a partially deboned fish, with wide swaths of filet (with the skin and fin still intact) attached to the bony head and tail. Bathed in lemon sauce with roasted potatoes and cherry tomatoes, the only sin on the rectangular plate was overcooked green beans. The buttery fish itself, wrapped in crunchy skin and hiding a bundle of herbs, was close to perfection.
Abi-Aad trained early in his career with a French pastry chef, but his desserts at Seray are mostly Lebanese. A notable exception is the chocolate fondant, a petite cake filled with ganache and warmed to just the point of melting. The smartest way to order dessert at Seray is to get more than one. My most successful outing included a table filled with ashta and kanafeh. Both the creamy, pudding-like ashta and the cheesy, pastry-bound kanafeh feature flavors of rose and pistachio, so it’s a natural pairing of cool and hot desserts.
Abi-Aad says that he works roughly 105 hours a week, and given the care evident in every detail of the restaurant, this is a believable figure. He works alongside chef Gladys Ventura, who has been with him for years at past restaurants, and his wife, Nadia, who serves as the general manager.
So, it turns out that, in its way, Seray is a mom-and-pop Lebanese restaurant after all. According to Abi-Aad, “It’s the American dream. I used to go to cry because I was so hungry I couldn’t sleep. I had no money to buy a hamburger. Now I have a beautiful family, beautiful house, and a beautiful restaurant.” And that beautiful restaurant might just be your American dream, too.
Seray
★★★ 1/2 out of 5 stars
See This: Pottery is on display in glass cases amid soaring ceilings. The bar looks like a museum of liquors, all lit by starry pendant lights.
Eat This: Halloumi, mhammara, mixed grill
Appetizers: $8–$19
Entrées: $17–$46
Dessert: $9–$15
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
160 Maple Ave. W., Vienna
Feature image by Rey Lopez
This story originally ran in our December issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
