Last October, Vinoda Basnayake, principal of Versus Equity, lawyer, and notable art collector, told me, “We do nightlife and unique experiential nightlife. In DC, there’s a lot of options like that; in Virginia, there’s less.” Understatement? Outside of Arlington, absolutely. That’s reason enough to have gotten excited for Leila, Basnayake’s restaurant inside Tysons Corner Center. The fact that the project is a collaboration between him; Bikram Keith, Brit musician Jay Sean’s touring DJ; and Karan Singh, owner of DC’s modern Indian restaurant, Punjab Grill, only sweetened the deal.
Basnayake called Leila “sort of a unique offering for that area.” In terms of happenings, such as a recent appearance by comedian Russell Peters, which featured bottle service and music from Peters’s DJ, Leila is ahead of the game. But as a restaurant, while Leila is a visual delight, it’s not as unique as Basnayake was perhaps hoping it would be.
The concept is an appealing one. Under the oversight of Punjab Grill’s Jassi Bindra, individual chefs with expertise in Indian (Jesus Alameda), Persian (Shiva Almasi), and Lebanese foods (Ramzi El Husseini) each contribute their own dishes, explains Leila’s culinary director, Hamid Khalili. Think of it as a tour of the Spice Route, much like the one that Keith enjoyed as he traveled that part of the world on the road with Jay Sean. The only issue is that each of those cuisines is already well-represented in the area. It would take some excellent innovation to sway diners from going to Bansari in Vienna for Indian, Amoo’s in McLean for Persian, or Raouche Café in Falls Church for Lebanese. The appeal is in the cool room, the creative cocktails, and the ability to sup on multiple cuisines at one time.
And each of those traditions is upheld with reverence and pretty plating. As Khalili put it, the dishes on offer at Leila were typically passed down from mother to daughter. His job is to help refine them for a new, diverse audience. “We are attracting all different backgrounds,” he says. “Especially with cuisines that aren’t in the mainstream, you have to lay down a lot of familiar ground for your guests. You don’t want them to feel alienated.”
That means the menu reads like the Spice Route’s Greatest Hits. The best way to take part in that is with the spread sampler, a combination of six dips. Though the hummus is creamy and topped with whole chickpeas, it lacks both the acid and garlic that would make it more memorable. But other dips are exactly that. The muhammara, which combines walnuts with roasted red peppers and pomegranate molasses, is usually impossible for me to put down, but especially so with its ideal balance here. Persian kashk o bademjan is served warm and topped with fried onions. Mint illuminates the comforting flavors of the eggplant-and-whey concoction. Another eggplant dip, babaghanoush, is appropriately smoky, but unusually bright thanks to a topping of pomegranate arils. The spread sampler is accompanied by a pile of locally crafted pita as well as freshly baked naan bread, the latter of which is as pillowy as any version of the flatbread I’ve tasted. It’s an effort not to order more.
Other small plates vary in quality. The crispy kale palak chaat, which is a favorite dish of mine when it’s done right, relies too heavily on its oversweet tamarind sauce, leaving the impression of a kale-and-onion-filled dessert. I preferred the kibbeh, a trio of well-spiced beef croquettes served with a fresh-tasting tzatziki. Still, it can be difficult to defend ordering a $16 appetizer that small. I realize that at Leila, one is paying as much for the atmosphere as food, but it’s a challenge to leave without spending upwards of $100 for a couple, even without cocktails, which start at $13. This would be easier to swallow if service were uniformly solid, but at one meal, my mostly absent server forgot what I’d ordered even though he had a tablet for inputting my requests. Other times, though, I felt well-taken care of, with multiple staffers visiting my table to make sure every whim was addressed.
But back to puffy, silky naan bread. It’s even better studded with garlic and herbs, as I ordered it when I tried the butter chicken. Listed on the menu as “the creamy classic, Perfect for connoisseurs and first-timers,” the tomato-based chicken curry might not be the ultimate version of the dish in the region, but it’s a standout nonetheless. For fowl fans, the bone-in joojeh kebab is another worthy request. The juicy meat is marinated in citrus and saffron and served with zereshk polo, or barberry rice. That rice also comes with a gorgeously charred salmon dish.
Though the last of those is sufficiently spice-redolent on its own, I liked it even better with a wash of the rogan josh sauce poured over it. The Indian lamb shank itself was not fork-tender as I was hoping it would be. It could have benefited from another 20 minutes or so of braising to get it just right. But the dish’s garlicky sauce “Invented in Persia, perfected in Kashmir,” according to the menu, would be an aromatic asset to any savory meal.
Leila is still finding its feet, as is every restaurant in the late-COVID era. But there is much to recommend it, especially for a night out when your group doesn’t want to settle on just one cuisine but a food hall is too casual for the occasion. And there’s more that will soon make it additionally appealing. “We are working on an amazing lunch menu,” Khalili says. It will include dishes centered around hummus, with proteins including shrimp, scallops, and octopus. He also has big plans for cherry blossom season, including a cherry halva dessert.
For a splashy night out in Tysons (including late night) with music and atmosphere to spare, Basnayake was absolutely right: Leila is in a breed by itself.
Inside Tysons Corner Center (park in garage C), 7943-B Tysons Corner Center, Tysons
See this: A moody nightclub feel is only interrupted by the open kitchen, complete with a chef pulling breads and meats from the tandoor, which for foodies just makes it more appealing.
Eat this: Spread sampler, kibbeh, butter chicken
Rating: ★★★
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