I was the first to arrive and spotted Nina, the hostess, setting the lone outdoor table. Naturally, I began yakking with her and requested that our group be seated there. She told me she was new to the business, and I complimented her on her welcoming warmth while sharing my favorite hospitality tome, Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara, which champions giving guests more than they expect.

As luck would have it, we did get that outdoor table for our 120-year birthday celebration — two Lebanese friends each turning 60. The celebrants took charge of the ordering, introducing the rest of us to some of their favorite dishes.

Soon the table was overflowing with starters: two varieties of open-face pies — my favorite, lahmeh sfiha (4 for $21), topped with minced beef, onion, tomatoes and traditional spices, and fatayer sbanek (4 for $21), filled with spinach, onion, lemon and sumac. We also shared arnabeet mekle ($20), fried cauliflower marinated in authentic Lebanese herbs; silky hummus, both traditional ($21) and topped with roasted pine nuts ($22); tabouli salad (small $19.50, large $48), a refreshing mélange of fine bulgur, parsley, tomatoes, scallions, mint and lemon; and hindi dandelion leaves with caramelized onions ($18).

All paired beautifully with the elegant, crisp Château Ksara Merwah 2023 ($72).

By then I was already stuffed, but the parade of entrées continued: shish barak ($46), delicate hand-rolled dumplings filled with ground beef and pine nuts in a mint yogurt stew served with vermicelli rice; fattet lahmeh ($46), lamb with chickpeas and crispy pita chips smothered in yogurt sauce and sprinkled with diced lamb and nuts; and malfouf mehshi ($46), comforting cabbage rolls stuffed with spiced rice and minced lamb.

With the entrées, we sipped the light-bodied Château Ksara Cuvée du Printemps 2023 ($68), primarily Gamay blended with a touch of Tempranillo.



To finish the evening, Nina surprised the six of us with complimentary desserts and two sparklers — exactly the sort of thoughtful touch that delivers more than guests expect. Between the delicious Lebanese feast, lively sidewalk dining, dear friends celebrating milestone birthdays and the city skyline shimmering behind us, the evening was simply magical.

I highly recommend a visit to Au Za’atar.

Au Za’atar
Midtown East
1063 First Ave
New York, NY, 10022
auzaatar.com/
212-625 -3982