Sababa

Sababa is a Hebrew slang word meaning "great or cool" and can express enthusiasm and satisfaction. Sababa comes from the Arabic word tzababa, which means great or excellent in spoken Arabic. Like the name Sababa, Israel's food has its roots in both Jewish and Arab cuisine. Sababa's menu offers a small plates and large plates menu to encourage guests to sample the large variety of cultural influences on the cuisine of Israel as well as a full wine bar that offers wines from around the world including Israel, Lebanon, the Mediterranean. The design of the restaurant evokes the port of Tel Aviv with Mediterranean tiles on the floor and sails on the ceiling and the lounge area boasts a unique Bedouin-style tent with community tables.  Closest Metro is Cleveland Park.

This restaurant was awarded Bib Gourmand for 2020, so we've been wanting to dine here for some time now but we rarely make up to this neck of the woods.  We had planned to catch a movie at the nearby Uptown Theater, so it was the perfect time to finally dine at Sababa.  Our server, Yousef, was very friendly and happily explained his favorite dishes from the menu.  We were sold on everything! Tonight, we chose to start with the Hummus of the Day featuring herbed mushrooms and artichokes added on top.  Served with thick pita, this hummus was the most silky version I've ever had.  We happily cleaned the plate.

The Charred Eggplant was another star dish.  Served with herbed labne, pomegranate, and pistachios, the char flavor was prominent yet the eggplant itself quite tender and almost melted in my mouth.  I loved the bright flavors of the herbs and pomegranate that made each bite shine.  I could understand how this is the most popular selling dish on the menu.

A dish that I could not pass up was the Roasted Halumi served with dates, honey, and charred lemon.  This may be one of my favorite cheeses, and the combination with dates and honey was a sweet and salty marriage.

Keith, being the meat-lover in our relationship, wanted to order the Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken Livers.  Served with sumac onions and pomegranate seeds, the little organs were not as iron-tasting as other preparations.  The portion was large, and with some extra pita would make for a meal in itself.

Keith also enjoyed the Lamb & Beef Kofta with Hawaij-spiced rice, roasted chili and tomato.  The minced meat was formed into a long meatball shape and was full of warm spices like cinnamon.

I stuck with my all vegetarian meal, and ordered the Vegetable Bastilla.  This beautiful pastry was filled with mushroom, fennel, potato, and almonds with added heat from aleppo pepper.  It was served with garlic labne, tomato-based pepper sauce, and an intense salad of cucumber, tomato, and onion.  I really enjoyed this warm and comforting dish.

All in all we had an excellent meal at Sababa. We left completely stuffed, and surprisingly managed to make it through the whole movie without falling asleep.  With so many enticing flavors and aromas, there are many more items on the menu that we'd love to try next time.


Total Rating: 4.55
Food: 5, Price: 4, Service: 4, Ambience: 3.5, Accessibility: 5