Fettoosh

The Bastille, the Turkish tea, the lamb and rice were super yummy and portions are filling. Service is mad slow. 7.5÷10.

My friends and I came here today and DEAR LORD was it good. We are fans for life. I got the chicken bastille and will be dreaming of it for weeks, and the staff was so incredibly nice. YAY FETTOOSH!

I’m officially a fan of Fettoosh! First time I came here I got the lamb tagine and chicken bastilla. Everyone raves about the chicken bastilla but maybe it’s my newfound gravitation towards vegetarian and non-​meat dishes, but I had a mild aversion to the chicken inside the pastry. I think I’m moving towards enlightenment. Kewl. Next time I’ll get the vegetable bastilla. The sugar and cinnamon on top of the bastilla also messes with my head a little because it’s so dessert-​like and I just end up eating the top part off separately before I get into the savory bit. I love the use of walnuts/​other nuts in so many of their dishes though. I just don’t like mixing the the sweet and savory. I took a star off for the service for the 1^st time– there was a stern looking female there who couldn’t bother with friendliness or smiling which was a little sad.
The 2^nd time I came here I got the cheese pastry with hummus and salad, along with a slice of baklava. It was awesome and definitely 5 star quality. The service was also excellent. I think it was the owner who took my order and he was very friendly and gave me some tea while I waited for the order.
I just thought it was super weird that pupatella next door was jam packed and Fettoosh was empty. What’s the reason? Something I don’t know?

Food was good although lacked a bit of salt. I had to salt everything. The rice… kabob…falafel. I’m not one to salt my food so this was rare for me. Also, one of the pieces of my chicken kabob wasn’t cooked through. Apart from that piece the smaller pieces were tasty.
The hummus, tahini and salad were delicious.

Good food, peculiar service, and a menu that didn’t do a great job at describing the differences between dishes.

Stopped by here because it was one of the few places open on Christmas– so glad we did! Ordered beef shawarma and namoura-​both delicious! Meat was tender and marinated well. Namoura was a very sweet, dense dessert. The mint tea was so wonderful, herbal and sweet.
Customer service was amazing, the owner was SO friendly and funny. Gave us a falafel on the house because he knew we wanted to try it out. Checked on us to make sure everything was going well.
Thankfully when we went it wasn’t too busy, so service time was fine but I can see how it may take a while to get your food if the restaurant gets busy.

The place is very simple and casual, not much of an art décor or fancy furniture but the food speaks louder than anything else, that why we keep on going back for more Moroccan home cooked meals, fresh and tasty, we loved everything, my wife loves to explore her native country food with a smile. We do recommend this restaurant.

I went here with a big group of friends one night. Parking was scarce but we luckily found a spot at the adjacent gas station. We walked in and were greeted by what we assume to be the owner. He welcomes us into his restaurant like an old uncle would welcome his distant nieces and nephews. We immediately feel at home.
We got hot tea, hummus, and fettoosh (tomato and onion salad) for the table and begin devouring. That hummus was bomb. I haven’t had that good of hummus since my time I went to Israel. I’d come back to eat the hummus off the bathroom floor it was so good. The tea was bomb (forgot to ask if they use honey, recipes online don’t use honey though).
I got the lentil soup, and it was this HUGE bowl of delicious, warm lentils that honestly, I felt full after that. We haven’t even gotten our main dishes yet. I can normally eat for 2 – 3 people so I was feeling pretty defeated after that.
He recommended us the bastilla, a crispy sweet and savory pastry and meat/​vegetable dish. It looked and sounded weird, but we were no strangers to weirdness. The owner assured me there was no egg/​butter in the vegetable bastilla, so I am going to go ahead and say it is most likely vegan.
I ordered the falafel balls, and honestly can’t comment on them because I was so full and satisfied that I ate them just to feel accomplished, like a good gluttonous American. But really, they were really good, small balls crispy on the outside, warm and toasty on the inside and great hummus and tahini.
Will be back for sure!

This place is so good. Ask for Harissa on the side, it’s hot sauce and I assume they make it fresh every day because it always tastes a little different.
Favorites:
Chicken with lemon tagine and French fries
Any of the couscous dishes
Lamb kabobs
Mergeuez tagine
Can’t wait to try the rest!

One of the best middle-​eastern places I’ve ever been to, and the owner is absolutely fabulous. He treats us like family every time we’re there and he recognizes us even if we go months between visits. Really good value, food is amazing, it’s clean and wonderful inside. Totally awesome.
Also: best baklava I’ve ever had. It’s amazing.

We got the vegetarian combo, lentil soup, & of course fettoosh. Everything was delicious! The server was very friendly & attentive even after more ppl came in.

This place, at first glance, doesn’t look like much. Don’t be fooled, though. The food at Fattoush rivals some of the Moroccan dishes that we’ve had at pricey, upscale restaurants. Try the chicken bastilla, a sweet and savory «pie» made from phyllo dough, spiced ground chicken, eggs, almonds, cinnamon, and powdered sugar. We also had lamb and prunes with sliced almonds. Deliciously tender with subtle North African spices. We finished with a pot of traditional sweetened mint tea. The menu isn’t huge, but the flavors are. Authentic, well prepared Moroccan food at a reasonable price. And to make the experience even better, the staff is congenial and very helpful. Go!

Yummy dinner. Wanted to try something new and was directed here.
For two people, we shared:
Lamb and prune ($ 15)
Small pot of mint tea ($ 3.5)
Vegetarian combo ($ 10)
Must get all three, everything was perfect.
The owner was really friendly, and we felt like we felt like we were eating a authentic Lebanese/​Moroccan dinner made with love.
Clearly this is a place passionate about its food. We would return to try the chicken bastilla and lamb tartine.
So glad we found this local joint.

The best hummus I’ve ever had. And I eat a lot of hummus. I’m looking forward to the next time I’m in the area and hungry just so I can get more… it’s that good.
I had the vegetarian sample platter. Despite my initial concern that it wouldn’t be enough, it was plenty.
The man that served me was one of those rare «true saleman» types. The sort that make you feel charmed and very pleased with your decision to buy. I literally saw him kiss a baby. He might have a successful career in politics next.
I’m coming back.

In Moroccan culture, offering mint tea is a sign of hospitality. So when they offer tea, definitely accept it. Another reason you should accept is because the tea is hot, fragrant and flavorful.
I asked the owner to recommend something for me. Initially he steered me to the kabobs until I raised an eyebrow and asked for «the real stuff» I wanted him to recommend the hardcore, authentic Moroccan cuisine. What HE would eat.
He immediately recommended the chicken tagine. I learned that «tagine» is the name of the cone shaped, earthen ware pot the dish where the dish is cooked. So I ordered the vegetarian sampler, and chicken tagine.
And it was soo soo soo good. I loved the grape leaves with rice that came with the vegetarian sampler. I could eat 20 of those.
Chicken tagine: just… just wonderful. I love the smooth favor of the slow-​cooked chicken with the tangy preserved lemon and juicy, green olives.
I will definitely return for some good food and great hospitality.

This place exceeded our expectations.
The owner and chef are Moroccan. They have 2 menus, Moroccan and Lebanese. Stick with the Moroccan.
We ordered a bunch of dishes, a small chicken bastilla, lamb with prunes (it comes with homemade Moroccan bread) and couscous with lamb. We also had mint tea. Everything was terrific. Even better than the food we had in Morocco. Great find. Excellent service.

Pros: Super friendly owner, loved the mint tea service, overall outstanding food, unexpectadly good bread that they bake themselves, everything tastes like a home-​cooked meal (in a good way)!!!
Cons: More of a cafeteria style atmosphere, also they need to turn up the heat, it was really chilly.
Overall I’d come back here for take out in a heartbeat. Such a welcoming place, with cooking that is obviously done with love and care.

As my first Moroccan food experience this place was on point. I went on a DC snow day so we were the only people in the restaurant. I had previously read about chicken bastilla (flakey chicken pastry) in some random food blog a while back and had been wanting to try it. And my friend said the mint tea was to die for, so as a tea fiend, I just had to go. It is a bit of a hole-​in-​the-​wall in terms of ambiance, but in a good way.
We ordered the smaller chicken bastilla portion, mint tea, and a spinach pastry that came with tabbouli and hummus. The mint tea was delicious– sweet and flavorful, I had never had tea like that. The chicken bastilla didn’t disappoint either– it had a powdered sugar topping, flakey crust, and the meat was enveloped in a kind of sauce that was reminiscent of spiced curry. It sounds weird but it was quite good. The spinach cheese pastry, salad and hummus were also very solid but nothing new in terms of flavor. Overall it was a good eating experience, and I’d say the mint tea is worth going to this place alone.

Fettoosh is amazing! I only wish I’d visited this restaurant when I was in the Ballston area more frequently last year! The food is fresh, very reasonably priced, generously portioned, and the service is excellent. The waiter was very friendly and hospitable and the whole place just seems so warm and homey. I met my friend there for dinner earlier this week and we had a great time.
I decided to order one item off the Lebanese side of the menu, as well as one item off the Moroccan side of the menu, since the restaurant serves both types of cuisine. I ordered the Fettoosh salad (Lebanese), because of course (since this place is named after it), and it came with delicious fresh pita bread added to fresh parsley, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, lemon juice, and olive oil. This was delicious and a very generous portion! I also ordered the Harira Soup (from the Moroccan side of the menu), which was a delicious rice lentil soup with chickpeas and tomato paste. Very big portion and very tasty! It was the first time I’d ever tried Moroccan food. My friend ordered the Falafel appetizer (Lebanese) and it was also a delicious and generous portion.
The interior isn’t fancy at all and it seems more like a hole in the wall, but the food is delicious and tastes home-​made (without all the oil and grease that other take-​out /​casual places have in their food).
Oh, and I was able to find parking right outside the restaurant at 6:30pm on a weekday, but I know I was lucky because the parking lot gets packed with guests from the neighboring pizza place, Pupatella (which I’ve also visited and written a separate Unilocal review for). If you’re walking (instead of driving), it’s about a 10 – 15 minute walk from the Ballston mall and metro, but I wouldn’t recommend walking at night (the streets right around the restaurant are dark and not amazing).

I came here over the summer for the first time and i loved this place.
I tried a few dishes here along with the tea. Their vegetarian Bastilla was absolutely amazing! Perfectly cooked, soft and sweet. Their falafel was really good as well, wouldn’t say it was the best but it’s up there on my list. The staff was super friendly and nice. It’s a small place and a lil bit on pricey side but worth every penny! I can’t wait to go back for some Bastilla! Next time i go, i want try some of their deserts, i hear there Baklava is pretty good, let’s hope i can leave some room after eating that huge bastilla.