Al Maza

This place is closed! Went there and they not even open!

Great food! We ordered delivery for the first time tonight and loved almost everything. The Fatayers weren’t my favorite but amazing falafel, bubba, hummus, grape leaves and salad. I think this will become a staple for us!

Absolutely amazing! We started with the baba guangoche and it was perfect. Good size portion for two people with plenty of feta. It was the right level of savory. My bf has the gyro which was huge and ate every morsel. I had the beef Shawarma entrée. The spice was delicious on the meat. It came with a nice simple Salad, rice with more pita. All and all great dining experience.

Absolutely disappointed. Drove for over 30 minutes to arrive at 8:30 pm on a Tuesday. Kitchen staff visible after driving by… Parked and ran through the cold to arrive to the front where there were several dimly lit closed signs not visible from the street. To top it off, the parking lot immediately next to the restaurant was chained off and we had to find other parking much further away. Don’t think we will roll the dice again for a restaurant when my girlfriend or I am hungry.

Disappointed with the food. The place seemed quaint and authentic from the outside, but was empty inside. We went at an awkward time though (around 5pm on a weekday), but there was still no one there. The shawarma platter was bland and disappointing. With all the middle eastern places nearby, I probably won’t eat here again.

I recently visited this restaurant for the first time and had an enjoyable experience. The restaurant appears to be a local, one of a kind operation. The staff was friendly and helpful. We had the hummus appetizer which was delicious and served with a generous amount of fresh pita bread. I had the chicken kabob which I enjoyed. I had the mint hot tea because their selection of wine and beer was somewhat limited. The tea was different but also good. They had holiday music playing in the background. I’d recommend this restaurant for those who like Lebanese food. I am sure I will return.

I stopped by this place while visiting Virginia, I really like the food and the service, I would totally come back again.

Just went for the first time and the falafel is to DIE for! The staff was extremely nice and everybody was courteous and eager to please. Our waitress Andrea was truly one of the sweetest servers ever, and the music/​ambiance really made the entire experience a fun one. FANTASTIC customer service! We will definitely be going back. I could eat the falafel every day for the rest if my life.

Simply… amazing. The food is fantastic. The ambiance is wonderful. The employees are great.

The most amazing Lebanese food I have EVER HAD!!! You will not be disappointed. Grape leaves to die for, amazing hummus, and the lamb giro is out of this world!
I have used them to cater events and have ordered food for take out a dozen times. What great take out and for catered events I got tons of compliments.
Lastly, the staff is the kindest, most attentive group you will ever meet.

I wanted to update my review about this resturant and let go the not good experiance i had in my previous visit. Everything we ordered was good, the food was fresh and as expected. We really liked the taboleh eventhough we asked for more lemon. The falafel, labneh, meet pies, and hummus were very good too. The mixed shawarma was good but was not authentic Lebanese style shawarma.
The service was good, but could be better. Yet nothing to complain about.

I have been searching and searching for a good mediterranean restaurant and I guess the search will have to continue.
I read the reviews and looked at the photos and it all seemed great. Upon walking in, the atmosphere was cheerful. They had a french band that was performing which was great. The crowd even sang alot.
I love baba ghannouge so of course I had to order it and I was very pleased. It had that smokey taste that I love, but I could see how some people may not like that. I will say that the pita is store bought and microwaved so they did lose points for that.
I also ordered the chicken schwarma with veggies and spiced rice and was absolutely disappointed. I was expecting a mouth full of different flavors and instead of got a mouth full of something I’ve made before. It didn’t taste bad, but it definitely didn’t taste like mediterranean food. I could have easily grilled myself some chicken at home and gotten the same results. The spiced rice was interesting, but nothing spectacular.
I’m not saying it’s not the worse I’ve had, but I will not be returning. UP YOUR GAME AL MAZA! That was a poor excuse for mediterranean food.

Great food! I have eaten here twice and have not been disappointed. Both trips I ordered the lamb and beef gyro. Portions were very generous so if you are a light eater, you could easily split a dish, even the sandwiches. We enjoyed the live music on Friday night. Can’t wait to go back.

This seems to be Old Town Fairfax’s best kept secret as every time I come here it is basically empty. I have been three or four times for lunch and have had the chicken shawarma and chicken kefta. Both were excellent. My fiancé had the falafel today and raved about it. The lentil soup was also delicious. The staff is extremely friendly and the service is good. I highly recommend it, especially if you are looking for lunch in Fairfax.

The owner was super friendly and the waitress was nice as well. I ordered a chicken pita and it was literally one of the best plates of Mediterranean food I’ve ever had. The chicken was marinated perfectly with a wonderful spice. I’m definitely coming back next time I’m in town!

I was so jazzed about trying this place after browsing the review. I hate to waste a meal, and I happily exercise to burn calories consumed during a feast.
I don’t know what has happened at Al Maza, but the food was so disappointing that I feel it necessary to warn newbies away! From undercooked falafels to characterless baba ghannouge, to absolutely boring chicken schwarma and something that didn’t even resemble tabbouleh, the entire meal was like a Greek tradegy.
The restaurant business is brutally competitive. I sure hope the folks at Al Maza start paying more attention to the details.

Not only is the food at Al Maza something to write home about, they have one of the friendliest staffs in all Northern Virginia.
I have never eaten in the restaurant, but anytime I stop by to pick up my order I am greeted by a choir of smiles and friendly greetings.
If anything goes even slightly wrong with my order the staff has always gone above to make up for it. For example, one time the register was having a hard time reading my credit card. It was no ones fault and only added an extra minute or so to the process, but the owner gave me a baklava on the house to make up for any hassle.
If the friendliness of the staff weren’t enough the food is amazing and the prices are great. They have a ton of options for vegetarians and vegans. If you’re in the Fairfax area I would highly recommend checking this place out. It really is a hidden jem of Fairfax.

The prices are great and the taste is great. One of my personal favorite places for lunch in the area.
Not sure if this is common or not, but the gyro meat is a mixture of lamb and beef. I still enjoy it, regardless.

Really, really good Lebanese food with many options for vegans and vegetarians. My experience with some Lebanese dishes at other restaurants, particular the mezze type plates, is that they can be rather bland despite all the spices. Unfortunately, freshness is sometimes questionable, too. Hard-​as-​a-​rock falafel, limp and unappetizing grape leaves, day-​old-​looking spinach pies…
Luckily, this was not the case at Al Maza. To clarify, Al Maza’s dishes aren’t good only because I have some disappointing points of comparison; Al Maza clearly cares about quality, and its chef seasons right.
We ordered the falafel, grape leaves, fried cauliflower, and baba ghanouj to share. Keeping it light, I got the lentil soup while she ordered the beef shwarma.
I especially appreciated that the cauliflower was barely breaded. How many have ordered fried zucchini or some other vegetable and had it come out looking nothing like it did in its natural form, covered in batter? Oooh, me, me, me! Although the cauliflower heads were fried, they still managed to seem pretty fresh, and, dare I say, healthy. These perfectly textured cruciferous veggies were served with a light, yogurt dip. Definitely recommend this appetizer.
I enjoyed the other starters as well. The grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomatoes, parsley, and mint were well done, probably one of the best renditions I’ve ever had. Plump, vinegary, refreshing mmmmm. The baba ghanouj was, like everything else, very fresh, clearly homemade. And the mini-​sized falafel balls were pleasantly crispy on the outside and airy and soft on the inside.
I didn’t try my friend’s shwarma, but she said the spices complemented the beef well. Hefty entrée portions.
My homey lentil soup was comforting and filling. The perfect way to round out my meal.
Here goes my only complaint:
Service was a bit too attentive… She probably meant well, but the constant, «How’s everything?» was rather disruptive, and made us feel like we were being shooed out towards the end of the night/​closing time. Honestly, this was rather unpleasant, so I was tempted to deduct a star. However, the food is flavorful enough that I’ll endure this again if I have to. Maybe it was also lack of experience that contributed to such awkwardness…
Here, majority rules: One negative can’t outweigh five or more positives. Overall, Al Maza is a cozy, casual joint that serves delicious and fresh Lebanese food.

Here is my fast review:
Food 3.5 stars
Drinks 2 (very very limited alcoholic beverage selection, maybe next time they carry more than only one red and one white wine?)
Service 3 (friendly)
Atmosphere 2 (clean and organized, but not much of an ambiance)

I found out about this place because I was craving a shawarma, so I searched for «shawarma» in the Unilocal search bar. I’m pretty mad at myself for not knowing that this place exists.
I went on a Saturday night, and they weren’t even that busy. There were 7 of us, and we were seated immediately. Every Saturday night they also have live music. This particular night, there was a guy playing a guitar and singing. It was great background music for our meal.
I came for a tasty beef shawarma, and I was not disappointed. The staff was also quick and friendly. I definitely will be going back.