Inside Yalla, D.C.’s Stunning New Tribute to Middle Eastern Cuisine (2024)

Yalla brings Beirut buzz to D.C.’s U Street nightlife corridor this week, opening its doors to spreads, dips, skewers, and weekend DJ sets on Friday, September 6. Landing in the sunny, glass-enclosed penthouse level of Space Lounge between 13th and 14th Streets NW, Yalla — meaning “let’s go!” in Arabic — serves family-style plates in a party-starting setting (1355 U Street NW).

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“In the Arabic countries, sharing plates is the way of life. Everyone gets to try a little bit of everything,” says chef Marcel Chehaieb. “Yalla aims to create a similar environment centered around not just food, but gathering.”

The D.C. native cut his craft in the kitchens of highly rated restaurants like Annabelle and Michelin-starred Maydan — but his passion for cooking comes from the Middle East. Yalla is the first time Chehaieb is able to showcase his culture with a menu to call his own. His aim is to transform this rooftop perch into a downtown Beirut hot spot in the center of D.C.

Accessed via elevator to the top, Yalla’s guests are welcomed with lush greenery, walls dripping with ivy, canopy string lights, and arched doorways. Central to the communal philosophy is the seating, arranged so that every white-marbled table can have an intimate dinner party, regardless of size.

Chehaieb splits the family-style spread into four parts: cold, hot, grilled, and sweets. First, he whips up three types of hummus: classic, “Beirute” with tomato and herbs, and an umami-rich duck confit variety.

“The duck confit hummus is something I’m excited about. In preparing this dish I was inspired by lamb fat which, traditionally, is what meat was cooked in in Lebanon to preserve it,” he says.

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A handful of other dips and herby salads round out the cold section. Cooked plates include seared sheep’s halloumi over puckery pickled rhubarb, phyllo-wrapped sweet-and-sour shrimp, and jibnet rolls — crispy sheep feta-mozzarella and za’atar sticks with a harissa apricot coulis. He also makes a beet kibbeh, a vegan version of the traditional Lebanese meat kibbeh that gets its vibrant hue from rose petals. The dish features bulgur, tomato, beets, mint, scallion, pistachio topping, and a sweet drizzle of pomegranate molasses.

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Yalla is also big on grilled skewers (chicken, swordfish, and beef), each served with its own accompanying sauce, as well as grilled octopus. To round out dinner, find beloved baklava, ice creams in trendy Middle Eastern flavors (cardamom coffee, apricot, misitika), and aish al saraya, a “palace bread” pudding.

The mosaic-tiled bar lined with glass-blown lanterns runs nearly half the length of the rectangular room, reinforcing Yalla’s emphasis on drinks. “Our co*cktails are inspired by the spices, herbs, spirits, fruits, and syrups that are used in Middle Eastern culture,” says Chehaieb.

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The Kota Agency

Foods and flavors like dates, cheese, nuts, mandarins, peaches, apricots, sumac, za’atar, rosemary, and mulberry play a starring role behind the bar. There’s also a thoughtful, short list of beers and wines from the region. co*cktails run $15-$21 and a la carte plates are $12-$28.

After (or during) communal meals served until midnight, Yalla will specialize in pouring traditional Moroccan tea service. Later on in the evenings, Yalla strives to transform into a high-energy dance lounge with Middle Eastern flair. An in-house music director curates a rotating lineup of live performances and DJs that spin from a white pebbled perch all the way in the back.

Lebanese nightlife is having a moment in D.C., with Ivy City’s year-old Vera leading the charge. River Club rejuvenated Georgetown waterfront’s dining scene this summer with tableside arak service, and chef Michael Rafidi (Yellow, Albi) is gearing up to bring the Union Market district a “habibi funk” rooftop oasis and Levantine co*cktail bar called La’ Shukran.

“We want our guests to not only eat, but drink, gather, and party, so while the food is at the forefront of the experience, we want to encourage the communal gathering that’s popular in the Middle East,” says Chehaieb.

Yalla will be open four nights a week to start, on Thursdays from 6 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Yalla is not alone in the Space space. It sits at the top of a full-on rebrand and reimagining of the expansive, four-level, multicultural venue. The building, formerly known as Republic Gardens, now swings international. The basem*nt level recently welcomed Casa Kantuta, the first Bolivian pop-up bar in the U.S. On the ground floor is Offside, a Latin sports bar where fans can catch their favorite baseball to football games. The next floor up will come to life in the coming months as a Moroccan shisha lounge called Sand Bar.

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—Tierney Plumb contributed to this report