Wednesday, April 15, 2015

NEYLA Mediterranean Bistro Relocates to Reston Town Center


From our friends at NEYLA Mediterranean Bistro...

Thomas L. Gregg, CEO of Capital Restaurant Concepts (CRC), is pleased to announce an early May opening of the iconic NEYLA Mediterranean Bistro at Reston Town Center, located at 11898 Market Street, Reston, Virginia. NEYLA, a popular favorite in Georgetown for more than 15 years, will now re-open its doors in Reston with a much bigger footprint, bringing a chic bar and lounge, and modern bistro menu to the area. It will serve lunch, dinner and weekend (Saturday & Sunday) brunch. This new 160-seat Eastern Mediterranean restaurant will feature a large assortment of small plates (mezze) ideal for tasting and sharing, as well as well as a trendy expansive bar menu with creative cocktails and regional wines. This award-winning restaurant will provide the adventurous diner with new delights, while also serving many of its traditional iconic favorites that were exclusive to NEYLA.
 
“NEYLA reflects the love and passion of CRC Founder and Chairman Bechara Nammour,” explains Thomas Gregg. “These are the flavors and textures of his heritage, and he wants diners in the Washington metro area to experience sharing mezze with each other as is customary in the Eastern Mediterranean. We hope to accomplish this by providing a contemporary, welcoming environment for people to enjoy NEYLA. Many of the menu items will have some familiarity while others invite exploration. The goal is to provide a menu of come-back-to dishes.”


Gregg has assembled an all-star team to run NEYLA. Acclaimed Chef Eric von Gehren has been tapped as the executive chef to design the menu and spearhead the kitchen for the new NEYLA. Eric originally came to CRC in 1987, and he helped open many of its iconic restaurants including Paolo’s Ristorante and Georgia Brown’s. He left CRC in 1992 to become the vice president and corporate chef of Levy Restaurants in Chicago; opening and overseeing many restaurants, including the now Michelin starred Spiaggia. He then moved to the Eastern Mediterranean to help Mr. Nammour open more than 10 restaurants in Lebanon. It was here that Chef von Gehren learned the art of Eastern Mediterranean Cuisine. Most recently Chef von Gehren served as the chef at the Fat Canary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Souheil Moussadik, the former general manager of NEYLA in Georgetown will bring his charm, excitement and energy from the DC bar and dining scene to NEYLA in Reston. Souheil was also a founder of Penn Quarter’s Co Co. Sala and most recently the director of operations for OYA.

Guests can anticipate garden fresh vegetables, select cheeses, meats and fish prepared with an Eastern Mediterranean influence, yet each dish will have distinctive flavors that are unique to NEYLA. Those who had a chance to eat at the Georgetown location will well remember. The menu design will accommodate the health conscience, the adventurous, and those who are looking for their traditional Mediterranean favorites such as Chicken Shawarma and Veal Kebabs cooked over a charcoal grill. The menu highlights small plates for both lunch and dinner to include Roasted Eggplant, Circassian Chicken and Armenian Sausage. Traditional dips such as Baba Ghanoush, NEYLA Hummus and Lebne will be served with the house-made pita cooked in the wood-fired brick oven. This oven will also produce such favorites as Caprese Flatbreads and a Turkish Pita Flatbread with spicy soujouk sausage, kasseri cheese and olive oil. Other exciting offerings include Grilled Halloumi Cheese Spaghetti; Braised Lamb Shank and Fried Calamari. NEYLA’s menu also has dishes for the entire table including Salt-Crusted Branzino; Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder, and a Lebanese Couscous. Starters and small plates on the opening menu are priced from $5-$9, and dishes for the table are priced from $38-$42. Guests will also want to save room for a traditional Mediterranean dessert. Furthermore, they can enjoy creative cocktails developed by the mixologists behind the extensive bar, including NEYLA’s Arabesque made with its signature mint lemonade and vodka.

Lunch will also feature a wide variety of Mediterranean salads that will be available for diners to enjoy at NEYLA or “to-go” for those working in the offices throughout the Reston Town Center.  These include traditional Greek and Mediterranean Salads, Tabbouleh Salad, and Turkish Roasted Duck Salad.

Gregg is also working with renowned DC architect and designer Olivia Demetriou of Haptsak and Demetriou. Demetriou’s firm has been responsible for the designs of many of DC’s best restaurants to include Zaytinya, Rose’s Luxury, and Fiola Mare. The interior at NEYLA will be classy, uplifting and casual. It will combine a crisp look with a bit of weathered character, to capture the vibrant spirit of NEYLA’s new modern concept coupled with Mediterranean aesthetics. The restaurant will bring a fresh, slightly eclectic look to the Reston Town Center. Its expansive bar will be a mixture of rich dark tones of blue tapestry wall coverings and whitewash strie millwork. Unique decorative screens and beaded curtains will hang throughout the restaurant, with the use of up-lighting to provide a luminous effect that will graze the screen surfaces. The interior blends traditionalism and modernism with comfort and innovation.

The expansive dining room will open up in nice weather to a large outdoor patio, which will feature dark wicker furniture, creating a Mediterranean tavern ambience. The terrace area will become a welcoming trendy hot spot for lunch, dinner and happy hour, ideal for both creative meetings and romantic encounters. This oasis is perfect setting for lingering over NEYLA’s new creative cocktail menu.

For private dining, NEYLA offers an exclusive space: a 40-seat private dining room with working AV capabilities, a private bar and floor-to-ceiling windows. Catering by NEYLA will be able to assist guests with private parties, lunch and dinner meetings, and the team can also arrange delivery of meals to the many offices in the surrounding area.

NEYLA will be located in the Reston Town Center, 11898 Market Street, Reston, VA 20190. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, and Sunday, from 11:30 am to 10:00 pm; Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm (bar open until 2 am). Brunch will be served Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm. The Reston Town Center has ample free parking and offers convenient access of the new Metro Silver Line; NEYLA will become a perfect destination landmark. For reservations or additional information, please visit neyla.com or call (703) 318-8920.

Capital Restaurant Concepts., Ltd. (CRC) is the premier “iconic” restaurant operator in the metro Washington, DC Metropolitan area.  Our history dates back to the 1982 opening of J.Paul's - An American Dining Saloon, in Washington, DC's historic Georgetown. The group also includes Georgia Brown’s, a southern low country restaurant two block from the White House opening its doors in 1993; Paolo’s, and iconic Italian restaurant in the heart of Georgetown focused on Pasta, Pizza, and Pizzazz which opened in 1987; Old Glory a quintessential Bar-B-Que restaurant since 1985 also in the heart of Georgetown serving traditional BBQ from all over the South and also known for its over 100 bourbons; and Neyla, a classic Mediterranean originally operating in Georgetown and now re-opening in Reston this Spring.