Wow wow wow. My sister first Michelin starred restaurant and the best one star of the food trip that I had at the end of summer. I booked my reservation as soon as possible, but I noticed that it’s easy to get a reservation in week if it’s late at night. Gary told me it’s the hottest restaurant in DC right now and I understand the hype. The music was upbeat and reminded me of Quince, my favorite restaurant in Vietnam. Albi means “my heart” or “my love” in Arabic. A very fitting name as it is now one of my favorite restaurants ever.
My cousin, sister and I got the Sofra, which in Arabic means “A Table Set For You.”
The experience started off with some bites,
Palestinian Smoked Olives, Pickled Fennel,
Oysters with Arak Butter, and Sfeeha. These bites were tasty and got us all even more hungry.
(I also got a mocktail called the Date Palm(er) which had Moroccan Mint Tea, Date Molasses, Tamarind and Lime. It was sweet, sour and tangy, totally awesome sauce.)
We then moved on to the Kibbeh Naya, made of Yellowtail Tuna and Smoked Tomato. These were amazing with the spicy garlic toum and the fresh veggies and pickles.
The pita and dips came next. Coal-fired mushroom hummus was rich and earthy, superb.
The Amba Labne Tebat was rich and cheesy but had the sweet contrast from the cherries and some spice from the spring onion. It was interesting how they made the suspended shape of the yoghurt/cheese by dropping dollops in olive oil.
After that the rockfish wrapped in grape leaves came. I thought this was our final savory course and was a bit disappointed because I had seen so many people get the BBQ’s Lamb Kebab on TikTok with their sofra. The fish was extremely delicate and the flavors were comforting.
As I joked about being so full and not being able to handle the Kebabs even if they hit our table, our server set down the BBQ Lamb Kebab, Fattoush Salad, and Keftas. We had a big laugh and dug in immediately (after taking pics 💀). The Lamb was cooked to perfection and the spices and smoky barbecued vegetables made the perfect bites. Pure Heaven. The Fattoush Salad was light and sweet from the peaches, a great accompaniment. The Keftas were fantastic too, spiced ground meat cooked around cinnamon sticks. Super fragrant.
We were stuffed but so so excited for dessert. Brown Butter Knafeh with Strawberry Frozen Yogurt as well as a Labneh Soft Serve with a Tahini Oat were set down. The crispy fried phyllo dough in the Knafeh was so satisfying. The sweet strawberry yoghurt with the pistachios were a match made in Heaven. The Labneh Soft serve with the spicy-salty oat was to die for. Both desserts were masterpieces on their own, but together they were even better.
Our meal ended with orange blossom caramels, super fragrant and the orange blossom flavor really came through.
All in all this became the second best meal of my life. Easily the best experience up until the day after, where we had an insane experience at Jônt. I would highly recommend checking this place out if you’re around DC and spending the $145 for the Sofra menu. The amount of delicious food combined with a stellar experience and excellent service for the price is very worth it. I later learned that most 1 Michelin starred restaurants are not on this level as I continued with my food trip but oh well 💀
by Limp_Argument4650