Al Jazeera

by A D.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret with this review.  I've been guarding this place since I was first taken to it in March of 2008.I almost didn't Yelp it because I wanted to save it for myself and the few American Arabists who know about it.  I've been four or five times now and never seen another American inside.  A couple of times I've seen a few Latinos, but otherwise it's a mostly Arabic speaking crew.Because I feel loyalty to my soon-to-be-fellow -American friend Miriam, to her favorite Washingtonian (and mine too), and to her wonderful enterprising spirit, I've decided finally to post a review.  Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I'm leaving the country and can't really justify hogging this place to myself.  First, you should know that this is a Yemeni restaurant.  This means it is Gulf cooking with a heavy horn of Africa spice inflection (after all, it's a small straight separating Yemen from the African mainland).  If you have Saudi friends, or know someone from the Levant, they'll probably tell you it's not really "Arab".  Especially Syrians and Lebanese who vie for "best cuisine" in the Middle East.  Saudis might even look down on the whole idea of eating Yemeni food.  All you need to know is that it is great: better than Fairouz and better than The Jerusalem Cafe, or whatever it's called.Second, the owner is Yemeni, but the waitresses appear to be Ethiopian, or Eritrean.  I'm not precisely sure; I only know many of them don't speak Arabic.  The cooks do (or some do) at least.  Don't let the mix of nationalities throw you off track.  Everyone there is extremely nice and happy to see you.Third, AND MOST IMPORTANT, for your first trip you MUST go for the lunch buffet on either Friday or Saturday ONLY!!!  Why?  Because these are the days and hours in which they roast whole lambs and serve them whole (minus the head) on a gigantic bed of Yemeni rice.  The rest of the food is fabulous with real textured flavors: lots more cardamom, cinnamon, and turmeric than you might find at other Middle East joints.  In fact, I kind of think the stewed lamb dishes are better than the roast lamb...but when they bring out the whole lamb, it is really a sight to behold.  The pleasure and excitement in the room is palpable.The buffet is around $11 or $12; I think it's 12 if you get a drink.  Oh...the drinks are lifeless juices that seem to be made from some instant mix.  Stick to the water or soft drinks.  The coffee is pretty good...if you get the Arabic variety (see the wizened man behind the coffee bar upstairs in the hookah room).Be aware that every taxi cab driver in the area (they all seem to be Sudanese) is waiting for this meal.  Get there on the early side and start in on the buffet, but pace yourself.  The first lamb doesn't usually come out of the kitchen until 12:30 or so.  They'll usually do two or three for the lunch buffet, depending on the crowd.  So...pace yourself and enjoy the hummus, the babaganouj, the meat-stuffed pastries, the soup, etc.  The selection of buffet items changes a little bit each time, so it's hard to say what will show up on any given Fri. or Sat.Note that this restaurant is in the same strip mall as Fairouz cafe, but it's on the other side of the building.  It's not big, but there is an upstairs hookah room that is large and has tables where you can eat should the downstairs be completely full.  Yeah, the guys smoking and watching soccer might eye you warily, but it's worth it for the buffet.  If you can greet people in Arabic, that's even better.

by Kathryn M.

Al Jazeera is by far one of my favorite restaurants in the DMV... the service is always quick and the food is fantastic.  I generally stick with the masloog, hanith, or mendhi but occasionally show up for the buffet at lunch on Fridays and Saturdays.... Even though it gets crowded, Jazeera is best experienced at sundown during Ramadan... their food is fantastic on normal days but is a billion times better if you haven't eaten all day.

by Jonathan M.

I frequent this strip mall, as it has some of the best middle eastern food and markets in the area.  Although my friends were hesitant to try this place based simply on the name (Al Jazeera simply means Peninsula and I assured them that they would be decapitated only if they misbehaved), I persuaded them to give it a shot.  There is a wide variety of food on the buffet, including hummus (some of the best I have ever had) soups, stews, spinach, fried fish, meat pies, and chicken, and good bread.  All of this was very good and filing, but the main attraction was the whole lamb.  It was pretty amazing; definitely a sight to see them carry it out to the buffet and quite delicious.  The service was fine, but it was kind of an all around serve your self type of place, as I found myself filling my own water glass with the pitcher sitting on the table.  The guy serving up the lamb was very friendly, and recommended a number of things on the buffey.  Most of the food was great, with several things I could have done without (the fish wasn't very good).  The buffet is $12 and it is served on Friday and Saturday.  I definitely recommend going, especially for the lamb.  Oh, parking can be very difficult in this parking lot so be patient as you look for a spot.