We had heard about this Syrian restaurant in Corvallis (we live in Eugene) and had been meaning to go there for dinner with friends, but it just never seemed to gel.
Then, on a trip to the Oregon coast, we happened to be going through Corvallis at lunchtime and decided to stop.
We are SO glad we did. All of the other Yelp reviews said it was really good, but few mentioned any specific dish. Except for the hummus, which received off-the-chart good reviews.
So we tried the Lamb Hummus dish as well as the Musakhan Rolls, which is a chicken with caramelized onions wrapped in fresh grilled bread. Both were excellent with some notes.
The Musakhan Rolls said they come with a garlic sauce. The sauce was excellent, but tasted more like a tart yogurt/sour cream sauce to us. Not a strong garlic flavor.
The lamb in the hummus was also very good, but kind of bland. We love lamb when it is prepared well (we usually only order from a Middle Eastern restaurant) and this was prepared perfectly. We just felt it could stand a little more flavor or spice.
However, the hummus. Oh. My. Word. The hummus. All of those off-the-chart reviews were spot on. The hummus had to be the best hummus we have ever had in our lives. And we eat a variety of foods from a variety of places. It was the perfect amount of garlic and so creamy, we actually used our fingers to wipe the bowl and get that last remaining bits of the hummus.
Our service was excellent. It is family-owned and our server was very pleasant and hospitable. The inside is decorated in what appears to be Syrian decor and is nicely done.
Now we have to connect with our friends and go back sometime soon for dinner. Yumm!
RATING:
Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
