Cafe Ole, Washington, District of Columbia Restaurant Details

Food:

I eat Middle Eastern a lot, and their food ranged from mediocre to inedible (I got the sampler of 4 mezze). The worst was the baba ghanouj which seemed like mayo-based schlock from a potluck. We also got the gazpacho--was that chilled canned soup?
The only reason it wasn't a 1 star was that the restaurant seemed very clean and the prices were reasonable.

Food:

Love this place. It's simple, not pretentious and you will always get a good meal for a great price. The Chicken Shwarma is out of this world.

Food:

Try the Israeli cous cous! Also worth your time: the lamb sliders and the risotto. I hear they have a bottomless brunch now -- must try! The folks at Cafe Ole season their food beautifully.

Food:

I am a fan after my first visit and will definitely be back again!

Now for the meat of the story :)

We had a Google Local offer and wanted to use it before it expired, so we stopped by Cafe Ole for dinner. The place was over half full on a weekday evening, which is a good thing. We were promptly seated and our server was nice and friendly. When asked, he happily suggested his favorite dishes to us, and not just run down the entire menu! The menu selection is limited, which is actually good coz they can do it better. But limited still has enough choices for everyone - vegetarian, carnivores, fish lovers, all will have enough options to pick from.

They have a good selection of wines and of course a full bar to get any cocktail of your choice.

We ordered the following dishes.

Portabello Napoleon - I was pleasantly surprised by the presentation of the dish. The fresh taste of all the ingredients with the perfect amount of balsamic vinaigrette and basil pesto was excellent!

Risotto - rich with good flavors and a nice hint of white wine and cheese.

Hummus Special - probably the winner of the evening - good combination of hummus and lamb - the spices in the lamb made this dish the winner!

Lamb Shawarma - lamb was tender and cooked perfectly and surprisingly had a different flavor than the lamb in the hummus, which was good!

Fro dessert we also ordered Date and caramel cake that was better than what we had expected. The cake was moist and soft and not too sweet and the date flavor was different and good!

the mezzas size are decent - the two of us were stuffed after sharing 4 mezzas and we have a decent appetite.

They also have outdoor seating that will be good in summer. A good option away from the busier DC restaurants!

Food:

I only sat at the bar, but the bartender seemed freindly and helpful. Pleasant.
Kind of a weird shape with the bar very near the front door, there's kind of a 'pinch point" between the bar and regular diners. I'm sure this isn't an issue in the summer, but in the winter, you get brushed by everyone who goes by. If I were at a table, this would annoy me.
I like the place well enough to go back and well enough to recommend it.