Raffi's Place Menu

Raffi's Place Restaurant Review:

This Armenian café has a functional interior, but most of the action takes place on its inviting outdoor courtyard, with its striped awnings, expansive mural of a Mediterranean seascape and towering trees wrapped with sparkling lights. This is clearly a social scene, as guests hop from table to table. The menu is rather short---especially when compared to the extensive lists at nearby Middle Eastern restaurants like Carousel---but almost all the dishes are well-prepared. It would be easy to construct a meat-only meal, but be sure to start with the cool roasted eggplant spread. Kebabs rule here, and our favorites are the juicy koobideh (ground beef), herb-inflected shishlique (lamb chops) and tender chicken barg (chicken breast), all served with roasted tomatoes, a stack of lavash and a mountain of saffron-tinted basmati rice. A traditional baklava, zoolbia (a pastry made of flour, sugar, honey and rosewater), and Persian rosewater ice cream are available for dessert. Wines are basic, though a few interesting Lebanese beers are on offer.