I just noticed it really today and thought that while small it was rather classy looking
Let's see--Turns out it is Lebanese and mixed reviews but a lot of VERY good ones also one or two I thought were overlong and thinking of eliminating but might as well let you see them
Naya Mezze and Grill
1057 2nd Ave
(between 56th St & 55th St)
New York, NY 10022
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 319-7777
(between 56th St & 55th St)
New York, NY 10022
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 319-7777
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
Lexington Ave./53 St. (E, M)Lexington Ave./59 St. (N, Q, R)59 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
- Hours:
- Mon-Fri 12 pm - 10 pmSat 12:30 pm - 10:30 pmSun 12:30 pm - 9:30 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
- $$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Trendy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
131 reviews for Naya Mezze and Grill
Review Highlights What's this?
-
"Easily the best Lebanese meal I had in a long time." In 48 reviews -
"...part of the menu was the Batata Harra or spicy potatoes-- so good and..." In 8 reviews -
"best hummus and babaganouge in the ues." In 33 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
131 reviews in English
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Review from Cara S.
Midtown East, Manhattan, NYBest Lebanese food!!! Service is attentive and top notch. I got the Groupon for 45$ included 2 apps 2 entrees and 2 glasses of wine. What a steal!!
As an app ordered Lamb tartar at my boyfriends request and spinach pies.
Lamb tartar is actually very good if you can get over the thought of raw lamb and that it looks like a a raw beef patty. Spianach pies were ok.
As a main had the fish! -amazing and the beef kabobs were soo juicy and tender!
I love this place and will keep going back for more and more!
If you are lucky enough to find a deal nab it.... but in anycase, well worth the $! -
Review from Emily A.
Seattle, WAI am an avid Yelp user - lurker, really - and find that this networking tool has typically lead me to great dining experiences. With my positive track record, I decided to check out Naya Mezz & Grill. Boy, was I sorely disappointed.
I want to start by saying that each dining experience depends on the day - determined by the staff. This day deserves one star.
As one approaches the door, immediately the words "trendy" and "hip" appropriately describe the overall feel of the restaurant. If you are looking for a small, dark cave of a restaurant, Naya is your place!
Both my father and I showed up 10 minutes before our reservation after a long day exploring the city. Immediately after entering, the hostess locks eyes with us and does an overall scan of our appearance. I could be over thinking his intentions, but he didn't even attempt to be subtle. He proceeded to exclaim, "No reservation. 1 hour wait." I clear up the fact that we, in fact, do have a reservation and are reluctantly told a table will be available in 5 minutes.
Perfect! I can patiently wait the 5 minutes. I can not wait 30 minutes, which ends up being the true wait time after our reservation. During these 30 minutes other guests start to roll in with reservation times subsequent to ours. Finally the hostess comes up with two menus - a sign of our table! Instead of seating my father and I, he takes a couple who clearly showed up later. After an attempt to clear up what I though was a mix up, I get a harsh mumbled up explanation as he continues to walk the other guest to the table. Hell no!
Ready to leave, the hostess comes back apologetic with two menus in hand. Okay, maybe my lack of patience was cause by a lack of food. We can turn this night around. Nope.
We are walked past the earlier couple, seated in a single luxurious front booths, on our way to the glass picnic table in the back of the restaurant. A long make shift table slapped together with chairs seated close together - side by side. So close that my picnic table neighbor and I continue to brush our legs past each other - awkward!
Open the menus and find a decently sized assortment of appetizers and meals. As always, I asked the waiter what he recommends. (My method is to always get a recommendation since the waiter has been around the menu longer than I have) I am face with a mumbled up response I can't being to understand by the waiter. After a painfully awkward break down of his opinion on the menu, we ordered a spread, lamb dish, and the single vegetarian dish on the menu.
The food was mediocre at best. So mediocre that after a few days I can't even remember my thoughts on the food. Boring. Nothing special. Blah. I hope my lack of response sheds light on the disappointing recommendations by the waiter.
Like I mentioned in the beginning, I am an avid Yelp lurker. I created this account just to write about my experience at Naya Mezz & Grill in hopes that some of you can avoid a frustratingly mediocre dining experience. -
Review from Natalie S.
New York, NYThe food was great.
Really cool interior. Modern and narrow - lighting was perfect.
And my company was perfect (I luv my bf -aw)!
We were just extremely disappointed with the service. And I'm not generally a stickler when it comes to service. But I was expecting a little more courtesy on their part (as we had read the reviews before going/hostess was very prompt and welcoming...).
We ordered our food & drink; asked for the apps first, then the main - the way it usually goes.
Waited 25 minutes (standard wait time for a main) for the food to arrive. But it was 2 of our app choices (we had ordered 3) and our main dish. We had to ask about our Cokes and the other appetizer (the Kibbé, which was delicious) again. Would have thought that the apps would come out before the main (and our drinks). Our server's response to that was that it takes a long time to make. Hmm...
Never once came back to check on us (our server) which was fine because everything was great. It just seemed odd.
At the end of our meal - and this is what irked me - our server saw us and asked "you finished?" with a really uninviting tone. I, myself, am a server, and I can say this much about what it means when a server has a tone like that: I did not care to have you here tonight because I actually just don't care about this place.
He gave us the bill, with added gratuity. ?
Tips in NY are not included unless it's a party of 6 or more. We all know that. He and the manager tried to use "Groupon" as their excuse. In addition, they exclaimed that the gratuity they added was the minimum anyway (which wasn't accurate). They finally took it off.
Not impressed.
With so many other great places in NYC, we won't be going back. -
Review from Billy C.
Manhattan, NYGreat Lebanese Food, Great staff , my favorite is Chicken kabob, Tabbouleh, and the spinach pie .
small place but great food,
try it you will like it -
Review from Joshua S.
Hoboken, NJMy girlfriend and I came here on a date night and it was well worth it. First, I have to give them credit for seating us even though we arrived late for our reservation due to a train delay. After ordering appetizers and our dinner, the first course came out incorrectly. Again to the restaurants credit, they let us keep the incorrect dish and proceeded to server us the appetizers that we ordered. Between my girlfriend and I we had fired goat cheese, hummus, lab dumplings in cooked yogurt and grilled shrimp. Easily the best Lebanese meal I had in a long time. I recommend this venue and left satisfied, but am taking one point off for the early struggles of the wait staff. -
Review from Anita A.
My friend suggested this place to meet up for dinner and I must say the vibe in this place was amazing. The ambiance gave a nice modern and sophisticated feel to the restaurant.
Unfortunately that's the only thing I found great about this restaurant. Service was extremely slow, and the food, while OK, was nothing to brag about. I have certainly had better food in different locations for a cheaper pricetag.
However if ambiance motivates your choice for restaurant, Naya definitely doesn't disappoint! -
Review from Minto S.
The look of this place is clean, modern and sophisticated. They have a nice window in the ceiling where we were sitting. The seating was uncomfortable, we were sweating like crazy, maybe the air conditioner wasn't working. My other complaint is the service. I can't say it was nice or accommodating, the servers were very abrupt, to the point and it almost seemed like they were not in a bad mood. The food is decent, the rice and tabouleh and hot sauce are great. The prices are pretty high. Everyone at my table disliked the Lamb, but the fish and chicken were really good. -
Review from Sunshine A.
Brooklyn, NYIt was a great dining experience! Our waiter was super friendly and helped us chose a variety of selection where it impressed our guests indeed. I would highly recommend this place if you would like to impress anyone with authentic Lebanese food with a twist of modern cozy ambience. -
Review from Sarah S.
Manhattan, NYThis is the best restaurant in NY for authentic Lebanese cuisine. The staff are attentive and the food arrives hot and fresh. We had dinner there on Saturday evening around 6pm, just before the main dinner rush. Service was very good.
Appetizers: First, you get a complimentary tray of olives, pita chips and za'atar dip (sumac spice, crushed sesame seeds, oregano, and olive oil). They have the tastiest classic menu items (hummus, babaganoush, tabouli, lebneh) offered with pita bread. And the kibbee are the perfect size with tender meat and pine nuts inside, crisped to perfection.
Entrees: everything looked gorgeous coming out of the kitchen, and the aromatic smells were deliciously intoxicating. We ordered several of the classic mixed grill kabob platters to share among 4 people (combination of chicken, beef, lamb and kafta). Their rice side dish with the platter is mixed with vermicelli and lots of butter for a really light yet rich nutty note. The vegetable and meat kabobs came with this tasty dipping sauce for the meat and vegetables, it was made of whipped canola oil and roasted garlic. We couldn't get enough of it!
Desserts: we ordered the the Kanafe (baked sweet cake with cheese and fleur-d'orange and honey) and the Muhallabiya (rice pudding with almonds and a touch of rose water). We loved both. The Kanafe is a family favorite and very hard to find at any Middle Eastern restaurant in the U.S. -- they made it the best.
Two thumbs up! The all around foodie experience is top notch. The atmosphere is a bit modern and "hip" and can be loud because of the size and shape of the restaurant. Air flow is weak, so it gets hot due to the long narrow shape of the restaurant and the leather seats retain some body heat. Service is good, though it's busy and only one person can walk down the center aisle at a time, so nobody hustles or rushes there. Just relax... It's like being transported to the mediterranean... sit back, relax, drink, and enjoy! and definitely drink the wine -- the chateau Ksara or Kefraya are amazing! -
Review from Wing C.
3.5 stars. My maid of honor and I decided to have my last meal as a 24 yrs old here aka in celebration and welcoming my best year ever to be - 25 here in Naya! I have fallen in love with Mediterranean cuisine in my 24th year of life and I thought what a better way to celebrate the end to it by introducing my obsession to my best friend. She said she has hummus from a container before but that's as far as Mediterranean food she has had. She was just excited as I was to try out this place. We arrived at 8:30 with reservation and the place was packed on a Tuesday night. We were initially ignored and no hostess was around to seat us for a good 5 minutes. When someone was finally there to greet us, they seated us at the same time another couples who didn't have reservation ( Which might explain why later my opentable reservation was not checked in - and i got a not so friendly email :( )
We were seated on the side wall table - big enough to perfectly fit the 2 of us. The first thing we noticed about this place was how modern and compact this place was. We felt like we were dining inside an IKEA showroom - there were storage spaces under our seats and coat hangers hidden between wine shelves. We couldn't help but kept peaking towards the back where the private dining tables for larger groups were - it looked so much like a sky lit room and made us wished we had a bigger party.
After admiring the setting, server came by shortly after and took our order. With our server's recommendations, we decided on a few small dishes to share: spicy hummus, Mahammara, Rekakat Bi Sujuk, and fried kibbe. Before the arrival of our order, we were given complimentary pita chips with herbed olive oil + pickled olives. Wasn't too crazy about the dip or the olives so i decided to save my belly for the actual mezzes.
Mahrammara was first to arrive - red pepper with grounded walnut, pomegranate molasses & cumin. Can you say party in my mouth? I knew I had to try it after reading its description and I'm soooo glad I did. The perfect blend of crunchy, sourness, sweetness and saltiness. Who knew cumin can go so well with pomegrante? The spicy hummus came shortly after. Nothing spicy about this dish - in fact, I wonder if they gave me just plain hummus. Tasty but nothing too interesting about this dish or different than the ones you could bought from the store. The hummus came with warm pita bread on the side - which i thought was one of the worst pita breads I have tasted - soggy and wet. Usually I down pita bread like a preggo lady.. but after one piece, I actually learned to say no. Instead I ate them with the complimentary pita chips given earlier.. ah so much better. My maid of honor however enjoyed the pita bread very much. She prob ate half of the basket. so perhaps it's just a personal taste preference. The Rekakat Bi Sujuk which is a blend of three Mediterranean cheeses & spicy beef wrapped in phyllo, was to follow. These cheesy beef rolls (came in 4 per order) tasted a lot like tandoori spiced meat rolls. They were freshly made and piping hot and went really well with this spicy green sauce that everyone must ask for on the side! so good! Last but not least, the fried kabbe which were fried beef dumplings with side yogurt sauce. They weren't what I was expecting - I wanted more of beef dumplings (ravioli) cooked in yogurt sauce I have had in Pierre Loti and Sip Sak - instead these were literally fried beef balls. The minced beef was a little under seasoned. I poured the yogurt and green sauce all over to give it a tart/spicy kick. At first we were worried that we didn't order enough but after finishing all 4 dishes with the side order of pita chips (which btw i asked for refill and they gave me a full basket) and the pita bread, we were stuffed.
The total ended up being around 42 dollars with tax and tip included. Not too bad for the quality of food and prompt services in midtown east.-
Complimentary pita chips -
Spicy hummus -
Cheese and beef rolls
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Review from William F.
Upper East Side, Manhattan, NYMy wife and I went there for dinner the other night, and I'll tell you, this is probably the best all around Mediterranean food I've ever eaten. Rather than do appetizers, entrées, etc., we decided to order several (six) small plates to split. One by one, they were each great:
1. Baba Ganoush: we started with a Mediterranean classic, baba ganoush, which is essentially roasted eggplant puree. Generally this one is not my favorite, but my wife likes it, so we went with it. I was pleasantly surprised; nice flavor, not overpowering like it often can be. We spread it on the pita that the food came with, and it was a very nice dish.
2. Falafel: falafel is my favorite Mediterranean food (I've had it at probably 25 different locations over my life), and this is without a doubt the best falafel I have ever had. Perfectly crispy on the outside, perfectly soft and flavorful on the inside. I burned my tongue on it when it first came out, but it was well worth it when I finally got to eat it. This was unquestionably the highlight of the meal.
3. Hummus with minced beef: this was above average hummus. Not the best I've ever had, and definitely overshadowed by the falafel, but it was really good. My wife and I made a combo with it: we spread the hummus, along with some baba ganoush, and put it on the pita bread. It was really good.
4. Spicy Lebanese sausage with tomatoes: Pretty self-explanatory: mini spicy sausages (that were oddly reminiscent of Mexican chorizo). They were also very very good. A nice kick to them if you like spicy food, and paired with the fresh tomato, we really enjoyed this dish.
5. Rekakat Bi Sujuk: These were phyllo cigars stuffed with three types of Mediterranean cheese. Very tasty but didn't stand out in particular. Probably not something I would rush back to order again, but I'm not sorry we ordered it.
6. Sambousik Lahme: These were lamb meat stuffed with minced beef and pignoli. Probably the worst thing that we ordered, but still not bad. I definitely would not recommend it, and would not order it again.
My wife and I both loved it and will definitely be back in the near future. We will definitely get the hummus and the the falafel again, and I'd like to try the lentil soup as well, as it sounded good. From what I hear, the entrees are nothing special, so we'll probably do the same thing next time and split some small plates. -
Review from Sophia D.
Pompano Beach, FLI loved it. The staff is very friendly and provide great service. I ordered the Australian rack of lamb and it was outstanding. I had a reservation for 2 and in the middle of our dinner we had an unexpected guest show up and the manager gladly moved us to a bigger table. I will def return next time I am in NYC.
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