Harissa Mediterranean Cuisine in Seattle

Harissa is a warm, vegetarian friendly, inviting restaurant in a small neighborhood, serving Lebanese food at its best. With excellent service and amazing food, this is a show stopper! There is a nice little bar as you enter and a quaint dining space with table linens, potted plants, et al.

It happened to be a bright and sunny day and we were escorted by the man in black to the beautiful patio. The clear blue skies above us, the wooden decor of the patio and the Arabic music playing in the background transported us to the Mediterranean land.

Walid brought us menus and water. Not a huge menu, but they have interesting options like Stews, and Lebanese Tomato Salsa .We asked for Walid's Combination plate - A generous portion of the four most delicious appetizers of Harissa; Hummus, Eggplant Salad, Labneh and Walid’s Tomato Salad.

Walid's Combination Plate

The Eggplant Salad was off the charts. It was more chunkier than Baba Ganouj and paired well with the rustic pita bread. The pita bread was soft at the right places and crisp at the edges, very similar to the tandoori naan.The hummus was a little grainy as opposed to the creamy ones I have had at other restaurants. Lots of garlic in everything. The labneh was so creamy that my eleven month old smacked her lips and asked for more! I mean, who can resist herbed cream cheese? Walid's tomato salad was like a Lebanese Salsa with crunchy walnuts. The plate was polished off in no time. The pita was a little inadequate, though. For the price, it would be nice to have the pitas coming. Just because they were so nice.

Next was the Spanakopita - Oven baked fillo dough stuffed with fresh spinach, chopped onions and feta cheese served with tzatziki sauce.

Spanakopita @ Harissa Mediterranean Cuisine

It came with a very flavorful Lebanese Pilaf and Fatoush (Lebanese Salad) on the side. The entire plate was topped with garlic sauce. I must make a note to ask for more garlic sauce on the side the next time. It was fantastic. The salad was fresh, the rice was flavorful, tzatziki sauce was cool and refreshing and the spanakopita was out of this world. I wish they had a buffet lunch on weekends; I could then devour endless Spanakopitas.

It is a little pricey but the food justifies the cost.We were so stuffed we couldn't order desserts We are so going back to try their Stews. And the Spanakopita! I highly recommend this place to other Mediterranean food lovers like me. And hey, this place is very kid friendly. So is Walid :)