Thomas L. Gregg, CEO of Capital Restaurant Concepts, announced an early May opening of the Neyla Mediterranean Bistro at Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia.
Neyla, a favorite in Georgetown for more than 15 years, will now re-open its doors in Reston with a much bigger footprint, bringing a bar and lounge, and modern bistro menu to the area. It will serve lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch.
This new 160-seat Eastern Mediterranean restaurant will feature a large assortment of small plates (mezze) ideal for tasting and sharing, as well as a trendy expansive bar menu with creative cocktails and regional wines.
“Neyla reflects the love and passion of CRC founder and chairman Bechara Nammour,” Gregg says. “These are the flavors and textures of his heritage, and he wants diners in the Washington metro area to experience sharing mezze with each other as is customary in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Chef Eric von Gehren has been tapped as the executive chef to design the menu and spearhead the kitchen for the new Neyla. Chef von Gehren originally came to CRC in 1987 and helped open many of its restaurants including Paolo’s Ristorante and Georgia Brown’s.
He left CRC in 1992 to become the vice president and corporate chef of Levy Restaurants in Chicago. He then moved to the Eastern Mediterranean to help open more than 10 restaurants in Lebanon.
It was here that Chef von Gehren learned the art of Eastern Mediterranean Cuisine. Most recently Chef von Gehren served as the chef at the Fat Canary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Souheil Moussadik, the former general manager of Neyla in Georgetown will bring his energy from the D.C. bar and dining scene to Reston.
Guests can anticipate fresh vegetables, select cheeses, meats, and fish prepared with an Eastern Mediterranean influence. The menu design will accommodate the health conscience, the adventurous, and those who are looking for their traditional Mediterranean favorites such as Chicken Shawarma and Veal Kebabs cooked over a charcoal grill.
The menu highlights small plates for both lunch and dinner to include Roasted Eggplant, Circassian Chicken, and Armenian Sausage. Traditional dips such as Baba Ghanoush, Hummus, and Lebne will be served with the house-made pita cooked in the wood fired brick oven.
Lunch will also feature a wide variety of Mediterranean salads that will be available for diners to enjoy at Neyla or to go, including Greek and Mediterranean Salads and Tabbouleh Salad.
Gregg is working with renowned D.C. architect and designer Olivia Demetriou of Haptsak and Demetriou. Demetriou’s firm has been responsible for the designs of many of DC’s best restaurants to include Zaytinya, Rose’s Luxury, and Fiola Mare.
The expansive bar will be a mixture of rich dark tones of blue tapestry wall coverings and whitewash strie millwork. Unique decorative screens and beaded curtains will hang throughout the restaurant, with the use of up-lighting to provide a luminous effect that will graze the screen surfaces.
The expansive dining room will open up in nice weather to a large outdoor patio, which will feature dark wicker furniture, creating a Mediterranean tavern ambience.
