I was surprised with an impromptu date night that landed me in a seat at La’Ziza, Lebanese Cuisine and Hookah Lounge in Clifton, NJ. Long story short, GO!
In light of the pandemic, it’s become a norm for restaurants to solely offer outside seating for their patrons; and here was no exception. I, for one, didn’t mind a evening of fresh air , music and great food.
To be a Sunday night, it was a bit more crowded than I expected, but still, we were seated immediately upon our arrival. Once at our table, our extremely helpful waiter offered us hookah. Now, they have a nice choice of flavors on their hookah menu, but we went with the Grapefruit Hookah and Mixed Fruit flavoring. Listen! I was never a hookah fan, but that mixed fruit flavor was so good! It literally tastes and smells exactly like candy. If I ever smoke hookah again, that would be the flavor I’m going for.
*Your waiter refills the charcoal when it starts to burn out…. without being asked ☺️*
What We Ate
After about a 20 minute hookah session, we finally decided to look over the entree options. The first thing I noticed about the menu was that it wasn’t overwhelming. Is it just me, or could everyone agree that too many menu items are annoying? So yea, I was pleased to see that my choice would come easy.
I almost ALWAYS go for a seafood dish, but decided against it this time. I did, however, have the calamari as my choice of appetizer. Not every restaurant can execute calamari to my liking. You’ll usually find it too rubbery or greasy, but here, it was perfect.
For our main course dishes, I chose the La’Ziza Chef Platter: A grilled lamb chop, Filet Mignon and a chicken kabob with Tzatziki sauce and a side of fries. Jamil opted for the Lamb Chops: 3 or 4 nicely sized chops with a side of salad. Everything was seasoned and grilled to perfection. Nothing too dry, too salty or too bland. Literally, amazing…
We paired our dinner with a picture of La’Ziza Lemonade; a nice twist on the traditional favorite (It’s served in the form of a frozen drink / slushy). They don’t list the exact contents, but it definitely consists of parsley, and assumingely has some cucumber and mint. Mixed with the sweet and zesty taste of lemon, this drink was very refreshing.
*Note: as of now, they are not serving liquor. So feel free to bring your favorite bottle along with you.*
For Desert
Usually when I order desert it goes straight in a doggy bag. Either because: 1) I’m too full to eat it, or 2) I only wanted it for a pretty picture. But this had no chance of going home. Simple yet delicious, we couldn’t go wrong with our Chocolate Mousse and Cheesecake choices; I’m willing to bet everything on the desert menu was delicious.
My ratings
Food
Taste: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s hard to find a restaurant that can serve perfect proteins without being overly dry. Not to mention the perfect calamari. In my opinion, it’s nothing they could have done to make our dishes better.
Presentation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
At first look, you can tell the food was going to be delicious, but there were really no extra “frills” to make you super excited to take a picture of your plate. Keep in mind though, I have not seen every dish, I can only speak on what we ordered.
Hospitality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The staff was amazing. Immediately greeted upon arrival , checked on often (but not annoyingly so), didn’t rush us to seat other guests and promptly responded to any of our requests.
Environment: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The fact that we did not go inside, I can not speak on the decor/environment of the actual establishment. However, the outside set up was clean, and decorated as much as, I believe, it could have been. The waterfall against the building definitely makes it a lot more beautiful and Instagram worthy.
If you’re looking for a nice, quiet candlelit dinner, this isn’t the place (at least not while the seating is outside). The venue is located on a Main Street. You’ll hear music playing and motorcycles roaring.
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
1 star being the most costly, 5 stars being the cheapest; I think the prices here are pretty fair and affordable. The most expensive menu item is priced at $23.95 (which is the dish I ordered). The average cost for an entree is about $18; not too bad right?
Family friendly: ⭐️⭐️
Maybe during the earlier part of the day, when adults aren’t doing too much drinking or smoking, but it’s not the first place I would choose to bring my kids along. For me, I’d enjoy it more as a hangout spot with the girls.
In a nutshell: I enjoyed everything about my night at La’Ziza. I have no complaints, and would quickly recommend anyone try it out.
Have you been to La’Ziza? What was you experience?
XO,
Lexi 💋
