The Find: Mantee in Studio City, Lebanese-Armenian fare done right

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Like a classic storybook bistro, with smart burgundy awnings, lacy curtains and flower boxes at the windows, Mantee exudes a warm and welcoming aura. So why is the small dining room so empty?

Because most diners at this diminutive Lebanese-Armenian restaurant are eating out back in the impossibly romantic leaf-shaded patio, where lush potted plants are massed in every corner under the golden light of Parisian-style iron street lamps. And the guests? They’re partying like there’s no tomorrow.

Laughter floats through the air. Tables are spread edge to edge with mezes and other small plates: the best hummus you’ve ever tasted scattered with sautéed pine nuts; stuffed grape leaves with garlicky yogurt sauce; muhammara, the spicy dip of crushed walnuts, pomegranate and Aleppo pepper; and plates of bubbling feta baked in tomato coulis.

It turns out Mantee has a bit of a pedigree. The proprietor’s family owns several internationally known eating places in the Near East. The family’s Beirut restaurant, Al Mayass (they are proud to tell you) made it onto Food & Wine magazine’s prestigious ‘Go List’ of outstanding recommended restaurants worldwide.

To read the rest of Linda Burum’s story, click here.