I loved the food. The salad was delicious and I had a fantastic lamb kebab and cheese pastry for the main course.
The ambiance was a little strange but ultimately charming and nice. We were there right before the symphony and ballet were starting (reservations at 6 before shows at 8) and it was super crowded. The main floor was at capacity but we were told to go back through the kitchen and downstairs into the basement. It was utilitarian, to be sure (cinder blocks, plastic deck furniture) but not really a problem.
The terrible aspect of it--and the reason this wasn't more stars--was the service. Our waitress was either dealing with all the tables upstairs as well or just didn't know what was going on, because she seemed totally and utterly bewildered (beyond the usual frazzled state of a busy waitress). Totally in over her head. We were there sitting down to order at 6:15 and our main course wasn't there until around 7:20, by which time we needed to be finishing up so we didn't miss our 8:00 events.
I know some of this has to do with the kitchen being busy and it wasn't her fault, but that was still problematic. A half dozen times she came by and said it'll just be a few more minutes. We ordered a hummus appetizer and she brought too few pita bread pieces, and then took forever to get more.
This is a nice down home place and at any time other than the pre-theater rush, is probably a great restaurant. But if you're in a rush to get to an event, give yourself at least two hours.