A high-end option for kebabs and other Middle Eastern cuisine has arrived in Vienna.
Seray, a new Lebanese restaurant from the former owner of Me Jana in Arlington, opened to diners on Sunday (Sept. 8) at 160 Maple Avenue West in the Vienna Shopping Center, bringing life back to a space that had stood empty since Chopt closed in December 2022.
Though a grand opening isn’t expected for another three weeks, the restaurant has already secured a catering job for a wedding, and customers, including personnel from the Embassy of Qatar, have requested reservations over the next month or two, owner Rabih Abi-Aad told FFXnow.
“The first two days we opened, amazing. We’re so excited. We get so many good reviews, so many support[ive] people coming over,” he said. “…So, it looks like we’re getting really busy. I’m so excited about it.”
Initially called El Janna, Seray serves grilled meat and fish, meat, spinach and cheese pies, salads, kibbeh, falafel and other dishes that Abi-Aad and his chef have spent decades honing, including a special hummus that might be familiar to Me Jana patrons, according to the Washington Business Journal.
Born in the Lebanese village of Dfoun, Abi-Aad says he began working in restaurants as a 10-year-old boy helping his uncle over summer break. He soon committed to the industry, leaving school to work in a kitchen and becoming a pastry chef at 18.
When he came to the U.S. in 1987, he spent about a year running a French pastry shop in Virginia Beach before moving to Northern Virginia and shifting his focus to Lebanese cooking. In addition to Me Jana, which opened in 2007, his resume includes general manager at the Georgetown restaurants Neyla and Paolo’s Ristorante.
Abi-Aad says he quickly zeroed in on the Tysons area as a “hot spot” when seeking a location for his new venture.
“I decided to be in Vienna, and I’m so happy what I did, because I get so much support so far, people stopping by before I open,” Abi-Aad said, adding that he wants “to bring the best food in town to Vienna.”
While the prices aren’t for the light of wallet (a beef kebab entree, for example, costs $30), all of the food at Seray is made from scratch, requiring extensive preparation, according to Abi-Aad.
Seray is currently open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, but the hours could be extended after the grand opening, depending on when the restaurant is busy.
In the future, Abi-Aad also plans to offer special dishes that change daily and a dessert menu that might vary every couple of days. The business has partnered with Terra’s Ice Cream, Coffee and Sweets, which opened a month ago in Tysons, to obtain ice cream.
“Not really, same menu, same everything,” Abi-Aad said when asked if there are any special plans for the grand opening. “Just making sure everybody come over here…and they’re happy, stuff like that. You cannot make any mess, any mistake or anything. So, we have to make sure everything is perfect.”
