nar

While there are plenty of eateries in our neighborhood, there really hasn't been a place I'd want to go to regularly. Aqua at St. George Wharf has nice views and the pizza is OK, but it's not really a dining experience as much as a great place to drink some wine and watch the water.

When we arrived a year and a half ago there was a place that looked like a great Italian restaurant, but closed within weeks of our arrival...so probably not. Over the last few months the space has been under renovations and opened about two weeks ago. I decided to check it out.

Nar Bar and Restaurant shows enormous potential. The extensive menu is both Turkish and southern Italian. Though we didn't have one, the pizza looked amazing. We went with a table full of Turkish mezzos. The falafel was wonderfully spiced in a way I have not commonly tasted. The stuffed grape leaves were the real thing, well spiced with pine nuts and sultanas, not just rice and dill...excellent. Nothing disappointed and most everything added a twist of flavor to the expected for a little surprise for the palate.

There's a nice wine list and the staff are more than happy to serve you. Jimmy (I suspect not his real name), the Turkish restaurant manager, was very friendly and treated us to a couple of glasses of dessert wine. The baklava was very fresh, tasting more of pistachio than honey, and the rice pudding with rose water was exacting and delicate.

All of this is done in an amazingly decorated space. It's worth a stop by for a drink at the bar to admire the interior design, especially the woodwork.

Best of all, the place qualifies as moderately priced. Can't wait to go back and try the pizza!