Illusions has grandeur
Lebanese-Mediterranean fusion flies high at California Avenue's Illusions

by Sheila Himmel

Sometimes a restaurant site changes personalities so many times you stop paying attention. Ho-hum, another name for the California Avenue restaurant and club that was the Edge.

My editor made me go.

Surprise! Illusions Fayrouz Dining & Entertainment is better than good. Freedom of choice rules the menu, covering kebabs, lots of vegetarian dishes, small plates, and large plates that make a meal. Have lunch, dinner, or just a snack, outdoors or in. And, service is delightful.

Often, restaurants plunk tables on the sidewalk and call it a patio. Illusions' breath of fresh air is protected from the street, with murals of Italian vineyards and the cedars of Lebanon dancing up the restaurant's wall.

Inside you'll notice an attractive bar and a handy place for large parties to the left, a human-size dining area to the right. Tables are dressed in white. It feels a little formal, but don't worry. Business casual and jeans -- the usual California dress code -- applies.

On a weeknight, the dining room was sparsely populated. What often happens in those situations is that servers and kitchens get lax. There isn't much to do, and they don't do it. At Illusions, all engines were firing when the restaurant was slow, as well as when it got busier later in the evening.

While studying the menu you get a dish of olive oil studded with sesame seeds and zesty zatar, a symphony of spices. The pool is held in place by a circle of creamy Lebanese yogurt, so you can mix or not. Freshly grilled pita bread, cut into triangles, is warm and chewy.

The small-plates section of the menu is particularly enticing. A sampler plate ($10.99) introduces you to three hot dishes and three cold, artfully presented. No offense to the hummus, baba ghanoush and tabouleh, but the hot appetizers star in this show. In various fried falafel and baked filo coats, and fillings of cheese, mint, spinach and ground beef, they make you feel you are eating an exotic food.

Entrees make you feel very full. Each immense dinner starts with a small chopped salad of romaine lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers drizzled in lemon.

Lamb couscous ($18.95) offers good-sized chunks of tender lamb on a steaming bed of couscous infused with tomato sauce. Also there are stewed carrots and potatoes.

Half a boneless chicken ($15.95) sings with lemon and garlic.

The mixed grill ($20.95) tops the price list, with a particularly wonderful version of minced lamb and beef. Lamb cubes also were good. Only the chicken kebabs had gotten a little dry.

At this point we asked the server to recommend one dessert for three people to share, and it was luscious kenafeh ($5.95), warmed sweet cheese in shredded wheat and honey.

At lunch, the server was even more personable, and reliable with suggestions.

Four dolmas ($5.50) melt in your mouth, not in a pool of grease. Four kebbe ($5.95) are lemon-shaped wonders of ground meat, pine nuts and bulgur, deep-fried in a thin falafel coat. You can dip them in creamy tahini sauce that doesn't overdose on garlic.

Under the heading "House Dishes," sheikh mehsi ($12.50) offers up a good-sized baby eggplant cut in half lengthwise and stuffed with minced beef, pine nuts and onions, baked in tomato sauce. It comes with rice.

For dessert, Turkish coffee ($2.25) stays hot in a little metal pitcher.

The Fayrouz part of Illusions comes from the name of a legendary Lebanese diva and the restaurant in Malta where Chef Paul Sarkis worked for five years. It also means turquoise in Arabic.

If Illusions Fayrouz has a loser, I didn't find it. Only the roasted tomatoes were disappointing. At this time of year, they should be at their peak.

Published in the Palo Alto Weekly 8-18-06

Review Posted on yelp.com

10 stars! Yes, 10/5, that's my official rating. I'm middle eastern and have been eating middle eastern food my whole life and I can honestly say this place has, hands down, some of the best middle eastern food I've ever had. My mom always says that Lebanese know how to cook and this place further supports that slightly stereotypical saying. You can get the mezza (appetizers) that function almost like tapas or an entree. For 2 people I'd suggest 1-2 appetizers and 1 entree (especially if you go with the combo meat platter- so much food!) And once you sit down I think they have some complementary Labneh and bread at the table (strained yogurt that results in a thick, creamy spread) My personal favorites: Kebbeh Maklieh (hot mezza)- hands down the best kebbeh i've had in my entire life. It's like crack I crave it so bad sometimes. Sambousek (hot mezza). aka Spinach pie. A slightly tart spinach and onion filling inside a soft delicate bread. mmmmmmmmmmm. Kafta Meshwi (entree). Also the best kafta kabob I've ever had in my entire life. It's included in the combo meat platter so you could get that as well if you'd like to try the chicken and cubed beef as well. Kenafeh (dessert). It's shredded Kataife dough filled with cream and drizzled with rosewater syrup (served warm). Pure heaven. If you think baklava is good- wait until you try this. I've never had this dessert before but its up there as one of my favorite foods ever. I've been here a few times but always gravitate toward the same amazing food. Hopefully one day i'll venture out into their other dishes because (a) they sound amazing and (b) i haven't had anything here that was bad. As a side note: the belly dancing show is great too. I take lessons from the Friday night dancer (Sandra) and she is one of the best belly dancers I've ever seen. Someone seemed concerned about having children watch but it's quite traditional and very kid and family friendly dancing (no slutty stripper moves) but she shakes her hips unlike anything I've seen.

Review Posted on yelp.com

I just returned from having lunch at Illusions, and I must say that I was pleasantly impressed by their layout, design, and delivery from the decor to the food. I intially came to the resturant to check out the party space to hold events - but a beautiful, sunny California afternoon convinced me to sit down for lunch in their outdoor patio. I had a vegetarian platter that was very well prepared and nicely presented - the baba ganoush was fabulous! The care that they took with the food presentation definitely contributed to my appetite. Although I am a vegetarian, my friend who ate a lamb dish said that it was delicious. The portions of food were very appropriate, which I think is important since the U.S. suffers from problems of overconsumption. At Illusions, the dining can easily run over $20/person with appetizers and beverages. The service was very good and their waiters are extremely congenial. They even took the time to show us around the bar and club to check out their nightclub space. The decor of Illusions is great with their dark blue shades on their furniture and complete hardwood floors. The bar is also nicely situated away from the regular dining space. Since i was there for lunch, I don't really know how loud the resturant will get with the full range of hardwood floors and the high celings, but I think it will make a great dining spot for the evening as well. I am looking forward to smoke hooka on their outdoor patio. Their club space is really well designed and can probably accomodate about 500-600 people. They have a specific DJ booth and overhanging strobe lights as well as two seperated VIP rooms that are at an elevated level to the main floor. The main floor also has its own bar that is seperate from the normal dining room. Hence, I am also looking forward to seeing this space on a Friday or Saturday night when they are spinning some music. Hopefully, the owners use their magnificent Lebonese theme to bring some world beat and Arabic fusion because Illusions would be a perfect venue for such an event. Overall, I was impressed with both the food and ambiance of Illusions, and I can't wait until I can review its contribution to the Palo Alto nightlife

Review Posted on yelp.com

It's more tapas style Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food, but it's hella good (I emphasize the hella). We got about 8 dishes, all of them were wonderful. Also, we sat out on this beautiful little patio, it was great to just chat and take our time with dinner. The service was great, the wine was excellent, and I really enjoyed my experience here. It's a great place for a date, or to make an evening of a slow dinner with friends. ***Visit number 2: Still awesome! All of the mezza (small plates) were very delicious, wonderfully flavored and overall just delicious. We hookah-ed afterwards, and it was really nice, relaxing on their patio. Also, this place looks horribly tacky from the outside and has an even worse name... but it's actually very beautiful inside, and has excellent service. Highly recommended!