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Overall, his best dishes prioritize pronounced but accessible flavours and well-cooked, juicy proteins.

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All of Ayla’s kebabs were winners. I lean toward the eponymous and picturesque Ayla’s kebab ($35), which starred pomegranate and herb-marinated striploin, a yogurt pomegranate sauce, saffron-tinged rice and a kale salad with green tahini dressing. But another solid pick that lived up to its name was the tender kebab ($35), made with shavings of marinated hanger steak (aka the hanger tender or butcher’s steak), supported by a significant house-made tomato sauce, Spanish rice, cooling labneh and crunchy strips of fried wonton wrappers.

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Ayla’s kebab at Ayla’s Social Kitchen on Preston Street. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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Tender kebab main course at Ayla’s Social Kitchen on Preston Street. Photo by PETER HUM /POSTMEDIA

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One especially nice surprise was the ginger garlic shrimp bowl ($30), a pretty plate that teemed with tasty, succulent shrimp, sitting on spinach and mushroom pearl couscous and bolstered by three distinct and appealing sauces — roasted red pepper, sumac harissa mayo and a mango creme.

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Ginger garlic shrimp at Ayla’s Social Kitchen on Preston Street in Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

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If chicken is your go-to, then the “chef’s feature chicken ($31), made with herbed chicken breast and served with wild rice and a peppy mojo verde inspired by Aghaei’s recent trip to the Canary Islands, would be a solid pick.

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The only main course I’d skip next time was the Moroccan-style beef brisket ($35). While the dish’s pearl couscous and especially its zingy zhoug were laudable, the beef was dry, as brisket often can be. I told Aghaei this in the spirit of constructive criticism, and he saw it as a challenge worth accepting.

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Brisket main course at Ayla’s Social Kitchen on Preston Street. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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Many appetizers here are dips made with feta, red lentils, or artichokes and roasted eggplant. We made quick work of the meatiest option — hummus topped with lamb meat, fried eggplant and pine nuts ($24) — because it was that good.

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I can also vouch for the simple but luxurious house-made labneh ($18), an assertively lemony strained-yogurt treat topped with olive oil, mint, za’atar, pistachio and pomegranate ringed with crostini and triangles of pita.

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House-made labneh at Ayla’s Social Eatery on Preston Street. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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We also enjoyed Aghaei’s arancini ($21 for three), because the rice balls were cleanly fried and their parmesan sauce and melted mozzarella interiors made them irresistibly cheesy.

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Arancini at Ayla’s Social Eatery on Preston Street. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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Desserts made by Maryam Aghaei, who studied pastry-making at Algonquin College, were straightforward and satisfying, including a nicely wobbly, lemony panna cotta ($11) and an espresso Basque cheesecake ($11).

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Lemon panna cotta at Ayla’s Social Kitchen on Preston Street. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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Espresso Basque cheesecake at Ayla’s Social Kitchen on Preston Street. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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Servers were friendly and direct, and Amir Aghaei likes to bring food from his kitchen and interact with customers.

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Ayla’s, which is named after the Aghaeis’ daughter, now 12, is the couple’s third business in Ottawa. They had a coffee shop downtown and then a pub in the Glebe. But of Ayla’s, Amir Aghaei says: “This was always my dream.”

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He told me that he and his family moved to Australia with the intention of opening their restaurant there. They stayed a month, during which they felt less comfortable than they did in Canada. Before the pandemic, they moved back to Ottawa, where Maryam has relatives, and found the Preston Street space that they turned into Ayla’s.

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Amir Aghaei only came to the hospitality business and cooking for a living after losing his engineering job two decades ago. “I read so much about cooking. I travel as much as possible and try so much street food and local food,” he says. “I have a passion about it. I love it, I love food.”

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But you would know that just from eating the food he serves at Ayla’s, which speaks for itself.

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Ayla’s Social Kitchen

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