Darna

Talk about good eating!
I’m not a big fan of buffets, I enjoy being served as a guest and not getting up and grabbing my own food.(King Status lol) But after riding around for 20mins looking at restaurants in the area I thought, «Let’s check this place out»
This place was an answer from heaven! The service is A1! The staff are friendly and very hospitable! And I can beat that the food was prepared by Angels!
I walked in and was welcomed by a young gentleman who warned me to «Be Ready to have some of the best food in my Life» and my God they lived up to it! The options of the food was more then asked for! They have Fish, Chicken, and Beef Kababs! They have the best Hummas ever! And I’m very picky about my Hummas! They had two kinds of rice, and both tasted amazingly good! The meat were fresh and juice. The verity of food was really nice! I’m mean they had every type of mediterranean dish you can think of! And well stocked! And every five mins or so, someone comes out from the back and checked to see if anything else is needed. And the staff would walk up to you as your seated and ask if they’re anything else you need! It was a buffet, but the service was better then any restaurant I’ve been too! And I’ve been to restaurants like Luce in SF where the it’s $ 200 a person!

Food was excellent but the price…, pretty high for a buffet. Tried returning one day and couldn’t find the place not sure if they’re still in business. if they are, Nevertheless I feel that it deserves another try, maybe with more people the next time I go.

Having dinner with friends! The food is delicious, so many varieties to please every one, whether you are looking for vegetarian dishes or meat! Check them out.

For $ 14, they couldn’t give us housemade pita? The pita was cold and clearly made somewhere else. The babaganush was also cold.
I was not impressed and apparently neither was anyone else, as the place was empty at lunch in downtown Sacramento.

Amazing food and fresh! Just passing through Sacramento and so glad I stopped here. The service was friendly and helpful. Get the baklava!

Great spot for lunch during the week. I stopped in while walking down K street and was pleasantly surprised by the lunch buffet. The restaurant is ran by a family it seems like and the service is great. The employees make sure the buffet is well stocked and clean.
The food in the buffets is also tasty and of good quality. Sometimes when you go to a buffet you feel like you are gonna get cheap meat and stuffed with starch and grains. This place has a nice variety of meats and side dishes. On Friday’s the lunch buffets even has beef ribs which was a nice surprise. On Thursday you get Tri-​Tip, which is cooked nicely and seasoned well.
I will definitely return to introduce more of my friends to this restaurant.

Very personable, hospitable, and kind staff. We were a family of 11, we had to wait for a while to be seated, with the restaurant being pretty empty. Food was very delicious, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. I loved the choices of different kabobs (kofta and chicken) we also enjoyed the roasted lamb.
They had a live band that played oum Kulsum, Egyptian classical singer and a favorite of mine.
Onto tea time and the Baklawa, which I have grown up loving and prepared frequently by my mother and my grandmother. This one by far THE BEST tasting baklava ever!!! It tasted like an authentic original PALESTINIAN baklava, the filing was made from scratch using mascarpone type cream and corn starch (according to the owner’s wife).
The only thing, I think they’re a bit on the high price. $ 25 for 12 and older. I think $ 20 is the perfect price. Regardless, I can’t wait to come again in the near future.

This place is definitely worth the try if you are about to get into middle eastern food. You can try a lot of variety without incurring a huge cost. The hummus was pretty fresh and tasty. baba ganoush was also on offer as well as several kabobs, rice, Tabbouleh, lamb, chicken etc.
On fridays they have bbq ribs.
Buffet is around $ 14

Everything looked delicious and was very appetizing. The workers were very friendly and the place was filled with customers. The buffet had numerous dishes, both vegetarian and non-​vegetarian. Lentil soup, spicy eggplant, falafel, chicken and goat kabobs, beef ribs, and 2 types of rice among other things. Once I finished eating I needed to be rolled out of the restaurant (it was quite embarrassing). Other than that, everything was wonderful and my Mediterranean buffer experience was very positive.

Knock knock, Kabob Who?!!, AYCE KABOB
VIBE
I have always dreamed of kabob for all you can eat, man i can never get enough when i order elsewhere Ala carte and only receive 4 to 6 pieces only with lots of basmati rice. Yes when i saw ayce kabobs, i was suspicious wondering how the quality would be like, so one way to find out is to try.
LAYOUT
It is a pay first, before you sit down and eat, because of the neighborhood i guess.
The entrance is greeted with some nice poles, and bright floors which reminds you of a greek environment. Nice waterfall wall along the buffet food area. Lots of seatings, for large and small parties.
There is a soda machine, where you can help yourself when you purchase the all you can eat.
The location is right in the corner of the light rail, on k street, next to insight and buds sandwiches. Parking would be hard, but there is parking garages nearby or park on j street with the meters.
PRICE
As of September 10, 2015, lunch buffet is $ 13.85 with tax included it comes out to $ 15 for lunch.
Yes $ 15 for lunch buffet. I think it is worth it for kabobs, if your a meat lover!
FOOD
Chicken Kabob — juicy and tender, and just cooked well with a char grilled favor. I wouldn’t have thought the quality for a buffet would be so good.
Beef Kabob — You can definitely see herbs mixed in with the ground beef. The beef tasted like hamburger meat, and not much herbs flavor in it, but yes you see lots of green herbs mixed in though. I do prefer the chicken kabob any day.
Eggplant — this is a greasy dish. The non spicy eggplant tasted like an italian flavor dressing. It was different and good, but just a bit too oily for me.
Hummus — this was just an average hummus, can’t go wrong with this. Nothing to special like in flavor or anything, but it is pretty good with the pita bread offered in the buffet :)
Yellow Rice — This did have some flavor in it. Light and fluffy, kind of reminds me of a quick ten meal cook up kind of yellow rice. I didn’t find it too authentic in the flavor inside the yellow rice.
Basmati rice — the presentation does look like its fluffy and mmm. I did find some hard or uncooked grains in some bites, might of been dried up or something. But i do like basmati rice, but finding some hard pieces was just ehh… i like it fluffed…
Lentil soup — This was great. The soup was creamy with lots of lentil. The soup flavor was on the calm and bland side.
Falafel — this was in a pretty good bite size. The outside is kind of hard on the outside and kind of dry in the inside, i didn’t attempt the second round of plate.
spicy eggplant — Yes on the more oily side. The eggplant was not spicy, but more on the mild side. I did like to mix this dish with the 2 kinds of rice offered.
cucumber salad — This was refreshing mixed, which is a great all around dish and perfect for the summer and spring. It had a light italian dressing mixed kind of flavor in it.
roasted squash /​Zucchini– This was my favorite. Yes i love my veggies roasted and yes it was perfect! so good and just on point with the chicken kabob and rice.
SERVICE
The only service you get is when they come and fear the plates. They do ask if you need anything else or have any questions. They do like to interact with the customers and ask if it is their first time or not. Friendly staffs here.
JUST A NOTE
Don’t go to a buffet before an interview or work, because food coma is real, lol… yes oh man was i stuffed and couldn’t move. i needed someone to roll me out of there. I can feel my pants getting tight, and my button up shirt popping out. lol

We got here at 11:15 and the door was locked. We waited and an older guy finally came and opened the door. While paying, my S.O. asked if they opened at 11 (we thought maybe it was later and we’d misread the website or their hours has changed or something). The guy was really curt and unfriendly and said, «Yeah, 11» like he was doing us a favor by letting us in. Not a good start.
So, for 2 people, it was $ 30 which I think is absurdly expensive for a lunch buffet. Especially considering the selection is pretty limited. The baked chicken was pretty good, as was the labneh and the hummus. The pita bread was awful — clearly out of a bag, a little bit stale… The smaller pieces of chicken were really dry, and so was the falafel.
Just, overall, it was mediocre for $ 30. I was pretty disappointed.

Stopped into this little gem for lunch and was very pleased! Lunch Buffet was kept full, all the food tasted fresh and hot. Staff took used plate away quickly and though it cost about $ 15 per person it was well worth the price. I loved everything I had! Falafel was yummy and their chicken kabob was so flavorful.
I also overheard some regular patrons asking if certain items were available. The waiter stated not today which excited me to know that when I return I will be able to experience different foods, and I assume those items to be good if patrons ask about it!
Definitely stop in to experience Darna!

I stopped by here for a chicken shawarma sandwich one day and it was pretty good. I didn’t know it came with fries, but it did and those were good too. I came back here a while back for the buffet. The food in the buffet was pretty good quality for a buffet. It was a bit pricey though. But not bad.

This is a very nice Mideast restaurant. I went for its 15 $ buffet. It has a variety of dishes. I enjoyed several classic Mideast salads, chicken kebab, and falafel. Most customers are the managers working around this area (u can tell from their shirts). The coffee is good, deep roasted beans but not much acid.
If they heat up pitas a little bit would be better.
If they provide lamb kebab would be perfect.

Eh, I’m not really a fan. We came here to grab some food before going to watch a movie since it’s not too far away. Arrived on a saturday at night and there was pretty much no one there. The food was pretty good, I got the beef kebab but it’s just too expensive for what it is. Considering you can get a sandwich for $ 9 or a plate for $ 19 there’s quite a disparity there. I would be much more inclined to go for their lunch buffet if I could that way I could sample more things. It just feels very disjointed. I can’t tell if they’re supposed to be a nicer sit down place, or more casual. From their website and everything it seems to play it up as more upscale, but my experience was anything but.
The food was well seasoned and very flavorful though. Just wish the price was more consistent to reflect the overall experience.

Darna definitely stays true to the reviews as a lunch spot… as when we came in for dinner on a Saturday night, it was close to completely deserted!
We didn’t let this bother us, however. Perusing the dinner menu, I noticed that most of the entrees were quite pricey and decided to go for the beef shawarma sandwich ($ 9) with fries (extra $ 2) instead. The sandwich came stuffed in a nice little pita pocket, which made it less messy to eat than if it were a traditional two-​slices-​of-​bread deal. There was a hearty portion of beef and the flavor was quite tasty. The fries were thick, hot, and delicious. I almost wished there were a bit more but I was still left reasonably full afterwards.
The shawarma sandwich seemed to be a way better deal for the price than the actual dinner entrees that a few members of my party ordered — the shish kabob and moussaka both came on nicely presented plates with rice but there didn’t appear to be that much actual food for the amount that you were paying. For a similar price, one could come in at lunch time and eat way more at the buffet!
Service was not bad, as we had our water refilled regularly and our waitress was friendly. Food came out quickly. The décor was interesting, with the glow of a green light over the buffet in back and a large television screen in front. Although we were fairly lonely with few other patrons, the space was large enough that it didn’t feel too awkward. They also have a display case with yummy-​looking desserts at the entrance… oooh so tempting!
Overall, while very quiet around dinnertime, Darna is not a bad downtown option if you’re in the mood for some shawarma and want to grab a drink on K Street afterwards!

I am so glad that I finally tried Darna. These guys have transformed the former Farley’s into a wonderful Middle Eastern restaurant and buffet. We had the lunch buffet with included a tremendous amount a good food for only $ 15 each including tax and soft drink.
The restaurant is very clean and open with a nice modern Middle Eastern theme. There are lots of tables with open seating after you pre-​pay your food near the entrance. The star is the buffet with lots of typical dishes — hummus, various salads, lentil soup, grilled meats, and fresh fruit. They have a standard menu as well for a la carte ordering.
The food was fresh and plentiful, however some meats may take a while to refill since they are grilled fresh in the back. Everything was very tasty, and the whole group was thoroughly impressed. This is a great lunch spot for downtown workers and even before a night on the Kay.

I came here for lunch for the first time and for me, it was a mixed experience.
Pros
Lots of delicious food options on the buffet — seriously, the food was great!
Dining area was spacious and clean
The people seemed quite friendly
Cons
Many dishes on the buffet were severely depleted — they were having a hard time keeping even the basics, like pita bread, hummus & falafel stocked. Empty pan syndrome!
Beverages are included in the buffet, but their iced tea machine was broken. How hard it is it to brew some tea over ice and serve it in pitchers? My only choice was soda, which I don’t drink
$ 15 is a lot to pay for a buffet that they couldn’t keep stocked and had limited beverage offerings.
I waited for over 15 minutes for them to bring out more pita bread & hummus!
Were it not for the actual AVAILABILITY of the delicious food, I’d love to be able to come back, but based on this experience, I have a hard time recommending it, not knowing if there will actually be any food available to eat. It’s a bummer because I feel like this place has a lot of potential.

I preface this with I set my falafel standards high.
I spent a year abroad about 20 years ago at a university that edged Tahrir Square and I would eat falafel (Egyptians call it tamaya) almost daily, at this barely there hole in the wall, hot crispy patties, with a splash of tahina, topped with pickled vegetables. Within a handful of bites, I would walk back to campus or my apartment in a happy falafel bliss.
Today I was hungry at lunch, the first three restaurants I visited were closed. The cashier invited me to check out buffet, saying there were a few vegetarian options on it. I declined, opting for a falafel sandwich to go, about $ 8. When I got back to my desk, I was pleasantly surprised it came with french fries. While I loved the pickled vegetables and the yogurt cucumber dip and even the bread, the falafel fell flat. I finished the french fries before I ate the second half of the sandwich.
While I shouldn’t judge a restaurant based on one sandwich, admittedly I am.
On a positive note, a few days ago I booked a flight to Cairo, and while the most of the university moved to a new campus, this visit to Darna reminded me that one of my goals is to see if I can find that temaya stand a few blocks away from Tahrir.

We were going to have lunch at Bud’s, but as it was a rainy, stormy day, Bud’s was closed, so by complete chance we ended up at Darna. Let me tell you, the food is 3.5−4 star quality, but I felt that $ 12.95 which comes to a little over $ 14 was a little too high for lunch buffet. Otherwise, this place is totally worth a visit.
I think you should order things off the itemized, ala carte menu to get a delicious value meal.
I tried most of the items in the buffet, and almost everything was cooked perfectly, and was nicely seasoned. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back soon enough!