A new Mediterranean restaurant has landed inside one of the Texas Medical Center area's biggest hotels, and it's already serving up a $56 lamb chop dish alongside a rotating mezze spread built for sharing. Ayla Mediterranean opened its doors to customers Sept. 26 inside the InterContinental Houston, bringing breakfast, lunch and dinner service to a stretch of Main Street already dense with hospitals and hungry visitors.
The restaurant sits inside the InterContinental Houston at 6750 Main St., which Community Impact describes as a 4-star luxury hotel located near the Texas Medical Center and Museum District. That address checks out via a hotel listing shared by Yahoo, which places Ayla at 6750 Main St., Houston, TX 77030. The new concept is overseen by executive chef Ibrahim Alsharif, according to the same Community Impact report.
A Chef With Stamps From Dubai to Boston
Alsharif brings more than two decades of international experience to the pass, per FB101, having cooked in Dubai, Jordan and Kuwait before landing in Houston. He also previously worked at The Newbury in Boston, a five-star luxury boutique hotel. That resume shows up on the plate: Ayla's menu, according to a listing on OpenTable, brings together the flavors and traditions of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain and France.
Alsharif has framed the concept as being about more than what's on the plate. “Food is about more than ingredients; it is about hospitality, family and shared experiences,” he said, according to the seed reporting, with the menu itself described as rooted in generosity, connection and the joy of sharing a meal.
Breakfast, Lunch And A $56 Centerpiece
Ayla will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. Morning service includes omelettes, herbed labneh scrambled eggs, red velvet pancakes and challah bread French toast, while lunch brings hot appetizers, mezze bites, soups, salads and entrees. The restaurant serves both classic hummus and beetroot hummus among its shareable starters.
The dinner menu leans into live-fire cooking and fresh seafood, per the same OpenTable listing. The centerpiece is the Lamb Chops Royale, priced at $56, which includes grilled lamb chops, herbs, garlic mint labneh, gratin potato, asparagus and baby carrots. Other entrees include the Salt & Sea Branzino, with pan-seared sea bass, celery puree, seasonal vegetables, saffron risotto and beurre blanc; Charcoal Beef Skewers, char-grilled and served with olive oil, onion, tahini sauce, grilled vegetables and a side; and Chicken Massimo, featuring roasted chicken, mashed potato, pomegranate sauce, fingerling potatoes, baby carrots, squash and asparagus.
For those looking to share rather than commit to a single plate, there's the AYLA Mezze Table, described by OpenTable as a custom revolving centerpiece featuring an abundant selection of house-made mezze designed to be shared. The bar program includes Mediterranean wines, botanical cocktails and zero-proof offerings for guests skipping alcohol.
Part Of A Medical Center Dining Push
Ayla's arrival adds to a broader run of dining additions around the Texas Medical Center, where announcements have included a mix of locally founded Houston concepts and nationally recognized brands, according to the Texas Medical Center. Hotel-based restaurants aren't new to the corridor either; the Westin Medical Center's Terrace 54 Bar + Table previously opened nearby offering its own breakfast, lunch and dinner service, per CultureMap Houston.
Beyond the food, Ayla's own site notes the restaurant offers live entertainment alongside its food and drink program, and it includes a private dining space, according to Ayla's website. Guests visiting the InterContinental Houston can also take advantage of complimentary valet parking and validated self-parking, per OpenTable's listing for the restaurant.
