Zahtar By Fhima

Address

Grand Hotel Minneapolis, 615 2nd Ave. S., Mpls., 612-752-9595, zahtarbyfhima.com

The Scene

Sequestered on Grand Hotel Minneapolis’s second floor, the location that formerly housed Martini Blu is slightly changed from its previous incarnation. The most visible enhancement is a scattering of gauzy curtains throughout the spacious, high-ceilinged, wood-beamed and -floored dining salon. Other lingering impressions are of rose-patterned light fixtures and flickering candles and white cloths gracing the scattered collection of tables. A bar area flanks one wall, and the sushi bar that was previously located in a separate room edges another. One surmises that the majority of the casually dressed diners are hotel guests or postworkout Lifetime Fitness members taking advantage of the convenient access.

Our Take

No chef in town more deserves to be called “The Phoenix” than the amiable David Fhima. His list of defunct concepts includes Mpls. Café, Louis XIII, and the eponymous Fhima’s. In 2007, he teamed up with longtime friend and Lifetime Fitness CEO Bahram Akradi to open a “Mediterranean–themed,” members-only restaurant in the Eden Prairie Lifetime. This latest venture is an outgrowth of that partnership. Working against it is Zahtar’s lack of physical presence and erratically executed menu. On the positive side are a handful of notable dishes, among them a wonderful version of the ubiquitous sautéed Asian green beans, a surprisingly harmonious recipe of impeccable mussels steamed with a broth of coconut cream, teriyaki, and sesame seeds, and an excellent filet mignon topped (by request) with a grilled peppercorn sauce and sided (again, by request) with first-rate pommes frites and béarnaise. Sushi and sashimi samplings tasted fresh and were handsomely plated. Nonetheless, my overall memory of what I ate is of too much salt and too few other seasonings. My notes contain recurrent use of the word bland. As seems to be a norm in Fhima operations, front-of-the-house training is lacking. From the greeters who led us to the table without asking to take our coats to one night’s clueless newbie, there wasn’t much sense of feeling welcomed.

AND THAT NAME AGAIN IS?

Photo by Craig Bares

The restaurant’s name derives from a North African spice blend made from sesame seeds, powdered sumac, and thyme—a dash of which is included in a salsa that’s served with the shrimp taco appetizer.