Coming to Damas as someone who grew up eating this food, what I want to flag is how seriously the kitchen takes the parts of a Syrian meal that restaurants outside the Levant usually rush. The mezze is not a warm-up here; it is the heart of the meal, and the table should be built around it. The muhammara has the right ratio of walnut to pepper paste and the pomegranate molasses is present without tipping into candy, which is the failure mode of nearly every version served in this country.
The grilling is the other thing worth coming for. The kibbeh and the various skewered lamb preparations come off the fire with the char and the spicing handled by people who clearly understand the cuisine rather than approximating it, and the cherry kebab — lamb meatballs in a tart sour-cherry sauce — is the dish I would order on any visit and the one most guests have never encountered. Ask for it.
This is a group meal by design; a table of two cannot do the menu justice. Bring six, order broadly across the mezze, add two or three grilled plates, and let the warm bread keep coming.
Note: Reservations book up well ahead for weekends; BYO-uncertain so confirm the wine policy when you call, and budget for a longer festive meal.
