No one culture ultimately is responsible for the current Western fascination with small plates. Mezze is enjoyed throughout the Mediterranean from the Middle East all the way to Spain, where it is known as tapas. But ancient Persia is most likely the origin of these nibbles, where small bites of fruit and skewered meats were often served to extend the experience of wine drinking.

Becky Stein/special (ENLARGE)
Zaya exudes a lovely tone of shiny copper.
Becky Stein/special (ENLARGE)
Baba ghanoush
Becky Stein/special (ENLARGE)
Drunken halloumi
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According to Alan Davidson in his award-winning book "The Oxford Companion to Food," the word meze comes from the Persian word, maza, which means "taste" or "relish."

Relish seems more apt for Zaya, a new restaurant addition to the gobs of construction taking place in Inman Park. The stretch of North Highland between Wisteria and Highland Bakery is turning into a retail Mecca, I'm not sure if it's disturbing or heartening to hear people use "the Grape that Usher opened" as a directional these days.

Anchoring a new multi-use concept (now there's a term for the new millennium), Zaya exudes a lovely tone of shiny copper for an old neighborhood that, like it or not, has a lot of new options these days. Brought to Atlanta by 3 of a Kind Restaurant Group out of New Orleans, Zaya's menu offers a plethora of small plates from Lebanon to Iran to Greece. They've hired another New Orleans transplant, Scott Majure, as chef. Majure may not be Middle Eastern, but he makes a mean baba ghanoush.

Bathed in tones of copper and brown and sporting lots of earthy elements like stone and wood, the decor is alluring and comfortable, but hints at Pottery Barn on a budget. Candles brighten the small bar area, and a semi-open kitchen adds a bit of drama to an otherwise quiet escape.

The menu would do better to just skip the larger dishes and entrees, an area where the kitchen falls short more often than not — halibut seemed frozen, not fresh, and tasted bland, even when lifted by diced tomatoes. Beef schwarma should be a signature, but the flavor here lacks the snappiness of an old-world marinade.

When in Persepolis, act like a Persepolian, right? Zaya is thoroughly enjoyable when you stick to a glass of wine from the small but well-procured wine list and eat from the many small options, beginning with rich hummus, topped traditionally with a generous sprinkling of paprika, leading to labneh — a creamy strained yogurt with the consistency of cream cheese and the tang of kefir, perfect for spreading on pita with olives or frankly anything within arm's reach.

Drunken halloumi isn't all that drunk, but this famous Cypriat cheese (from goat and cow's milk) is served seared in olive oil, spongy and mild, topped with diced tomatoes and garlic. Dolmades are weirdly skinny and wildly tart, almost all grape leaf and no stuffing. And mousaka is served as the eggplant stew found in Turkey or Lebanon rather than the layered Greek version you might be more used to.

It is mujadara that will rock your world, especially with a glass of Crianza. This simple dish of lentils, rice and onions is deceptively alluring, here topped with tomatoes. Eat like a stew, or scoop it on to warm pita, either way it's a lentil love fest.

Thin slices of fried eggplant has wonderful rustic flavor, but is far too greasy to be enjoyable, and fried calamari seems like an afterthought. But lahm bi'ajeen, a sort of Middle Eastern pizza of ground lamb and beef with onions and tomatoes, is a party over pita.

Ashta is a traditional Lebanese dessert similar to greek Galaktoboureko, made with a mild eggless custard and wrapped in phyllo. Zaya's kitchen makes a puffy bed for the custard, and the whole is drenched in a sweet, intoxicating rose-water-and-orange-blossom syrup. There are treacherous offerings of Key lime pie and chocolate goo cake (catch phrase: CGC), but the dishes that delight most, like a soft, caramel-y custard the waitress called "cheesecake flan" that seemed part Lebanese mahalabia and part creme brulee, are what to savor at the end of a meal here.

Sticking to what it knows best, Zaya adds yet another delicious address to the ever-changing landscape of Inman Park. There goes the neighborhood.