Sunnyvale is not exactly a gourmet heaven and downtown Sunnyvale is not exacty where you'd exact to find a high-quality restaurant, but I am pleased to find Dishdash breaking that trend. I've always been a fan of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food and this place offers the best of it in this area. It might not be a true four-smiley kind of place, but I gave it four anyways to encourage such a great established where we least expect (AND close to our home!!).
FOOD
I'm not from the Middle East so I can't really say whether Dishdash is truly authentic. I think the owner is Lebanese because the place is a very well-run and sensible business and it has a nice mix of different types of Middle Eastern dishes, many of which are my favorites! Anyways, the food is downright awesome so who cares if they're not authentic....
The dinner started with pita bread and flavored olive oil. Yum - we had too much of those, bad start. For appetizers we got the Mediterranean Maza, which is a platter that has many things, but I particularly liked the Babaghanouge (eggplant) and Khyar B'laban (cucumber in yogurt). I also got my favorite Musaka'a (eggplant again - my favorite plant!) - mmmmm so much better than those I had back in college in Canada. 
We thought we're gonna have lamb and more lamb, but besides the kabob and rack of lamb that melts in your mouth, we also had amazing seafood (another hint of lebanese influence). You've GOT to try to grilled halibut (texture like butter!) and salmon over rice called M'Tabaq. Even the chicken kabob was great! One weakenss was the selection of dessert, but we enjoyed what we had, especially Kenafeh if you can imagine cheese as a dessert.
It's weird, but somehow Middle Eastern people are like Chinese. They have a distinct type of hospitality that keep a healthy distance away and focus on nothing except getting their job done. After ordered a mountain of food and wine, our waiter had a little bit of smile of his face and you can tell he really made an effort to produce it. In any case, the wait staff was efficient and reasonably professional - even though some of them suspiciously resemble each other....
The restaurant has an excellent atmosphere that is casual but not rowdy. There is a big bar, but the place feels more like a French bistro than a brewry pub. They really know how to set up the tables and chairs for an open feeling that is quite pleasant, especially in the summer when guests are also sitting on the sidewalks. If you look very closely you'd find that they really didn't spend a whole lot - but they have good taste so the place doesn't look cheap.
In an area where a condo costs $500K minimum, you really can't expect to find any great value around. You won't do too bad at Dishdash though. It's a decent restaurant with great food, and if you overlook the minute details you might even think you're paying nothing for a fancy restaurant experience. Therefore, to spend $40/adult is really not a bad deal at all.
BOTTOMLINE
Well, I hope I've convinced you to come to downtown Sunnyvale. I know, it's that dinky street next to a huge construction site, but if you are like me - who will ignore the gravel trucks if the food is good - you'll like what you find here. After all, you can't possibly find any other downtowns that have so many parking spaces around. 
BTW
Dishdash has recently taken over the business next door - which means their capacity will nearly double. This is usually a dangerous sign - many restaurant cannot survive expansion because the kitchen staff just isn't equipped to handle the extra demand and hiring a new cook is always risky. So proceed with caution...... I hope I'll still enjoy the fish on my next visit.