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Category: Middle Eastern [Edit]
Neighborhood: PasadenaMy husband and I were led here for dinner with five other friends, one of whom is of Armenian descent and knew this restaurant from his days of living in Pasadena years ago. We're so glad we followed him!
This is a simple, down-to-earth, family-owned/operated restaurant. The young woman who waited on us was extremely pleasant. My only complaint is that she didn't tell me they had frog legs till after we'd eaten! Had I known that, I would have ordered up frog legs! (It's on the online menu, but not the printed menu. She shared her story of how she used to fear cooking frog legs, and became a very decent frog leg cook.)
I tried the Labni here and shared it with all our friends. I'm not big on dairy products, but I'm quickly developing a labni habit! I was in appetizer mode again, so I also ordered the Sarma (which were kalanche, no meat, just rice stuffing). They were good. And the BBQ Quail - two little roasted baby birds, yum! The spices and flavor was good, but they were roasted a little too long.
My husband had the Lamb Kabobs, which were excellent. Most of our friends had kebobs.
The prices are very reasonable, especially considering the quantity and quality of food you get!
Got here last night at 7:30, heartened by the reviews.
Walked in the front door and was hit by the overwhelming scent of Lysol.
The restaurant was deserted. Absolutely no other diners. I know it's a Tuesday during a recession, but seriously?
The hostess didn't notice that we entered.
We turned around and walked out.
I went here with some friends to grab a quick dinner before a game night. Some of the other folks in our party were running late, so we figured we had some time to pick up Lebanese at this place I had just driven by.
It took almost forty minutes for us to get our food, and we didn't even order that much. The server also didn't put my yoghurt in the bag, which was a little disappointing when we got back to the house. The server was really apologetic, and said that they were short-staffed and running out of food... which I didn't think was a very good explanation.
That having been said, the falafel was amazing. Great flavor, moist without being soggy, flaky without being dried out... really good. And they did give us plenty of pita bread.
Here's the thing... would I go back? Yes. But only if I had a good two hours to devote to the meal, and patient company. The food was good. I just couldn't believe how much time we spent sitting around to still be missing food and to have our inconvenience barely recognized.
Okay, this must be the best low-price Mediterranean food I've ever had. Just about everything I've tried has been excellent (though I haven't tried a whole lot). My family and I have been coming here off-and-on for the past 3 or 4 years. We used to go to Mediterranean Cafe (which has excellent kebab, but the rest of their selection, in my opinion, is simply good), but once we found this place, we switched immediately. However, keep in mind that this is NOT a place you want to take people to impress. The atmosphere is very casual and bland (it is the quintessential hole-in-the-wall), and the service, though very friendly, is quite slow. Despite this, the food is outstanding, and the restaurant deserves nothing less than five stars.
My personal recommendation is a combo (I can't remember the name) that includes lamb, shish, and chicken kebab. Due to the excellence of this combo, I haven't really ventured out and tried the other meals that they sell (I know I should, I'm just usually content with kebab). They cook the meat perfectly: the lamb and beef are almost always tender and juicy and are perfectly spiced. Not too garlicky, not too salty, not bland at all. However if you want spicy-hot food, you should order something else, because it is not hot at all. The chicken is also (usually) excellent. Sometimes they cook it too dry, but its normally superb and moist.
As for the sides, the plates come with hummus and tabbouleh (both of which are the best I've had in Pasadena), and the combo plates come with a roasted, juicy tomato. Now, this isn't enough food for me, so I usually order the Armenian Salad (which is potently packed with vinegar, so if you don't like that idea, don't try it) is scrumptious. The ingredients are all fresh and ripe, and the dressing is amazing. All this comes out to about $15-20 with a drink, which is a very good price for what you get.
All in all, if you like or haven't yet tried Mediterranean food, you must at LEAST give Lebanese Kitchen a try. Don't let the atmosphere fool you, the food is amazing.
I think living in Westwood has effected my taste buds. Lebanese Kitchen is a small family-run business, thankfully far, far, away from the tackiness of Colorado street. The food here is good, but not the best I've had in the LA area.
I had the Chicken Shawerma plate which was good, the chicken was a little on the dry side, but still tasty. Their rice is actually quite good. Each dinner plate comes with hummus and tabouleh salad, so if everyone in your party orders a dinner plate they bring out a huge family-style portion and big basket of warm pita. The hummus was a little too oily for my tastes but good. My dining partners had the chicken & lamb and shish kebabs. I didn't hear any complaints on their end. What I liked best about my dinner was the portion, many restaurants I go to tend to give you a portion suited for three people. LK serves you a perfect portion so that you're satisfyingly full, but you don't feel like you're wasting enough food to feed a small nation.
Good place to grab some good eats if you're in Pasadena. But please, don't get impatient with the service. Like I said, it's a family-run restaurant and it's staffed that way. There's only one server and two chefs. The staff is friendly and attentive, but spread a little thin. So make sure you allot some time to wait for your dinner especially if it's crowded.
This place is hidden but with decent parking. Upon arrival around noon, no one greeted us and it was empty. We had 5 in our party and walked to the kitchen doorway to look for someone. The owner then seated us in the back room with larger tables. He took our order at 12:15pm, the hummus and pita bread that came with our meals came at 12:30pm. Our food did not come until 12:45pm (and we had only 1 hr for lunch). By that time there were 2 other small parties that had arrived.
Before getting our food, I ordered somethings to-go that cost $20 and asked for a separate check that a young man wrote down. All of a sudden when it was time to pay, some chunky girl walked up and wanted us to recite our orders individually. We were all thinking to ourselves, "What happened to the order form that was written earlier?" We ended up getting separate checks but had to pay 18% more for gratuity. I only ordered $7 worth for my sitdown meal. My total came out to about $35 including tax and gratuity!!! She charged me tax and gratuity for my to-go items. WTF was that chunky monkey thinking?! We were all in a rush to go and didn't have time to argue with her. It was her lucky day because she didn't have to listen to us complain up a storm. The service was horrible because no one checked on us the entire hour we were there. It was only when we asked for more water and pita bread did someone come to refill the water, and of course, they did not bring the pita bread...cheap-asses! And you charged 18% for tip, for WHAT? SITTING AND WAITING AROUND?
Once we left and got back to our work, I opened my to-go and saw that the falafel appetizer had 3 pieces of falafel surrounding what looked like a half eaten salad. The salad had so much tahini sauce that you barely saw any green under that. And it wasn't even fresh, because it had brown edges around the leaves. I was disgusted. The food was meh and for the handicapped turtle service, IT IS NOT WORTH IT--ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY CHARGE an extra 18% tip for little to no service. Go to Whahib's Middle East Restaurant in Alhambra. They have much better service and food.
Food is great here, I used to come here very often. Everything is made fresh to order and the sides for the plates are fairly generous. The cost is also reasonable...
As much as I love this place. There are two main draw backs.
1. Time. This place takes forever. I know its a mom and pop shop, but even their phone orders are never on time. In fact, I usually have to wait about 10-15 minutes for orders I've phoned in. Also, don't expect fast service for dine it. Give yourself a good hour.
2. No bathroom. Isn't this a health violation? They have no bathroom for the public so you have to use the bathroom next door in the bookstore. It's sort of weird to wash your hands in a bookstore and walk out.
NOT a good date place.
Theme here is simple: white walls, white table cloths, tables, and chairs. Noise is minimal and no plasma TVs to distract you. Well lit and it almost looks like an art gallery studio. Most importantly the food is absolutely great.
We dine here occasionally and from time to time the GF would pick up food when I am running late on weekdays. My favorite has to be the kabobs whether it's chicken, lamb, or beef. I typically go for the salad entree but on occasion I go for the rice plate. I love the rice here as it has a touch of buttery taste to it. It's like garlic herb Rice-a-roni but 100 x better. Your dinner entrees also come with couscous and pita.
This place also serves one of the best felafel's I have had west of NYC. And the hummus well that is another paragraph within itself so lets just leave it at GREAT!!
The prices are affordable although I would much prefer the portions to be a tad bit larger. Service is a one man/woman team so it could get quite slow on busy nights. Parking lot, although small, is conveniently located next to the restaurant.
Overall: a must. Great atmosphere and excellent food. I am an official fan of the Lebanese Kitchen.
I loved the place the moment I walked in. It looked clean and the decor was simple.
My sister suggested the place and I think she couldn't have picked a better one. I had the Shawerma plate that I almost couldn't finish because I was getting full on tabouleh, hummus, and pita. That was enough for me to give it 5 stars. The chicken was nice and tender and the rice was delicious.
I think I just found a reason to visit my sister more often ;)
THE best middle eastern food ever, and I've eaten it alot. In fact, I had it home made growing up.
The tabbouleh is just right and wonderfully lemon-y! Best hummus, so smooth and creamy.
All the kabob plates are delicious and affordable, especially for lunch at $6.99 which includes pita, tabbouleh, hummus and the plates come with kabobs and rice. I wish I was eating there right now!
The decor is light and airy. One star off for service, not usually very good, but because it's family owned, you'll always get the same waitress at lunch, she's the only one!
I am so proud of my family (particularly Mom) for finally branching out and trying other foods besides Chinese. Of the few restaurants I've had them try (Thai, Italian, Mexican, and Uzbekistan); they actually really liked the Lebanese Kitchen.
All dinner entrees come with hummus, pita, and tabouli. Since we all ordered a dinner entree, we were brought out big plates of tabouli and hummus family style. The hummus and tabouli were good - not exceptional or out of ordinary but definitely good. We each ordered a different entire:
- Kash Kash (minced beef with garlic) - I couldn't detect much garlic but it was very flavorful.
- Shish and Chicken - the chicken was so good and tender. The shish was medium well which I loved (she did not ask how I wanted it made so if you like your meat well done, I think you need to tell them when you order). This was the best dish and it happens to be the one I ordered.
- Lamb - I didn't try but my mom thought it was too salty (don't take this too seriously as my mom thinks everything is too salty and she has a very bland palatte)
- Shwarma - My brother's dish which he really enjoyed. He said the meat was very juicy and tasty though he did not like the Tahini sauce (personal taste).
I don't usually pay much attention to the rice in any dish but I must say, they have some pretty damn good rice. The portion was just right. It was probably about 2 skewers for the kebabs dishes.
Gripes: It was a very hot day and it wasn't very cool in the restaurant. Also, it seems like the restaurant can get super loud if it were busy. We went relatively early so there weren't many people there but there was a family waiting for take out and they had 3 rambunctious children and I feel like I could hear them in my ear during the time they were there. Lastly, our waitress was very nice but she wasn't very attentive. We never had our glasses of water refilled though she did refill my mom's hot water at our request.
Price - very reasonable.
I live less than a mile from here and I'm not quite sure why I don't eat here more often!
Personally, the beef kabob is my favorite! They are very generous with their servings, so often times I'll have left overs to enjoy throughout the day.
My only gripe, the daughter / waitress that runs the show. She often talks on the phone while serving you, and while you're enjoying your meal - you can hear her yelling orders at her Dad in the back. I do give it to her, though - I can't imagine taking phone orders, sending the orders in, getting drinks, serving food! She really does have her work cut out for her.
After reading reviews...I really wanted to like this place, but I honestly thought it was just ok. I love hole-in-the-walls with great food...but this was just a hole-in-the-wall with ok food. Granted I'm not an expert in middle eastern food, but I ordered the Lulu Kebab and the Falafel Plate...and both were unremarkable. I will say though, that the hummus is pretty good. For good middle eastern food, my favs are still Shamshiri in Westwood and Raffi's Place in glendale.
As everyone says, the decor is pretty bleh, and it feels like it is a family run establishment (which can be good or bad). The staff is pretty friendly and it feels like it gets it's share of locals and regulars from around the neighborhood. Don't come with a big party unless you are willing to wait, because it's staffed like a mom-and-pop.
Time/Date: Saturday 8:10 pm. No Reservations; plenty of space
Type/Quality: Simple Authentic Lebonese food.
The quail breast appetizer was dry but the Babaganush appetizer was great. They also serve up free taboule and couscous with pita when you order entrees.The entrees, lamb skewers with roasted tomatoes and a tastey rice and kash kash with the same sides, were very tastey. The meats were solid but not dry; great.
Price/Quanity: ~$40 w/ tip gets you some perrier bottled water, two appetizers, and two entrees. There are plenty of leftovers.
Service/Accesibility: The service isn't very attentive but its easy to get their attention. The food was served quickly and their parking lot wasn't full.
Structure/Ambience: The place is sparse but clean. It makes the food and company, not the ambiance, the main attraction. Its great for a casual meal of Lebanese food.
The shish is amazing! I couldn't believe how tender and how well marinated the meat was. Highly Recommend!!!! The place is small and casual atmosphere making the food feel more like home cooking, and less like a trend.
This place exploits me, since I'm a vegetarian. They do exactly what they need to do in order to ensure 5 stars from me - they only give me one choice on the menu (I'm indecisive) and they have the best hummus I've ever tasted.
Before coming to this place for the first time, I literally drove into the parking lot, looked at the outside of the building, turned around, and left. Oh me of little faith. Finally, I gathered the guts to try it out. Now I've been back several times for their falafel plate. In terms of falafel, Lebanese Kitchen is better than any other Mediterranean place in the Pasadena area. My carnivorous friends lust after the beef shawarma.
My favorite secret Middle Eastern place in LA!
Yes, the ambience is very antiseptic--white walls, tables, floor--which makes the food burst even more with flavor.
The lunch special is the best deal. Shawarma or pita sandwich, hummus, tabbouli. The hummus and tabbouli are superlative. I can't get enough!
I make this a frequent stop for my lunch while at work. Decor is blah, but the food is great. Friendly staff. I usually get the lunch special, choice of meat, tabouleh, hummus, pita, pilaf. I wash it down with a glass of tahn.
When I'm with a bigger party, I usually add the chikufteh and the waitress makes it spicy for me. Definitely worth a visit!
This place is GOOD. I especially like it for take-out--and one dinner feeds two, usually! They are very generous. (Doing take-out eliminates any aggravation over the service, which can be--as has been mentioned--spotty.)
Love the char-broiled tomatoes!
Inexpensive, delicious Lebanese food. The shish kebab were packed with flavor. The baba ganoush was smoky and yummy. I loved the stuffed grape leaves, while my friend claimed the falafel was the best she'd ever had.
The room is brightly lit--a bit too bright for our tastes. With the pale walls and tiled floors, it was a little stark. The waitress was efficient, but she was the only one in the restaurant. She definitely had her work cut out for her and was stressed out to be covering two rooms of diners alone. To her credit, she handled it all well.
My friends and I decided to try this place out based on Yelp reviews - I'd have to say it lives up to its ratings. This is definitely one those small, hole in the wall treasure troves.
My Qualms:
- The decor isn't much to brag about - indeed, the flimsy wood chairs are quite uncomfortable
- You can't doubt the "mom and pop" factor of the place (of course thats sometimes a good thing).
- Service can take a while - last time it took almost 2 hours.
- The place closes at 8:00pm... yea... seriously.
- It can get pretty pricey for what you would expect - share an appetizer, get a drink, and you'll be spending $20+
The Good:
It's quaint and charming - Michael, the owner / chef / server / father spent no less than 20 minutes talking to us about how wonderful the Hash is in Lebanon. His daughter spent 20 minutes talking to the girls in our group about how much of a Louis Vuitton whore she is.
And then theres the food -
- The best Hummus I've ever had
- AMAZING shish kebab, they're all literally delicious. My personal favorite is the lamb and chicken. The shish (beef) was good too, but paled in comparison to the Lamb
When I read great reviews about a place, I expect to be impressed. Unfortunately, I was not as impressed as the other reviews claimed it to be. I'm such a party pooper ;b
The restaurant is simple, I like that. Most of the light decor was white.
The shish kabob was delicious. Lightly sprinkled with pepper and salt. The portion served compared to other restaurants I've been to was small. Also are Lebanese kabobs supposed to be a thin piece of steak pre-cut in slices?
The hummus was not that good to me, it was a bit too grainy. It wasn't smooth but was creamy.
Their tabbouleh was what Wendy T. said "fresh and lemony, not watery, lots and lots of parsley."
The rice was nice and fluffy. The tomato gives the rice a wonderful flavor.
Typically I avoid foods that I can't pronounce or spell. However, Lebanese Kitchen gets high accolades for several reasons.
1) It is spittin distance from my abode
2) Food is tasty (I would elaborate but I dont know names)
3) Lot's of food
4) did I mention that it's location is convenient specifically to me?
5) If Burger Continenal and Lebanese Kitchen had to compete in a spelling contest, The Kitchen would win hands down for correctly spelling PULCHRITUDINOUS, while The Continental would be disqualified at CAT.
We've been going to this restaurant for years and my first impulse is to shut up about it. This is a family run joint with no attitude. Do you hear? NO ATTITUDE- except for pride in serving wonderful, authentic, Lebanese food.
My fear is that you will come with a smirk on your face, with your hep-cat cool, with your artsy-fartsiness and it will infect the nice, honest, extremely hard working people who, in my opinion, run the best Lebanese restaurant in the Los Angeles area at any price - and their prices are very reasonable.
This is culinary content above form. How many great places have I seen destroyed by cool people? Trust-fund babies, please stay away.
The food here is so good! I love their falafels and hummus. All of it is equally good the next day, after the hot items are popped in the toaster oven. The service was great. The server even agreed to stay open a little after closing so we could have a birthday dinner there. I highly recommend it, especially for people who want to taste the best falafel I have ever tasted.
We had the Khesh Khesh Kebab and I had the Tahn (yogurt drink). Both excellent. The hummus and parsley salad appetizers were particularly tasty. Check for 2 was about $28 with tip
Service was a little sketchy, but I think her feet hurt after 13 straight days working (yep I usually get people's life story).
Recommended
This place is worth the onion breath I'm exhaling right now (fortunately my SO has a matching eau'de onion too). In fact, he'll probably have to get used to it - cuz I plan on eating their ground beef/lamb and eggplant kebabs on a regular basis. Especially since it's accompanied with a juicy charred tomato. I have to echo the praise for the tabbouleh here - it's really the best I've ever had, fresh and lemony, not watery, lots and lots of parsley. I admit that I prefer the shwerma at my other local mediterannean restaurant - it was a little on the dry side for me here. But It was still tasty. Price for two entrees and a coke: $25. Not bad. I'm gonna be their new bad penny.
I will normally come here for lunch with coworkers and it has a tastey and inexpensive lunch menu. The Khash-Khash kebab is very good and they have excellent freshly made tabbouleh. Portions can be on the small side, but normally its a pretty good lunch.
I love this place - I've eaten here twice. Yes, it's true that the decor is nothing to write home about, but the food is great! The meat is very tender on the shish kebobs, and the hummus and tabouli are delicious! Prices can't be beat, either, at least at lunchtime.
Simple place, Great food. I went there for lunch. Had a kabob lunch special and made a mistake of ordering an additional salad. The mistake was only in estimating the size of the salad portion. Had to struggle to finish the lunch.I'm not a hummus nut, but it was tastey as previously mentioned. Service was decent, consisted of a lone hostess, which I can imagine would get over taxed on a busy day.
Easily the best falafel sandwich I've had in the area. Everything else was fine but unremarkable.
This place was pretty good. The portions were plenty, and the food tasted great. I would have liked my bread to be warm, though - and thats a serious ding on my star-scale. (Especially since 2 of us went for lunch one day and we were the only people there). They have a great window that overlooks the street, in a charming part of Pasadena with brick buildings. Next time I am nearby, I will most likely drop in - since its the one of the only healthier vegetarian options in the neighborhood. EAT HERE AND BE HAPPY because you found a gem in the rough...
The place is really cute. It's nice and simple. Just white table clothes in a small place. It's nice to go to if you want a nice relaxing meal. The food was pretty good and the prices too. I got the Chicken Schawerma and it was good except the Tahini sauce was a bit too sour for me. I did love the tabouleh and hummus with pita though. That was awesome! I got pretty full off that. Nice cute place.
I really enjoyed my visit to Lebanese Kitchen. Sweet people, good food, excellent place for lunch or dinner.
I'm not an expert on Middle Eastern food, but in terms of tastiness, this place beats nearby Pita Kitchen, Raffi's, and even (gasp) Zankou.
With food this cheap, don't expect much by the way of decor - it's clean, it's cute, it's very white.
But the food is deeeelicious. The tastiest hummus I can ever remember having, and the tabbouleh was also right at the top - not so watery like a lot of tabbouleh but nice and sour. Decent-sized plates came with about 5 pitas for free before our entree, and the two of us couldn't finish them off.
I got the Khash Khash Kabob (ground beef and lamb with garlic), which turned out to be just sticks of ground meat. It was delicious, especially with the tomato. The rice pilaf was also quite good, but not as eye-popping as the hummus / tabbouleh.
Basically, It's pretty cheap ($12 an entree), the service was friendly, and the food is tasty as all get-out. It's definitely my new Middle Eastern restaurant of choice.
So I live in the Armenian section of Pasadena. Exhibit 1 is the fact that there are 3 different Mediterranean places within walking distance of our house. This was the last one we tried. They all have slightly different menu's (this one has rotisserie chicken, that one specializes in kebabs - it doesn't matter they are all good. This place would be the fancy one of the bunch, with their white table cloths and table service. I had a beef shawerma and Wendy had a kebab with spiced ground beef & lamb, eggplant and a grill tomato. She went ga-bonzo over the grilled tomato - yes that's right ga-bonzo, I just made that word up. She said she could eat a grilled tomato with every meal. Looks like I have A LOT MORE tomato gardening in my future. I really liked my shawerma; it was almost as good as Soumarelo. The hummus and tabbouleh here are the best of the bunch. Really there's not much to say. The food came out fast and was really tasty, the waitress was nice, I'll go back. Add another one to my list of good places in my neighborhood. Now I have to check out that sandwich place that was closed for months, but now seems to be open...
i have a confession to make. my friends and i drove two hours from westchester to lebanese kitchen (pasadena) in pre-thanksgiving holiday traffic. i think that pretty much sums up how many stars this place is worth. (the rice*)
Umm..I think this is the place that we went to. If it was, it was amazing. the Falafel was the best I'd ever had and I could eat the garlic sauce until my stomach deteriorates into a burning lump of fire.
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Category: Middle Eastern
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