Lebanese Kitchen

The Lebanese Kitchen serves some of the best tasting Lebanese food in the greater Los Angeles area. It's even better than some of my favorites in the Westwood area (like Sunnin Lebanese Cafe).\r The service is a bit rude to say the least. Food is cheaply priced, and the lamb kebab sandwich is extraordinary. Usually the lamb is grizzly and tough at most places. This one had succulent lamb that makes me want to drive back there right now! Parking is free. The bathroom is in the kitchen which is a bit weird, but then again, I always enjoy walking through the kitchens so i can see for myself how clean it is.\r \r The biggest drawback is that it took 3 trips to pasadena to eat at this place! Even when we had reservations for a group of 8, they closed at 8pm on a Saturday night even thoguh they are supposed to close at 9pm. Another time, they were closed at 7:30pm on Friday night for a private party of 4. This was very aggrevating. The restaurant does not value its customers at all. So if you actually stumble across this sanctuary of ambrosia when the kitchen is open, it's excellent. Don't drive far to come here because it will possibly be closed. Pros: delicious food Cons: rude service and they close early at night more

The Ambiance:\r

White, sterile, and loud. There were a couple of posters of Beirut on the walls... i guess that's classy.

\r

The service:

\r

We started out waiting no less than 10 minutes for the waitress to visit our table. She then showed up and literally threw silverware down on the table, and acted like she was doing us a favor by taking our orders. Did you get the memo? It's your job to be friendly and serve us... Service was extremely slow, we didn't get all of the food that was supposed to come with our meals, and then we were overcharged by 30% on the bill. After asking for an itemized bill, we were still overcharged and had to total the bill ourselves. Furthermore the waitress was extremely rude, exclaiming ""Jesus Christ!!"" when we asked her to re-figure the bill. She was somewhat apologetic when she realized she messed up. Oh, and we never got napkins and nobody at the table got drink refills during the 1.5 hours we were there. I am a former waiter and leave a standard 25% tip, but seriously considered stiffing this waitress.

\r

The food:

\r

Well, the food was decent. Far from the best lebanese food I've had, but decent nonetheless. The falafel plate is tasty but doesn't come with anything... just falafel patties on a plate with some tahini and tomatoes. The Kababs were so-so; decently spiced and a bit chewy. The hummus is better than standard, but the tabbouleh lacked bulgur wheat and had unripe tomatoes. It seemed to be made in-house though.

\r

Overall:

\r

If you're desperate for some Lebanese food, get takeout here. It's not worth the pain of sitting in that sterile, hostile environment for 1.5 hours. And to be honest, the food is overpriced for what you get. I'd only go back for dinner if everything was $2 cheaper.

Pros: pretty good falafel and hummus (but don't eat it there...) Cons: service, atmosphere, value more

We had take out from this restaurant and it was fantastic. We did not get the lamb, but the steak and chicken were flavorful and very tender. Everyone in our large group raved about the quality of the meat and how well it was prepared. The side dishes were also good and very fresh tasting. The meal was satisfying and not heavy. My husband and I have decided that we'll start getting their food often now. more

Very Rude owners; very bad lamb. Please do not go to this place. I'm sorry I ever tried eating there. more