Sabra Beirut Mix, Hermosa Beach, CA

Sabra Beirut Mix
500 N. Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
310-376-8226
http://www.beirutmix.com/
Located at the corner of PCH and 5th which has a light. There is a very small and tight parking lot. It's in the old Amigo's Tacos location next to Pinkie's BBQ.
Casual. Order and pick up at the counter.

Visited: August 2009, Dinner, Take-Out


The owner of the Amigo's Tacos chain has opened this Lebanese Eatery & Deli in one of the old Amigo's Tacos locations.

You know, we're big fans of mediterranean/middle eastern food, and had heard great reviews of Sabra, so we figured we'd better check out. Overall, the food is just fine, however we decided that we still prefer LaZeez Pita Grill over in Torrance for the overall flavor and value.

Here's what we had.

Beirut Mix Combo Plate ($16.99) comes with your choice of three skewers, and we chose lamb, beef and chicken (which is tawouk, or chicken breast). The plate also comes with a very nice basmati rice that absorbs the meat juices well, salad, hummus, and pita bread. Overall, it's a large and very nice meal, and really nothing to complain about, I was just expecting a bit more flavor in the meats. The price also seemed a little high especially when compared to other similar restaurants.

And to try the other skewers, we ordered a la carte: Chicken Kofta Kebab ($3.99) and Beef Kofta Kebab ($3.99). The two skewers came with pita bread underneath, and that was some heavenly bread! However, both koftas again left me lacking for any distinct flavor. Also, the chicken kofta had an odd fluffy texture, as if the meat had been ground in a food processor and air was allowed to blend in and then cooked. For both the combo plate and the a la cart kebabs, we felt that we needed a sauce, perhaps tahini sauce or garlic sauce on the side to add a little zip.

We also ordered the Falafel Mezza (appetizer) ($7.99) which included 6 pieces of falafel that comes with radish pickles, diced tomatoes, and pita. It was also supposed to have some tahini sauce, but the little container that we got was more like a veggie salad in Russian dressing, so I'm not sure what that was. The falafel were spicy, and I loved them. Others thought they were too spicy, but I think these were my favorite thing that we ordered all night because it actually had some flavor.

The Baba Ghannouj ($4.99) was smokey and had a nice texture. It also came with diced tomatoes and pita. A very nice baba ghannouj, I just prefer the garlicky smooth version at LaZeez a whole lot better.

The side of House Special Rice ($3.99) was a great little suprise. It was almost like a basmati fried rice with little grounds of meat in it. It had a great spice profile, too. Definitely a winner here.

So in all, it was a pleasant meal. If I lived or worked nearby, I would be content to eat at Sabra, but I don't, so I probably won't be back.