Once a year, Long Beach eateries enhance their menus with a prix fixe selection for a week-plus stretch of the city’s very own restaurant week. That week is here and restaurants are in full swing bringing out diners to help them score tasty meal deals.
But the clock is ticking, Long Beach—what began on April 23 will end this Sunday, May 1.
Though it might be too late to try all of the more than 70 different eateries participating this year, picking a couple unexplored restaurants is definitely worthwhile. Newcomers, fans and foodies, this is your time to try out a new restaurant or revisit an old favorite.
While menus are made available through the Dine LBC website, let’s take a moment here to explore a few options, for the sake of food, glorious food.
Casual dining, $30 dinner for two:
Buono’s Pizzeria
Craving Italian?
A returning Dine LBC fan favorite, Buono’s Pizzeria takes casual dining to the next level with their authentic Italian cuisine.
The three-course-dinner-for-two menu allows guests to share an appetizer, enjoy an entree and split a dessert, all while relishing in the smell of fresh-baked pizza.
“We decided to feature the menu items we are famous for, customer favorites,” Frank Buono told the Post.
At Buono’s, dinner will begin fan-favorites like stuffed eggplant rolls, gooey mozzarella sticks or hearty baked meatballs.
Pizza, naturally, is on the menu. For entrees, guests can choose from any individually-sized Buono’s traditional pizza, including the pizza Margherita or the Buona Lisa. If pizza doesn’t quite appeal to your taste buds, chicken marsala—chicken cloaked in a mushroom marsala wine sauce—is also on the menu, along with linguini con vongole e gamberi—al dente linguini tossed with a white or red clam sauce.
The real magic, however, happens when a traditionally savory dish turns rich and sweet. For dessert, Buono’s nutella calzone takes traditional calzone dough and stuffs it with a hazelnut chocolate spread.
After years of continued participation, Buono said the restaurant is delighted to take part in the restaurant week because it showcases the “fantastic restaurants and talented chefs in our great city of Long Beach.”
Buono’s Pizzeria is located at 250 West Ocean Blvd Long Beach, CA.
Photos courtesy of Frank Buono.
Casual dining, $30 dinner for one:
Kafe Neo
A new addition to this year’s Dine LBC festivities, Kafe Neo offers diners Greek food, with a modern American twist.
Kafe Neo co-owner, Gus Sverkos, told the Post he’d been hesitant to join the restaurant week because he was unsure whether the restaurant fit the three-course Dine LBC menu style. But after seeing the success of previous Dine LBCs, he decided to give it a try and see how customers responded, in addition to hopefully attracting a couple newcomers.
Featuring traditional and beloved Greek items, like spanakopita and falafel as appetizers, Kafe Neo fulfills the Greek-cuisine seeking palate.
The restaurant caters to vegetarian diners, offering a mix melody of fresh veggies and garlic in their veggie skewers, grilled with extra virgin olive oil. For the meat-lovers, the lamb Souvlaki grills up a succulent piece of lamb with oregano and extra virgin olive oil.
All entrees will include a side of rice and salad.
The finale includes either a shared homemade baklava supreme drizzled with chocolate and strawberries, or the gluten-free chocolate cake topped with a chocolate drizzle.
Sverkos said all menu items were designed to compliment each other and offer customers an excellent dining experience.
“Coming to Kafe Neo should feel like dining amongst friends,” Sverkos said.
Kafe Neo is located at 2800 East 4th Street Long Beach, CA.
Photos courtesy of Gus Sverkos.
Upscale dining, $50 dinner for one:
Sir Winston’s
Few things are as iconic to Long Beach as the Queen Mary. Aboard the historic ship rests Sr. Winston’s with it’s five-star, award-winning dining.
Though it may not be the most affordable of restaurants, they’ve decided to tailor a menu for guests who are on a budget, yet want the fine-dining experience.
“We are part of the community and would like to invite the locals to enjoy dining experience here at The Queen Mary who may not have the chance to do on regular basis,” Hamed Anwari, of Sir Winston’s, said. “This also gives the community to discover the art of culinary we possess here at The Queen.”
Signature dishes like the beef wellington—a beef tenderloin, wrapped in a flaky puff pastry topped with truffle sauce, served on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes and a side of roasted tomatoes—will be on the menu.
Guests can start their feast with garlic, chive Helix escargot with baguettes. For those less adventurous, tomato caprese, with fresh buratta, cucumber and basil, is also on the appetizer menu.
Of course, no fine-dining experience would be complete without a decadent dessert to tie all the flavors together. Sir Winston’s Chocolate Creme Brulee Barquette features a chocolate shortbread cookie topped with a smooth vanilla creme brulee and dark chocolate mousse.
For an additional fee, guests can treat themselves to Sir Winston’s extensive wine list.
At Sir Winston’s guests aren’t only eating, they’re dining.
“Our focus is not only on the food, but service and ambiance as well,” Anwari said. With an ocean view from almost every seat in the house, it’s hard to not enjoy the ambiance.
Sir Winston’s is located at 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA.
Image courtesy of Sir Winston’s.