Don’t let the name fool you.
New Amsterdam, the newest restaurant to open in Downtown Long Beach’s East Village, serves up authentic Mediterranean food despite a name that pays homage to the Netherlands.
Over a decade ago, civil war in Syria caused co-owners Abu Jemil and Layla Sido to flee their home country for the Netherlands with their two children.
Not long after moving there, the family opened a restaurant in The Hague — a coastal city roughly 30 miles southeast of Amsterdam.
After 10 years and two restaurants in the Netherlands, Jemil and Sido chose to move to the United States with their children.
Following stops in Texas, Michigan, Palm Desert and Anaheim, the family settled in Gardena.
Last year in August, the family opened Borstar Shawarma in Gardena and has steadily grown a following. Jemil continues to operate the Gardena location while Sido and their son Ahmed Nasser will focus on running the Long Beach location.
Alongside staples like chicken shawarma and beef shawarma, New Amsterdam features dishes like the Fattoush salad topped with fried pita and a Caesar salad with beets.
A majority of the entrees are available for between $13 and $18 and come with a side of fries. Lamb loin with a side salad and hanger steak with chimichurri and fries are also available for $25.
Another unique offering is the ratatouille linguine pasta.
You can order hummus or baba ganoush for $7 or a falafel wrap for $8. Desserts also include pistachio mousse chocolate cake, baklava and other Middle Eastern staples.
Every Friday night, the restaurant hosts live music on the patio that aims to liven up First Street.
Beer, wine and mixed drinks are available along with coffee and three different smoothie flavors.
Nasser, who goes by his “American name” William, serves as head chef at the Long Beach location.
Nasser said customers at the Gardena restaurant would often tell him they drove from Long Beach just for the shawarma.
The East Village business community has already welcomed them with open arms, Nasser said. Not long after they opened on Aug. 23, Julie Darrell of BYO Long Beach brought her family to dine at New Amsterdam.
“The people here are really nice, all of the neighbors are amazing,” he said. “When you open up a new shop, everybody supports each other. That’s what I like about here in Long Beach.”
Sido said her goal is to renovate the dining room on the corner with Arabic decor and open it in the next few months.
Until then, they are serving food out of the smaller dining room adjacent to the corner location and making use of the ample patio space — complete with two fountains and freshly planted marigold flowers.
New Amsterdam took over the space at the northwest corner of First Street and Linden Avenue that previously hosted Utopia for 24 years. The Mediterranean/Italian fusion restaurant also served as a revolving gallery for local artists before closing down last October.
“It was a good run. There’s a time to move on,” Utopia’s owner shared in an Instagram post last September. “Thank you to our patrons who supported us over the years.”
New Amsterdam, 445 E. First Street, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.