| Sababa Restaurant & Lounge –
6527 E Pacific Coast Hwy Long Beach, CA 90803 (562) 252-3572 Cuisine: American, Fusion/Mediterranean Mon-Thu 5 pm – 12 am Fri-Sat 5 pm – 1 am Sun 5 pm – 10 pm Price: $$ Parking: Lot Credit Cards: YES |
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While I was wondering where and what to write about this month, I received an invitation from a friend to an event at Sababa’s Restaurant & Lounge. Voila! This cougar had her next destination: a birthday party for the owner of this little place tucked in the back of the Long Beach Market Place.
I met a few friends there and we sat at the bar; the place was packed, but we managed to squeeze in. Almost immediately the owner, Sagi Rochman, came over to greet us with open arms and a warm smile. He asked, “Does anyone know what Sababa means?” As I had been there before I just smiled, but the others got the whole explanation. With his fingers bent and his hand waving and shaking out the well known hang loose sign he said, “Sababa is the Hebrew slang for cool or awesome, so enjoy!” We wished him a happy birthday and almost immediately the music started as he wandered off to talk with other guests. They had a live band for the occasion. What a treat, and guess what? It was the same band from my recent visit to Tantalum just up the street! Apparently they are quite popular local talent, and they made the evening progress very nicely.
Since we were at the bar, we decided on drinks and appetizers but could have ordered off the regular menu as well. We basically got one of everything and shared. Again, I feel this is a great way to taste a wider variety of the menu and boy, we were not disappointed.
We ordered off the Happy Hour Menu, starting with the Chicken Kabobs with the Date Olive Spread and Herbs, then moving along to the Sababa Kabobs made with ground lamb & beef and a hint of mint served with a garden cous cous salad, the “Nachos” made with pita, goat cheese, roasted peppers, hummus, and spinach, and the Burger with Sababa Sauce, pepper olive relish and served with fries. Finally we had the Calamari served with lemon garlic aioli and roasted pepper Harrisa aioli.
After giving everyone ample time to choose and sample I asked my friends their thoughts on the fare. We all had to agree that the Sababa Kabobs were the clear winner of the evening. These little meatballs were juicy and tasty and had a lovely hint of mint that was just fabulous, and the cous cous salad was light and a perfect compliment to the meatballs. One of my friends who admittedly usually doesn’t like lamb gave them a thumbs up. This was followed closely by their version of “Nachos”, a very creative twist to this familiar dish, made of pita instead of tortillas and topped with Mediterranean style toppings that were not just healthy but filling and extremely tasty. Both of these were so good we ordered seconds.
I have to say that nothing we ordered was really sub-par as my friends could not really point to anything they really didn’t like. However, if I had to say something I guess really only one thing was not amazing. Though they tasted alright, the chicken kabobs were just a bit dry and perhaps a bit plain compared to the other things we tried.
Overall though I would have to say our experience was quite a success, so if you feel adventurous and like exploring a bit, discover this little place hidden at the back of the Long Beach Market Place. Sit outside and look over at the courtyard pond and enjoy the ocean breeze. My friends and I agree it makes for a great local hang out even though it is not a large place. The people are all friendly, the food is great, the portions generous, and if you order off the Happy Hour menu you won’t spend too much. Bon Appétit!