Nazelie’s Lebanese Café’s warm embrace

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

Nazelie’s Lebanese Café seems a bit guarded—barred windows are practically standard in the San Pedro strip mall that houses the restaurant—but it’s an exceedingly friendly place, one staffed in alternating intervals by various members of the Kassabian family. Even though the restaurant has been serving up shawarma for less than a year, it’s with all that familial goodwill that Nazelie’s has earned a rightfully respected niche in the neighborhood. And it’s about time: Considering how well represented so much of the Mediterranean is here (Italy, Croatia and the like), San Pedro has long been lacking the simple pleasures of Lebanese cuisine.

Barely big enough to seat 20, the restaurant makes the most out of its small size. There are faux columns adorning the walls and postcard-like pictures of Beirut to set the scene. Should you want to eat in, Nazelie’s is plenty accommodating. But it also understands its surroundings. And so the Pacific Avenue restaurant, as any good neighborhood spot should, does a vigorous takeout business that is but another enticing incentive for its closest customers.

Unlike other Lebanese restaurants that orbit the San Pedro area, Nazelie’s keeps a rather short menu. Variety clearly isn’t much of a concern here, but brevity works in its favor. Besides, there’s no use longing for any absent specialties when just behind the counter are a couple of vertical grills slowly spinning big blocks of beef and chicken shawarma. At the outset of the day, the meats are massive, huge slabs of flesh that are gradually shaved away with each order. Eventually, though, they shrink, a testament to both the beef and chicken shawarma’s popularity. And both plates are good: tender ribbons of meat resting on a bed of surprisingly good rice pilaf, a side of hummus, a Lebanese salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and such), a couple slices of pita bread and a little tahini.

No matter how good the shawarma plates are, they’re inevitably less unique than the shawarma bowls. Combining all those aforementioned ingredients into a kind of layered salad, the shawarma bowls are a clever invention. Because most components of the shawarma plate are eaten at once (or in rapid succession, at least), the bowls work well, playing off those natural combinations via their quick, extra-portable presentation.

Besides the various incarnations of shawarma at Nazelie’s, kabobs earn perhaps the most significant chunk of the restaurant’s attention. There are four types of kabobs here: chicken, lule, lamb and, curiously, shrimp. The lule kabob is a classic, two skewers of torpedo-shaped ground beef cooked to a char and served with the expected cast of accompaniments. But the lamb is better, cubes of faintly crisp meat that doesn’t taste even a touch gamey. This is lamb for those who don’t even like lamb. The shrimp kabob is a bit more unexpected, but plenty good for those who’d rather have shellfish.

Naturally, the restaurant’s sandwiches combine the best of the shawarma and kabob worlds. Wrapped in pliable pita bread is everything from the beef and chicken shawarma to the chicken and lule kabobs. Meanwhile, the falafel sandwich doesn’t best some other local renditions, but it sure is heftier, packing in three huge pieces of falafel.

There isn’t much in the way of dessert here, but the restaurant does make a rather admirable baklava shot through with honey and pistachios. And whether you ultimately decide to eat in or grab your food to go, there’s no avoiding the warmth that emanates from Nazelie’s. It’s an embrace felt at the entrance right on down to every dish, a trait that in this case is purely Pedro.

Still hungry? Visit Miles for more at eatfoodwith.me.

NAZELIE’S LEBANESE CAFÉ 1919 S PACIFIC AVE | SAN PEDRO 90731 | 310.519.1919 | OPEN DAILY 11AM-9PM | FOOD FOR TWO $15-25

Tags: Food, lebanese, nazelie's, Restaurants, San Pedro