Nazelie’s Lebanese Café opened this week at 19th Street and Pacific Avenue.
The café serves healthy, savory chicken, beef, falafel and vegetarian dishes homemade by the multigenerational Kassabian family.
Matriarch Nazelie Kassabian cooks twice a day, using lemon, olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs to create savory dishes from scratch.
Entrees – such as rotisserie chicken, kabobs and tri-tip shawerma – come with an array of sides, including hummus, green salad, rice, white or wheat pita bread and/or a parsley and onion salad called piaz.
Most plates are in the $8 range and sandwiches are $4.95.
Garlic lovers will likely ask for seconds of the homemade garlic spread, a potent concoction sure to ward off Halloween vampires.
Jack, the family patriarch, brings 30 years of restaurant experience to the café, headed by his daughter, owner/manager Loutchia Torres.
The café’s location in Chin’s Plaza brings back memories for Torres, a graduate of San Pedro public schools. As a child, she went to the dentist in the very same location that now houses the restaurant. She remembers buying candy from the liquor store on the corner.
In those days, her father was a local jeweler who owned La Vogue Jewelers in Weymouth Corners and Kassabian Jewelers on Pacific Avenue in the 1980s and 90s.
“We’re here to serve our families and community,” said Torres. “We used to have Sunday family dinners at Mom’s house and now we have them here. We cook for the café like we cook for our family. It’s the same homemade food and family atmosphere.
“We’re happy to bring something special to the community.”
1919 S Pacific Ave., (310) 519-1919. Open daily 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Dine in, take out and free local delivery.
1 comment:
Thanks for your review of the restaurant. We went there after reading about it on your blog. The food was delicious and we will certainly go back again.
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