Zena's Mediterranean Lebanese Cuisine

by Bootz B.

The owners and staff are the best I have ever experienced. Even though I come here enough that they recognize me,  I still think the service would be the same for anyone. I once ordered a dish then was told not to get it, and rather have something else (better). I mean who does that? At any other restaurant  they would just let me order what I order and would be done with me.Overall I agree with most post on the quality of the food; it is not perfect, yet it has it's strong points.

by adam b.

4.5 StarsThe food here is like home cooking.  All the ingredients were very fresh.  The salad was excellent, the hummus was great, the rice may have been the best I have ever had in my life, and the entree was better than good.  Service was excellent as well.  I'll be back here for sure.

by Albert E.

Maybe I'm not being fair, but I think this place isn't that great.  The food was not terrible, but not that good.  It cost me $25 for both our lunches and I don't think it was even worth that.  I guess I'm totally disappointed because I just tasted the best Lebanese food ever at Lebanese Kitchen in Pasadena (please see review below) so I'm totally biased right now.  Maybe I would've enjoyed my meal if I didn't have anything to compare it to, but I just thought it lacked completely.

by Rachel S.

We went there last night and it was pretty good. We had baba ghannouj, lebanese sausage, and a "ground beef" pizza. All for $35. All three were appetizers. The food was interesting, the baba ghannouj was served almost as a salsa verde, very fresh tasting and interesting. If you are into hookah, they have that option as well. It is a nice place, in the same plaza as BevMo.

by Al S.Lisa-Anne C.jasz L.Chris C.Susan C.

I feel remiss in not adding Zena's to my review list much earlier. I was email responding to a buddy in Riverside about where he might take some OC friends for dinner this week, and Zena's came to mind. (although I forgot the restaurant name and had to ck' it out here on yelp.)Over the past five years, we've enjoyed both lunches and dinners at Zena's. My wife is Lebanese-Brasilian, and she is a great cook. In fact, I've never eaten better Tabuli salad than my wife's. So for us to enjoy Lebanese restaurant food, it really has to meet our home standards of cleanliness and great flavors. (Of course, maybe I should back off a bit, as I'll eat from a fly-ridden push cart in downtown Bangkok...and have). She doesn't eat red meat, and isn't swayed easily by a restaurant's menu alone. They have to perform. Needless to say, and with consistency, Zena's meets our standards.The only hitch at this restaurant, and I would say many ethnic restaurants, is the consistency of the service. We know the owners, and the sons who manage the front. As long as the older son is there, and he sees us, we get great service. But there have been times when, as was said by another reviewer, the speed and quality of service was less than what we expected. Other than that, I recommend you try this location.Love this place.  My boyfriend is Lebanese and every time we're in the area, we come by here to get some great food!  He says that it's definitely traditional and is what his parents make at home too.The Fettoush is delicious and the dressing is amazing, not totally sure what's in it but it's garlicy and great.Fatayer Bisbanekh is my favorite ever and this is the only place where I can get it.  Shaikhel Mehshi is an eggplant dish with ground beef and tomato sauce that they make quite well.  We ordered our food this last time through live on the go but he suggested that next time we call in our order so that we could learn about the specials too.The owners are super nice as well as the sons that help run the place.  They're always so cheerful and helpful!It's a little pricy for dinner but overall it's amazing!Zena... Lebanese..When I was 1st introduced to this place, we had lunch.  Lots of plates, lots of color, lots of green.. I enjoy it! Not knowing too much about this kind of food, it tasted great and healthy.  The chicken kabobs, you gottta order it with grilled tomato...perfect pair!  The roasted eggplant dip is must have... I can never get enough of this plate... and the tabbouleh (parsley salad) is my favorite.. You gotta try it... do expect it to be on the sour side, since its lots of citrus juice.  oh did I forget to say the 'Baqlawa', dessert... Cant finish you night without this... Service is on and off.. Sometimes, they ignore you forever and other times, we get the best service... So go figure... You have to judge it for yourself.Nowaday, its a place for me to come when ever I think about Lebanese food.  This is a great place for date or small group.. Good for small group sharing... I enjoy this location...4.5 starsHad a craving for falafel and, since I needed to stop by the Wine Exchange, decided to give this place a try.  As soon as I walked in I thought I was going to be disapointed.  I have never had good luck with Lebanese or Middle Eastern food in a higher-end setting.  I am used to having my falafel presented to me in a styrofoam box or on a paper plate.Our server was amazing.  Super friendly and knowledgable about all the menu items.  He suggested that we order a few appetizers and split a plate since the plates are huge portions.  We took his advice and were pretty much blown away by the quality of the food. Of course we had the falafel.  It came chopped up like a salad.  At first I was skeptical but one bite fixed that for me.  This is very good falafel.  Maybe the second best I've ever had. We also had Lebneh, fried cauliflower and the 3 skewer plate with chicken, lamb and kafka.  They were all awesome but the kafka blew my mind.  It's like a garlicky, Lebanese meatloaf on a stick.  Brilliant!It's still not as good as Mama's Lebanese Deli in San Diego but it's a lot closer to me and it actually has tables and waiters and stuff.  After lunch I said to my girlfriend "now we don't have to drive to Mama's in San Diego for falafel . .we'll get the manakeesh!".Service is great, the food was good. The only thing about it is that the food can be expensive. I mean wow for a kabob plate it is like $18.99 I think. If you go during lunch, you get a great portion for under $10.00. The food was good, I got the chicken kabob and added a salad. I felt like it was sort of bland though. The chicken was soft and tender and not overcooked so overall I was happy.

by Chrissie L.

I just do not think this place is that great it isn't horrible but it isn't fantastic either. The food to me is very salty. I eat Persian/Arabic food regularly and have not had the salt problem before. I noticed another Leb. place opened up the street so perhaps I will try that place next.

by Susan C.

Service is great, the food was good. The only thing about it is that the food can be expensive. I mean wow for a kabob plate it is like $18.99 I think. If you go during lunch, you get a great portion for under $10.00. The food was good, I got the chicken kabob and added a salad. I felt like it was sort of bland though. The chicken was soft and tender and not overcooked so overall I was happy.

by Al S.Lisa-Anne C.jasz L.

I feel remiss in not adding Zena's to my review list much earlier. I was email responding to a buddy in Riverside about where he might take some OC friends for dinner this week, and Zena's came to mind. (although I forgot the restaurant name and had to ck' it out here on yelp.)Over the past five years, we've enjoyed both lunches and dinners at Zena's. My wife is Lebanese-Brasilian, and she is a great cook. In fact, I've never eaten better Tabuli salad than my wife's. So for us to enjoy Lebanese restaurant food, it really has to meet our home standards of cleanliness and great flavors. (Of course, maybe I should back off a bit, as I'll eat from a fly-ridden push cart in downtown Bangkok...and have). She doesn't eat red meat, and isn't swayed easily by a restaurant's menu alone. They have to perform. Needless to say, and with consistency, Zena's meets our standards.The only hitch at this restaurant, and I would say many ethnic restaurants, is the consistency of the service. We know the owners, and the sons who manage the front. As long as the older son is there, and he sees us, we get great service. But there have been times when, as was said by another reviewer, the speed and quality of service was less than what we expected. Other than that, I recommend you try this location.Love this place.  My boyfriend is Lebanese and every time we're in the area, we come by here to get some great food!  He says that it's definitely traditional and is what his parents make at home too.The Fettoush is delicious and the dressing is amazing, not totally sure what's in it but it's garlicy and great.Fatayer Bisbanekh is my favorite ever and this is the only place where I can get it.  Shaikhel Mehshi is an eggplant dish with ground beef and tomato sauce that they make quite well.  We ordered our food this last time through live on the go but he suggested that next time we call in our order so that we could learn about the specials too.The owners are super nice as well as the sons that help run the place.  They're always so cheerful and helpful!It's a little pricy for dinner but overall it's amazing!Zena... Lebanese..When I was 1st introduced to this place, we had lunch.  Lots of plates, lots of color, lots of green.. I enjoy it! Not knowing too much about this kind of food, it tasted great and healthy.  The chicken kabobs, you gottta order it with grilled tomato...perfect pair!  The roasted eggplant dip is must have... I can never get enough of this plate... and the tabbouleh (parsley salad) is my favorite.. You gotta try it... do expect it to be on the sour side, since its lots of citrus juice.  oh did I forget to say the 'Baqlawa', dessert... Cant finish you night without this... Service is on and off.. Sometimes, they ignore you forever and other times, we get the best service... So go figure... You have to judge it for yourself.Nowaday, its a place for me to come when ever I think about Lebanese food.  This is a great place for date or small group.. Good for small group sharing... I enjoy this location...

by jasz L.

Zena... Lebanese..When I was 1st introduced to this place, we had lunch.  Lots of plates, lots of color, lots of green.. I enjoy it! Not knowing too much about this kind of food, it tasted great and healthy.  The chicken kabobs, you gottta order it with grilled tomato...perfect pair!  The roasted eggplant dip is must have... I can never get enough of this plate... and the tabbouleh (parsley salad) is my favorite.. You gotta try it... do expect it to be on the sour side, since its lots of citrus juice.  oh did I forget to say the 'Baqlawa', dessert... Cant finish you night without this... Service is on and off.. Sometimes, they ignore you forever and other times, we get the best service... So go figure... You have to judge it for yourself.Nowaday, its a place for me to come when ever I think about Lebanese food.  This is a great place for date or small group.. Good for small group sharing... I enjoy this location...

by John W.

I went for lunch, thinking thinking it was "takeout" place.. wow, not the case.  It is a total sit down place.  This isn't a bad thing, I was just taken by surprise based on the way it looks from the outside.  Anyways, the food was pretty good, the time it took for the food to come out was a little bit on the long side considering that there weren't that many people in the restaurant.  Service was very friendly, and attentive to our needs.I ordered a lunch special similar to koobideh, and a side of hommous and got out for about 15 bucks.  Their pita bread is  so-so, but it comes free so I'm not complaining.  I think for about the same price, I prefer darya  (which is down the street).I wish I could give this place 4 or 5 stars because they were really friendly, and the food is pretty good.  I guess the only reason I have to give them 3 stars is because of their portions of food were a little bit on the small side and it took a little bit on the long side for the food to come out.