Let’s get one thing straight: Long Beach did not suddenly become a food city. We’ve been one for decades. The rest of Southern California just finally looked up from its phone.
Yes, we have a Michelin star now. Yes, LAist went and called Long Beach the most exciting food city in SoCal. Love that for us. But the real reason this city eats so well is a five-table noodle shack from 1985, a taco truck on 69th Street, and a Filipino bakery that’s been making pandesal on the Westside since before most of us had email.
The awards are the receipt. These kitchens are the story. Here’s the tour, neighborhood by neighborhood.
Quick key: prices are our per-person estimates. $ is under $15, $$ is $15–30, $$$ is $30–50, and $$$$ is $50+.
Cambodia Town: The Long Beach Food You Have to Try
If you want to understand Long Beach food, start on Anaheim Street. Long Beach is home to the largest Cambodian community outside Cambodia, built by refugee families who resettled here after the Khmer Rouge. What they built along this corridor is the most distinctive thing on our food map. Full stop.
Phnom Penh Noodle Shack (1644 Cherry Ave.) opened in 1985 in a 500-square-foot room with five tables. Bun Heu and Maly Tan started it; their five kids, who grew up working the counter, run it now. Order the kuy teav, the pork-bone broth noodle soup, wet or dry. Then put that house sauce on everything. It’s breakfast and lunch only, and it’s closed Mondays, so don’t be the person standing at a locked door.
Hours: Tue–Sun 7 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Mon · Price: $$ · Website
A&J Seafood Shack (Anaheim & Obispo) is a 280-square-foot walk-up window opened in 2020 by Vannak Tan, yes, of that Tan family, and his wife Manika. Garlic shrimp. Lemongrass grilled beef on a baguette. Smoky, sour Khmer sausage over rice. Eater LA put it on its seafood map and honestly, about time.
Address: 3201 E. Anaheim St. · Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–8 p.m. · Price: $$ · Website
Shlap Muan (2150 E. South St.) does Cambodian-style wings with signature sauces, and they’re good enough that the shop opened a second location in Monrovia. Long Beach exports now. We’re very proud.
Hours: Daily 11:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. · Price: $$ · Website
The best part? The second generation is running these places and pushing Khmer cooking into new formats, from pop-ups to Cambodian smash burgers. More on that below.
The Best Tacos and Mexican Food in Long Beach
Lola’s Mexican Cuisine (Retro Row and Bixby Knolls) is the one you probably already know about. Maria Delores “Lola” Navarro came here from Guadalajara in 1974 with fifty dollars. She cleaned houses, worked banquet shifts, saved for years, and opened Lola’s on 4th Street. Her son Luis and his wife Brenda run it today. And that pork-and-veal birria? Reviewers were raving about it back in 2013, years before quesobirria took over everyone’s feed. Lola was early. Lola was right.
Retro Row: 2030 E. 4th St., daily 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. · Bixby Knolls: 4140 Atlantic Ave., Mon–Thu 11:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m., Fri to 9, Sat 10–9, Sun 10–8:30 · Price: $$ · Website
Tacos La Carreta (3480 E. 69th St.) is a Sinaloan-style truck with crispy tripa and carne asada tacos that Travel + Leisure now sends tourists to. North Long Beach has known for years. It’s an evening thing, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Hours: Evenings Thu–Mon; closed Tue & Wed · Price: $ · Website
Ruta 15 (1436 E. 7th St.) maps Mexico’s Highway 15 from Tijuana to Mexico City through 14 cities and regions. This includes Culichi-style shrimp in creamy green sauce and Sonoran grilled meats, from Richard Mosqueda and chef César Sánchez León. Closed Wednesdays.
Hours: Mon, Tue & Thu 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri–Sun from 9 a.m.; closed Wed · Price: $$ · Website
Other Mexican restaurants in Long Beach that are totally worth it:
- Sonoratown (244 E. 3rd St.), the beloved taquería’s downtown outpost. Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m. · Price: $
- Birriería Tepechi (1440 Santa Fe Ave.), the Castañeda family’s four-generation goat birria on the Westside. Hours: Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sat 8:30–8; Sun 8–8 · Price: $$ · Website
- Mariscos el Garage, Sinaloan mariscos that literally started in a family garage and graduated to a truck. Where: 4540 Atlantic Ave. in Bixby Knolls · Price: $$
The Filipino Layer: Pandesal Since 1993
Gemmae Bake Shop (1356 W. Willow St.) opened its first shop in the Philippines in 1979 and its Long Beach doors in 1993. It’s still family-run and part of the city’s Legacy Business Program. They open at 6:30 a.m. most days, which is exactly when you should be there for warm pandesal. Early birds get the good stuff.
Hours: Mon–Sat 6:30 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun 6:30–4 · Price: $ · Website
San & Wolves Bakeshop (3900 E. 4th St.) is the new generation, and it is glorious. Partners Kym Estrada and Arvin Torres took their vegan Filipino bakery from Brooklyn pop-ups to a permanent shop in Arvin’s hometown, with lines down the block on opening day in 2025. Those buns in pandan, black sesame, and ube halaya landed on the LA Times’ best cinnamon rolls list, and the line is still long every morning. Get there early if you want first pick. The menu changes, so sign up for their newsletter to see what’s coming before you go.
Hours: Tue–Sun 7:30 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Mon · Price: $ · Website
Filipino cooking runs through the new guard too. Chef Brennan Villarreal describes his food as a Filipino background seen through a lifelong Long Beach lens, and his dinner series went from backyard to residency. Keep reading.
Middle Eastern Restaurants in Long Beach, Every Day
Nile Cafe (3753 E. Anaheim St.) is an Egyptian-Mediterranean spot and hookah lounge where falafel and shawarma sandwiches were listed at $8.99 on its menu, and it’s open until 4 a.m. Read that again. Four a.m. Shawarma. Bless.
Hours: Daily noon–4 a.m. · Price: $ · Website
Open Sesame (5215 E. 2nd St.) has been the family-owned Lebanese staple of Belmont Shore for more than 27 years. Chicken tawook, hummus, falafel, done.
Hours: Sun–Thu 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m.; Fri–Sat to 10:30 · Price: $$ · Website
Ammatoli (285 E. 3rd St.) is the James Beard-recognized Levantine restaurant downtown. Chef Dima Habibeh, born in Amman to a Palestinian father and Syrian mother, chose Long Beach on purpose because it’s a crossroads of communities. We noticed. We appreciate it.
Hours: Mon–Tue 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Wed–Sun 11–9 · Price: $$$ · Reserve a table
Soul Food and BBQ in Long Beach
Long Beach soul food and barbecue are having a moment, and it’s being built the right way: grandma’s recipes, pop-up tents, brewery parking lots, and lines down the block that turned into real, permanent kitchens. Long Beach Black Restaurant Week grew to more than 20 participants in 2026, and the BBQ Festival keeps getting bigger every Memorial Day weekend. These are family businesses that bet on themselves and won. Bring your appetite. And maybe stretchy pants.
Brother’s Keeper BBQ (3701 E. 4th St.) is pitmaster Mo Stewart’s Central Texas barbecue, built on his grandmother Dorothy’s recipes. After years of pop-ups and back-to-back Long Beach BBQ Festival wins, he opened the Fourth Street shop in February 2026. Brisket, spare ribs, Gouda mac. It sells out, so don’t show up at 5 p.m. acting surprised.
Hours: Wed–Sun from noon until sold out · Price: $$ · Order online
The Cultured Soul (400 E. Anaheim St.) started as a food truck and catering operation before landing a brick-and-mortar kitchen. Oxtails, catfish, fried chicken, ribs, Gouda mac, collard greens, peach cobbler. Basically, everything you want on one plate. It was also part of Long Beach Black Restaurant Week 2026, so you know it’s legit.
Hours: Wed–Sun noon–6 p.m.; closed Mon & Tue · Price: $$
Handy’s Smokehouse Meats & Delicacies (4149 Long Beach Blvd.) is David Handy’s neighborhood smokehouse in Bixby Knolls. Smoked salmon, brisket, hot links, wings, and the smoked fish spreads regulars swear by. Grab some spread for your next picnic and you’ll be everyone’s favorite person.
Hours: Mon–Thu 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri–Sun 9 a.m.–6 p.m. · Price: $$
And keep an eye on Axiom Kitchen, a barbecue pop-up and true family affair. Ian and Qiana Mafnas run it with their kids, and Qiana also runs Long Beach Black Restaurant Week every January and the Long Beach BBQ Festival every Memorial Day weekend, including lots of other events. We covered them in our best BBQ in Long Beach guide. Want more? Our Black-owned businesses in Long Beach guide has the full list.
Axiom Kitchen: Pop-ups and events around town; check Instagram (@axiomkitchen) · Price: $$
The Morning Shift: Best Bakeries and Coffee Shops in Long Beach
Gusto Bread (2710 E. 4th St.) is the ultimate Long Beach glow-up story. Arturo Enciso, a self-taught baker and former musician, moved into a Willmore rental with an old wood-fired oven in the backyard and started experimenting. In 2017, he and his partner Ana Belén Salatino used California’s cottage food law to turn their living room into a bakery, selling loaves out of the house on Sunday mornings. Word spread fast. They went brick-and-mortar on Retro Row in 2020, and the James Beard nods followed. Grab the California loaf stenciled with the Bear Flag, but that three-day sourdough concha is why there’s a weekend line down the block. Plan accordingly.
Hours: Wed–Sun 7 a.m.–3 p.m. · Price: $ · Website
OBRA HandBakery (6240 E. PCH) is where I need you to go next. Co-owners Luz Torres and Chef Cesar Villarreal opened it as Cesar’s Bistro back in 2014, a full-service restaurant drawing on Cesar’s Colombian roots. When the pandemic hit, they pivoted hard, went all in on empanadas, and rebranded as OBRA. Best decision ever. Today empanadas make up about 65% of their sales, they bake a fresh batch every 30 minutes, and that tiny shop of under 900 square feet moves thousands of them a week. The empanadas are AMAZING. Flaky, golden, and stuffed. Get a few, add the OBRA Balls, and grab a scratch-made pastry for later. They’ve even opened a second shop in Santa Ana, and no, the Long Beach original isn’t going anywhere.
Hours: Mon–Sat 8 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sun 8–5 · Price: $ · Website
Devi’s Donuts & Sweets (3600 E. Anaheim St.) is Zaferia’s all-vegan donut shop, run by Tom and Eva Ognibene and named for their daughter (Devi means queen or goddess in Sanskrit). They built a following at farmers markets for years before opening the shop on Anaheim. Lemon pistachio, crème brûlée, lavender rose. Vegan or not, you will not miss a thing. And here’s the deal: they still lean on farmers markets to keep the doors open, so go in person and buy the dozen.
Hours: Tue–Sun 6 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Mon · Price: $ · LBC Vibe listing
And because this city runs on coffee:
- Cyclops Coffee, locally owned with a Clark Avenue flagship near CSULB and a roomier Zaferia spot on Anaheim. It’s on our best places to work remotely list for a reason. Clark Ave.: 1732 Clark Ave., open daily until 9 p.m. · Zaferia: 4100 E. Anaheim St., daily 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. · Price: $
- Black Dog Coffee Roasters (1101 E. 3rd St.), which took over the old Lord Windsor space in 2023 and roasts in-house. Hours: Mon–Fri 7:30 a.m.–3 p.m.; Sat–Sun 8–3 · Price: $ · Website
- Ground Hideout Coffee (356 E. 4th St.), family-owned since 2019 in the East Village Arts District. Hours: Daily 7 a.m.–4 p.m. · Price: $
- Wolf’s Brew Coffee (4145 Norse Way). Hours: Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sat–Sun 8–4 · Price: $ · Website
From Backyard to Big Time: Long Beach Pop-Ups and Home Kitchens
Here’s what makes Long Beach different from just about anywhere else: there’s an actual ladder from somebody’s backyard to a real restaurant, and people are climbing it.
Got Your Back is the Filipino dinner project from Brennan Villarreal and Sasha Schoen. It started as backyard dinners with $10 admission and 200-plus guests. Now it has a permanent residency inside Selva Monday and Tuesday nights, with pinoy plates and natural wine on a menu that changes monthly. Mondays just got a lot less sad.
Where: Inside Selva, 4137 E. Anaheim St. · Hours: Mon–Tue 5–10 p.m. · Price: $$ · Menu
Terrible Burger is Nicole and Ryan Ramirez’s smashburger pop-up, and it’s now a Smorgasburg LA vendor, where the LA Times gave it love for its Korean-barbecue spin. Long Beach raised that.
Where: Pop-up; check their Instagram for dates @terrible_burger · Price: $
And then there’s the big one. In April 2026, Long Beach legalized home kitchen restaurants (the state calls them MEHKOs), and unlike most cities, renters can participate. In a city where about 60% of us rent, that’s huge. Long Beach Fresh reported the city is even running free workshops for home cooks.
Want proof it works? Steak Freaks launched as a backyard supper club right when the ordinance passed and sold out every six-course dinner in the yard of a rented Craftsman. It did so well that it blew past the program’s caps and served its last backyard dinner on July 26. Chef Brad Thomas is now scouting a brick-and-mortar. That’s the dream, people. The next Phnom Penh Noodle Shack could be cooking in a backyard on your block right now.
Fine, the Critics Caught Up: Michelin and James Beard in Long Beach
For the record: Heritage in Rose Park earned a Michelin star in 2023 and still holds it in 2026. Gusto Bread has been a James Beard finalist and keeps landing on national shortlists. We’re thrilled. Truly.
Heritage: 2030 E. 7th St. · Hours: Tue–Sat 5–9 p.m.; reservations recommended · Price: $$$$ · Michelin Guide
But here’s my favorite detail. When LAist toured the city in 2025, it spent as much time at A&J’s to-go window as in Heritage’s dining room. That’s Long Beach. The walk-up window and the tasting menu get the same respect here.
So Go Eat in Long Beach
Good Long Beach food doesn’t have to cost a car payment. Here’s the deal, though. Places like these only stay open if we show up. So skip the chain this week and eat local in Long Beach. Get the kuy teav. Stand in the Gusto line. Eat shawarma at 2 a.m. like a local. Then tag us so we can see what you ordered.
Long Beach has been a foodie city all along.
FAQs
Is Long Beach really a food city?
Yes, and it has been for decades. Heritage holds a Michelin star and Gusto Bread has been a James Beard finalist, but the real proof is the family kitchens: a noodle shack from 1985, a Westside bakery from 1993, taco trucks, walk-up windows, and backyard supper clubs. The critics just finally caught up.
What food is Long Beach known for?
Long Beach is home to the largest Cambodian community outside Cambodia, so Cambodia Town on Anaheim Street is a must. Alongside that, it’s Sinaloan tacos, mariscos, birria, Filipino bakeries, Middle Eastern spots, Central Texas barbecue, and soul food.
What are the best Cambodia Town restaurants in Long Beach?
Start with Phnom Penh Noodle Shack for kuy teav (closed Mondays). Then hit A&J Seafood Shack’s walk-up window for garlic shrimp, and Shlap Muan in North Long Beach for Cambodian-style wings.
Where can I find cheap eats in Long Beach?
You’ve got options. Nile Cafe’s falafel and shawarma sandwiches were listed under $10, Tacos La Carreta and Sonoratown keep it affordable. Bakeries like Gemmae, Gusto Bread, and San & Wolves are easy wins too.
What are some hidden gems in Long Beach?
A&J Seafood Shack is a 280-square-foot window. Handy’s Smokehouse has smoked fish spreads regulars swear by. Got Your Back serves Filipino dinners inside Selva on Monday and Tuesday nights only. And Tacos La Carreta is a truck on 69th Street that North Long Beach has loved for years.
Where can I get soul food and barbecue in Long Beach?
The Cultured Soul on Anaheim Street does oxtails, catfish, fried chicken, and peach cobbler. For barbecue, Brother’s Keeper BBQ on 4th Street sells out most days, so go early. Handy’s Smokehouse covers smoked meats and fish, and Axiom Kitchen pops up around town.
What are the best bakeries in Long Beach?
Gusto Bread for the three-day sourdough concha, Gemmae Bake Shop for pandesal, San & Wolves for vegan Filipino buns, Devi’s Donuts for vegan donuts, and OBRA HandBakery for empanadas. Pro tip: Gusto and San & Wolves usually sell out, so get there early.
Can I eat at a home restaurant in Long Beach?
Yes. In April 2026, Long Beach legalized home kitchen restaurants (MEHKOs), and renters can participate too. Follow local food accounts to find the newest backyard spots. That’s where the next big thing is probably cooking right now.
Hours change. Double-check before you head out, and if we missed your favorite spot, tell us in the comments.
