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Casual dining in the Long Beach area is a delight at these 5 restaurants

June 11, 2026

For half a century — from 1958 to 2008 — there was a tiny French restaurant in New York’s Greenwich Village called Chez Brigitte. It looked like a classic American lunch counter with its chipped yellow Formica counter, and twirling red seats. Except it served a Provencale omelet, boeuf bourguignon and leg of lamb with a baked potato. It had all of eight seats. It made me very happy.

It wasn’t just that the food was delicious, and wonderfully cheap. It was so … small. It was like eating in a Parisian apartment, with a view of nothing but an aunt busily cooking, surrounded by steaming pots and smoking meats and fish. And it helped to deeply imbue a love of the small, the intimate, the sweetly personal in me.

We have a multitude of large restaurants in Long Beach, with dining rooms inside and out. But we’re also blessed with more than a few that are one-on-one. Not as small as Chez Brigitte. But then, few restaurants are.

There’s a trio of tables at the Un Rinconcito Argentino (3636 Santa Fe Ave., Long Beach; 562-868-8999; www.unrinconcitoargentinoca.com) on Santa Fe Avenue, and shared tables at one in the SteelCraft dining complex in Bellflower (16500 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower; 562-398-3448; https://steelcraftlb.com/steelcraft-bellflower).

In either case, they’re comfortable enough for those of us who believe the empanadas served here are the best this side of Buenos Aires. They come with a choice of 13 different fillings — Argentinian-style beef, beef and potatoes, chicken, spinach and cheese, ham and cheese, corn, mushrooms, potatoes with onions, jalapeño cheese, cheese only, Mexican style beef, ham and cheese (with pineapple) and dulce de leche (caramel).

There are sandwiches, salads and grilled meat platters. There are eight types of flan for dessert. But for me, there’s mostly the empanadas — crispy, sweet, moist, delicious. Order too many, and I guarantee you’ll eat every one of them.

Taste of the Caribbean LA in Long Beach features a taste of the Caribbean — mostly Jamaica — with the peppery intensity of jerk sauce dominating the modest menu. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)

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Taste of the Caribbean LA in Long Beach features a taste of the Caribbean — mostly Jamaica — with the peppery intensity of jerk sauce dominating the modest menu. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)

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Most folks heading into this mall halfway between the harbor and the freeway are heading for Little Coyote Pizza. But as a side dish with the pizza, Taste of the Caribbean LA (3444 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal, Long Beach; 562-982-4007, www.tasteofthecaribbean.co) offers some well-spiced bites. Though this is a taste of the Caribbean, it feels mostly like a taste of Jamaica, with the peppery intensity of jerk sauce dominating the modest menu — jerk chicken, shrimp salmon, jerk shrimp.

There are killer good chicken wings, flavors with Buffalo sauce, garlic honey, barbecue and, natch, with jerk seasoning. If you need to chill out, there are plantains, rice and peas, and a cabbage medley.

The dish on the menu called “festival” is a sweet fried dumpling, made with cornmeal and flour. Like rice, it goes with everything. It makes every meal … a festival.

What they serve at Angelo’s Italian Deli (190 La Verne Ave., Long Beach; 562-434-1977; www.angelositaliandelis.com) is Italian soul food, with some oil and vinegar sprinkled on for good measure.

Angelo’s is a bit of a hybrid — with a very casual fast-food cafe in the front, where you order your food at the counter, and a proper Italian deli in the back, where you can browse, consider, sniff, and get a good sandwich or some pasta to go.

If you step into the back, into the market proper, you may find yourself not leaving too quickly. For this is a wonderful collection of rare pasta shapes, brands little found on this side of the Atlantic, shelves of olive oil, and a very affable counter staff, glad to discuss the subtleties of soppressata versus salami.

Contrary to the mountainous sandwiches made at a number of Italian delis, the Angelo’s model is manageable — not so big you can’t pick it up with your hands. (The sandwiches are resolutely old school, served on good, thick, crusty bread, topped (in most cases) with tomato, arugula, basil, mozzarella and a garlic spread. A simple caprese sandwich — a sandwich with tomato and mozzarella within — is a joy in its earthy joyousness. Nothing fancy, just good.

The roast turkey is always reliable, and somewhat less salty than the cured meats. The eggplant and mozzarella sandwich is just right for those who are taking a pass on meat. And the hot sandwiches do take me back to the Feasts of San Gennaro and Saint Anthony in New York’s Little Italy. This is Little Italy, Belmont Shore style. It does the trick.

Little La Lune (2054 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach; 562-856-5800; www.littlelalune.com) is a Cambodian restaurant with a big local following that sits in a corner mini-mall, next to the inevitable nail shop, dog grooming parlor, and smoke shop. It’s a culinary surprise, on any number of levels. And it’s also very good. Though it is an adventure.

Show up with a party of two during lunch, and you’ll have to wait for one of the few two-tops — while watching almost ridiculously large amounts of food head for tables of families who have arrived with every generation there is.

There’s a great neighborhood/family/ex-pat feeling at Little La Lune. Order any of the noodles dishes — the Phnom Penh noodles (with ground pork and fish balls), the Thai noodles (with beef stew, beef balls and the vague “beef insides”), and the beef noodles (made with beef tripe) — and chances are good you’ll drip some noodles on the table, and on yourself. It comes with the territory.

The pan-fried noodle dishes are made with “big rice noodles” and “small rice noodles.” I like the big noodles for their chewier texture. And I like the appetizer of beef sticks for the intensity of the lemongrass and lemon leaves that flavor it — and for the papaya salad served on the side, a classic combination of spices and textures.

If you have a taste for the bitter sadao leaf, there’s a salad made with it, tossed with fish and pork. Sadao is an acquired taste; when they say bitter, they mean bitter. Eating it, you have a feeling of approaching the culinary edge.

Less of a challenge is the ginger chicken, which does not stint on the ginger. I like ginger — so I say bring it on. But it is intense.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.

Casual dining in the Long Beach area is a delight at these 5 restaurants Orange County Register

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Casual dining in the Long Beach area is a delight at these 5 restaurants

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