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Thai food in Long Beach is not to be missed at this restaurant

March 18, 2026

The Second Owl is not named for everyone’s favorite wise and affable nighttime hootie bird because it’s a cute critter who makes for a fun logo — in this case, wearing a chef’s jacket and toque, and holding a bowl of noodles in one claw.

The owl is said to be a much-revered Thai symbol of wealth, prosperity, wisdom, good luck and fortune. There’s a specific owl — the Sak Yant — that’s often tattooed on the skin of human adherents to provide “spiritual protection … defense against negative enemies or evil spirits,” according to text at the restaurant.

Or, in the case of The Second Owl (2.5 stars; 5272 E. 2nd St., Long Beach/Belmont Shore; 562-434-7555, https://thesecondowl.square.site) to promise us tasty Thai dishes, classics for the most part, well-prepared and served in a space that’s open to the street, and comings and goings of the happy hordes along 2nd Street, where the bars are jammed with fans cheering on the dynamic, dynastic Dodgers as they gird themselves for a third World Series title in a row. (Go Blue!)

The Second Owl is a sibling of The First Owl, which is actually called Owl Owl Thai Lao Street Food (2201 E. Willow St., Signal Hill; 562-988-1490; https://owl-owl-signal-hill.cloveronline.com/menu/all. As the weather warms, it’s a fine place to grab an outside table and enjoy the breezes from the harbor, cooling Belmont Shore come the evening, while sipping on a Singha or a Leo Beer, both from Thailand.

Or, perhaps, the Signature Sangria, made with “a smooth Sabe sake tequila infused finish.” Which may be as quirky as the menu at The Second Owl gets.

Over the years, we’ve gone from restaurants that described themselves as Chinese-Thai, in order not to frighten away those who thought of Thai cooking as “exotic” and “foreign,” to a world of edgy fusions — Thai-Japanese, Thai-Italian, Thai-Mexican.

By contrast, The Second Owl is recognizably retro; this is the sort of classic Thai cooking that was a takeout standard during the pandemic. An order of pad Thai and larb was always welcome, as we wondered when we’d lead normal lives again. (Remember wearing rubber gloves to retrieve the mail, before letting it sit in the sun for hours to debug it?)

Chicken satay at The Second Owl in Long Beach (Photo by Merrill Shindler)

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Chicken satay at The Second Owl in Long Beach (Photo by Merrill Shindler)

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If I’m going traditional at a Thai restaurant, I have to order one (or all) of the three satays — chicken, pork and beef. It’s the most classic of Bangkok street foods, which fill the air of the restaurant alleys with fragrant smoke that hits deep within my primeval roots. I’m partial to the chicken satay, substantial slices on the sticks at The Second Owl, with a side of the ubiquitous cucumber salad, and a thick peanut sauce that’s good enough to eat for dessert. Kind of like a peppery peanut butter.

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If I want crunch, there’s the calamari rings and tentacles — chewy, but not overly so. There’s deep-fried pork belly. Crackly chicken wings. And both vegetable and duck egg rolls — in which ground duck is mixed with ground chicken, which makes the roll taste more chickeny than ducky. And still noodly enough to make it a treat, especially with a slather of hot sauce.

The river prawns are charred so they taste smoky. The pork and shrimp kao tung na tung is cooked in coconut milk and drizzled with chili oil, served on shrimp crackers. It’s a happy mess of flavors in every bite.

Along with the chicken, pork, tofu or beef larb salad (in lime juice and fish sauce), there’s a Chilean sea bass larb, where the fish has been turned into a ceviche. With choices like that, the option of baby greens with tomato and cucumbers befuddles me. But then, I always head for the edge. I can make a lettuce and tomato salad at home. For me, it’s as basic as toast with butter. Unless it’s avocado toast, I’m just not that interested.

There’s a curiosity of a dish listed under the “Signatures” — a mix-and-match of several ingredients not wholly expected on one plate. It begins with your choice of either a Thai-style, or a Lao-style papaya salad (the Thai is milder; the Lao uses fermented fish sauce), jazzed up with crispy chicken wings, pork rinds and sticky rice. It’s called The Belmont. It’s half salad, and half entrée. It’s a multicourse meal in itself.

If you’re looking for the pad Thai pan-fried noodles — made with chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, pork belly or tofu — they’re in the section headed “Classic Thai.” Along with the wide pad seew noodles, the flat rice noodles in the pad kee mao.

The house Owl Fried Rice has chicken, beef, pork and shrimp — all four! The only fully Thai dessert is the mango rice. Otherwise, there’s half Thai crème brûlée, made with coconut milk and lemongrass. And a wholly not-Thai boysenberry pie with vanilla ice cream. Chicken satay and berry pie with ice cream – that makes this a 2nd Street Experience à la mode.

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

The Second Owl

Rating: 2.5 stars
Address: 5272 E. 2nd St., Long Beach (Belmont Shore)
Contact: 562-434-7555; https://thesecondowl.square.site
Cuisine: Familiar, much-loved classic Thai dishes, well turned, served in a space that’s largely open to the life of 2nd Street — a fine place to chew on chicken satay while watching the life of the street ebb and flow.
Hours: Lunch and dinner, every day
Details: Beer, wine and sake; reservations accepted
On the menu: 8 Appetizers ($9-$16), 3 Soups ($16-$18), 4 Salads ($7-$23), 6 “Signature” Dishes ($22-$28), 9 “Classic Thai” Dishes ($17-$23), 3 Desserts ($11-$15)
Credit cards: MC, V
What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)

Thai food in Long Beach is not to be missed at this restaurant Orange County Register

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Thai food in Long Beach is not to be missed at this restaurant

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