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Wally’s Cafe brings heavily, heavenly spiced Lebanese food to Costa Mesa

January 23, 2025

“We use around 15 to 20 spices in our chicken and beef,” said Roni Matar, son of Wally’s Cafe’s namesake founder, Walid Matar, a former dentist turned chef and restaurateur. Marking its third location, Wally’s Cafe, which specializes in house-made Lebanese fare, opened in Costa Mesa in December.

Walid Mater, a native of Lebanon, ditched his dental scrubs and mouth mirror after leaving his homeland for the United States in 2001. Wasting no time and using traditional Lebanese recipes handed down to him from his family, Walid opened the first Wally’s Cafe in 2007 in the Bay Area.

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Menu highlights at Wally’s Cafe include the chicken or beef shawarma plates, which come with slices of grilled meat; a chicken pomegranate plate with sliced chicken marinated in pomegranate molasses; and kabab plates, all of which come served with rice, salad, tzatziki sauce, garlic sauce and pita bread.

Wally’s also serves wraps galore, including chicken or beef shawarma, kafta and falafel iterations, as well as beef and lamb gyros.

Baklava ice cream is served at Wally's Cafe in Costa Mesa, CA. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) — Baklava ice cream is served at Wally’s Cafe in Costa Mesa, CA. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Other notable treats include a homemade Lebanese mint lemonade with black currant syrup; a baklava with a cashew center and pistachio-flecked top (a nice change from the walnut-laden ones found elsewhere); and, best of all, a baklava ice cream made by using the crispy, caramelized remnants of baklava as a mix-in.

While the Costa Mesa space is small compared to the first two spots (it’s one of a handful of kiosk-style restaurants inside the Costa Mesa complex), all of the dishes here are made fresh at Wally’s Cafe. Guests are welcome to place an order once inside or for pickup via delivery.

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The first Wally’s Cafe opened in Emeryville, a few blocks away from Pixar Studios. (A fun yet unconfirmed rumor has it that the creators of the Oscar-winning “WALL-E” might have been inspired by Matar’s restaurant name; a poster of the robotic trash compactor at the original Wally’s was reportedly a gift from Pixar employees to the eatery’s owner, aka Walid “Wally” Matar.) In 2017, Walid moved just outside of Sacramento to open a larger location with more seating in Rocklin.

Aquiles Lopez and Jessica Alvarez prepare lunches at Wally's Cafe in Costa Mesa, CA on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) — Aquiles Lopez and Jessica Alvarez prepare lunches at Wally’s Cafe in Costa Mesa, CA on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

His latest spot, which is also his first foray in Southern California, is led with help from Roni Matar and his wife, Jessica Alvarez.

“I have nothing to do with making the food, experience-wise, so that’s why I brought in the big guns here,” Roni Mater said, nodding to Jessica, who leads the kitchen at Wally’s Cafe. “I’m the feeder and he’s the eater,” she quipped.

The reputation of Walid’s fare has already drawn in customers from around the Golden State, especially Bay Area expats who are familiar with his previous restaurants.

“We’ve had a lot of people already that come here who are already familiar with what we do in Emeryville or Rockland,” said Alvarez. “And so that kind of reaffirms for us that we’re on the right path, and that we should be here helping to build what Wally started.”

Homemade Baklava is served at Wally's Cafe in Costa Mesa, CA. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) — Homemade Baklava is served at Wally’s Cafe in Costa Mesa, CA. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Since opening its first location, Wally’s has also been named a four-time Yelp Top 100 Restaurant — no small feat.

Another interesting tidbit is its location, inside a ghost kitchen. Those newfangled food-preparation spaces that, by and large, serve customers through online fulfillment apps can bring to mind a dystopian future of gastronomic proportions, but they can also offer smaller eateries the chance to spring to life. Costa Mesa Kitchens, just off Newport Boulevard, fulfills orders from major chains like Wingstop and Goop Kitchen, a spinoff of Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand. But the commercial kitchen complex also lays claim to Wally’s, a beating heart inside an otherwise automated space.

Wally’s Cafe is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Find it: 750 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa

Wally’s Cafe brings heavily, heavenly spiced Lebanese food to Costa Mesa Orange County Register

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Wally’s Cafe brings heavily, heavenly spiced Lebanese food to Costa Mesa

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