Where to Eat in Little Arabia: An Anaheim Food Guide From Someone Who Grew Up Here
I grew up in Southern California. Every time I go back, the first thing I do is drive to Brookhurst Street.
There's a stretch in Anaheim where music plays out of the restaurants, someone is making knafeh in a parking lot, shawarma is turning on the spit, and the whole thing smells like home. I'm Syrian. Standing on that street feels like being back there.
It isn't only a feeling. In August 2022, the Anaheim City Council officially designated part of the Brookhurst corridor as Little Arabia, the first Arab American cultural district in the country. Arab American families had been building that street since the early 1980s and spent more than a decade pushing for the recognition.
Now I live in Northern California, where the options are limited and the ones that exist cost double. So when I'm down south I don't just eat. I stock up, I fill the car, and I take it all in.
Here is everywhere I go, and exactly what to order.
Breakfast and Bakeries
This is where Little Arabia shows off. If you only have one morning, make it count.
Al Amir Bakery
905 S Brookhurst St A, Anaheim | 8am to 9pm daily
A classic, and you cannot go wrong here. The flatbreads and manakeesh are the whole point. Families have been coming here for over twenty years.
What to order: the cheese manakeesh is my favorite and you can never go wrong with it. The egg and cheese is good. But the spinach here is especially good, that's the one to get.
Forn Al Hara
512 S Brookhurst St Ste 5, Anaheim | 8am to 10pm daily
People drive in from LA for this place. Walking in feels like walking into a breakfast spot in Lebanon, and they bring you complimentary pickles and olives while you wait.
What to order: the zaatar and labne wrap, the egg and cheese pie, or the cheese boat.
Manakeesh House
1707 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim | 9am to 10pm daily
Newer than most and already one of the highest rated spots on the street. One person described it as stepping into a manakeesh shop in Ramallah, which is exactly right.
What to order: the manakeesh, obviously, but the charcoal grilled chicken platter is just as good.
Zait and Zaatar
510 N Brookhurst St #106, Anaheim | Opens 8am
Open more than fifteen years and still one of my favorite ways to start a morning. There's a nice outdoor seating area, which makes it easy to sit for a while instead of rushing out.
What to order: the manakeesh, zaatar and cheese. The lahmabajeen. And the halloumi sandwich, which is so, so good. Their falafel is also some of the best around.
Koftegi Grill & Bakery
816 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim | Opens 9am
This is the one I think about when I'm not here.
Get the fatteh. Garbanzo beans and pita with tahini sauce, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts, cooked in the butter from back home. That plate takes me straight back to my grandmother's breakfasts in Syria. Straight back.
It's heavy though, so honestly I wouldn't order much alongside it. Let it be the meal.
If you're with people and want more, the hummus and chicken plates are classics, the msabaha is a breakfast staple most people walk right past, and the egg and cheese fatayer is fresh and full of flavor.
It's technically a Turkish restaurant, but it's run by a Syrian family, and you can feel it the second you walk in.
Al-Karmel Meat Market
521 S Brookhurst St Unit H, Anaheim | 8am to 1am
Not a restaurant, but one of my favorite stops on the whole street and honestly one of my favorites period.
The freshly baked bread is the reason. The manakeesh with cheese, meat, or spinach, warmed up for you right there, is the perfect grab and go breakfast. I get it every single time. Great for lunch and snacks too.
They also have halal meats, produce, cheeses, laban, spices, and candy and sweets from the Levant. Prices are genuinely reasonable, which is why I fill the car here before driving home.
Little Arabia, Lebanese Bakery and Cuisine
638 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim | 9am to 10pm
Named after the district itself. Good for pastries to take home. Maamoul with walnut or dates, baklava, soujook, cheese blankets.
Lunch and Dinner
Al Manjal
309 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim | Closed Tuesdays
The best Turkish salad, and the food here is just so good.
Here's what most people miss: it looks like indoor seating only, but past the bathrooms there's the cutest outdoor patio in the back. That's where I sit.
SimSim Shawarma House
1112 N Brookhurst St #4, Anaheim | 10:30am to 10pm daily
Newly opened and already one of the best rated spots on the street. Yummy shawarma, worth stopping for.
Kareem's Mediterranean
1208 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim | Closed Mondays
Amazing falafel, some of the best on the street, and genuinely good if anyone in your group is vegetarian or vegan.
Kareem has his initials etched into the Brookhurst sidewalk from when it was poured. He's been part of this street a long time.
Kababji Subs & Snacks
518 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim
One of my favorites for the vibes alone. On weekends they have live singers, great music, and hookah. Such a fun spot for a slow, cozy Middle Eastern evening.
Directly across the street from Al-Karmel, so you can park once and do both.
YoYo Burgers and Chicken
510 N Brookhurst St #103, Anaheim | 11am to 2am
Delicious halal smash burger, and it's in the same plaza as Zait and Zaatar. Open until 2am, which makes it the move on a late night.
Cello Mediterranean Grill & Lounge
12105 Brookhurst St Ste F, Garden Grove | Opens 3pm, 1pm weekends
A must try for groups or families. The veggie and meat platters are incredible, the mint lemonade is so refreshing, and the pistachio affogato is unreal. They also have hookah, and the ambiance is perfect for a chill night out.
Check the hours. They don't open until 3pm on weekdays, so this is dinner and late night only. Open until 2am.
Shawarma House
12531 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove | 10am to 10pm
Not in Anaheim, but too good to gatekeep. The filet mignon and chicken plates are out of this world and the shawarma sandwiches are perfection. Worth the extra drive.
Dessert
One thing worth knowing: a lot of these dinner spots have excellent desserts too. If you're already out for dinner, stay for dessert where you are. It's so worth it.
But if you're going out specifically for something sweet, these are the ones.
Labanz Cafe, Dessert & Dairy
499 S Brookhurst St, Anaheim | Noon to midnight, 2am Thursday to Saturday
Crepes and really delicious options across the board. Mini pancakes Dubai style, ashtoutaz, kunafa.
There's a big overflow parking lot in the back that most people don't know about, which matters on a weekend night.
Le Mirage Pastry
100 S Brookhurst St Ste D, Anaheim | 9am to 10pm
This is where you go for Syrian ice cream, or as close to it as you'll get here. The pistachio Arabic bouza is the one. The pastry case is enormous too, so it's a good stop for baklava to take home.
Filo Dessert Co
105 N Brookhurst St, Anaheim | Opens 3pm
Everything is hand made by the owner. Great for knafeh and baklava with ice cream.
The Harbor Boulevard Stop, Perfect After Disneyland
This one gets its own section because it's all in one plaza, about two miles south of Disneyland.
Shawarma House for dinner. Then right there in the same plaza is Jerusalem Roastery, which is a grocery store, dessert shop, and roastery all at once. Candy straight from Palestine, halal gummies, freshly roasted nuts, Turkish delight, chocolate, pickles, even kitchenware.
And the knafeh. People call it the best in the country, and one review described it as the only knafeh that tastes like home. I don't disagree.
Jerusalem Coffee is right next door. The Spanish latte gets talked about constantly and it earns it.
I've only ever gone in the evening, and it's a great place to sit and chill, especially after a long Disneyland day when you want to end somewhere that actually feels good.
Worth the Extra Drive
Rotana Elsham Shawarma
2315 17th St #1A, Santa Ana | 6pm to midnight, closed Mondays
The best shawarma food truck around. People drive in from all over for these sandwiches. Evening only and closed Mondays, so plan around it.
Izmir, Aegean Cuisine
2590 Newport Blvd Ste B, Costa Mesa | Closed Sundays
If you want Turkish food and you're headed that direction, this is the one. Live music some nights.
Ammatoli
285 E 3rd St, Long Beach
For a fancier, more upscale Mediterranean night, this is a must. The most gorgeous space, the best service, and the dishes are incredible. The mezza, the msakhan, the mint lemonade, the desserts. I am in love with this place.
It was named a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality in 2026, and it earns it.
Dress up, get your favorites, and follow it with a walk. You're close to the beach and it's a cute downtown area.
Weekends Are When It Comes Alive
If you can go on a weekend, go on a weekend.
The lot at Al-Karmel turns into something else entirely. Shawarma turning outside, knafeh being made right there in the parking lot, music, people everywhere. That's the part I miss most living up north. That's the part that makes me feel like I've traveled home.
And If You Can Go During Ramadan
Ramadan on this street is something else entirely.
The markets get festive. The restaurants fill up. And the late night snacks after taraweeh prayers are the best part of the whole thing. If your timing ever lines up, go then.
A Few Tips Before You Go
Parking is easy, but not on the street. There's no street parking on Brookhurst. Pull into the shopping center lots instead. Park once, walk the center, then cross the street and explore that side too. Almost everything here is clustered.
Bring a cooler. I stock up on meats, cheeses, and bread every time and drive them back north. Worth it every time.
Check the days before you drive. Al Manjal is closed Tuesdays. Kareem's is closed Mondays. Izmir is closed Sundays. Rotana is evenings only and closed Mondays. Cello doesn't open until 3pm.
Go hungry and go with people. These are sharing places. The platters are built for a table.
Stay for dessert wherever you are. Most of these dinner spots do dessert really well. You don't always need to go somewhere else for it.
It isn't only food. There are shops for Islamic clothing and beautiful pieces all along that street too, but that's a whole other post.
Coming Back
There's something about walking into a market and finding the exact candy you ate as a kid, or hearing a song you haven't heard in years playing out of a restaurant speaker.
When you live somewhere those things aren't easy to find, you stop taking them for granted. I appreciate Little Arabia more now than I ever did when I lived ten minutes away.
If you're anywhere near Orange County, go. Bring an appetite and an empty trunk.
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