Alibaba Mediterranean Cuisine

I am officially addicted to this wonderful place. Staff members are always friendly, helpful and gracious.The interior of the restaurant is very spacious and super clean and there are a ton of beautiful plants in the back area. Seating is comfortable and plentiful; on one side you'll find huge booths that can accommodate a large family.The food is delicious! I've had chicken kabob plate, beef kabob plate, falafel plate, salmon plate, chicken tenders...all fantastic. But, here's the craziest thing! I've tried falafel maybe five times in my life and every time I've spit it out on the first bite. I hate falafel! I can't stand it! It's gross and disgusting, until now!When I read the reviews about the falafel here at Alibaba, I decided to get brave and try again and I'm so glad I did! I absolutely love it! The outside is so crispy and crunchy and the inside is moist and so flavorful and delicious. I savor every bite and it totally floors me! I can't believe I love falafel now! So fun!Everything that comes with the plates is terrific. With plates you get a giant pile of delicious yellow rice, your protein of choice, a generous serving of homemade hummus, pita bread, a crispy salad made with Romaine, tomato chunks, sliced radishes, and Persian cucumbers. It's fantastic with the dressing they serve. Don't forget the sauces! Homemade tahini is great with the falafel and everything else, as is their homemade garlic sauce. Don't be afraid of the chili hot sauce! It does have a little bit of a bite, but it's so flavorful. I usually mix up all three sauces with the rice.They have a Monday through Friday lunch special that I haven't tried, but it seems popular. Also, they have both fountain drinks, as well as canned drinks. Just go and try it for yourself I promise you will be delighted!The parking lot is shared with Smart & Final and a couple other small businesses, so if you drive over in a car, my advice is to not fuss with trying to park close by in the tiny spots near the restaurant. Just head around to the back of the big parking lot to park with ease and walk on over. Head's up: I've noticed over the years that there's been a lot of turnover in restaurants at this location. We cannot let this one slip away, it's too good! Head over to enjoy a meal and then tell your friends and write a quick review!I don't ever want this place to close!Hmm, wonder what I'll have today?

This place is delicious and consistent!I've been here about 5 times now and everything has been perfect each time. It's in the old "Rick and Brian's" spot, I was sad to see them close, but Alibaba is a great addition to the area. It was remodeled to be a Waba Grill, but that didn't last more than a year. They have comfortable booths and plenty of seats if you have a group. PARKING* is always easy, it's in the Smart and Final plaza. FOOD* I usually get the Chicken Kabob Plate. It comes with 2 skewers of marinated chicken filet kabob sitting on rice with salad, hummus and pita bread. Everything is made fresh and the chicken has a nice light char to it. The picture doesn't do it enough justice, it's a delicious plate. SERVICE*The same young guy has been working the register everytime I was there. He is super nice and welcoming, always polite with a smile. Needless to say, I'll be back

Good Food and a Friendly StaffThis place was recommended by a friend, so I thought I would give it a try as part of my Mediterranean food extravaganza. I tried various dishes at over a dozen Mediterranean restaurants in a 6-month period.I go here for the beef kabob lunch special. Its a great deal around $9. The flavors a good and the meat is typically tender. The food has been consistently good. The staff is super friendly and very customer service oriented. The parking can get a little tricky depending on what time you go. But the lot is huge so you can almost always find a spot inside the lot.

I always miss this place because at night it's so dark and hard to see the sign. Inside, it's nicely lite though. Finally, I stopped in for takeout. It's very good quality Mediterranean food for what I would classify as "higher end fast food". Everything was fresh and quite flavorful. Portion is decent. Personally, more meat should be included for the price of a mixed plate meal. A great Mediterranean food option in the city, but as far as pricing is concerned, I would choose other places first.Easy parking in the lot a major plus.

The food and service here is amazing! I had a mixup with my order and they were very generous with fixing the issue and even gave me extra just for the wait. Definitely try the beef kabob!

They have the best middle eastern food. I could eat their food everyday. They have excellent humus. The restaurant is exceptionally clean too. It's one of my favorite restaurants. Extremely authentic.

Super impressed with this place! First off it's clean and very big. Has TV's and probably the best lunch specials out there in long beach. I ordered the Beef Shawarma Plate and it was delicious. It comes with rice, a pretty good salad, pita bread and hummus dip. The garlic, tahini sauces were good! They have TV's inside and located in a shopping center so plenty of parking. The guy at the front taking order was extremely nice telling me all the items they have and what goes with what. The food took a bit long to get but that's fine if its made to order. Overall a good experience and i would come back to try other items here!Food ratingBeef Shawarma Plate 8.9/10

This place is very clean and I can say the owner was at the register and didn't speak when I walked up but the staff spoke to me and gave me the order! Only down side I can say. Otherwise I'm sure the business is going well! I seen this place open when they first opened and wondered about it! The ambiance is clean very big and lots of space! Try it out!

I swear this is the best place to eat! I've been eating here since they opened, I even ate here for my birthday everything is so good. The beef samosas are my favorite, every day I crave Alibaba's food. I literally made this Yelp account just to specifically review Alibaba because it's awesome.

This was our go to place for falafel. As I said ," was". Today was a miss. Falafel was old overcooked not enjoyable. The chicken wrap first came out completely cold, when remade it was covered in spices and inedible. The fries were overcooked and when placed on plate were dumped from the fryer so the fries included bits of old fried food and oil that got dumped on the plate with the fries Truly disappointing. And as I waited for my food to be remade, the cook was throwing me nasty looks. How dare I complain about the horrible cooking...Not to worry Alibaba 2nd street has many places for good not overcooked falafel. Without the nasty stares.