Boubouffe

We gave up going for breakfast because of how long it took for the food to come out of the kitchen (not the waitresses fault!). But we tried it again today. We were one of two customers (8AM) and we ordered first: it took 20 minutes for the yogurt parfaits to arrive. The tall goblet used sat precariously on one side of a too-​long rectangular platter while the small bowl of granola sat at the other end — a most unfitting presentation. We were finished before our sides arrived — -just how long does it take to make wheat toast!!! The «homemade potatoes» were so overly-​salted that they were inedible. We gave them another chance and they failed. Never again!

Not sure what everyone else experienced, but I found the staff to be exceptional. I came for a friends birthday dinner and everyone was very kind and accommodating. I’m not sure who exactly our waiter/​waitress was because 4 or 5 different people came by. They all were really cool though. The food was also delicious and I was really surprised at how affordable it was and how large the portions are. I ordered the chicken shawarma platter for $ 15 and it includes a huge portion of chicken along with two sides. I ordered a Greek salad and rice as my sides. Everything was really good. I’ll definitely be coming back!

The food is good, but the service is awful. I told the waitress I had various food intolerances and that I needed to know what the ingredients in the lentil soup were. She was very condescending and answered: «Hu, lentil soup has lentils», as if I were just asking a stupid question. Obviously, I know lentil soup has lentils, but there must be something else. So I, again, explained it was because of food intolerance and asked her to ask the chef. She came back and said, again very condescending, he said the «lentil soup has lentils». I, AGAIN, explained to her that there must be something else in the soup other than lentils and I needed to know because of allergies. She went back and asked the chef, again, and only then came and told me that it had tomatoes, parsley, carrots and lentils. I CANNOT eat tomatoes, I am breastfeeding a sensitive baby. Had I gone with her initial, rude answer, I would’ve consumed a food that my baby does not tolerate. I do not understand why she was so rude and why she felt the need to have me explain THREE times the reason I needed to know what was in my food. As a paying consumer, I have the right to know what is in my food. I was not being capricious, it is a health matter. At the same time, it shows a complete lack of professionalism –and gastronomic culture in general– when a person working in the restaurant industry does not know such a basic thing as a soup, or any dish, has more than the name announces.
Any way, if you have a food intolerance or allergies, my advice to you is to call ahead of time, be very patient and be prepared to be treated in a rude manner, or just skip this place. Again, their food is good, but I can also cook good food at home or go to another place, so why bother paying to be treated poorly?

Food is good, but service is pretty slow. Crêpe was cold and eggs Benedict was missing the salmon. Asked for coffee several times but it never came and no one ever checked on us.

Chicken taouk is the best here! Service style is «European»… Don’t be in a hurry when dining and you’ll enjoy. Garlic sauce is a must– baba ganoush– to die for! smoky and the best ever.

I’ve been here probably a hundred times now. Ever since they opened. I moved a bot further and haven’t been here for close to a year and now that I’m back, its really exciting to see that it’s the same old Boubouffe I knew before. Although now they have beer on draft and great wine selection. Elina was taking care of us, she did absolutely great! Such a bubbly personality and excellent knowledge of wine and food recommendation. No doubt, these guys have my favorite Mediterranean food, and that’s saying something since I’ve been «around the block» and know a thing or two about kabobs and other Mediterranean cuisine.
Will certainly recommend anybody to come and visit these guys. Great food, fantastic atmosphere, the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The most authentic food you will find anywhere. Great service and atmosphere! You must try this place, you will become a regular.

I ended up going here because George’s (also Mediterranean) was completely packed and this place had plenty of open seating and seemed like a nice spot. The food is extremely underwhelming and the portion sizes are meager for the prices. The pita bread appetizer reminds me of something you would find on the discount rack of a grocery store. Needless to say I will not be returning here.

Great place, food is very tasty and fresh. Highly recommend to everyone their white beans hummus is AMAZING!!!

The two stars is not so much for bad food, it’s because things have changed. It’s personal, not professional — they’re still good.
I used to love the option of having five items as an appetizer, since their lemon spicy potatoes are delicious, the fried cauliflower is great and then I’d get three different kinds of hummus to start off.
They don’t have that option anymore, and the entrees are all right.
Two stars for removing the appetizer option and for the fair, not good main course. This place is responsible for making me appreciate tea the real taste of unsweetened tea and for opening up my pallet, but it’s just not the same as it once was.
Not a bad place, it’s just changed.

This review is for Friday, 2÷19÷16. We were walking around trying to decide what to eat and noticed this place wasn’t extremely busy. It looked good, so we decided to give it a try. When we walked up to the stand, the hostess was on the phone. She looked up at us but did not say a word… just continued to talk and laugh on the phone. We waited for a few minutes but got zero acknowledgement from her. We hoped for a «I’ll be with you in just a minute» or even a hand motion asking us to wait. We waited a few more minutes while standing right in front of her while she continued to ignore us and talk and giggle on the phone.
We gave up and decided to go somewhere else. As we were walking away, she threw her arms up in the air with a «what the heck?» motion, but still did not bother to get off the phone. So rude.
If this is any indication of how the service is inside the restaurant, i will never go back.
We went across the street to George’s and had exceptional service.

We weren’t sure what to expect because we ended up here after the restaurant we planned on going to turned us away. The food was incredible! Our waitress was very attentive and nice. Nice atmosphere and patio. Try the peach iced tea!

Excellent food and service. We love it here and they were open on Christmas I suggest the chicken kabob w/​garlic sauce, chili hummus, and Greek salad.
Bring a sweater if you get cold easily. It’s mostly an «outside» venue. They also have a small parking lot which is rare for Belmont.

Boubouffe is located on Second St. in Belmont Shore and it looked nice so we gave it a try. We came here for a special occasion so our hopes we’re high. Even though the restaurant was pretty empty, an elderly man who came to take our order for drinks was pretty damn pushy. Not cool buddy! You’re supposed to want your customers to return. Right? So we ordered two of the Same beer. What they brought us was the same beer in two different types of glasses. Not too big of a deal… but just kind of strange. Maybe they hadn’t wash their dishes yet. Who knows!
Ok, so our waitress takes our order then brings the appetizers to the table without plates or flat wear. The appetizers just sat there for a while before we even got to taste them. The pita bread they brought to the table wasn’t exactly the best I’ve ever had either. Didn’t like it. As for the appetizers, the sautéd mushrooms were very good. Finally, Something good! The spicy hummus was also good. As for my dish, I wasn’t crazy about it. I ordered the combo plate. It was… Aa-​aaiiit. The other dishes were decent but nothing to jump up and down about. The one dish that did stand out for me was the shrimp dish. Now that was very good. If you’re going to go here, get the shrimp. Otherwise there are better choices out there. Sorry, just won’t be running back there anytime soon.

Best Mediterranean food in LB… better then Open Sesame down the street. A must try if you like healthy eats.

We reserved (on Open Table) telling the restaurant we were using a Groupon.
There were some errors from the kitchen regarding our order, but we didn’t make a big deal.
We we went to pay our $ 39.90 check (before tax/​tip) we were told we would not be permitted to use our $ 40 Groupon certificate because we had not yet spent $ 40& would have to order more or we couldn’t use certificate at all.
I have never heard of such a thing, nor am I aware of this being a stated Groupon rule. Found this absolutely indefensible. Especially after the 2+ errors they had made in the orders.
Not the way to build a customer base, which I would assume is what they are trying to do by being on Groupon.
The food we got that we were able to eat tasted good. But returning after that experience? Not sure.

The place is very romantic & there’s parking! Expensive, intimate, really good service.
Really good food, but I agree with Ohad below. I’m used to bigger portions at a Middle Eastern Restaurant.

Boubouffe is a cute intimate little Mediterranean restaurant on 2^nd St. The servers are attentive (I don’t know if it was because there were only 2 other tables there the night that I went).
The food is decent, but there’s some stiff Mediterranean competition on 2^nd St (*ahem* Open Sesame *ahem*). I got a lamb kafta plate with tabbouleh and rice, which was decent tasting, but a little bit on the salty side. I also got the hummus plate it comes with three types of hummus. The spicy one was very good; however, I wasn’t a huge fan of the sweet one. The pita bread is very good though! The food is nothing memorable, but the service is top notch. If you are looking for a nice place for date night that isn’t crowded, this place is a good place to go to. However, if you are just going out with the intention to get the best Mediterranean food, head down the street to Open Sesame.

When is the service going to get better??? After reading some of the prior reviews, bad service is the common denominator. Why? When will the servers be properly trained? Stop being cheap and having only one server half the time, for the entire restaurant. So what if it’s slow. Maybe because people aren’t coming back because the LACK OF service, hence why it’s slow. Bad service tells me customers are not considered number one. Customers focus should be on the food, their company, enjoying the experience that was meant to be enjoyed. Not constantly looking up wanting to be acknowledged by the server for something that is needed or missing. I’ve been coming here at least a half dozen times over the span of their existence… Still crappy service. Although I have noticed some improvement during my last visit. But they still have a ways to go.
The food, what can I say, always great. Lamb Kafta, Chicken Taouk, Chicken Shawarma (tender and flavorful), Spicey hummus (wow!), baba ganoush (Love the smokey flavor, always get it with my meal). But those starters use to come with pieces of Greek pita toasted. That was the best. Now nothing but a basket of soft pita, they say is complimentary. Eh… boring. Anyway, every item that I’ve tried, I would definitely order again. Yes, I will be back.
4.5 — Food
2.5 — Service… sometimes a 1

Looking for a good Mediterranean Labenese cuisine in the heart of Long Beach, this is your place. The pleasant outdoor seating allows you to enjoy the 2^nd street sights.
I had the humus and shrimp and it was very good– borderline perfect. The shrimp was so fresh and perfectly cooked that i almost ordered a second entrée. I would highly recommend this place if you are looking for great Mediterranean cuisine.