Domenico’s Belmont Shore

Amazing food, very friendly service and seating in reasonable amount of time without a reservation. Had two pasta dishes and they were delicious! The garlic bread is scrumptious and kept on coming out. It was also a nice perk that they were kid friendly too!

Best Italian food ever! The tomato bisque soup was amazing. The lasagna was everyone’s favorite as well as the pizza with the ground pepperoni. This place sets the bar for Italian food!

I saw this place on Burroughs’ Bites, a segment on KTLA weekend morning news. I saw the way they were making their pizza with the ground pepperoni and had to try it.
When I went, we tried the pepperoni saugage pizza, soup, and salad. The soup and salad were great. The pizza was outstanding. Since the meats are ground, every bite was consistently tasting the same. The service was friendly and attentive. I’d come back to this place again. I referred this place to a buddy of mine, and he and his family loved the place.

We now have 4 generations of family coming here over the last 50 years. I crave the traditional ground pepperoni pizza and we drive across Orange County to get some. The Best Pizza! Soup and Salad are delicious and pretty much everything else you order is too. The atmosphere is cozy and the perfect spot to enjoy a superb meal with friends and family. I love you, Domenico’s.

The best.
The ambiance, the service and the food are all excellent. I have a wheat allergy, so I wasn’t able to eat any of the pastas, but I was with 6 other people who could and they all had rave reviews. I had a gluten-​free pizza and it was fantastic.
I really hope they decide to get gluten-​free pasta in the future… it’s such a simple thing to add to the menu and just as easy to cook.
This is a great place for a group/​holiday dinner, date night, dinner with parents, etc. It’s casual, but there’s something really special about it… hence why there is almost always a wait. They don’t take reservations unless you have a large group, so prepare to wait. Everything is HUGE portions (family style), so you can try a little of everything.
Total staple of Belmont Shores.

Saw this spot on TV stopped in to have the ground pepperoni pizza. Different and very good, needed extra sauce and cheese to balance out the meat. Overall, a very good pizza, crust was crispy too.

We moved to the area 3 months ago and love checking out all the local, family owned restaurants. Domenico’s has been, by far, our favorite. The food… AMAZING! The variety of items on the menu is perfect and super affordable. Their wait staff is helpful, friendly and funny. (Our server last night helped settle our Star Wars/​Star Trek debate) We waited a bit to sit down because the folks in our designated table (reservation for 10) took forever to leave, but the manager made sure to communicate to our group the status of their group and made sure to get us baskets of DELICIOUS bread to hold the kids over. It was, as always, a wonderful experience and our out of town guests were happy and full when we left.
Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken — 10
Minestrone — 10
Pepperoni Pizza — 10
Chicken Parm — 10
Mozzarella Sticks — 10… 100 stars!
You really can’t go wrong with anything you order.
Thannks Domenico’s!!!

I always wonder why I no longer frequent Domenico’s. I decided to treat a few guests over the Christmas holiday. As we were seated, the memories came flooding back.
The horribly dusty appearance. Filth everywhere. Years of it, flying into our food from the wooden table dividers and almost every other surface in this place.
Our server, a boy of around 20 with a very surly attitude waited on us. His demeanor became a bit less surly as he tuned into our vibe. It may have been the Rolex, Mont Blanc or some other insignificant little thing he noticed in our party.
The food was not all that great. Pasta was just normal. You can get it cheaper at Francelli’s.
I’ve always liked the pizza however, the dust clouds my view. Calamari, average and can be had anywhere. Domenico’s is overpriced regular, everyday Italian food.
Won’t be back.

This is the quintessential solid old school neighborhood pizza spot. I linked up with a friend over Thanksgiving weekend who was staying in Long Beach. A lovely local woman recommend that we check out this spot. We had a simple pepperoni pizza and the special salad with the house dressing. The food was great. The company was great. The service was great. We even got to meet the owner who was great.
If you are ever in the mood for some old school neighborly friendliness with a slice of pizza give Domenico’s a chance. I’ve been on Unilocal since ’06 and have learned over time that spots like this in the L.A. vicinity are incredibly rare which is very unfortunate. Sometimes I notice that foodies sacrifice community for flavor. Domenico’s has a nice balance of decent food and a wonderful community that dearly loves it.

Fun fact: Domenico’s is one of the first restaurants to serve pizza in California. In 1954, Domenico and Beverly Spano opened Domenico’s in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach. With a simple menu consisting primarily of made-​from-​scratch pizzas and the now famous house salad, Domenico’s Belmont Shore introduced their Italian faire to the Long Beach locals. The original recipes are still being followed, and its business has grown to new heights. The menu now also includes many delicious pasta dishes including Sausage Tomato Cream, Chicken Basil Cream, Angel Hair Chicken Fresco, and much more.
They also have great lunch specials including a personal pizza and a salad for about $ 7. Great service, great pizza, and warm ambience.

My one complaint for this place is the transition from one waitress to the other. There was no communication between the two other than letting the customers know they are changing staff. I came in here for a friend’s birthday and I had mentioned it to the waitress Katie and she made no mention of it to the other waitress who took over after her so the dinner was just an ordinary dinner which could have been better should there have been a sweet treat even if I had to pay for it. I know I could have said something to the new waitress but as one would think for good customer service, there would have been a communication between the two.
I’d say over all the food was delish the customer service was meh and we continuously had to ask for water refills and we never got our paper napkins.

Just had a company holiday event, catered by Domenico’s.
Hmm…I remember Domenico’s. It’s one of the few original places left on 2^nd street. Haven’t been there, but it must be saying something to still be on 2^nd street when all the other local restaurants and shops have left, making way for the usual Banana Republic, Gap, and Starbucks chains.
I didn’t have any expectations, I mean, it’s catered food, right? Usual mass produced, keep it boring so everyone is fine with it food. Imagine my surprise! The food was absolutely excellent! More like actual dishes you would order from a very established Italian Restaurant. seasoned chicken with an incredible bruschetta (went back for seconds), creamy garlic penne pasta, a robust salad, mixed breads, other dishes that looked amazing, but I filled up on the two I named, all kept hot and plentiful on our buffet tables. All so yummy! These are the same dishes, I would want to order inside the restaurant.
What’s more, the servers were friendly and knowledgeable about the food, eager to tell you about the dishes. Not the usual caterer’s son, dropping off the food and leaving. You could tell these girls loved what they were serving. You would have thought they were the chefs, maybe they were!
Surprisingly great experience all the way around. Now I can’t wait to visit the restaurant I have walked past so many times. No wonder Domenico’s outlasted the other local restaurants. Thank you for a wonderful holiday meal!

AS SEEN ON TELEVISION: My daughter and wife saw a report on KTLA’s morning news (Burrous’ Bites) on a pie that contained ground pepperoni instead of the traditional slices we’ve all grown accustomed to. My teenager is our family’s pie aficionado so when you said ‘let’s go’ we had our holiday weekend Saturday night planned. You see, we’re on the north end of Los Angeles County in Castaic (think Magic Mountain, only two more exits north) so this pie better be worth the roadie…
Belmont Shores is a tiny town just south of the LBC that feels like a combo between a surf city and a college center where young students party mid-​week through Sunday morning. More and more upscale restaurants are popping up which is good and Domenico’s is the old standard, there since the 50s.
Stepping inside you definitely get that feel — an Italian joint on the east coast — not California at all. Cramped, dimly lit and full of personality which is a nice contrast to corporate cookie cutter spots.
We ordered the pepperoni (my daughter only likes pepperoni) so I’d suggest Domenico’s offer the option to mix toppings per side as most pie joints do these days. The pizza comes with soups instead of salad which was interesting. They had the minestrone which had a mild broth with tasty vegetables, legumes and pasta shells; I had tomato bisque which offered a bigger flavor punch.
EYES TOO BIG FOR MY STOMACH: I wanted to try Gnocchi in an Italian restaurant so I ordered this AND a salad (which again came with the aforementioned soup) but after the soup, bread squares and crunchy bread sticks, I was barely able to try the pie and eat my entrée. NOTE: The salads are service by the number of people you’ll feed, so make sure to specify if you want a solo or group service as the prices can add up.
PERSONALIZED SERVICE: On the manager fly by, I mentioned the KTLA angle and the owner gave us a great history lesson, brought out their special dressing (for bread stick dipping as well) AND gave us a complimentary tiramisu, which was delightful as well.
Overall a great experience that I’ll trumpet to all my friends and family.

Ok, this review has been a long time coming. We have not forgotten the service and quality attention we received at this restaurant.
I was very indecisive as to what to order. After making the wrong choice and the server seeing my reaction, she did not hesitate to call over her manager Lance to help me pick a better dish. Aside from my embarrassment Lance made me feel special and helped me come up with the perfect dish.
PLEASE try the hand made fresh gnocchi with the rose cream sauce made in-​house, you will not be disappointed.
Thank you Lance for running a top notch establishment, we will never forget our dinner there.

My review is mostly based on the pizza.
On Halloween night, my husband and I decided to spend it in Long Beach. I moved to CA a few months ago, so I’m still getting to know the area. We found Domenico’s on Unilocal,and from the great reviews we decided to come have dinner here and then head to the bars right after.
When we walked in, we were greeted at the door and shown to our table. Our waiter took our drink orders right then, and brought «bread sticks» with a side of their homemade sauce. Honestly, I really didn’t like the bread sticks since they’re like a really hard, long cracker. However, the sauce was really tasty even though it had an odd texture.
While browsing the menu, we decided on a large spicy barbecue chicken pizza, which also came with soup. Personally, I absolutely hate soup. I hate the liquid, and how it makes me sweat. I asked the waiter if I could have a salad instead, and he said that they were no substitutions, which I found rather odd. I took the minestrone and had a sip just to try it. It was okay, but I really didn’t care to finish it.
Concerning the pizza, it was really disappointing. The barbecue sauce overpowered any other flavor. I was expecting the pizza to be a regular cheese pizza with chicken and drizzled barbecue sauce on it like at any other place. However, at Domenico’s, they put the spicy barbecue sauce on top of the cheese and top it with the chicken, onions and cilantro. They do put plenty of chicken and cilantro, but unfortunately it is overpowered by the heavy sauce. I really didn’t enjoy the dough either; it was very bland. For the price we paid, I thought the pizza was lacking quality.
On the bright side, they have a lot of great beers on draft and the service was excellent. Our waiter was very attentive and the busboys as well.
Overall, I’m really sad I didn’t like this place as much as I would have liked to. Even though I enjoyed the ambience and service, I really did not like the pizza. If I returned, I would most definitely try some other dish. I will update my review when I do.

Love this place!
Try the rigatoni or the carbonara pizza! You won’t regret it.
I will definitely be back for more!

Super cute and comfy pizza joint.
Their pizza crust is thin and crispy. Just the way I like it. Lots of topping choices.
They give free soup (minestrone or tomato cream)
Kind staff. Would come back again.

I moved to Colorado back in 2003 and this is my go to place literally when I land! If I am in SoCal for five days I eat here at least of those nights and take two large pizzas home in my suitcase! Yes it’s that great. I have the recipe for their dressing so I am fortunate enough to make that year around. When I lived in Lakewood I used to go every Friday night here for dinner, I’m not kidding. This is a must. Order the sausage and ground pepperoni and smoother it in their house dressing! Trust me
Oh and I will be in town ⁹⁄₁₇ to ⁹⁄₂₁ so yes I will be there at least 3 of those nights for dinner lol

I was introduced to this restaurant through family friends (there was 8 of us in total), and we left super stuffed. The salad alone was full of flavor– the portion of it was so big that we all had to refrain from overstuffing ourselves before the main entrées and had it to-​go! On top of that, we were served complimentary bread while enjoying our order of bottled wine and minestrone soups.
As for the main entrées, we ordered 3 pizzas: grounded sausage (or crumpled pepperoni), hawaiian, and vegetarian– all were topped with an additional hefty topping of olives (can’t deny our love for olives) ;D The hawaiian pizza is my personal favorite and it was delicious. I only managed to eat one slice (I knew I shouldn’t have indulged too much on the savory soup and bread– sucha deadly duo). Everyone else enjoyed all the pizzas as the restaurant DID NOT hesitate with the ingredients that made each slice über hearty. *thumbs up
Service was good for what it was on a busy weekend night.

My friend was randomly craving an Italian sandwich late last night, so we walked down 2^nd St in search for a sub. He said that he had Domenico’s takeout at work a few weeks ago and really enjoyed his food, so we decided to go here for dinner. He ordered the meatball sub and I ordered a side of spaghetti and meatballs. I was going to get the pizza sandwich (it sounded very intriguing), but the server was unable to provide a description of the sandwich to me when I asked him. He said that it is a pizza, but a sandwich. Sure. That helped a lot. Since I was not in the spontaneous mood, I figured that spaghetti and meatballs would be fine.
My friend rated his meatball sub as «just ok». The bread was slightly over charred and the meatballs were just decent (and I agree). I felt that the meatballs were a little bland. I was not very impressed. The spaghetti was cooked well, but the meat sauce also lacked any special flavor. All in all, I felt that the spaghetti and meatballs were just ok — nothing to write home about. The portion size is good, especially for an a la carte order, and it also came with a slice of garlic bread.
There was also complimentary soup, which I appreciated. I got the minestrone and my friend got the tomato bisque. Although not amazing, they were free, so no complaints at all.
The pizza here looked very good, so if I were to come back, I’d definitely try that. The food that we got tasted fine, but was nothing great. The prices were good and the restaurant is a cute homely place.