1 week Ago
Tucked between Orange County’s theme parks and Los Angeles’ star spotlight, Long Beach can be overlooked when there’s not a Grand Prix in town. That’s a boon for locals who can enjoy easy access to metropolitan amenities without sacrificing the friendly, know-your-neighbor attitude that Long Beach is known for. Of course, Long Beach has always been a worthy Southern California destination.
Parked in the city’s bustling port is the Queen Mary, a nearly century-old ocean liner that’s since transformed into a tourist attraction with restaurants, shopping and overnight suites. Just across the bay sits the largest aquarium in the state, where you can eat a sustainably sourced fish taco with a view of the seal and sea lion exhibit. Yet too many visitors stick to the port city’s shoreline attractions, leaving whole neighborhoods unexplored.
On the Eastside, for instance, a thriving enclave is home to the largest Cambodian community outside of Cambodia. Recently, it’s the local culinary scene that’s attracting outside interest. Take Gusto Bread , an artisanal panadería that opened on Retro Row in 2020 and was named a finalist in the Outstanding Bakery category of the 2024 James Beard Foundation awards.
Or Heritage restaurant, which became the city’s first Michelin-starred establishment in 2023, an honor it retained at this year’s awards ceremony. Something is changing in the food scene here: Quietly, Long Beach has transformed into a densely concentrated dining paradise. “Long Beach is going through a huge renaissance,” says Phil Pretty, Heritage chef and co-owner alongside his sister Lauren Pretty.
The siblings also run Heritage farm, which fuels the restaurant’s zero-waste program, supplies produce for the daily-changing tasting menu and serves as an event space. Last month, the Prettys debuted a dual-concept bagel shop and dinner bistro in downtown Long Beach. “There are multiple chefs in town that are doing stuff the right way and doing it really well and are all about their craft,” says Phil.
He cites friend and colleague Carlos Jurado’s restaurant Selva, which weaves Colombian and Californian influences, and Ammatoli, chef-owner Dima Habibeh’s six-year-old temple to Levantine cooking, as examples. “We look at ourselves as a smaller L.A.
, but it’s really condensed and you have all these different chefs from different walks of life bringing their best, whether it be farm to table, barbecue or tacos and Mexican food,” says longtime local and pitmaster Chad Phuong, whose Battambong BBQ pop-up blends Texas barbecue traditions with Cambodian flavors and techniques. “We have everything, and we want to celebrate it.” That celebratory spirit is paving the way for new food concepts to find local success in a tumultuous industry , and the condensed city limits only make collaboration among Long Beach food businesses that much easier.
“We help each other out,” says Jessica Sarwine, who co-owns Oh La Vache cheese with former Cheese Store of Silver Lake monger Erika Ponzo, of their surrounding community on Retro Row. “If we’re all elevating each other, then we’re all doing well. It’s not like there’s only room for one of us.
” Long Beach native Brennan Villarreal, who co-runs the Got Your Back pop-up with his partner, Sasha Schoen, credits his generation for driving this supportive and community-minded ethos. “I’ve watched this community that I grew up with and now they’re investing back in the city, getting married, buying houses in Long Beach, having kids in Long Beach, and all of our tastes have grown up with us.” “Hopefully the OG staples live forever,” adds Schoen.
“I would hate to not have Thai Curry Pizza or El Sauz’s tacos ever again, but it’s fun to see things move and change and push the boundaries.” I’ve spent months getting to know the spots driving Long Beach’s resurgent dining scene, including the state’s first women-focused sports bar, a bottle shop dedicated to sake and a Filipino-inflected restaurant housed in an art compound. And even though it’s a 40-minute drive from my Mid-City home on the clearest traffic day, I keep finding reasons to return.
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