Reviews & Ratings for Carnival Restaurant

03/21/10

Truly satisfying

by TastyLA at Citysearch

Delicious Lebanese food (humos/shawarma/kababs) and generous portions means this Valley restaurant is busy most nights (expect a wait on weekends). Drawing fans is the food--certainly not the too bright lights or basic decor. Start with a combo appetizer plate ($10.95) of creamy humos and baba ghanoug and mint/parsley tabbouli salad. There's plenty to share. Kabobs are juicy; stick with the french fries as your side--hand cut and perfect. Choose between meat (lamb and beef) or chicken shawarma plates--about as good as it gets. The lentil soup bursts with cumin and other flavors. Service is brisk and efficient--and there's even a kids' menu. If only the beer and wine lists (boring production brews and wines) matched the quality of the food!

• Pros: Great food and generous portions at a fair price
• Cons: Boring wine and beer lists; should match food quality

02/18/10

This restaurant never dissapoints

by Ginafellini at Citysearch

The babaganoosh(sp?) my favorite, and Kafta kabob, mmm, grape leaves, perfection and lemony!!!

The owner/chef will serve you because he cooks with his knowledge and heart!!! I am Italian, but Lebanese food, my favorite, Dont call it a Meditteranean Restaurant. Its Lebanese all the way.!!! Worth a vist.

• Pros: everything is great!!
• Cons: Dont worry about Service, Americans are always in a hurry.

01/24/10

Authentic

by Kika Davis 2 at Citysearch

"Bruchim Haba'im" welcomes you into this valley gem and no other words are more appropriate. It's located in a small strip-mall off of Woodman and Moorpark (with a terrible parking lot - more luck on the streets during peak times).

The food is beyond description. Smooth hummus, beef and lamb shawarma full of flavor, arabic salad with crisp cucumbers, warm out of the oven pita bread, and pickles that add jut enough "oomf" to a pita sandwich.

Make the trek from wherever you are in the city. I guarantee it's worth it.

• Pros: Portions, Price, and Pickles!
• Cons: Limited Parking

06/11/08

Excellent food

by Tixona at Citysearch

Okay, if you want great mediteranean food, this is the place to go. If you are in a rush, avoid this place like the plague. If you would like to cozy up to your server, head for the hills because it won't happen here!

Food is the best. We ONLY go here for the food. The service stinks. Seriously, it's bad. You'll wait forever for initial service, your food and your check but like I said, the food is worth it. We go probably once a month. We just know we aren't loving our waitress and we are not on a time limit. A couple of times, we have walked out because no one even approached us when we were first seated. We waited almost 20 mintues! We still go back. Says something, eh?

• Pros: Food quality and quantity
• Cons: Waitstaff

11/07/07

Good place for take out...dine in if you're up for a challenge

by themaxter at Citysearch

Great food; especially the foul, lebneh, and babagonush (the lamb was quite tasty as well) but the service was terrible! Having to track down waiters to get water at the table...and as the frizzy haired blond Lebanese waitress was bringing the food to our over crowded table, she yelled, "come on people--help me out here!" as our guests scrambled to make room in an impossibly small eating area. There was live entertainment of a transsexual belly dancer and woman whose stomach was quite large and folded several times as she danced. The entire staff stopped attending to the guests in the restaurant to watch. The show was more comical than cultural. Next time I'd get take out.

• Pros: the food taste, parking
• Cons: slow service, rude service, and FILTHY bathrooms

For more than 20 years, locals have been packing this homey Lebanese restaurant in the West Valley.

by Andrew Rosenblum at Citysearch

In Short
This Sherman Oaks institution has slowly expanded in its mini-mall location over the past two decades. Hungry customers pack the main dining room, which with its inexpensive wood-surfaced tables and almond-shaped doorways, feels like an upscale Lebanese coffee shop. The food is anything but ordinary: Hummus, kabobs, and shawarma have consistently drawn raves, and lots of repeat business. The chef also serves Lebanese specialties such as makanek sausage sauteed with lemon juice.

02/06/07

HIdden little gem in Sherman Oaks

by bigdaddy_57 at Citysearch

Most of the other reviewers of Carnival have been spot on. The place is always crowded, (even midweek), but the food is so good, and the portions are so gigantic that its worth the wait. The beef and chicken shiskabab are incredible - perfectly grilled, moist and flavorful, and more than enough for dinner and the next days lunch. The Kefta kabobs and falaffal are also very good, and as for appetizers, they make a killer Babaganoush and Hummus with mushroom. The owners are very warm and friendly, but the wait staff can be a bit surly. The last time we ate there, we were seated relatively quickly (after a 20 minute wait), our waitress took our order, but when delivering our orders, kind of put the plates on the table without asking who had ordered what and walked away. She didn't come back to ask how the food was, if we needed refills on drinks, etc. In fact, we ended up tipping the busboy because he was much more helpful than our waitress was. However, at other times that were just as busy, the service has been great and very friendly - so your dining experience can definitely be somewhat erratic at Carnival. We have been eating at Carnival once every few months for the last 10 years or so, so they must be doing something right!!

• Pros: Food, portions, value, parking
• Cons: Long wait, service may be bad, (or may be good), depending on mood of waitress

06/29/06

best lebanese food in the city

by ninaemkin at Citysearch

Carnival is so wildly good I eat there almost every week; the chicken kabob, rice, green salad, yogurt salad, hummus, falafel.. It is all so good. The real draw for me, though, is the unbelievable tabouleh. It's the best I have ever had. Lemony, lots of parsley, so goooood. It can get super crowded but it's worth the wait. The waitstaff treat me like family (maybe because I go so much) and it's always kind of like going to a party at some distant relative's house. They also have diet peach iced tea from Snapple, which I appreciate a lot.

05/28/06

Awesome food! Great value!

by pegasus88 at Citysearch

People come from far away to have this outstanding Lebanese fare. Everything on the menu is fantastic! Huge portions make for great leftovers the next day. Usually crowded and busy, yet the service remains friendly and gracious. Highly recommended!

• Pros: great food

01/14/06

YUM!

by chuck1500 at Citysearch

This place is just what it is. A neighborhood restaurant that offers the best Middle Eastern food around. You can't go wrong, if you want a casual lunch/dinner. The Chicken Kabob is the best. The hummus and falafel is great as well. Be patient, service can be slow!

• Pros: Food, Prices
• Cons: Service, Parking