Zankou Chicken
Rotisserie chicken, shawarma, and garlic sauce
Founded in Beirut in 1962 by an Armenian family, Zankou brings its rotisserie chicken, tarna, shawarma, falafel, and signature garlic sauce to two OC locations.
Visit websiteExplore Persian kabobs, Turkish döner, Afghan comfort food, Lebanese meze, Syrian cooking, Yemeni shared plates, Egyptian specialties, falafel, shawarma, and sweets across OC.
Start exploring ↓“Middle Eastern” makes the guide easier to find, but it covers many countries, cultures, and cooking traditions. The cards keep those identities visible rather than treating every kabob, flatbread, stew, or rice dish as the same meal.
This guide reaches across Orange County while keeping Anaheim’s Little Arabia easy to explore in greater depth. It’s extensive, never exhaustive, and organized around the kind of meal you want.
Start with rotisserie chicken, a Syrian table, Persian kabobs, Turkish grills, or Afghan comfort food. Each one leads in a different direction.
Rotisserie chicken, shawarma, and garlic sauce
Founded in Beirut in 1962 by an Armenian family, Zankou brings its rotisserie chicken, tarna, shawarma, falafel, and signature garlic sauce to two OC locations.
Visit website ↗A sit-down meal near the stadium district
A family-run restaurant sharing Syrian and Arabic cooking through muhammara, kibbeh, shawarma, kabobs, falafel, and larger platters for the table.
Visit website ↗Persian kabobs and a longer dinner
A polished Persian dining room near South Coast Plaza with koobideh, filet and chicken kabobs, stews, rice dishes, and shareable appetizers.
Visit website ↗Turkish grills, pide, and a full sit-down meal
A family-run Turkish restaurant with mixed grills, döner, pide, lahmacun, meze, and desserts that make it useful for both lunch and a longer dinner.
Visit website ↗Afghan dumplings, kabobs, and hearty comfort food
A Lake Forest restaurant serving mantu, ashak, qabili palau, bolani, kabobs, and other Afghan dishes with plenty to explore beyond the grill.
Visit website ↗Kabobs may be the familiar entry point, but tahchin, ghormeh sabzi, mantu, ashak, and qabili palau give you plenty of reasons to order beyond them.
Persian kabobs and a longer dinner
A polished Persian dining room near South Coast Plaza with koobideh, filet and chicken kabobs, stews, rice dishes, and shareable appetizers.
Visit website ↗Casual Persian plates and generous portions
A casual Irvine restaurant serving kabobs, saffron rice, stews, wraps, salads, and Persian comfort dishes in an easy counter-service setting.
Visit website ↗South County kabobs and Persian comfort food
A Mission Viejo restaurant with koobideh, chicken and filet kabobs, tahchin, stews, rice dishes, and family-style combinations.
Visit website ↗Afghan dumplings, kabobs, and hearty comfort food
A Lake Forest restaurant serving mantu, ashak, qabili palau, bolani, kabobs, and other Afghan dishes with plenty to explore beyond the grill.
Visit website ↗Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, and Turkish restaurants bring their own approaches to dips, grilled meats, pastries, flatbreads, and meals meant to be shared.
A sit-down meal near the stadium district
A family-run restaurant sharing Syrian and Arabic cooking through muhammara, kibbeh, shawarma, kabobs, falafel, and larger platters for the table.
Visit website ↗Meze, grilled meats, and a neighborhood dinner
A longstanding Orange restaurant with hummus, baba ghanoush, kibbeh, shawarma, kebabs, and Lebanese plates suited to sharing.
Visit website ↗Turkish grills, pide, and a full sit-down meal
A family-run Turkish restaurant with mixed grills, döner, pide, lahmacun, meze, and desserts that make it useful for both lunch and a longer dinner.
Visit website ↗Döner sandwiches, wraps, and a quick meal
A family-owned halal Turkish shop serving house-made döner in sandwiches, plates, wraps, and loaded fries with fresh salads and sauces.
Visit website ↗Wood-fired manakeesh and an easy breakfast
Made-to-order Lebanese flatbreads come from a wood-burning oven with combinations of za’atar, labneh, spinach, cheese, and meat.
Visit website ↗Rotisserie chicken, shawarma, falafel, kabob plates, wraps, salads, and plenty of garlic sauce make these easy places to begin.
Rotisserie chicken, shawarma, and garlic sauce
Founded in Beirut in 1962 by an Armenian family, Zankou brings its rotisserie chicken, tarna, shawarma, falafel, and signature garlic sauce to two OC locations.
Visit website ↗Rotisserie chicken and an easy family meal
A family-owned Southern California staple serving rotisserie chicken, kabobs, salads, hummus, and its signature lemon-garlic sauces.
Visit website ↗Kabob plates, family meals, and broad convenience
An Orange County-founded restaurant group built around made-to-order kabobs, hummus, salads, wraps, and family-style meals across several local cities.
Visit website ↗A focused falafel stop just beyond Anaheim
A casual shop founded by a couple from Beit Iksa, serving Jerusalem-style falafel in bowls and generously filled pita sandwiches.
Visit website ↗Anaheim’s Brookhurst Street corridor brings together restaurants, bakeries, markets, cafes, sweets, and community institutions shaped by Arab American families from across the region.
Explore the Little Arabia guide →Yemeni mandi, Egyptian comfort food, Palestinian knafeh, and Syrian booza make this rail a direct path into some of Little Arabia’s more distinctive specialties.
A group meal built around rice and slow-cooked meat
A spacious Yemeni restaurant serving mandi rice, roasted lamb, chicken, fish, bubbling meat stews, and large platters designed for sharing.
Visit website ↗Egyptian comfort food and unfamiliar specialties
A patio-centered restaurant and cafe with koshari, hawawshi, molokhia, rice-stuffed pigeon, Egyptian sausage, and traditional desserts.
Visit website ↗Nabulsi knafeh and a focused dessert stop
The Abusir family traces its knafeh-making tradition to 1918, preparing crisp and soft versions with cheese, syrup, and pistachios.
Visit website ↗Booza, baklava, knafeh, and pastries
A pastry shop known for Middle Eastern sweets and hand-pounded Syrian booza with a distinctive stretchy texture and pistachio coating.
Visit website ↗Menus, hours, and locations can change. Use each restaurant’s official link when available, confirm current details, and look at the regional specialties before defaulting to the most familiar dish.
Restaurant details last reviewed September 2026.If there’s a restaurant, dish, bakery, market, or sweet shop that deserves a place in this guide, tell Mike what makes it worth the stop.