Carnival Restaurant

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. The servings are generous and their lentil soup is the best. Their simple salad with cucumbers and radish is so refreshing. Nothing we have ordered has disappointed us and we’ve eaten here at least a dozen times. I’ve always had luck getting a table and the service is attentive. The only trouble I have is finding parking in the lot in front. I’m surprised I’ve never given this place a review! I was referred by someone I met taking the Metro when I first moved into the valley. Great place.

What I like about this place is that you get a lot for your money. The portions are really large and you can definitely share with someone. Just the food didn’t have much flavor for shears and kabobs. There are much better Mediterranean places in the valley.

Best Shawarma, Best Hummus, Best middle eastern food!!! Been around the world and still can’t find a better restaurant in my opinion!
Chicken Kabob, rice, tahini and Arabic salad today! Yummm!

The meat and the hummus here is better than anywhere near by.
It is expensive, but the portions are outrageous.
Come hungry and expect to take a nap afterwards.

Worst experience. Without saying parking horrible but that is not their fault. We had 10 people in party (beware they include tip) Food was sub par when we finally got it I had to ask 3 different people just for pita bread which we finally got and it was cold. Ordered the chicken kabob and chicken was dry and I would t dare asking for another because it would take another hour. They forgot one meal we ordered we mentioned they forgot it and then we immediately tried to cancel and they said to late they already started making it. I don’t recommend this place at all. HORRIBLE SERVICE HORRIBLE SERVICE AMD HORRIBLE SERVICE. go someplace else. If I could I would give no stars.

Food here is great, but it took me an hour to get the check?

Got in at lunch. Everything looked delicious as we saw food passing by us. We sat and waited and waited and waited and waited for the server. It took 20 minutes for her to finally get to us. We ordered a special chicken. She comes back after 5 minutes and tells us they are out of the special chicken. Looked for another option and ordered. We waited and waited. The table that came after us got their food before us. Not to mention our appetizer finally came. We were now about 40 minutes and still haven’t gotten our lunch. Just when I asked for the server she comes walking out with our food 45 min later from the time we walked in. How do I know that? I checked in on Unilocal once I sat down. I used that as my time reference. Look the food was flavorful and delicious however the service was poor. It’s disappointing. Not sure if I would come back especially the parking is difficult enough as it is. I think we would have appreciated if they recognized the inconvenience they put us in. Not an apology that the food took a lot of time. Keep that in mind when you dine.
It’s just discouraging as a customer.

We went to Carnival on a Sunday afternoon & boy was it super packed. We had reservations for 2 PM with our party of 9, but still had to wait 20 mins for our table, which was okay as the food looked really good. We were finally seated in the dining room & waited almost 15 mins for a waitress to come by & take our order. She finally did & then we got our food, which was excellent.
We ordered almost everything, LOL! We started off with a variety of appetizers such as hummus, mutabel, falafel, feta cheese with pita bread, etc. For our main courses we had the lamb, lule kebab, beef skewers, & a chicken plate. Food was terrific, we were super stuffed by the time we were done. Our bill was less than $ 200.00 with tax & tip all in, what a deal! S
Service was a bit slow, but other than that, it was good… we will be back on a less crowded day.
Overall Rating: B+

Good food. Nice ambiance. A little too cold so you’ll want a jacket. Terrible service. Parking can be hard to find.

If you’re into middle-​eastern cuisine, you MUST GO THERE! Delicious food, great customer service. And better yet, FRESH and REAL ingredients. Their fries are real potatoes, not those frozen fake ones most restaurants serve. Authentic and tasty Lebanese food which makes me feel like I’m in Lebanon. If you’re a meat eater, the lamb chops are a MUST! The first time I’ve tried lamb chops has been at Carnival and I order if every time I go back. In addition, the combo appetizer plate is amazing! It comes with tabouli, falafel, hummus, and baba ghanoush (eggplant dip), but we ask for more of everything else and remove the baba ghanoush from our order.
Portions are huge and definitely can be eaten by 2 people. Only downside of restaurant is parking. Inside a plaza with a lot of stores and not enough parking for all the businesses.

The best restaurant Middle East food and good felafel and fresh Arabic salad any time fresh and great place

I finally made my first trip to Carnival with my gf after reviewing all of the pros and cons with eating at the restaurant. I will say this: Service is S-​L-​O-​W with a capital SLOW, but man, does the food make up for the loooooong wait!
The hummus is the silkiest, most luscious version I have ever had (ask for sauteed mushrooms to be added on top-​worth every dollar), my grilled chicken thighs dinner was juicy and smacked of the charbroiler. My gf’s NY steak was cooked perfect, it had a bit of outer fat but the taste was A+! I’m already counting the days till my next meal there… but unless you wanna dine in and wait for paint to dry, get your meals to go;)

Very few places get both the service and the taste of the food right.
Carnival is the exception.
From the moment my family and I stepped in, we felt welcomed like distant relatives that you were actually excited to see.
Get the Chicken plate if you’re into a classic dish.
Can’t wait to be back!

The Lakers don’t make a lot of good decisions lately, catering their draft day food from here is probably the best one in the last 5 yrs. The owner is a dope guy — we typically spend 5 minutes wisecracking figuring out who’s wittier, usually him.
We come here at Lunch and straight grub. We order basically everything off the menu!
Here are the bombest of the bomb!
Chicken Shwarma — this is my favorite Shwarma in the game, so flavorful, moist and not overbearing like others
Hummus with Mushrooms
The Fries are like mom made
The Kafta — get it medium!
The French Fries
Chicken Liver
The Arabic Salad is one of the most fresh and delicious salads you’ll eat — that lemon juice love boo.
Also get their spicy sauce — damn good!
P

Saturday lunch. Restaurant was pretty much empty. I’ve hear so much hype over this place in the past 10 years and just never had a chance to eat here.
Really I’m sorry but not all that. Food is better then most places in LA but just not great.
Probably wouldn’t rush back.

We started with the Babaganush and it was delicious. The salad is incredible. And then the chicken skewers followed with a plate of rice and steamed tomato. We ended it with baklava.
I’ve been here many times and just haven’t written a review but this place is always consistent and delicious. The only difficult part is finding a parking place because obviously we’re not the only ones who love it here.

As a non-​meat-​eater sometimes it’s hard to find places to go with meat-​eating friends and still enjoy it. This is the exception to the rule. Not only is it the best middle eastern food in the valley, they have so many vegetarian options that you almost feel spoiled.
The hummus is to die for. The Combo Appetizer plate is enough for two people. The Greek Salad is delish. (You can ask for no cheese) (Or cheese it up!) The Mediterranean Salad is a classic.
The wait staff is terrific. It’s family owned and they’ve been around a long time. They know their customers and remember their order. I don’t have to say a word and they know what to bring.
They’re always busy but large enough that there’s not a long wait and the food is always fresh.
Great for groups. Small or large.
Whatever you order you can’t go wrong. I go there weekly and the only reason I don’t go more than once a week is because I don’t work out enough! It’s the best!

Love this restaurant! Definitely the best Mediterranean food in Studio City.
The beef and lamb schwarma plate is a must. If you want to get the chicken to be ‘healthier’ beware… the chicken is nowhere near as flavorful as their beef.
One platter is enough for two people. But be sure to order at least one side of their hummus… it’s incredible. We usually get it with sautéed mushrooms and it’s amazing every time.
Descent sized place so the wait is usually not so long but the parking… as with most places… is a little tricky… not impossible… but get ready to circle.
Definitely deserving of 5 stars!

If you love great middle eastern food you are in for a real treat. They have been business over 30 years. If you are vegetarian or a meat lover you will have plenty of items to select from the large menu. They have daily specialty dishes daily. This place is great for small groups or large groups.
I highly recommend the hummus and meridian salads for starters. If you love swama then you are in for a real treat. They have outstanding kabob from beef to chicken.
The portions are very large for two people to share. If you are just coming for lunch to dinner this place is always busy. The food is very fresh. No matter what you order you will not go wrong. Hands down one of the best middle eastern places in town.

Admittedly Carnival doesn’t look like much from the outside and then more particularly with its location stuck toward the backside of an older seen better days strip mall, but the food here is really very good; basically Lebanese. They keep their menu rather simple and brief but with Monday through Friday daily specials. They have both cold and hot appetizers, a selection of about 10 soups and salads, varying sandwiches including their «Carnival Burger» consisting of a beef and lamb patty topped with cole slaw, tomatoes, onions and pickles; also shawarma and falafel sandwiches.
Their humus is freshly made and among some of the best of the humus dishes I’ve had. As ended up here on a Tuesday, I had their Tuesday night special of lamb shank which is braised done bone in baked with vegetables and served with rice. At $ 15.95 it’s a pretty good bargain.
The décor of the place doesn’t amount to much and the service is rather «so-​so» but since the food was good and the prices low, I’m going to go Four Stars on it.