BEI Restaurant — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Review of Bei Kebab: A Disgraceful Dining Experience

I have never felt so disrespected at a restaurant in my life. My recent visit to Bei Kebab was an absolute disaster from start to finish. The ordeal began with our appetizers, which took an eternity to arrive. After an agonizing wait, the server casually informed us that they were ready. Instead of bringing them out, he vanished for about ten minutes to review our order. When he finally returned, he had the audacity to ask for corrections! Seriously, how about serving us the appetizers first before wasting our time? It was infuriating and completely unacceptable.

When the appetizers finally graced our table, we were handed an additional plate as some sort of consolation for the delay. The server smugly declared that it was a gesture to make up for our wait. So, like any reasonable person would do, we began to eat what was served to us. Imagine our shock when the manager returned a mere ten minutes later, scolding us for eating the extra plate, which, according to him, wasn’t actually meant for us! Are you kidding me? In what world are diners expected not to eat food that is placed in front of them? We were explicitly told it was ours, yet somehow we were made to feel guilty for enjoying a meal we believed was given to us out of goodwill. It’s absurd!

The experience only worsened when the bill arrived. We were slapped with an automatic 18% gratuity for a party of six, even though only five of us actually ate. When I pointed this out, the manager had the gall to argue with me, asking how they were supposed to know. Well, I don’t know, maybe because you took our order and saw that one person didn’t order a single thing? Instead, he insisted that this individual ordered a glass of water. Really? We’re being charged gratuity because someone had a water? The entire situation felt like a pathetic attempt to squeeze more money out of us. And when I expressed my concerns about the high prices, especially for such lackluster food, I was met with guilt trips about not wanting to tip appropriately. If I’m being charged nearly $30 for chicken and rice, I’m not exactly feeling generous!

To add insult to injury, I was also charged $0.50 and $1.00 for hot sauce and tahini. While it may not seem like a lot, it’s the principle of the matter. If you’re running a restaurant, you should inform customers about such charges upfront. And let’s not forget the manager's continued insistence that we didn’t have to pay for the extra plate. Yes, because you served it to us and told us it was ours! The logic here is baffling.

In the end, we left a tip despite the horrendous service, and to our utter disbelief, we were told, “You’re not welcome back.” What an insult! We were treated like children simply because we questioned your questionable practices and terrible food quality. The sambousas had zero flavor, and the overall dining experience was dismal. I can confidently say that I 100% DO NOT recommend Bei Kebab to anyone. If you value your money and your time, steer clear of this establishment. My experience certainly doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident, as evidenced by the other scathing reviews. Avoid...

Came in to check out a new spot. Not realizing it's literally attached to their other establishment EZ Kabob & just as tiny of space. Awful parking situation, their parking lot MAY fit 8 cars or so. So be ready to take a walk from wherever you found parking. I get what they're trying to do in offering a sit down spot that allows them to serve their food from same little kitchen & make way more income. Service was good, just appeared under staffed for a busy weekend night. We got there after 7pm. Had to track down waiter every time we needed to order or ask for a drink. Meal was fine. We ordered dessert a cheese & pastry type thing "Knafe" $12. It was literally microwaved, the cheese was bubbled, spread out & stuck on the plate while the cake part was intact. We've had this dessert before--not here but I am certain this is not how it is supposed to look...a melted quesadilla. Service was fine. Food & wine list is overpriced for this type of set-up tent venue. We spent almost $200 incl. tip. Crowded small seating area, no ambiance, smoky, and loud. It reminded us of dining during covid in a make shift outdoor dining tent. Maybe that's how they can allow smoking. Not sure. I wish them well but this was our honest experience. Maybe try their other spot the Kabob faat food place next door. I'm sure the food is exactly the same, except just pick-up & eat at home or in their outdoor...

I’ll make this short. When my wife and I heard about this place, we were very excited and had high hopes, especially when we heard the chef was from Lebanon. To be fair, I’ll speak to what we had. The tabbouleh was coarse, bulghur stands out harsh. Kebbeh was the worst, I couldn’t even taste it as I couldn’t even take a bite, super rubbery, Hummus had a weird aftertaste, chicken kebab was just fine, lamb chops wasn’t, tiny pieces and barely had any meat, wasn’t as good as expected. Overall, certainly nothing like Lebanon, not even close. I wish that the owner would take this in a positive way, unlike the receptionist who got offended when we nicely shared our feedback with him, instead of at least saying ‘we’re sorry you didn’t like the food and will try to do better’ his answer was ‘everything you didn’t like is our best seller and people have different taste’. This was the absolute worst experience I’ve had. I paid the bill $173 before giving my feedback so they don’t think I was trying to avoid anything but I guess some people can’t take any constructive criticism. I wish them the best and hope they turn this place around as it’s certainly needed in this area. I would visit again, but only when I know for sure that the food is way better than it is today....