There are two Gaby’s locations, both have absolutely amazing food, but the Marina del Rey spot is the only one worth going to – unless you like dining in a parking lot with music blasting from crappy speakers while choking on cigarette smoke and hookah pipes. The Marina del Rey location has a small inside with about eight tables, though the patio is definitely the place to sit to gawk at beach pedestrians. Gaby’s Mediterranean serves your expected lamb, beef, and chicken shish kebab and gyros, but with a distinctly Lebanese flair. They use liberal amounts of zatar spice, a delicious concoction of flavors floating in a sea of olive oil. If you can get over the texture, which sometimes feels like eating a dirty shag carpet, your tongue will be awash in a sea of exotic goodness. Try Bruce’s Zatar Pizza, a split pita covered in zatar, cheese, tomatoes, and onions. Mind blowingly good. The labna is consistently fresh and adds a wonderful sour zing to anything you put it on.
10445 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles and 20 Washington Blvd, Marina del Rey