Panini Cafe Beverly Hills

Salad tasted old and looked weird. No dressing either despite advertising such. Plate looked dirty. Soup was blah. When a sever came to collect my plate, he did not ask if everything was ok — typically if you serve a full plate and collect it near full again, something is up but apparently they don’t check that here. They also did that annoying thing of collecting my plate while my husband was still very much eating. Then when he put down his fork for 20 seconds to speak, another guy tried to pull his plate away. It felt like, pay your check and get out. I ended up buying a salad at a take away place round the corner immediately after.

I love the chicken kabob dish, it’s delicious!!! They serve large portions, we ordered the trio humus sampler and that plus our dish was more than enough. I couldn’t finish my plate. The kids menu also has a nice selection to choose from. My kids don’t eat much so they ate a little from my plate. The service was great, and the food is delicious! There is paid parking underground so parking is not a problem.

BEST RESTAURANT EVERRRRRR !!!
I would eat here often.
The staff is very polite & nice.
The food is AWESOMEEEEEEE !!!
The desserts were amazing.
They had a Ghirardelli dark chocolate cake that was HEAVEN. My favorite cake in the world.
Great location
Great prices
Best restaurant ever

Visited this place for the first time last time. They got my wife’s order wrong and the waitress was no where to be found. She did not come to our table once until it was time to bring the check. So my wife just ate the chicken and left the salad since they brought the wrong one. Then when I asked for the check, the waitress managed to charged my card $ 5 more. She fixed it later once I brought it up to her attention but overall I was not i. pressed by them.

Yummy! We basically ordered a combination of everything in the Unilocal highlights. Since we weren’t that hungry, we got the Charbroiled Chicken Shish Kabob with Romaine Avocado Salad and Basmati Rice. The chicken was cooked to with the perfect amount of juicy-​ness, the salad was very fresh, and the rice went well with every bite: D We kinda felt judged for getting only one plate to share but hey, this is how we maintain our weight and not force ourselves to overeat! haha.
We were very happy with our food; the service was meh, but our favorite part was sitting outside on a Sunday morning, watching all the Lamborghinis drive by multiple times (because they’re lost or just showing off) :) Excellent way to spend brunch-​time

This place does not deserve to be in town. This is a horrible place and certainly does not represent the best of Beverly Hills under any circumstances. Better placed in Riverside.

WORST SERVICE EVER! I work on Rodeo and frequently lunched at this wannabe upscale dump. The female servers are the only thing good here. The male servers have attitudes and for some reason feel they can talk to paying customers any way they feel. Unacceptable service.

I must say Panini it is the best bang for your buck in BH!
99% of the time I order the chicken kebab, which is a monstrous plate of food! The chicken is perfectly cooked, and the grilled veggies are a perfect compliment. I always order a side of edamame hummus, which is lights out added to the chicken. Pair that with shirazi salad and you’re golden! If you want to go low carb, they’ll swap out the rice with grilled broccoli.
They also have great sandwiches and other mediterranean dishes. You really can’t go wrong!

The food was delicios but the waiter guy, I guess his name was Oscar (I saw in the invoice), was so rude. He was the oldest and chubbiest one, he has a beard and also glasses I remember. Like I said, the food was amazing but I never go to that restaurant again because of the rude waiter, never never again.

The only thing I liked about this place was the look of it. The food was horrible, the service was not bad, but not great, it was too loud and it was over priced.
I had lunch here with my sister and cousin. I ordered the chicken pesto sandwich with the Mediterranean Greek salad. The salad tasted like dirt, not an exaggeration, it really tasted like actual dirt. The sandwich: the chicken was dry and tasteless, the artichokes tasted and looked like it came from a can, and the sundries tomatoes seemed of low quality, just not good. The pesto was a sorry excuse for pesto, it was bland. The bread was actually the only ok part. We also ordered the baklava with ice cream, very disappointing. The baklava had way too much cinnamon, and it was super hard, like if it was old. Thankfully ice cream makes everything better.
The service was minimal, we got seated right away, and got our beverages and food in a timely manner but the waitress wasn’t really around when we needed something.
It was super loud! I couldn’t even hear myself think. It was hard to have a conversation without screaming across the table.
Overall a disappointing experience, wouldn’t go back and would definitely not recommend.

I was out with big boss man visiting customers and we had time to sneak in a little lunch so we decided to try Panini café. I have seen other locations before but never stopped to try it out. They are a middle eastern restaurant/​café. I ordered a Koobideh plate and I ordered a Koobideh sandwich for my manager. The food was brought out pretty quick and I have to say that they make really good food! I’m pretty particular about my kebab and meats, especially since I make this at home, and they do a wonderful job making it tasty and juicy. Everything was great! The Koobideh totally made my Koobi– day! Lol
The service was great too. They checked up on us frequently and made sure we were ok and had enough drinks. I also love that they have outdoor seating.
I would really recommend coming by this place! It is well worth it! Maybe it’ll make you Koobi– day too! Lol

This place is a solid Mediterranean go-​to and, if you’re traveling in and around the LA area, it’s a safe bet to feed a work/​film crew. In my personal experience the to-​go Paninis can be a little soggy, in all honesty, how sadly ironic! But these paninis have their fair share of fans.
But here you can’t go wrong with the kebab plates and that’s what keeps this place in the three-​star range for me. Generous and flavorful chicken, flat-​iron steak, salmon, lamb koobideh (Ground beef), or filet mignon with accompanying grill vegetables, choice of grain (basmati rice or organic wheat pilaf are the best choices) side salad of your choice (Ceasar, Greek or Avocado/​Romaine). Chicken isn’t necessarily my first choice of meat, but here it’s so good — seasoned just a little and generally juicy and tender. The entrée is a wonderful value for the cost as well — I typically get two meals out of it, particularly if I order hummus or soup alongside it. Salmon is good too. The lamb I’ve had is a little tough — still nicely and temperately seasoned but chewy. There are other options so I’ve just learned to stay away from the lamb here.
The hummus trio is my favorite appetizer — it’s traditional hummus, green edamame hummus, and black-​bean hummus which comes with pita, of course. The edamame hummus is my personal favorite — light and creamy, packing that fresh edamame-​basil flavor and a unique minty color.
Baklava and espresso is a MUST here. A la mode with vanilla is a WONDERFUL idea too!
The lentil soup is lentil-​heavy — not my favorite lentil soup in town but hearty and good.
Dolmades (grape leaves) are good here. Oily, rice-​heavy, a speck of dill.

My least favorite Panini Café thus far, compared to Canoga Park and Irvine. While the service is subpar, the clientele is elderly, the air is stuffy, and the place is small — the food is still kick-​ass and priced right, even for Beverly Hills.
1. Chicken Kebab ($ 10.95, 4.5 stars) — Chicken was most and tender, cooked perfectly. I even liked the tomato wedges and onion. Choice of rice, pilaf, or bulgur wheat (I got bulgur) and choice of salad: avocado, caesar, chopped, or Greek (I got the avocado with a lime dressing) — and it was all was divine and very filling. Very tender and moist. But wait, you can order a split for $ 3 and get your own rice and salad for the deal of the century.
2. Mousaka ($ 12.95, 3.5 stars) — Seasoned meat, eggplant, mediterranean salsa & olive oil. Served with side of basmati rice (or bulgur), and a tiny amount of hummus, tzatziki. The best part: pita and the Avocado salad.
Why 3.0 stars if the food is that good?
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The clientele is from the old folks home, and nothing wrong with that, of course, but it’s far from being a cool hangout for younger clientele. Plus, and more so, the service was slow and food was cold.
PS. Breakfast is only served on weekends, 8am-​3pm.

My review for take out only: This place is pretty nice considering its in the middle of BH. They keep their menu’s relatively affordable and the food is quality.
If you enjoy Mediterranean food, this is a place to try out if you’re in the area. Pass on the sandwiches, but do try the chicken kabobs :)
Beware of the parking though, as it can be tough to find a spot during peak hours.

LOVE this place! Sat down on a Monday night and it was fairly busy. The staff made sure to keep true to their customer service. Great outside seating, food is consistent and just what I wanted, the way I wanted.
Salmon Kabob is definitely the way to go!

Delicious and fresh food at reasonable prices. Stopped by for lunch and the staff was friendly. We were seated rather quickly considering the restaurant was not empty. I had the chicken shish kabob platter and it was WONDERFUL!

I’ve always enjoyed Panini Café food — it is always fresh and tastes very good. I would give this place 4 stars for the food, but it has below average service.
We ordered the Chicken Kebab ($ 10.95), which had 6 or so decently sized chicken pieces with a mix of grilled onions, peppers, and tomatoes. I ordered it with the pilaf, but they brought it out with the basmati rice instead. I’m fine with rice so I don’t bring it up. This was a very tasty dish.
We also got the koobideh ($ 12.95) which had two skewers of ground beef. I thought the flavor was pretty good, almost as good as my favorite place but it could have used a bit more char on the meat.
Parking here is not the bee’s knees since it’s all street parking (hard to come by) or the rather expensive underground parking ($ 2/​hour, 3 hours max most times).
We asked multiple times for a box to take our leftovers, but no one ever brought it. Thanks to the younger guy that brought it to us after 5 minutes waiting on the other people. Also, no water refills and awkward guy taking our order.

I was meeting a group of friends for dinner prior to going to a special movie screening.
SERVICE: Hostess Stephanie was super friendly and just awesome. Though she wouldn’t let the 2 of us occupy a table for 6 until our entire group was here. Our server Cassie was good at first, checked on us once after our food came out, but then disappeared. I finally had to flag down someone else so we could get our drinks refilled.
FOOD: Being we arrived about 30 minutes before the rest of our group, we had a glass of wine at the bar, while we waited. My Pino Noir was $ 7 and quite nice.
For eats, as I didn’t want anything super heavy, like a full dinner, I decided to go with the Roast Beef Melt (grilled onion, tomato and provolone on grilled Filone bread — $ 11.95). My choice for the side was the avocado salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato & avocado with a lime vinaigrette). The sandwich was decent, but nothing special, especially for the price, in fact it seemed a little lacking for that price… oh that’s right, I’m in Beverly Hills. The salad quite tasty, specifically because of that lime vinaigrette. DELISH!
OVERALL: The rest of the group enjoyed their meals, so everyone was happy and ready for the movie. 3 stars.

Pretty impressive.
I came once before a long time ago and forgot how fabulous Panini is.
The gentleman taking out order was animated, enthusiastic and genuine. Love him. He sold me on the tuna salad– a HUGE amount of fresh seared ahi, greens, etc…
And I can’t believe I ate the WHOLE thing. I’m telling you this plate was enormous.
Ice tea was better than the average too.
I came here out of convenience but will come back with intention.
It was busy in there and I understand why. Service was still prompt and excellent.
High recommend for lunch. Never had dinner here.

I’ve been wanting to try Panini Café for a while, but I finally had the chance on my birthday, since I was going to Sprinkles Ice Cream right after with some friends and this was the closest lunch spot in the area. The Café is known for its Mediterranean-​inspired cuisine made with fresh ingredients, and since «panini» was part of the eatery’s name, I was sure the sandwiches here had to be good. I love hot paninis so I was super excited to finally visit the place.
Even though we were there on a Saturday during prime lunch time, it didn’t take long for our party of four to be seated. Our food came out pretty quickly, and our server was hilarious – he even gave a complimentary dessert, complete with an Italian-​like rendition of «happy birthday» since we were celebrating.
There’s lots on the Café’s menu to choose from, and I had a really hard time deciding what to get. I really enjoyed my sandwich on my first visit to the Café, and I’m sure to be back the next time I’m in town. Here’s what I would suggest:
«Pesto»: For my sandwich, I just went with no-​fuss, no-​frills pesto. It included pesto, Buffalo mozzarella and sundried tomatoes in between slices of grilled focaccia. The cheesy focaccia bread was grilled to perfection and I enjoyed the crispy outer sandwich layer. The Buffalo mozzarella was fresh and the pesto was savory. I ordered my sandwich sans tomato and greatly enjoyed this flavor! I also really like the cup of pasta salad that accompanied the entrée (choose between Caesar, Mediterranean, Romaine Avocado or pasta salad; cup of lentil or chicken soup; or wheat couscous or fresh fruit cup). I don’t get to enjoy pasta salad very often, and this option was both tasty and refreshing.
«Prosciutto and Artichoke Hearts»: This sandwich sounds divine because it contains some of my favorite components, namely, artichoke hearts and pesto. It also includes Prosciutto di Parma, Roma tomatoes and Italian Fontina cheese in between slices of grilled Filone bread. I would get my sandwich sans the tomatoes but everything else sounds good! My panini from this place contained such flavorful ingredients, so I can’t wait to try this sandwich someday.
«Caprese di Parma»: This sandwich is basically the sister of the «Prosciutto and Artichoke Hearts» version that I want to try, except it doesn’t include artichokes and incorporates fresh basil instead. If I want a sandwich with a stronger herb taste (and sans the artichokes), this is the one I’d order.
«Chicken Pesto»: I really liked my «Pesto» sandwich, but if I wanted some meat in there, I would get this option because it features grilled chicken breast, artichoke hearts, Fontina cheese, sundried tomatoes and pesto on grilled Filone. I’m sue the grilled chicken is tasty, flavorful and tender and that it adds an extra element to this sandwich.
«Chicken Brie»: Brie is one of my favorite cheeses, thanks to its subtly sweet flavor. I would love to try this sandwich one day, as it includes grilled chicken breast, Roma tomatoes, fresh basil and Brie cheese on grilled Filone. Sounds like a medley of great-​tasting flavors (minus the tomatoes).
«Buffalo Mozzarella»: This sandwich is a slight variation of the pesto one that I got, and the only difference is that it includes fresh basil with the mix of Buffalo mozzarella, Roma tomatoes and pesto with grilled focaccia. If I feel like including basil with my sandwich for a stronger flavor, I would go with this sandwich.
«Falafel Platter»: If I’m in the mood for a heartier lunch or dinner, I would probably go with this entrée. It includes falafel that’s made from garbanzo beans and herbs, and it’s served with hummus, Tzatziki and pita, with your choice of Caesar, Mediterranean Greek or Romaine Avocado salad. I would probably opt for the Caesar, and this platter definitely includes some of my Mediterranean favs. Because the bread at this place tastes so fresh, I can’t wait to try the pita … and spread hummus and Tzatziki all over it, for that matter.
«Charbroiled Chicken Shish Kabob»: This heartier entrée sounds like the perfect choice for dinner. It includes basmati rice, chicken skewered with grilled vegetables and your choice of Caesar, Mediterranean Greek or Romaine Avocado salad. I’m interested to see what the grilled chicken skewers taste like, and I’m sure they pair well with the finer grains of basmati.
«Bacon & Egg Panini with Smoked Mozzarella on Grilled Focaccia Bread»: If I’m ever at Panini Café for breakfast, this would be the first entrée I would try. You can’t go wrong with a breakfast sandwich, especially when it comes with my essential ingredients for a savory breakfast — eggs, bacon and great cheese. Plus, breakfast sandwiches come with your choice of roasted potatoes, a fresh fruit cup or a mixed green salad, and I would pick the roasted potatoes, hands down!