Beirut Grill

For reasons we can’t fully explain, we get excited almost every time a new restaurant sign goes up at The District at Tustin Legacy – a small outdoor mall known best for dining, entertainment, and fairly high turnover – so when new signage appeared for Beirut Grill in mid-2026, we were thrilled. From House of Cedar to Little Arabia Restaurant, Orange County already has some good to very good Lebanese options, but they tend to be in north or south OC, with fewer in central OC cities; Costa Mesa’s Bei Restaurant is a notable exception. By planting its flag in Tustin, close to where Irvine’s Apola closed less than a year earlier, the independently operated Beirut Grill instantly appeals to people seeking a wider array of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean dishes than can be found at recently opened chains such as The Great Greek or Nick the Greek.

Beirut Grill’s small, boxy space is brightly but lightly decorated, with a cloud-shaped lamp and scent diffuser in the entry as its most distinctive aesthetic touches; marble-like tables and somewhat mismatched chairs provide seating for perhaps 30 people. Guests can order using smartphones and QR codes, or speak with a person at a rear counter, but menus are only available online or from a counter-mounted tablet. Locally standard Lebanese salads, hot and cold appetizers, wraps, platters, and drinks are available, seemingly targeting a roughly $50-per-person price point, though “kids menu” and “extras & add-ons” sections provide smaller and a la carte ordering alternatives to control portions and prices.

Service was polite and fairly quick, but a hiccup in our order – an item we ordered and paid for using the online menu, but never received – was only addressed when we asked about it at the end of our meal and were told it was out of stock. A refund was offered, then somewhat confusingly processed, ending our meal on a lower note than would otherwise have been the case; an hour later, the “out of stock” item remained unmarked as such on the digital menu.

Served entirely in take-out containers even if ordered for dining in, the dishes were tried here generally fell into the “okay” to “good” range – nothing was great. Our favorites were the burak ($13/4), lightly salted and crispy cheese rolls that were fairly pricey given their compact sizes but enjoyable; a substantial portion of chilled, lemony, and olive oiled eggplant called rahib salad ($14); and fried kibbeh (sold individually for $4 each) combining bulgur wheat shells with a nice ground beef filling. We also liked the Beirut Grill mix platter ($40), a set of properly seasoned and tender ground beef, steak, and chicken kabobs paired with a large portion of good yellow rice, a small, oil-heavy scoop of baba ghannouj, and a tasty little salad with pita chips, tomatoes, and greens. This platter offered a much better value than ordering kabobs a la carte, which is also an option here, and could alone serve as a full meal for one person.