Five Long Beach establishments—Ammatoli, Colossus, Olive & Rose, Sonoratown, and Tacos La Carreta—were honored by the Los Angeles Times in their annual rankings of restaurants and drink spaces.
Newly minted spaces Olive & Rose and Colossus (which was recognized for its San Pedro location specifically) came in at #68 and #96, respectively. Ammatoli (#47) and Sonoratown (#33) each dropped slightly on the coveted 101 Best Restaurants list, led by critics Bill Addison and Jenn Harris.
Tacos La Carreta, which ranked #83 in 2024 and fell off the list last year, returned for a well-deserved spot at #76.
Surely, Sonoratown might be born in L.A.-proper. But we’ve co-opted the taqueria thanks to their incredible Long Beach location (which was listed solely as a Long Beach space in the guide’s map listing. And the other two? Well, they’re Long Beach no matter how the knafeh is sliced.
Olive & Rose debuts on the list…
In two well-deserved rankings, Olive & Rose and Colossus made their list debuts. For Olive & Rose, chef de cuisine David Villatoro has elevated Olive & Rose’s identity to a deeper, if not outright grounded, identity. Here’s what Jenn had to say about the space:
One of the best representations of market bounty in recent memory may be the crudités plate at siblings Lauren and Philip Pretty’s Long Beach restaurant. In the center sits a pool of cilantro oil over a silky smooth broccoli hummus. Arranged around the plate are pieces of baby corn, squash, purple potato, cucumber, bok choy, fennel, beets, cauliflower and heirloom tomato. I relish each preparation, the way the hummus accentuates the freshness of every element on the plate. Known for their fine-dining restaurant Heritage, the pair’s Olive & Rose is decidedly more casual, housed in a renovated Midcentury Modern motel… I’m looking forward to whatever the siblings dream up next.
…as does Colossus.
For Colossus, which recently expanded its Long Beach location, owner and baker Kristin Colazas‑Rodriguez has taken the space to new heights. Here is what Jenn wrote about their San Pedro location:
Colossus Harbor is the third spinoff of Kristin Colazas Rodriguez’s Colossus Bread bakery, known for its exceptional breads and pastries. It’s located at the bottom of a luxury apartment complex in San Pedro, with sweeping views of the Main Channel across the street. [Former] executive chef Jeff Paletz expanded the bread program into something that resembles three restaurants in one: a morning pastry and coffee destination with flaky, buttery croissants; a place for lunchtime sandwiches like the mushroom French dip; and a cozy date-night spot with bubbly-crust pizzas the size of truck tires. The dough, made from bread flour, hard red spring wheat and spelt, features an addictive chewy texture and a sharp sourdough tang. It’s the sort of crust you wouldn’t dare leave behind. And to pair with your pizza? There’s a small market area featuring mostly natural wines from the Mediterranean, with crisp, bracingly acidic whites and lusty reds.
Long Beach Mexican staples Sonoratown and Tacos La Carreta proclaim their spots…
Sonoratown and Tacos La Carreta held their own, representing Long Beach Mexican cuisine on the list.
Tacos La Carreta, which ranked #83 in 2024 and fell off the list last year, returned for a well-deserved spot at #76. Bill wrote that José Manuel Morales Bernal’s “renown started with the first truck he parked in north Long Beach, and though you should try his specialties anywhere you can, there is still nothing quite like Tacos La Carreta at its origin point.”
Jenn wrote of Sonoratown that “there are certain cravings that only Sonoratown can satisfy. A yearning for the distinct char and scent of mesquite-grilled beef, and the handmade, lard-laden tortillas that somehow possess the same elasticity as Mister Fantastic.”
Ammatoli makes the list for the sixth year in a row.
Ammatoli remains the most recognized Long Beach restaurant on Bill and Jenn’s list. (Though Phnom Penh Noodle Shack sits in the publication’s Hall of Fame —an honor that cannot be taken away once bestowed—and Ammatolí will likely earn it at some point.) In this vein, Tacos La Carreta and Selva have made the list twice—the latter of which deserves to be reintroduced given Chef Carlos Jurado’s intense focus on bettering the space over the past two years.
Here’s what Bill had to say about the space:
There is no more gracious setting for consummate Levantine cooking in Southern California than the downtown Long Beach restaurant run by Dima Habibeh and her family. Born to a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother and raised in Jordan, Habibeh meaningfully dovetails her origins into a menu of mezze, salads and meaty, shareable main courses. As Ammatoli has been embraced by the community since opening in 2018, more traditional dishes have continued to appear. Lately she’s introduced her version of molokhia, a pureed soup of silky-slippery jute leaves poured over rice and paired with half of a bronzed rotisserie chicken. She makes unusually delicate shishbarak, round dumplings filled with ground lamb and beef set in a pool of yogurt sauce and scattered with pine nuts. These centerpieces might be the midpoint for a meal that begins with gorgeously swirled hummus and sumac-bright fattoush, and finishes with crunchy-cheesy knafeh or date cake baked by Habibeh’s daughter Masah. A stunning corner location, the restaurant’s play of light and its calming, white-and-gold interior feel cheering at lunch, brunch or dinner.
