The calming, sun-drenched corner restaurant in downtown Long Beach, run by chef Dima Habibeh and her family, continues to grow in dimensions and ambitions. In her cooking, Habibeh — born to a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother and raised in Jordan — poignantly evinces her origins. Solo diners will be happy at the plant-draped bar, rapt by garlicky chicken shawarma at lunch or sea bass over spiced rice with caramelized onions and nuts, with perhaps a glass of white wine from Lebanon’s Bekka Valley, at dinner. Even better is gathering a crowd for a spread that begins with too much mezze: hummus with pine nuts, yielding grape leaves, labneh dyed fuchsia from pureed beets, fried kibbeh stuffed with ground beef or spinach, fattoush sharpened with sumac, a mix of the savory hand pies called fatayer. Kebabs and rotisserie chicken on a bed of subtly smoky freekeh might arrive next, followed by crunchy-cheesy knafeh scented with orange blossom syrup and date cake for dessert. To that end, the Habibehs recently debuted a third room, all white walls and curving ceramics, designed for group dining. I don’t know of a more gracious setting for consummate Levantine cooking in Southern California. — B.A.

285 E. 3RD ST., LONG BEACH, (562) 435-0808 l AMMATOLI.COM