Every table at Ahba and Helen’s in south Laguna Beach wobbles to some degree. Some might be a little rusty. Others are made from plywood and can be sinisterly adept at issuing splinters. Chair legs occasionally wedge themselves into cracks between the bricks that pave the various patios, which collectively accommodate no more than about 50 people. It’s a fun, quirky indoor/outdoor setup designed more like an impromptu house party than a traditional restaurant. Benches and thrift-store sofas are draped with threadbare Indian blankets. String lights dangle among the trees and from the porch awning.  

Ahba and Helen’s occupy adjacent vintage cottages on PCH. Ahba, on the right, is the sturdier of the two structures. This is where the kitchen and a small indoor dining room are located. Helen’s, to the left, is the next-door speakeasy, a series of small living rooms with a courtyard in the back.

To place an order for food, don’t go inside. Make your way to the outside kitchen window in the narrow easement between Ahba and the unrelated business next door. Pay upfront, then grab a table wherever you can. The food will find you. If you want a glass of wine or a simple cocktail like a margarita or bloody mary, the kitchen staff can pour that and pass it through the window. If you want a more complicated, mixology-type drink, you’ll need to wind your way through Helen’s, where you’ll find a small bar with an actual bartender inside the second living room. You can drink Helen’s beverages at Ahba, and you can eat Ahba’s food at Helen’s. Although each has its own ordering system, they operate as one interconnected business with shared staff and very limited service.

I’m sitting at a curbside table, sipping my cocktail while savoring a slice of toasted sourdough that’s been slathered with whipped feta and tomato jam. “This is really good toast,” I hear myself say, rather loudly, to no one in particular as I lick sweet jam and mint from my fingers.

“Just wait until you try the beets,” responds a nearby stranger, pointing to the salad that has just been delivered to my table. And he’s right. The beets are tossed with blood oranges and grated blue cheese and showered with a generous handful of dukkah, a Middle Eastern spice blend made with nuts and pulverized coriander seed. My mouth full now, I can only nod and offer a thumbs up across the patio.

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The kitchen cranks out a succinct, quasi-Mediterranean collection of dishes that draws connections between Israel (“Ahba” means father in Hebrew), California and Mexico. Flavors like labneh, dukkah, za’atar and harissa turn up next to cotija and Oaxacan cheeses, morita chiles and locally grown beets, carrots and heirloom tomatoes.

At dinnertime, chickens are roasted with lemon juice and butter, then drizzled with mildly spicy harissa. Sea bass are stuffed with lemons and baked whole, then piled with handfuls of arugula and dollops of pesto. The kitchen makes a great little burger with little more than meat, cheese, pickles and bun. At brunch there’s always a crowd for burritos, egg sandwiches, French toast and excellent bloody marys. Nothing is very complicated. And all of it is very well executed. 

From my curbside perch, I amusedly watch cars circle the block as would-be diners scavenge for street parking where virtually none exists, an exercise that weeds out the less determined. I feel a tinge of jealousy as I overhear a freshly arrived customer say he walked from his nearby residence. Tablehopping is common here. I’m starting to feel conspicuous, like a gatecrasher at a neighborhood house party where I’m the only one who doesn’t already know the host (chef/owner Nick Bennett), or at least some of the other guests. It’s a mellow, family-oriented scene, not a rager. The music is turned down low, almost imperceptible: an eclectic mix that moves seamlessly from The Smiths to Tame Impala.

If you’ve ever wanted to crash a cool house party that you weren’t invited to, here’s your chance. But don’t be fashionably late or else you won’t find parking.

Ahba and Helen’s

Where: 31732 Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach

When: Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday; brunch, Saturday and Sunday

Phone: 949-549-4556

Online: eatahba.com

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