And just like that, it’s a party

IT’S not exactly an elegant affair, but it is a rousing success.

My husband and I invite eight friends for dinner, then decide not to cook after all. Instead we haul the group to Gaby’s Mediterranean restaurant on Venice Boulevard in Palms.

To be honest, we’re on an eat-there-once-a-week kick and I just have to have some of Gaby’s fatayer, those marvelously fat and yeasty turnovers shaped as if there’s an apple rather than a savory knot of fresh spinach inside.

So we call ahead and they put a few tables together for us, but as it turns out we’re just one of three or four big groups in the outdoor dining room (really just a tented parking lot).

When we arrive, the place is packed, as usual, mostly with extended families or groups of not-so-rich twentysomethings making lively conversation and relishing hummus, falafel, pita sandwiches, shish kebab, seafood plates and salads.

We order whatever comes to mind -- grape leaves, an appetizer of marinated feta cheese and tomatoes, French fries for a little girl in the party -- and eat with abandon. One of our friends is of Lebanese descent, and he’s happy to find some dishes not available in every corner falafel parlor. There’s terrific fool mudammas, garlicky fava beans drizzled with olive oil and parsley and loubiyeh, seasoned sauteed green beans with tomatoes and onions.

Amazingly, when the bill comes, it turns out to be less than $150. My husband and I are such big sports -- we entertain our friends and it costs less than $15 per person? Such a deal.

True, we bring our own wine (corkage $5) and kind of get stuck at the meze course because the dishes are amazingly varied and fun: meat pies, dips, grilled-pita pizzas. We end up ordering only a couple of entrees and sharing them, but we aren’t really trying to be frugal. We just want to show our pals a good time.

It’s certainly not a refined setting. We have to raise our voices to be heard above the distorted tones of Middle Eastern techno-pop blaring from poorly placed speakers.

But soon we’re digging with appetite into the platters of meze that have begun to arrive, so we just pour the wine and holler along with everyone else.

A young and attractive wait staff is on hand for the continuous transport of plates to the tables. They’re somehow calm and collected as a steady stream of people come and go, new groups filling tables as quickly as old ones depart.

Gaby’s has a fine, upstanding hummus and a sharp, bright tabbouleh. We have neglected in previous visits to include labneh -- yogurt with olive oil and mint -- in our appetizer orders, but won’t make that omission again. The cool, tangy yogurt is almost cream-cheese thick. With pita, it makes a perfect counterpoint to the savory vegetables and the maanik, house-made lamb sausage that’s dense and pungent, with a spoonful of peppery sauce garnished with pine nuts.

Two locations, two scenes

MANY times, our family has made a meal of meze and one of Gaby’s fabulous soups -- the smooth, hearty lentil and the subtly seasoned vegetable are outstanding. Or we’ll have falafel -- Gaby’s are crisp outside, light inside.

For this party, we order a few plates of rotisserie chicken, which is a bit dry and comes with more hummus and pita. A better choice would have been the baked chicken, which, I find out on another visit, is juicier, marinated in lemon and herbs and cooked with potatoes and peppers.

When I learn that there’s a Gaby’s in Marina del Rey just steps away from the ocean at the end of Washington Boulevard, I stop in with friends. It’s a smaller place, with a completely different scene, indistinguishable from the other sidewalk cafes on the block.

But the sea air inspires me to try the seafood, and the kebab of grilled mahi mahi makes a dandy supper: generous pieces of nicely seasoned fish, perfectly cooked, served with a simple but fragrant rice pilaf. The food’s similar to the Palms location, but I miss the cheerful din under the tent.

At both locations, there’s a small selection of beer and some modest house wines. I’ve also enjoyed laban, similar to mint lassi, but jullab, an iced blend of raspberry juice and dates is too thick and sweet to accompany a meal.

At the Venice Boulevard Gaby’s, the sweet smell of hookahs wafts our way as the evening goes on, and a reason for the place’s popularity with young people still into risking their health becomes clear. But the smoke never lingers too long in the outdoor air, and the smoking is done so discreetly that some in our party don’t even notice.

We always close out dinner at Gaby’s with a cup of the mint tea -- it’s strong, with a fresh-herb flavor -- better than anything I’ve been able to make at home. And though there’s cashew baklava, we usually opt to share the crumbly, grainy nammoura, a house-made cake of farina and coconut that’s drizzled with orange blossom syrup for a sweet finish. Like the overall experience at Gaby’s, it’s unpretentious and real.

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Gaby’s

Locations: 10445 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 559-1808. And 20 Washington Blvd., Marina del Rey, (310) 821-9721.

Price: Meze, $4 to $6.50, platter of five vegetarian meze, $9; soups, $3.50 to $4.50; salads, $5 (tabbouleh) to $11 (lamb salad); pita sandwiches, $5 to $6.50; entrees, $8.50 to $12.50.

Best dishes: Lentil soup, fatayer (spinach turnovers), falafel, fish kebab.

Details: Both locations open 11:30 a.m. to midnight daily. MasterCard, Visa, American Express. Corkage, $5. Lot and street parking at Venice Boulevard location; street parking at Washington Boulevard location.