Elena's Greek Armenian Restaurant — Restaurant in Glendale

I came to this little spot in Glendale when a friend who knows Armenian food invited me here. It’s a quaint little joint that has a unique energy running through it with Armenian techno playing in the background, which apparently everyone was used to. When we first got there, there were only a handful of people. But within minutes, it was as if we had called in the cavalry and the place was completely full with a quick turnaround and people grabbing their own to go boxes from the shelf to take back their leftovers. The wait staff appeared to be nice, but at times felt like I was being rushed to order something quick so they could rotate the tables quickly for more covers.

One thing I noticed that was interesting, was that instead of serving bread and butter or chips and salsa, they served a small plate with pickled cabbage and carrots.

Hummus- to start off our meal, the hummus was served with a big portion of pita bread. When it came to the dip, it had a good typical Mediterranean flavor to it with the paprika, tahini (sesame paste), the pungency of garlic, and the brightness of the lemon juice. The only thing I have to say that was negative about it is that it was drenched in olive oil. Olive oil is normally drizzled around as a garnish, but in this case it was a lake of olive oil floating on top of what otherwise would have been a great hummus.

Small Salad- The salad (if we can call it that), was sent as the precursor to the pork chops. It consisted of lettuce, tomato, English cucumbers, parsley, and… white onions? Aside from the fact that the salad had a good amount of onions in it, there was no dressing whatsoever in it- except for the water draining off the salad, forming a barrier between the food and the plate. Perhaps the soup would have been a better option.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich- Moist, tender cuts of char-grilled chicken breast traditionally seasoned with paprika and wrapped in flat bread. Then, layered with paprika paste, which is tomato paste and paprika mixed together, and (you guessed it) onions.

Grilled Pork Chops- They were served with rice pilaf, roasted tomato and banana pepper, and… again with the sliced onions & parsley? I’ve got to say the chops smelled amazingly delicious with wisps of the caramelized exterior seasoned with paprika tempting me with every step it got closer to me. They reminded me of the first time I had ever tried them at a friend’s family gathering some years ago. Nicely charred, but surprisingly not overcooked since they were thin cut chops. The rice had a rich, buttery feel to it with hints of turmeric and stock coming through.

Tarragon Soda- I saw the soda with its bright green color in their display case and instantly became curious about it. The smell was in between licorice and peppermint. Same with the taste, with hints of Dr. Pepper in the aftertaste.

If it’s one thing I learned, it is that the onion must be Armenia’s national vegetable, lol. Just note that if you are not into onions, definitely let them know or you will be stuck with at least one whole sliced onion on your plate, daring you to eat it and try to end a date with a kiss- won’t happen. But jokes aside, there are some things that could be fixed, but I am willing to come back and try some other dishes that did look...

Came here on MLK day missing the lunch hour, but it didn't matter when it came to  ordering because the lunch and dinner menu is one and the same.

My waitress was really patient when I asked about traditional Armenian dishes. Most of what's on the menu is "Mediterranean" with a Greek dish or two. She pointed out the dolmas in grape leaves as traditional Armenian. The other dish she id'd was the Armenian salad which looked similar to the Greek salad minus the Feta & with more variety of veggies.

I usually don't like dolmas because they're often served cold, but Elena's served her dolmas "STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES" warmed up.  I got the regular version stuffed with rice and meat, but there's a vegetarian version,too.  The dolmas were bathed in a garlicky yogurt sauce that was dotted with olive oil.  It definitely tasted delicious and apparently looked like it too -- an Armenian American woman at the next table asked me how it was and I gave her a dolma to try and she loved it as much as the ones she makes at home (one order comes with 10 dolmas so I had plenty to spare). For the entree, I ordered the GRILLED SALMON which came with a choice of soup or salad and either rice or french fries as a starch.  I went with the lentil soup, but the timing was off in the kitchen so I didn't get the soup until after the dolmas and grilled salmon entree had arrived. The unskewered grilled salmon kebab pieces were cooked to perfection and I loved that the rice was a simple pilaf with none of that rice-a-roni type of stuff I've had at other places. The dish also came with a grilled pepper, roma tomato and chopped up raw onions and parsley. Lentil soup was hearty and seasoned just right.  Not a false note when it came to the cuisine. The portion was generous and reheated nicely the following day.

Despite some service glitches (food served out of order; larger parties who came in afterwards being served first, etc.), I think the food's great for taste and value and I'll definitely be back at Elena's when I'm in this 'hood again to shop at the Americana.

PS:  If you like your baklava sweet, you should know that Elena's baklava is very light on syrup and tends to be flaky and savory with some chocolate...

Elena's was established in the mid 70's and we have been eating here since the 80's. Both the service and food was great throughout the years, UNTIL the restaurant was sold and is now under new management within the last 5yrs or so..

The business being sold is not the issue if the new owner would have just kept everything as is! But that is not what HE DID! The change of ownership quickly became apparent when he instantly increased the price, reduced the portions of the food, and started charging substituted items. FOR EXAMPLE: Under the old management/owner, you are given the option to choose either soup or salad as your side on a their plate entrée. Either way you choose, there is no charge... However under this new management, he removed that option in that if you wanted soup instead of the salad, you get charge!

Fast forward now to 2025, the establishment must have received a lot of complaints about this because they now brought back the option of soup OR salad with no extra charge. However, this does not fix the other problems such as the price gauging and poor quality of meat they now serve. Not to mention, the portions are smaller now too... Unwilling to let tis place go, we decided to give it another chance last week. Unfortunately, the Chicken was bland and tough (which was probably an old chicken) . The lentil soup was runny AND bland (hardly no lentil in it!!) Unfortunately, we will NOT be back here.

This new owner is running this beloved restaurant into the ground! He does not know what he's doing! He's ruined this place for A LOT OF THE REGULARS! If you have just discovered this place from 2020 to current, this review might not mean anything to you. But if you've been eating here PRE-Covid and back, you know and agree that this place is NOT THE SAME AFTER IT WAS...