Tel Aviv Grill- Encino — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Tel Aviv Grill is one of the best spots in the Valley for fresh, flavorful Israeli food. Located right on Ventura Blvd, it’s a clean, fast-casual restaurant where you order at the counter and watch your meal come together with generous sides and toppings.

The food really shines here. The shawarma and kabab are well-seasoned and filling, the salads and pickles are always fresh, and portions are big enough to satisfy even the hungriest appetite. Plates are especially good value since they come with plenty of sides. For something unique, the sabich (eggplant and egg) is a great choice, and vegetarians will appreciate the falafel when it’s fresh out of the fryer. The rib eye skewers are also worth it if you want something more premium.

I like that there’s plenty of variety—you can build your meal in a pita, laffa, baguette, or on a plate depending on how hungry you are. The pickled veggies, hummus, and Israeli salad add a lot of brightness and flavor to every dish. And if you’re like me—vegetarian and into spicy food—you’ll find plenty to enjoy with the grilled eggplant, hummus, salads, and all the zesty, peppery sides they offer.

A couple of things to keep in mind: the place gets very busy during lunch and dinner rushes, so expect a bit of a line. Prices aren’t cheap, but you get what you pay for with quality and portion size. Takeout and delivery can sometimes be hit-or-miss compared to dining in, so it’s best to enjoy it fresh at the restaurant.

Overall, Tel Aviv Grill delivers consistently tasty food in a lively, casual setting. If you’re craving Israeli street food flavors—shawarma, falafel, fresh salads, spicy toppings, and plenty of pickles—this is the...

They have a very limited menu - about 8 things which can each be ordered in 4 different ways (sandwiches, meals, etc.) They are very generous with the choices and amount of side dishes you receive. There are two different types of cabbage -yellow and red, hummus, tehina, fries, eggplant (really good), various peppers and pickles and some other items. As much as you like.

The food is mostly pretty good. My friends had the schnitzel and really liked it. I had the chicken shawarma. It turns out that I don't like their recipe. A matter of taste - it was very popular. You don't have to ask for take-out containers - they are right next to the register - just help yourself.

What's not great?

1. Getting served is on an assembly line - kind of feels like a cattle call. And if you're polite and wait in line for your turn, the servers yell at you to move on. Apparently, there are 3 or 4 serving stations - which no one explains and there are not signs about the separate stations.

2. The place is NOISY!!! We tried sitting outside - but even then, they gradually seemed to turn the music up and made hearing conversations difficult.

3. They don't show, on the menu, the sides that come with the meal. So, when I told the cashier that I wanted hummus, he sold me a tub of it. Turns out, that's one of the several sides that come with the meal. A waste of money.

With 4 meals, 4 beverages, taxes and tip - the meals came to...

Food is good (albeit overpriced), customer service and management seem to be absolutely terrible. I’ve been there a few times but after the last time, I’m never going to return.

The woman at the register told me that they’re out of chicken (when clearly there was still roughly 4-5 pounds visible on the rotator) and I pointed at it — she said it’s taken. There were two people in front of me putting in their orders. Also, she was quite possibly one of the most rude people I have ever encountered in my life. Absolutely net zero hospitality skills. I tried to order something else and she kept saying “I’m out of that” as if she owns the place.

Then why are you even bothering to pretend trying to serve me? Completely disgusted 👎🏼

Edit: to the owner — I explicitly stated that there was clearly still a generous amount of chicken left on the rotator. Why are you ignoring my statement and providing a blanketed statement of your own instead of perhaps offering some sort of solution or taking accountability for what transpired? I have been there close to a dozen times, but you’re going to lose customers if you continue to carry on conducting your operations in this...