The Gate To the Mediterranean in Encino, CA

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Telephone:	+1 818-788-9800
Website:	www.thegatetothemediterranean.com
Address:	16925 Ventura Blvd, Encino, CA, 91316 Encino
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:	1.8 miBalboa Station 2.1 miWoodley Station 2.4 miReseda Bus Station - Eastbound
Categories:	Mediterranean Middle Eastern

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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations	Yes
Delivery	Yes
Take-out	Yes
Accepts Credit Cards	Yes
Good For	Dinner
Parking	Valet, Street, Private Lot
Bike Parking	No
Wheelchair Accessible	Yes
Good for Kids	Yes
Good for Groups	Yes

Attire	Dressy
Ambience	Classy
Noise Level	Average
Alcohol	Full Bar
Outdoor Seating	Yes
Wi-Fi	No
Has TV	Yes
Waiter Service	Yes
Caters	Yes

Today

Today	11:00 am – 10:00 pm Closed now
Local time (Encino)	08:03 Tuesday, 3 June 2025

Business hours

Monday	11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday	11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Wednesday	11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday	11:00 am – 2:00 am
Friday	11:00 am – 2:00 am
Saturday	11:00 am – 2:00 am
Sunday	11:00 am – 10:00 pm

Description

Specialties

We specialize in serving up the finest in Healthy Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. Vegetarians look no further for a variety of options! Come dine with us if you’re looking for a

romantic atmosphere or just want to grab dinner before a show.

— Open 7 days a week

(Lunch & Dinner Specials) Lunch starting from $ 3.95-$ 8.95 * not to be combined with other offers or promotions.

— Hosting All Private Events and Catering

— Call for Wedding, and Corporate Events

— Weekend Live Band

— Arabic, Armenian & International Performances

–Newly Remodeled interior

— Hooka Lounge & Full Bar

Special Promotions: *Can not combine with other offers or promotions

(Free Hookah with Dinner from 6−10PM) and

(Hookah Happy Hour– Hookah + 1 cold beer = $ 9.99) 4PM-6PM Daily

Business Catering– Call

History

Established in 2010.

A Taste of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean cuisine is considered a delicacy consisting of a variety of fresh vegetarian recipes, salad and stews all seasoned with flavorsome combination of herbs and spices. Mezzah is one of the most world known Mediterranean specialties, it is a selection of appetizers: olive, cheeses, labneh, hummus, tabbouleh, Fatoush and many other delicious Mezzah dishes. The meals At the Gate to the Mediterranean are full of robust earthy flavors you can enjoy the taste of our Mezzah, the sweetness of our desserts and the warmth of our hearts.

Meet the Manager

head chef Latifa Grasso G.

Manager

«The Gate» is now serving Lebanese cuisine in generous portions with head chef Latifa Grasso. Grasso, originally from Lebanon, has a college degree in sociology and speaks three languages: Arabic, French and English. At 22, she took a vacation to the U.S., where she fell in love with the culture and with her future husband. She stayed in California, dropped plans for a career in sociology and pursued her passion for cooking.

«I really love everything about cooking,» said Grasso, who lives in Encino. «My favorite food to make is Mediterranean food because of all the different flavors.» In the beginning of her now 12-year cooking career, Grasso was an assistant chef at Layaleena, a Mediterranean restaurant in Upland. After eight years at Layaleena, where she worked to perfect her Mediterranean food technique, she moved on to Byblos in Westwood, where she was head chef.

Signature dishes at The Gate include the Chicken Breast Kebab, Beef Lula Kebab and Filet Shish.

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20 reviews of The Gate To the Mediterranean

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Claudia D.

Place rating: 2
Los Angeles, CA

Good food, very nice place however they mislead whit the offer of $ 15 dollars off from dinner. Which is not ethical to advertise something you no longer participate in…

Tamara G.

Place rating: 2
Glendale, CA

Came here not too long ago just to try it out of it with my cousins. We were very excited to go out enjoy food and dance together because we barely have any free time to get to be together and coming here was a disappointment. All I can say was that the food was really good and hookah was very good as well but the music was annoying. We repeatedly asked for requests and the dj did not give an eff about anything we have asked. It was 1130 and we were bored when we walked in at 10, we actually couldn’t wait to leave.
So the check comes and one of my cousin puts a $ 100 bill then asks the waiter to split the remaining balance on my card and my other cousin’s card. The waiter comes back and he brings my card and says that mine was declined, i was surprised because I just put my check in the other day and had plenty of fundings in there. I didn’t want to ask the waiter to try my card again cause i wanted to leave the place as so I just gave a $ 100 and left the rest for tip. We get into our über and I got check my bank account and see that our asshole waiter charges my card 4 different amounts with big charges till my card declined the charge, I call them while we were driving home and he apologized and said it was an accident… I work as a receptionist idk how this can be an accident when the receipt will print out approve. I didn’t even want to listen to his bullshit or deal with this place again so I hung up and waited to call my bank to fix this problem in the morning. Will never come back to place and will highly recommend my family and friends to not come here again.

Grace S.

Place rating: 5
North Hollywood, CA

We had an amazing experience, the service was the best, look for Isaac the best waiter we ever had so far. It was our memorable night, we celebrated the best of our times, unforgettable memories of our lifetime. .My Azizam. …Ashegetam! !!!

Gi N.

Place rating: 3
Los Angeles, CA

I like this place. Especially on Sundays when its never crowded. I just come to relax and enjoy my time w/a friend. The negative thing is that a waiter/host guy is kind of rude, like all the time or is never in the mood every time we go but other than that no complaints.

Talal B.

Place rating: 1
Los Angeles, CA

My first time being there was horrible, my friend came from out of the state, I invited him to that restaurant. I heard from people that their food is good. We had been told at first no food can be made at 10 or after, so we ordered a hookah and a couple of cold appetizers (around 5 plates). Then I was surprised when I received the check, and literally if we went to the fanciest restaurant and ate a lot of foods, we couldn’t pay this much. The service was good as no one was there beside of us. Don’t recommend to go there.

James L.

Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA

Excellent entertainment. My Armenian friend said the food was the best he has had in LA. We came to celebrate my fiancée’s birthday on a Saturday night and I couldn’t be more happy.

Razooka R.

Place rating: 3
Los Angeles, CA

Went on a Sat night and had the set menu for two… bill was ~$ 125 for appetizers, two beverages, main entrée, tax, and 18% tip…
Appetizers were very good…
Main entrée needs some improvement…
Belly dancers show at 11pm, followed by a singer and live band at 11:30pm…

Yosef L.

Place rating: 5
Beverly Hills, CA

Best place for events very spacious and great service good food. I recommend their lunch specials very good side orders

Varun B.

Place rating: 1
Culver City, Los Angeles, CA

Worst place ever!!! These people are cheaters, they will rip you off. nothing is good about this place, not food or service and the music is so loud that it can give a headache. Avoid this place at any cost, total waste of money and time.

Aditi M.

Place rating: 1
Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, CA

One of the worst place I have ever been, such a rip off. I went there on sat and they had some stupid set menu which they don’t mention about on their website or when you make reservation. Set menu is $ 45 per person excluding drinks or hukkah. We were 4 people and was charged $ 400 for some appetizers on the name of food and few drinks with $ 50 gratuity, and BTW the service is so so poor, it seems like if your not middle eastern, they treat you like second citizens and the music is so loud that you can even talk to anyone, such a headache!!! Please people don’t waste your money and time, their are far better options for mediterranean food in LA. Never going back to this shitty «rip off» place.

Nat H.

Place rating: 5
Valencia, CA

The food is always excellent. The servers are super nice! I love their Mezza. Everything from the crunchy falafel to their yummy cheese boureg!

Roxy T.

Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA

Had a great time with my girls for a night out! Great vibe, music, hookah and food was delicious! Definitely will be back!

Randy B.

Place rating: 3
Westlake Village, CA

I came here a few days ago for a surprise birthday party. A DJ was spinning hits, both American and Arabic dance music. Unfortunately, the DJ is on from 8pm-1030pm, then the band starts which is very welcome to stop the pounding headache I had. Belly dancers are featured for about 30 mins at about 11pm. Get ready for a late night, if you come here, be prepared to stay at The Gate until 2am.
Our party was large, 35 or so. Bottle service is extra, but with food $ 40 — not bad considering entertainment. It’s a full dinner combo with mezzas (appetizers) and hot food.
1. Cold Mezzas — This was the highlight for me. Delicious babaganoush, dolmas, red chili pepper sauce, bulgur salad, tabbouleh, and a pickle plate. Served with fresh toasted pita bread. Each and everything was beautiful done. I loved this.
2. Warm Mezzas — Donut-shaped falafel, meat-filled pastry, and fatayer (a pastry filled with feta and spices shaped like a cigar). The falafel and the meat-filled pastry were both fab. The fatayer was unedible, oily and like a limp noodle.
3. Entrees — Where’s the beef? Presentation was a 1.0 star for this. Everything was piled onto one large plate: chicken kebab, kefta, and rice pilaf. Rice as nothing special, chicken was best, kefta was okay, but where was the filet mignon that was promised us? We never got it, but by this time, I was really full with the other stuff that was brought to us.
4. Entertainment — DJ (3.5 star), Belly Dancers (3.5 stars), and a small band with a lead singer, keyboardist, a drummer, and 2 percussionists (3.5 stars). All good, not great. I’ve heard in the past there are a variety of singers, well, not on this night.
5. Overall — The service was really nice and sweet. It’s probably a 3.5 star, but I can’t say I’m a fan. It’s a good experience, but I don’t care if I ever go again. Carousel in Glendale beats this hands down: cabbage salad, hummus, décor, band plays English, Armenian, Lebanese, and Persian songs, and the belly dancers were much better.

Sarine G.

Place rating: 3
Glendale, CA

This place is awesome to come for hookah, drinks and entertainment. Come with the right group of friends or family and there is no way you wont have a great time.
I’ve usually been here either on Fridays or Saturdays. They always have live entertainment.
Their resident singer Farah is great. sings all the popular Arabic songs and even though he is not Armenian he has memorized a few Armenian songs and sings it as if that is his first language.
Service is usually on the slower side… I think its only because they are so packed however Last night our waiter was Zack and I gotta say I have never had such great service at this place. He kept checking on us and made sure we got everything we asked for within a few minutes. Thanks Zach. you rock.
Now you guys must be wondering why I only gave them 3 stars. its the FOOD.
Its horrible. I really believe the chef forgot to add salt to the kafta kabob (ground beef kabob).
The falafel is dry and they put the tahini on top when they are bringing it to the table which means if you don’t eat it right away it will dry on top and make it soggy. The salads forget about it… eww. Just a reminder you need salt and lemon for the tabbouleh guys. cmon! Their shanklish had huge chunks of onion in it, its suppose to have chopped onions and needs to be spicier (shanklish is aged spicy cheese, however restaurants tend to use crumbled feta, tomato, onion, oregano and dried pepper).
Anyways on live entertainment night its a set menu so you kinda have no choice… even if you’re not going to eat the foods gonna come out.
So most definitely come for the drinks, hookah and entertainment, but eat something before you do…

Taleen B.

Place rating: 4
La Crescenta-Montrose, CA

If I were to compare this place to Eden Garden or Phoenicia, this place definitely wins. I came here to celebrate my uncle’s 50^th yesterday. There were two huge tables set up just for us.
We arrived early at 7. It’s pretty empty at that time. Other people didn’t start showing up until 9:30−10 so the restaurant was just us. Our appetizers were served at like 8:30 so from 7 – 8:30 we were pretty much just sitting there. The Dj hadn’t even started playing so it was kind of weird. Our mistake going early? Don’t know…
Food was OK. The appetizers were good but the main course (kabob) was lacking a lot of flavor. Only the shish kabob had taste. Definitely needs improvement.
Atmosphere is very nice. I love the décor, especially the chandeliers.
Music was eh. Their Dj didn’t know how to mix songs AT ALL. Everyone was kind of looking at each other like ??? What’s going on. Lol. The singer that came later on during the night was really really good! Although I wish that he didn’t sing the same sounding Arabic music all night, he was great. Had a crowd dancing on the stage nonstop.

Ernest C.

Place rating: 2
Anaheim, CA

Went to this place for a birthday. They said entertainment begins at 9. Well at 10p the manager and the waiter kept on telling us another 5 min and by 11p we’d had enough and left.
Food is decent so that’s the only reason they get two stars.
Be warned, it’s a prefixed menu. There are ZERO options to change anything

Mariam Z.

Place rating: 3
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA

I have been to this place many times in past few years. I must say they have absolutely gone down may stars and lost many guests. Some
Friends and I were there on a Friday night and the music was literally only Arabic and no dj and no one really there or dancing. The only reason I would ever come back here is for the gods and hookah. The music sucked and they didn’t even realize that they should change it up for purple to actually get up and dance and the service was not what it used to be. The sisters were not at fault. It was the management. Overall don’t think I would him a k, they literally turned music off and cleaned table and kicked us out. So embarrassing.

Adel R.

Place rating: 4
Chatsworth, CA

Torn between 3 or 4 stars food is ok service is so so entertainment is very good the belly dancer is ok
Maybe good for bug party celebration but not so for quite dinner with your partner
I recommend it maybe

Mervat B.

Place rating: 4
Murrieta, CA

Food is great, service is ok
Entertainment is excellent
I would recommend it for parties and groups not for quite couple

Dani A.

Place rating: 5
Woodland Hills, CA

Best food and best entertainment
Their hookahs are amazing specially the double apple with real apple heads and their set maza with dinner is very affordable and delicious u should make a visit asap I would recommend that this place to everyone

The Gate To the Mediterranean

Encino, United States