Esso Mediterranean Bistro is a great little spot in a plaza, so there's always plenty of parking which is super convenient. It's family-owned (Armenian), and you can really feel that when you go..I've met the son and daughter and they're both so nice with great customer service. It feels like the food is made with care and in trusted hands. There's seating inside and a few tables outside if you want something more casual. My go-to is the chicken plate, which comes with two skewers, rice, salad, and a side of hummus (I usually sub for babaganoush). The chicken is juicy and perfectly grilled, the rice is sooo fluffy and flavorful, and the tabbouleh is fresh and lemony. The hummus and babaganoush are both super creamy and come with warm pita bread. I've also tried their falafel, which is really delicious too. Overall, consistently fresh, flavorful food and genuinely kind people running the place. Definitely a go-to spot if you're craving Mediterranean and something healthy. read more

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This place is Amazing so yummi the chicken and the rice have the best flavor! The service is pretty good!! read more

Esso Mediterranean Bistro - Chicken Combination Plate - Middle Eastern Near Me - Encino, California

Very good food, me and my wife really enjoyed their plates and will definitely be back! Small spot tucked away in a corner that has very good Armenian food. Keep it up guys! read more

Absolutely incredible best falafel I've ever had. Chicken kabobs were fantastic. Olives and lebni also so delicious.

THIS PLACE IS AWESOME. Looked up this place on Yelp and saw the good reviews so I thought I would come check it out, and I am so glad that I did! High quality food is being served here with amazing flavors. Stopped by for lunch and got a couple appetizers, hummus and muhamarra and they were both a 10/10! The muhamarra had a good kick to it and I loved it. The sides came with a side of fresh pita which was also amazing. For my plate, I went with a chicken kebab and it came a side salad, hummus, and rice. This plate was phonemenalz. The chicken was flavored to perfection and cooked to perfection. The rice served with it was flavorful and a great side on the plate. 10/10 Do your life a favor and come eat here if you haven't already. This place is freakin awesome. You will not regret stopping by. Can't wait to come back again. Thanks Esso for the great lunch! read more

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Good place, good service, delicious chicken kabob plate. They give you 2 skewers with rice, salad and fresh hummus. You can truly taste the freshness in all of the ingredients. The chicken is nicely marinated, tender and makes your taste buds smile. The place itself is nice, clean, with a somewhat contemporary design with some wooden finishes. Will def be back! read more

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I've been going to this place for over 10 years. It's a family owned and run restaurant in a big plaza. I hate that it's kind of hidden because the food here is so good. By far, the best rice I've ever had and I've had rice in almost every home cooked since I can chew. I usually order the chicken kabob. it comes with hummus, 2 chicken kabob skewers, 2 pita bread and some salad. I'm not normally a hummus nor salad fan I clean up this whole plate every time. I need to try other items on the menu because I know everything in it is delicious. read more

The first time here discovered the place solely by accident. Excellent service food was spectacular. I feel like I was eating at someone's home. Staff is very welcoming and I will definitely bring my family back. read more

The food is rancid and they overcharge they hide the prices and after you eat they tell you prices are changed

Stopped at this place on my way down from Central California and it was delicious. The chicken skewers were tender and juicy and the hummus was tasty. The Greek salad was fresh and flavorful and the staff was friendly and helpful. There's indoor seating and then a cute little outdoor patio if you prefer to eat outside. Would definitely recommend stopping by Esso's. read more

Esso is one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants in the valley. The food is delicious and the service is great! My wife and I got the grilled cheese pita for an appetizer and it's delicious! We both got the combination plate and all of the meat is top notch. The rice and hummus are also delicious and go great with the meal. They brought us a salad as well and it was also great. The restaurant is a good size and there is plenty of parking as it's in a pretty big shopping center. If you're in the area, I highly recommend, it will not disappoint you. read more

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Seriously the best Mediterranean food. You can't beat their hummus and the grilled chicken kabobs are the best in the valley. So flavorful and delicious! Just make sure you order ahead of time since it's made to order! read more

We catered from Esso for our dinner party. Where to begin; everything from the appetizers, to the side dishes, and of course the bbq was incredible. Our guests loved every bite and we will definitely cater from them again. I cannot even pick a favorite because it was all so delicious. Thank you, Esso! It was a pleasure working with you! read more

Finally grabbed some takeout from Esso after hearing my brother rave about it for ages. Got the chicken kabob plate and a side of fries, it was so delicious! The hummus was tangy, the chicken perfectly charred yet juicy and the rice was next level. My only complaint is that I wanted more of the simple side salad that came with the dish, even that was so good! Will be back for more read more

Went the other evening to this lovely place: they have remodeled recently and it is nice! Their food is out of this world I went with my three friends: we live their food All their dishes are fresh, very tasty, and their portions are super copious! read more

Esso Mediterranean Bistro - My friends and me at Esso Mediterranean ‼ - Middle Eastern Near Me - Encino, California

Amazing every time!!! The steak is top notch and the rice is probably the best I've ever had. Always excellent and they're the nicest people ever. Wouldn't go anywhere else for Mediterranean! read more

We arrived to this restaurant around 4:15 pm and couple people were eating at the restaurant,we drove all the way to Encino to try this restaurant and surprised with somebody instead of welcoming us saying we sold out for the day, well checking the hours it's saying open until 9:00 pm so how you sold out like 5 hours before your closing hours, very disappointing. I don't think I will try to go back again read more

Great food and service! Wonderful family run restaurant. We used them all the time, for many years, to cater for dinners and other events, or to simply pickup a quick delicious lunch for the 4 of us. Support a wonderful local business! Thank you read more

We ordered catering from Esso for a family dinner party and were absolutely blown away by the delicious food. Even though Esso's menu offers all the Mediterranean staple dishes that we're familiar with and love, they do something really special with the way they season and prepare their food. You can taste the quality of all the dishes and how much care went into making them. We received countless compliments from all our guests throughout dinner. We will definitely be catering from Esso again in the future and also stopping by to treat ourselves to their yummy food. read more

Tried for the first time. Very friendly staff and food was delicious! We tried the Khash Khash kebab . Everything was fresh!

We had the pleasure of working with Esso Mediterranean Bistro to cater our event, and everything was perfect. The food was absolutely delicious, the service was outstanding, and our guests were truly impressed. Highly recommended for any special occasion! read more

Esso Mediterranean Bistro - The cartouches table they set up was truly amazing and became a highlight of the evening. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Encino, California

Outstanding food. We had the fish (fried), lamb, and salad to go. Everything was flavorful and cooked perfectly. Family owned business, nice people. Will be returning. read more

We got dinner to go last night, Lamb and filet plated dinners with rice, small salad and hummus. Delicious. Alao got baba ghanoush and Taziki. Great food! Really happy!! read more

Went on Sunday for our Father's Day luncheon. As we entered the restaurant we were greeted with the friendliest, warmest greeting that was already a A+++ on my end. Let me add, our waitress was on top of things. Fast, alert and always clearing things out. Now for all of our favorite part, the food was AMAZING! Nothing disappoints. Everything was tasty. The appetizers were fresh. There was a beet salad to die for! Yummmm! The boureg was crispy and loaded with cheese! The kebabs were cut in perfect portions just the way we like them. They were seasoned and marinated to perfection. Nothing was soaked in salt. Later came the baklava. It was freshly made, still warm and crispy. Overall everything was delicious. Outside there is lots of parking. I definitely recommend trying out Esso Mediterranean Bistro. read more

Esso Mediterranean Bistro - Combination Plate - Middle Eastern Near Me - Encino, California

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2 words.....EXCELLENT FOOD!!! My husband and I decided to try the restaurant out after seeing positive reviews from the next-door neighbor app in our area. Everything they said was exactly what it was! Perfectly cooked and everything fresh tasting. We started with the hummus and it was so smooth and tasty. I had the chicken kebab and my husband had the filet mignon kebab, both seasoned perfectly and tender. This is a family run restaurant and the owners are extremely nice and very attentive. Elizabeth and Jack and their son Andy. So happy we found this restaurant and it's a little over a mile from our home so extremely convenient to get to. Plenty of parking is a huge plus. Thank you for the great meal & hospitality and we will be returning for another great meal soon! Carla & David read more

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Excellent! Appetizer & Lunch was phenomenal. Eggplant and walnut- an ample light appetizer for starters . The Yogurt soup - with mint - and Kibbe was SPECTACULAR. Having returned home to The USA from Armenia, I now found a local restaurant with TRUE Armenian Specialities. And a great staff... From a Fellow Armenian E. A. Sarkisian read more

Food was amazing! I had the chicken kabob with hummus and rice - lots of flavor. I also had the fattoush salad - tangy and refreshing. I will be back. read more

The San Fernando Valley is an odd place. Between the strip malls, hookah lounges and endless baseball fields you can find practically anything. Even great hummus. While I doubt your next bumble date will lead to you Esso Mediterranean Bistro perhaps hit should. Sure, I love Zankou chicken as much as you do yet we would be kidding ourselves if we didn't occasionally go on the hunt for better hummus. Placed near Bevmo and Dollar Tree lies a wood panel lined Mediterranean house of tastiness. It's not pretty but parking is easy and the food is delicious. The staff is friendly as well. read more

I've been coming to the store.Efforts since they first opened and the owner still remembers me. They are a small family oriented restaurant that offers great food and good amount of portions. read more

Esso Mediterranean has their catering division Esso Caters and we hired them to cater my birthday celebration last night. Esso A thousand thank yous for the amazing, beautiful and delicious catered celebration. Appreciate your attention to detail and your lovely assistant staying behind to help. Everything was delectable! Served beautifully, gorgeous table setting, abundant and everybody loved every bite. I ate everything. It energized my soul. My Armenian friends were so impressed with your talents. They said your food reminds them of their favorite meals made by mom. You are a genius! I'm so HAPPY we met & I look forward to many more delicious bites. Much Gratitude & Kat read more

We have been ordering from Esso Bistro for a few years now. We love the food which is always fresh and delicious, cooked to perfection each time. We've tried most if not all of their main entrees and some of the appetizers. Oh and the lentil soup is so very yummy and healthy! The portions are generous and the prices are very competitive! The service is next to none!! The place nicely decorated and always neatly presented. We will continue to support this wonderful family and enjoy their sumptuous food! read more

The food is consistently so good and the people that run it are the nicest! I don't have enough good things to say, it's a go-to for lunch when I'm in Encino. read more

My wife and I ate here last night. Wonderful food, service and atmosphere! We will be back:) Thank you again!

Excellent Mediterranean food. We had the fried whole Branzino and a chicken kebab with a side of stuffed eggplant. We ordered to go. Very good portions and great flavours. Will definitely go back to try other items on the menu. It's a family establishment. read more

Great food, we got chicken plates, grilled cheese pita, hummus, baba ghanouj, and foul. Everything was a hit in a family of 5 picky eaters! The chicken plates came with rice, salad, and hummus too so really a great price for everything. read more

The food is awesome and the customer service is so friendly I highly recommend Mohammer which is an awesome unique entree read more

Esso Mediterranean Bistro - a plate of food and a glass of milk - Middle Eastern Near Me - Encino, California

I wanted to like this place as It had the good ingredients : Tucked out in a quiet strip mall close to ventura blvd in Encino, few people so we could chat without deafening sounds, alone in the cute patio, little tables with fresh flowers and white albeit thin table cloth. Forget the somewhat wobbly table and broken tables and the uneven concrete floor: The food is what brought the rating down. I ordered : -The vegetarian plate that came without the babaghanoush ( mutabbal) and it was substituted with muhamara. When asked, this was the answer: "we are out of the mutabbal" Really ? In a Syrian Armenian restaurant? There were too few guests to explain this situation. I have also rarely eaten taboulé without bulgur but here it was just chopped parsley and tiny pieces of tomatoes. The muhamara wasn't bad bad tasting but it was too dense. Needed more olive oil! - The kibbeh were good maybe the best dish ! -The stuffed grape leaves were fine. -The falafel made with garbanzo bean ( not fava beans) which is fine had a weird light beige color not the usual brown and they crumbled at first touch! Andy the server/chef tagged $ 8.95 for the free hummus though the Yelp app that required check in which I did. He initially was doubtful and asked to see the phone to verify that if I did check in then he said that it was only for carry out but the owner's son intervened and they took it off. Karine did her best to service the tables and she deserved credit. All together a three star experience for the kibbe and hummus that were good but the rest was not to my liking. I will not come back as it is too far of a destination for me for an average meal! They could revamp this by improving some dishes ( taboulé, the tahine for the falafel that lacked lemon juice, and the falafel). read more

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Absolutely amazing food with a great variety to choose from. The service was excellent--friendly and attentive throughout. Highly recommend this place! read more

Very delicious food! As Middle Eastern I have a hard time finding a good place that make good Mediterranean food but this one was the best out of many I have tried in the valley. It was my first time trying it and It's not going to be my last time ordering from here. I highly recommend it. read more

I absolutely love their food and used to come here often, but recently every time I come its closed before the posted business hours. The last time I came here everything was open, even the patio, and a man was standing outside chatting with his friends and when we approached him his friends left and he said he closed early. It was Friday, at 8:11pm... I'm not sure they want to stay open for just anyone ‍ Just be sure to call in advance to confirm their hours on that day because they're very unpredictable. read more