C C.
Yelp
Came here tonight (on Saturday evening) around 6PM for takeout instead of going to Carousel like we usually do (after reading all the recent positive Yelp reviews about Tava House) and boy was it the best decision yet!!
It was a slow Saturday evening when we came by since it was raining heavily, but the owner was there today to take my partner's in-person takeout order. As others have mentioned in previous reviews, this establishment is a local, small, family-owned business in Glendale. My partner described the owner as a very kind lady, and she helped him during the entire decision-making/ordering process.
The food is made-to-order fresh, so it took about 15 minutes for our food to come out after the order was finalized.
Parking: there is a free parking lot (shared with the other businesses) in the immediate area
On to the food review for our lamb chop plate + chicken luleh kebab:
- Lamb chops: Smoky, gamey, and crispy on the edges while retaining all the flavor and moisture in the middle. Beautifully done. My partner preferred the lamb chops from here over Raffi's.
- Chicken luleh kebab: juicy, tender, thick and well-seasoned. My partner says he preferred this over the chicken luleh kebabs from Pacific Food Mart's morning bakery and Carousel's.
- Mutabbal (side): creamy, very smokey, savory and had the right amount of acidity. This was probably the tastiest mutabbal we've ever had in Glendale.
- Beet salad (side): they did not have their usual beet salad today (like the ones shown in the Yelp photos), but the one we had today was still pretty darn good. It had beet cubes, arugula, and feta cheese. A good refreshing side to go with the rest of our plate.
- Rice: well-seasoned and there was plenty to go around for the two of us sharing this one order
- Flat-bread (didn't have pita bread today): tasted fresh, has a good bite, and there was enough for the two of us to share for our order
The lamb chop plate + chicken luleh kebab was delicious and it was a very satisfying amount of food for 2 people with dinner appetites.
Price & Serving Size:
Since we shared one BBQ plate order between 2 hungry people, we added the chicken luleh kebab to the lamb chop plate as an extra protein. However, their standard BBQ plate portion (that comes with just 1 protein) is PLENTY of food for 1 person. In fact, if we weren't both starving, I think we could've just shared the standard BBQ plate portion between the 2 of us.
In short, Tava House has generous serving sizes for their BBQ plates, and their prices are quite fair for the amount of food you get.
The price of the food at Tava House is average compared to other Armenian food establishments in the area, maybe even better since the portion size was very generous for our lamb chop plate, and Tava House definitely used good quality meat (yes, you can taste the difference in quality of the meat).
At today's point in time, it had cost $25 for the lamb plate (comes with the rice and 2 sides) + $12 for the additional chicken luleh kebab.
The owner noted that she had to raise the price of the lamb chop plate recently, due to supply costs. For $25, we thought it was definitely worth the money. However, for others who may not want to spend this amount, Tava House offers other protein choices are cheaper so please don't hesitate to try out the other proteins. In our humble opinion, the lamb chops and the chicken luleh kebabs were both equally succulent, satisfying, and delicious.
At the time of writing this review, Tava House still seems to be a hidden gem in Glendale, but they absolutely deserve more recognition. Their food is delicious, the prices are fair, and the owner is a lovely person who takes the time to help you with any questions while ordering, and the kitchen staff take great care in preparing each order fresh (made to order).
We had a great first experience here. Everything was delicious and honestly better than what we've tried from other more well-known establishments in the area. We'll definitely be repeat customers of Tava House going forward.
If you've made it this far in my review, I implore you to go eat at Tava House. Their food is honestly too good to be passed up on. You won't regret it.