Garden Cafe (of Sherman Oaks)

Terrible experience overall! Food felt freezer burnt, I’m sure something was bad as we all got a huge stomach ache that night. The place is also runs by teens so service is not great - I would save me money and elsewhere

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

I really wanted to like this place but was so disappointed with the food. Took my daughter in law out for lunch, she chose the place. We were told to order at the counter but noticed others were given menus with food descriptions unlike the “board” On the wall. Ordered cob salad the green sandwich and tomato basil soup. The soup tasted like pizza sauce not soup, The salad only had blue cheese, what I later identified as bacon, a few tomato pieces and hard boiled egg. The worse salad I’ve ever ordered in a restaurant! The “bacon” was in chunks, not fresh obviously cheap store bought. The clumps couldn’t even be crumbled and bounced on the table, absolutely terrible salad couldn’t eat it or the soup. The unsweetened tea was ok as was the rose lemonade. Don’t waste your money here!

Reviewed your response and will never return! Will tell all my reviewers how terrible your food is!

Parking: Very small lot, maybe 8 cars most

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Tomato Basil Soup

This place is such a convenient spot for you to go eat in Sherman Oaks, absolutely love the outside garden like feel it is so relaxing and very romantic like. Unfortunately, the food does not match the ambience at all. The food was extremely salty, and the coffee was not that good but I would recommend to try the spot, especially if you’re looking for something close by in Sherman oaks

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 4

Just stopped in for a quick drink with friends. It was great!!

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

The place is nice & relaxed.
My Wife and I stopped by for breakfast and had to order at the counter (Not ideal but I guess it’s ok).
We ordered two coffees and two breakfast plates (eggs over medium, potatoes with bacon)
The food was ok, nothing to loose sleep over.
My coffee cup had a couple of coffee stains on the outside, no big deal.
We sat in the front patio on one of the couches and very quickly realized the the couch was a bit wet (No big deal)
The cup that was handed to us containing the cream & sugar and the time of ordering had some funny cream spills in and outside of it. Not very pleasant.
When we began eating I had asked for hot sauce it seems like the staff had forgotten about my request and close to when I was finishing with breakfast, the hot sauce arrived. Late but it arrived .

This is my personal experience… it might be different for you since this place has other good reviews BUT if you come here be aware that you could be the next lucky one just like me, good luck !

Overall, I believe that the experience could be enhanced.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 3

Met friends here for brunch, food was good and had a nice ambiance. Would come here again. Small parking lot and we had a tough time finding street parking.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Crab Cake Benedicts

Recently, our group hosted our annual meetup at the Garden Cafe. I felt for the staff (and other customers) as we had no idea just how large a group we turned out to be. Even still, the wait staff took EXCELLENT care of us from start to finish! The portions were great for the price; however, I did hear from several group members that their food (including mine) lacked seasoning. Other than the general lack of flavor, the service and atmosphere were top-notch!!

Parking: Small free parking lot as well as metered street parking

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Avocado Toast

The Banana French Toast was extremely small portioned. There were three pieces of toast and each of them was the size of my 2-year old niece’s hand. I do think the official photo that you see first when you Google search this cafe — which is the photo of Banana French Toast — is no longer correct. I understand that the business feels the stress of rising costs of produces and ingredients, thus feel pressured to use smaller portion for your menu item due to inflation but it was simply so small I was astounded. It did not occur to me to take photos of them at first because I thought it was supposed to be very small portioned—but when I came home and saw the other photos of these same toasts… they were not the same. Be aware if you plan to order these. I would not be recommending the place. My friends each got a plate of pasta, burger, and chilaquiles. They were mediocre.

Went there for a late lunch, and the food did not disappoint. We ordered the spicy short rib grilled cheese, the mac n chees with bacon, and the pesto chicken quesadia. Topped that off with their red velvet cookie made with a strawberry jelly, arguably the best cookie I've ever had. Washed it down with a rose tea that was not too sweet but had a refreshing rosy flavor. Maybe not your cup of tea, but that day it certainly was mine. No pun intended. The ambiance was beautiful it felt like you were in another part of the world with its outside dining area covered over head with vegetation. If you are in the Sherman Oaks area or in LA, for that matter. I would recommend this place to you all. The only reason I don't give them 5 stars across the board is because once you reach the peak, it's nothing but downhill from there, and they are certainly not a downhill trajectory. Great spot, fantastic food.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

There's a small parking space in front of the restaurant. The outdoor space is lovely and has heaters.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 3

Tasty food and excellent service. Their staff are very friendly and courteous.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

The steak fries were really good! So was the Mediterranean sampler and the pepperoni pizza (we added mushrooms)

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Mediterranean Sampler

The atmosphere was lovely but that was about it. I went on a weekend where it was quiet and slow. However, service was incredibly slow where I waited almost 40 mins for a grilled cheese sandwiches and there were about 2 other tables. The sandwich was just ok which was disappointing to be waiting 40 mins for.

This place is rather overrated for whar I experienced.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 2

My first time here at this tucked away gem. Great ambiance and Great food. The owner was lovely. I will definitely be going back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

food good service lousy. she should find a remote job and work from home.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 1