Hibachi at Home in Encino

Most Encino Hills homes are gated, so send us the code or have someone at the gate at load-in; the chef needs about ten minutes to unload and the truck then moves off the driveway. Canyon streets like Hayvenhurst and Encino Hills Drive are steep and winding, so we plan an earlier arrival there.

Encino is warm from June through September, and most hosts start at 6:30 or 7 pm so the show runs as the Valley cools. We need a flat area about the size of a king-size bed and roughly 10 ft of overhead clearance on hardscape or packed ground; for pavers or turf we bring a mat.

Not sure your space works? Send a photo with your quote request and we will confirm the setup spot before your date.

We need a flat outdoor area about the size of a king-size bed and about 10 ft of overhead clearance. Best evening months in Encino: May through November; best lunch months: May through June and October through November.

July averages a high of 90°F against 65°F in January. No month here averages above 93°F, so Encino takes daytime bookings comfortably across most of the year. Rain is worth planning around in March, when about 33% of days see measurable rain — a 10×10 pop-up tent over the chef station saves the party, and guests can eat indoors. Evenings run longest in June (sunset around 8:06pm); start 90 minutes before sunset for the golden-hour show.

Travel: none for Encino — it sits inside our free 50-mile radius, so your quote carries no travel fee at all.

Averages from the Open-Meteo historical archive, 2019–2024.

Beef: USDA Choice Angus top sirloin. Choice is the grade above Select. We buy Angus program beef rather than whatever is cheapest that week.

Shrimp: BAP-certified. Best Aquaculture Practices — an independent certification covering the farm, the hatchery, the feed and the processing plant.

Salmon: Atlantic salmon fillet, skinless. Portioned fillet, not trim or belly offcuts.

Chicken: Boneless, skinless breast. Hatched, raised and harvested in the USA. Breast meat only — no thigh substitution.

Lobster tail: Wild-caught Caribbean spiny lobster. Our premium upgrade. Wild-caught, not farmed.

Sauces: Terry Ho’s yum yum sauce and Japanese ginger dressing. The ones you already recognise from the restaurant. Both contain egg.

Allergies: Our standard soy sauce is not gluten free, so a gluten-free guest should have their own gluten-free soy and teriyaki on hand and we'll cook their portion with it. We can't promise a nut- or sesame-free table — the sauces and gyoza are commercial products, the gyoza contain sesame, and one sauce is made in a plant that also handles peanuts. Tell us the allergy when you book and we'll check the labels in use for your date.

Anniversaries & Milestone Birthdays. Encino hosts 50ths, 60ths, and 25th anniversaries at the house, with the whole family at one table and a show the grandparents talk about afterward.

Multi-Generation Family Dinners. Everyone picks their own two proteins, so the table with four diets still eats together and nobody is stuck at the grill.

Graduations. Crespi, Birmingham, and Portola families in June, with relatives in from out of town and a yard that finally gets used for something.

Holiday Dinners at Home. A chef for the night means the host is at the table for the whole meal instead of in the kitchen for two days beforehand.

See how each celebration plays out: birthdays, pool parties, family reunions and more party ideas.

Estate Lots in Encino Hills. Long driveways, gated entries, wide terraces, and room for thirty or more. Among the easiest setups in the Valley once we have the gate code and know which terrace you want.

Ranch Houses North of Ventura. Flat, fenced, and deep, usually with a poured patio already in place. A long table down the middle and the grill on the concrete at one end.

Amestoy & Rancho Estates Backyards. Half-acre lots with pools and lawns. The pool deck is the grill spot and the lawn takes the overflow tables and chairs, which we can bring.

Encino yards were built for exactly this. The estate lots in Encino Hills and Amestoy Estates have room for thirty at one long table, the ranch houses north of Ventura have flat lawns and poured patios, and the families who live here host the kind of dinner where three generations expect to be fed well. A chef cooking steak, shrimp, and lobster in front of everyone does that without anyone leaving the yard.

We cook throughout Encino, Tarzana, Lake Balboa, Reseda, and the hills south of the boulevard. Flat rate $59.90 per adult, $29.90 per child 5–12, and kids under 5 eat free, $599 event minimum, setup and cleanup included, and no travel fee.