The Cheesecake Factory- All locations - Sherman Oaks, CA Review

To the Point

I have been to several of The Cheesecake Factory locations. The restaurants, food and service are very similar. The biggest difference is parking and that is due to location. For example one in Chestnut Hill, MA is in a mall with an underground garage. One in Las Vegas is in a Casino so you will park in the Casino lot. I have been to one in Boca Raton, Florida a number of times. My most recent visit was to one in Sherman Oaks, California. This is just outside Los Angeles. Needless to say I love the food here.  

A Closer View

The Cheesecake Factory I am focusing on is located at 15301 Ventura Boulevard. This is in the Sherman Oaks Galleria across from Tower Records. They can be reached at 818- 906-0700.

All major credit cards are accepted. Reservations are not accepted unless you are having a party.

I have never been to a location after 5:00p.m. at which I did not have to wait. On this visit we arrived at about 6:00p.m. and surprisingly only had to wait about 15 minutes.  This was a Sunday.

Valet and self-parking are available. They offer self-parking validation for two hours for $1.00. My daughter knows the area. She found a free spot a couple of blocks away.

They are open from 11:30a.m. to 11:00p.m. Monday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday until 12:30a.m. On Sunday they open at 10:00a.m. and close at 11:00p.m. These hours are similar to those of the Boca Raton location.

The Sherman Oaks location isn't as pretty as that of the Boca Raton location. It is on a corner of the Galleria. Both sides of the door have outside areas in which to sit. We chose to eat inside. Inside I found an active bar.

Our waiter was very nice and attentive. He refilled our iced tea many times and when he went on break he introduced us to his replacement.  

The restaurant's noise level like all of them was loud.Several times my daughter told us to talk softer because we were screaming!

A nice basket with soft, warm brown bread topped with oats along with some French bread was served to us.

There are 16 pages of menu items. Appetizers such as Crispy Crab Wontons range in price from $5.95 to $9.95. You can get pizza in the $9.00 range. I have had a slice of their pizza in the past and it was good. It makes a nice appetizer. I would not get it as a main dish at The Cheesecake Factory because their other food is so much better. The pizza dishes are unusual though. If you like Thai food like I do, you will enjoy the Thai Chicken Pizza. It is a bit spicy though so is warned.

The Cheesecake Factory is known for their large portions so either order what you know you can eat or be prepared to take home a doggie bag.

The Cheesecake Factory offers Sunday Brunch; eggs and omelets which are served all day every day; sandwiches; and specialties such as Filet Mignon for $26.95 or Miso Salmon for $17.95.

One of my favorite sandwiches here is the Grilled Portabello on a Bun for $9.95. The sandwich is huge, grilled with wonderful tasting spices, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato onion and fries. $9.95 may sound like a lot for a sandwich but you are getting your money’s worth.

There are 11 salads. Before 5:00p.m. a lunch sized portion can be ordered. On this night I got my usual Chinese Chicken Salad which was $12.95. It was and always is huge. I really have to recommend this salad. It is one of the best salads I have had. I often get Chinese Chicken Salads that come with the expected mandarin orange and some almonds. This is the ultimate in Chinese Chicken Salads.

Your plate will be delivered to you piled high with tasty, crunchy rice noodles. The white meat chicken is grilled and sliced. It takes on the flavoring of the delicious Chinese Plum Dressing. Somehow this restaurant manages to put on just the right amount of dressing. Too much would make the salad tangy and too little would make it not as tasty. In spite of the fact the chicken takes on the flavor of the dressing, the other items in the salad have flavors all their own. The lettuce, onions, and bean sprouts are all fresh as are the pieces of orange. You will find sesame seeds, lots of sliced almonds and crispy wontons. This wonderful salad is indicative of all the food at The Cheesecake Factory.

My daughter got the Cobb Salad (hold the bacon) which she enjoyed but took ½ of it home. My husband loved his Chicken Madeira dish which came with melted cheese over two breasts with a lot of mushroom and a huge portion of delicious mashed potatoes.

The Cheesecake Factory has other deserts such as ice cream and carrot cake but if you are going to get dessert you must get one of their 35 + flavors of cheesecake.  They now have one that has 6 carbohydrates if you are counting carbs. You can order their cheesecake online.

The cheesecake is so creamy it really is fabulous. Whatever flavor you get you will be assured that it will taste like that flavor with plenty of nuts if it is supposed to have nuts. My favorite is White Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nuts. You will get chunks of nuts; not just some ground up flavor of macadamia nuts. Other flavors include Snickers Bar Chunks and Cheesecake, Kahlua Cocoa Coffee Cheesecake, Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake and Southern Pecan Cheesecake. Each slice ranges from $5.95 to $7.50. They are very rich so expect to split it. If you are too full for a slice and have never had their cheesecake take a piece home.

We shared the Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake which came with a huge amount of whipped cream. It was sinfully delicious.

The Cheesecake Factory has gotten on the "to go" bandwagon. You can call them to place your order. Once you get to the restaurant the expectation is that you have a cell phone to call Curbside Pickup and your food will be delivered to your car.

I’m giving this 4 stars because of the noise level and the slippery floor. Truly everyone was commenting as they walked by us how slippery it was. I think this was a combination of the clean tile and whatever they use to wash the floor.

www.thecheesecakefactory.com

Jo’s Viewpoint

I like it!