664574 Tue Nov 03 23:38:21 -0800 2009 12 57 Western Canada 0 5154179 I'm looking for recommendations of Greek restaurants in the Vancouver area. I'm not interested in "average" restaurants. I'm looking for the hidden gems... kind of like Phnom Penh for chicken wings, Long's for salty egg crispy rice and drunken chicken, Peaceful for the beef roll, etc. In terms of Greek food, I'm looking for outstanding calamari, saganaki, kleftiko and souvlaki, etc. I'm not necessarily looking for one particular restaurant to shine for all these items. I'm willing to go to different places to try their signature items/dishes. Thanks in advance. Tue Nov 03 23:38:21 -0800 2009 228839 miss.foodie 1 5154184 I'd love to hear some current info on Vancouver Greek. I haven't really had good Greek food since Le Grec moved to the West side (from literally next door from where I lived on Commercial Dr - now the Charlatan). Ultimately, it closed. We have a Greek place on Commercial Dr called Bouzyous that is somewhat above average. Piato Estofario had some promise of taking Greek food upscale - but opened to mixed reviews. I haven't been. Tue Nov 03 23:50:37 -0800 2009 5154179 145820 fmed 1 5154975 The sweet basil spareribs and roasted lamb at Simpatico on West 4th are outstanding. The rest of their Greek dishes are average. Wed Nov 04 08:41:49 -0800 2009 5154179 13666 islandgirl 2 5157103 My all time fave is Maria's on 4th-not the one in the West End the 4th Ave location. Have heard good things about Kerkis further west on 4th http://www.kerkistaverna.com/ Wed Nov 04 20:21:18 -0800 2009 5154975 10785 Sam Salmon 3 5157144 I like Panos Greek Taverna on SE Marine Drive, the Calamari is above average and roast lamb, delicious Wed Nov 04 20:44:40 -0800 2009 5157103 1118720 vaneater 1 5157161 I like Kalamata Greek Taverna on W. Broadway. Generally everything is great, but the moussaka, calamari and kleftiko are the highlights for me. Wed Nov 04 20:56:35 -0800 2009 5154179 156732 ck1234 2 5157676 Hey ck, glad to hear Kalamata is still putting out good food. We boycotted when they continued to allow smoking after the ban (there were a few places in town that did that and lost my business). It's the only place I thought of recommending as good Greek food is thin on the ground here I find. Apollonia gets raves for its lamb but the SO wasn't terribly impressed -- I'm not a lamb fan so my comments would not be useful. Thu Nov 05 06:44:18 -0800 2009 5157161 169233 grayelf 1 5159702 I love Kalamata and eat there every time I visit Vancouver. The beef and chicken souvlaki are delicious! Thu Nov 05 18:11:54 -0800 2009 5154179 220038 J.J 2 5159745 So that's 3 recs for Kalamata. I haven't been there in over 10 years. I should check it out soon. Thu Nov 05 18:34:18 -0800 2009 5159702 145820 fmed 1 5161296 Kalamata is one of my favs as well. I love their rice because they mix in carrots and fresh spinach, making it extra healthy =) My only qualm is it's pricey for what it's worth like many greek restaurants. Oh and their garlic prawn is uber garlicky for those who are garlicheads. Fri Nov 06 11:01:13 -0800 2009 5154179 92180 gourmet wife 1 5161379 I second Marias on 4th Fri Nov 06 11:22:52 -0800 2009 5154179 190360 jmil 1 5206047 Thanks for everyone's recs. I had my heart set on trying Kalamata due to the number of recs here but didn't end up as there as a local friend whom I was having dinner with had suggested going to Kypriaki in North Van instead. For appetizers, we shared the kalamari and the portabello mushrooms sauteed in garlic with a creamy port sauce. The kalamari was good... no complaints there (though I wouldn't say is the best kalamari i've ever had).. The star was the portabello mushrooms. Normally, I wouldn't think of ordering portabello mushrooms at a Greek restaurant but I stumbled across some rave reviews online about this dish at Kypriaki's. It was definitely a big hit amongst my dining companions. I thought it was quite delicious although it didn't "wow" me (ie. I wouldn't say it made it on the top 10 dishes I've ever tasted). But most certainly I would order it again next time I go to Kypriaki's. It would be a must-try dish there if you like cream sauces. The sauce was perfect for dipping with the pita. I think we sopped up every drop of it. For mains, we shared the roast lamb (kleftiko) and the prawn and scallops souvlaki. I couldn't believe the size of the portion for the roast lamb dish. I was so surprised that one order came with two large pieces. Normally, I would only expect one of those pieces in an order. As a foodie, I always go for quality and flavour over quantity. The large portion size is just an added bonus. The roast lamb was done well.. it was tender, flavourful and fell-off- the bone nicely as expected. The sides that accompanies the entrees - rice, greek salad and roasted lemon potatoes were tasty and cooked perfectly as well. The prawn and scallop souvlaki was tasty and came with the same sides as the lamb. While the meal didn't "wow" me, it was a very solid performance on all fronts. All the dishes we ordered were delicious and cooked to perfection. Between 3 of us, we shared 2 appetizers and 2 mains and there was more than enough food for us. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood and are craving Greek food, I would recommend it. I don't know how it compares to other good quality Greek restaurants in Vancouver as I have tried others recently, but I know the food that I had at Kypriaki is better than most places I've tried in Calgary. Tue Nov 24 15:18:52 -0800 2009 5154179 228839 miss.foodie 2 5206305 Thanks for the great and detailed report miss.foodie. I mentioned earlier that I had sort of given up on Greek food here....maybe it is time to re-assess. Tue Nov 24 17:05:50 -0800 2009 5206047 145820 fmed