Sherman's Food Adventures: Taverna Gogona

Taverna Gogona

With any opinion on food, it can be highly subjective due to personal tastes.  So we could technically argue what is the "best of" and never come to a consensus.  However, I've noticed that when the topic of the best Greek restaurant in the GVRD comes up, it is always a crap shoot.  I seemingly never get the same answer, even from my Greek friends!  I've heard everything from Stepho's (why???) to Double DD (funniest name ever!) to Dallas (for the roast lamb only).  But little known to many is a little place in Ladner called Taverna Gorgona.  After an ownership change 7 years ago, the food has been pretty solid.  Since we were in the village already, Zamboni Guy, Hot Mama and DD (ironic..) joined me for some Greek eats.

As soon as the Calamari hit the table, we were pretty sure it would be good.  Yes, sometimes appearances are deceiving (like that tasty plastic food in the display windows of some Japanese restaurants), but this was actually good.  Sporting large pieces of squid that were fried beautifully, the textures were on point.  The batter was light, crispy and well-seasoned while the squid was tender with a bite.  I normally do not like dry herbs on my food, but the oregano worked here.  Airy and light, the tzatziki wasn't texturally my thing, but it was garlicky with a touch of acidity.

For my entree, I had the Roast Lamb as usual.  This was a healthy portion of food, especially for lunch.  I found the lamb to be a mix of tender portions and dry chewy parts.  It was well-marinated as I could taste some acidity to go with garlic and salt.  As much as the rice is just rice, this was excellent as it was still chewy while still being cooked through.  Equally good was the lemon roast potato with lots of tang and spot on in texture being soft while retaining its potatoness.  Zamboni Guy didn't stray from being boring and got the Chicken Souvlaki again (3rd time eating with him at a Greek restaurant!).  I think my son is more adventurous than he is...  Whatever the case, this was a good choice as the chicken skewer was large and appealingly charred.  Even with that, the meat inside was still only a touch dry and well-seasoned.

Hot Mama really wanted balls...  er...  and had the Keftedes with cumin tomato sauce.  She remarked that the balls were a bit small while she could really taste the cumin.  It was able to shine despite the tartness of the tomato sauce.  Despite their size, the meatballs were still tender.  DD went off the board and went for a pasta in the Shrimp and Chicken Linguine.  This was a rather creamy concoctionHence, the pasta was a touch past al dente, but hardly mushy.  The cream sauce was rich and well-seasoned while the seafood was on point.  However, the prawns were a bit salty.  Now if we considered the fact Taverna Gorgona is hidden away in Ladner Village, it could be classified as a hidden gem.  Sure, some will argue that there is better Greek food in the GVRD (and they are not wrong), but we felt that Taverna Gorgona is above average.

The Good:
- Generous portions
- Decent service
- Above average eats

The Bad:
- On the pricier end of the Greek food spectrum
- Meats could be a bit more moist   

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