Coquitlam??? That was the shocked response of both Emilicious and Gadget Girl when Polka King mentioned where he planned for the team to eat after Friday hockey. Yes, that would be a huge stretch considering that we don't even eat in North Vancouver after hockey (and we play in North Van!). So this needed a bit of convincing. Well, the fact that Polka King has stopped coming out to eat with us was a mitigating factor. Since he got married to Polka Dot and moved into Coquitlam, we see him as much as a proper lane change in Richmond. So it would be a favour of sorts to head into Coquitlam for some eats. Turns out that it was the biggest turnout of the year as Emilicious, Gadget Girl, Polka King, Polka Dot, Ginseng, Zac-Attack, Apu, Manjula, Groundskeeper Willy, Milhouse, Gordo along with Viv and the kids all attended. We ended up at Pallas Athena Greek Kouzina as Polka Dot had a good experience there recently.
For the kiddies, I tried to go for some "different" items for them to experience. I figured crunchy squid would appeal to them. The Calamari was a decent portion. However, the batter was extremely dense and overly crunchy. Thus, the pieces of squid were a bit lost because too much effort was used in breaking down the hard exterior. The one saving grace was the thick tzatziki. It was nicely texture and had a nice hint of lemon. My daughter only had a passing interest in this dish. So I figured that fried cheese would work with my son and he did eat it to my surprise. The Saganaki was a contrast in textures, which was the whole point. The exterior was crisp while the inside was chewy and gooey. I liked that it had a lemon zing to it, but that didn't help mask the over abundance of salt. The accompanying pita bread was good though. It was soft in the middle and slightly crisp on the outside.
My Roast Lamb (as I always order in a Greek restaurant) was not as moist as I would've liked. It wasn't tough per se, but there were some hard parts and it did require some effort to chew. In terms of flavour, it was pretty nice with a good amount of rosemary and lemon. The lemon roast potato was soft, yet could've benefited from a touch more tang. The rice was a bit pale, but it has a nice slightly chewy texture. It was a bit one note in flavour and that note was not too strong. Viv had the Chicken Souvlaki which was a healthy portion of meat. It was well-seasoned with an attractive and tasty char. She pretty much echoed my sentiments about the sides except for the green beans. She hated them as they were woefully overcooked and mushy.
Both Polka Dot and Ginseng had the Dolamades and they were not bad. The grape leaves were soft to chew yet weren't mushy. The filling was moist yet not that impactful. Neither was the sauce, not much in the way of tang nor saltiness. Ginseng thought the side of rice was a bland for her liking. Zac-Attack had the Lamb Souvlaki (not pictured) where the meat was moist and tender. It was perfectly grilled and in large pieces. He thought the tzatziki was a very nice compliment. Polka King and Polka Dot shared the Scallop Souvlaki which was a bit disappointing. Despite the appearance of big juicy scallops, they were in fact quite rubbery (due to being overcooked). However, at the same time, there was a lack of grill marks or charring which in turn resulted in a lack of flavour as well. Much like everyone else, they thought the sides were not bad except for the mushy beans. They also shared a Calamari, which Groundskeeper Willy had as well, and thought that the batter was too crunchy. This echoed our sentiments as well. However, on a previous visit, the batter was not as crunchy and thick. Therefore, we can only surmise that this might have been a one-off due to the many orders of food we put in at the same time.
Gordo went for the Seafood Fettuccine which arrived in quite a bit of sauce. Despite this, his pasta was not soft. The sauce was creamy and well-seasoned. The scallops and shrimp were cooked nicely having the right textures. Not a true Italian pasta, but then again, we were in a Greek restaurant! Milhouse went all out and had the Chicken & Ribs. The ribs were fairly moist despite its appearance. The meat fell off the bones being well-seasoned and moist. He wasn't a big fan of the chicken though as it was overcooked and noticeably dry. Furthermore, there wasn't a whole lot of flavour either. As you can ascertain, there were some issues with a few items across the board. Yet, the food was okay enough that it could be considered a decent meal. Considering our large group, it would be unreasonable to expect perfection (and that never occurs anywhere anyways). One thing we did notice was that our water glasses were not refilled very often. In fact, mine was never refilled and we were the only table there for the latter half of our meal.
The Good:
- Relatively decent food
- Decent portions
The Bad:
- Some items were overcooked
- The service wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't attentive either
2 comments:
I thought of coming here too since its just a walk away for me! Thanks for your review :)Would you say this is better than My Greek Taverna in Coquitlam?
@SSU If my memory serves my correctly, I would say My Greek Taverna...
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