Loula's

Just like most cuisines outside of North America, Greek food is served family-style.  Up until recently, it was pretty much accepted that someone would order a honking huge dish of roast lamb with rice, potatoes, veggies, tzatziki and pita.  Well, thankfully, we are seeing a trend towards sharing plates.  Actually, this has been happening for quite some time, but it seems to be popular across the board.  That brings us to Loula's on Commercial Drive.  They belong to the same group as Nammos and Selene Aegean, where yes, they do promote sharing plates.

We began the sharing with the Mediterranean Dips featuring hummus, tarama, smoked eggplant spicy feta and tzatziki.  Beyond these dips, the star of the show was the pita.  They were well-charred with a slightly crispy exterior and a fluffy chewy centre.  Dips were great too with a well-seasoned hummus that had some texture to go with the blended smoothness.  As expected, the tarama was a bit briny and tangy.  Loved the eggplant dip as it was indeed smoky with some spice.

Another delicious mezze was the Spanakopita.  Loved the colour on the phyllo pastry.  It wasn't only aesthetically-pleasing, as it was crispy and plenty aromatic and nutty.  Inside, the spinach and feta filling was delicate but not mushy.  Loved the added sweetness of honey as it balanced everything out.  Extra feta on the side allowed things to be creamier.

We got more of that awesome grilled pita with our order of Saganaki.  As much as the pita was great with the fried sheep's cheese, I thought this dish could've been better.  It was not as as golden brown uniformly as I would've liked.  Even the bottom was somewhat pale.  Despite this, the cheese itself was still crispy on the outside and a bit nutty.  

Next up was a great portion of Calamari.  This featured a good mix of tubes and tentacles.  They were lightly dusted and ended up to be golden and crispy.  Seasoning was a bit aggressive and the texture of the squid was tender with a nice chewiness.  I particularly enjoyed the tentacles as they have more bite.  The tzatziki underneath was creamy and bright.

We ended up with both the Chicken Souvlaki and the Tiger Prawn Souvlaki.  They were properly grilled where the charring was evident in both appearance and taste.  As for the chicken, it remained tender and juicy.  The prawns were aromatic and had a meaty snap texture.  Both were well-seasoned with the pepperiness of oregano.  Once again, the tangy tzatziki was a nice compliment.

Normally, Jackie and Eileen don't eat lamb, but since they know I love lamb, they ordered the Roast Lamb Shoulder (Arni Psito).  Turns out they ended up trying some as it was really good!  The generous portion was super tender and gelatinous while benefitting from the smokiness of the char.  The Lamb Jus that came with it was full of depth, but a bit salty.  It sat on a bed of smooth mashed potatoes and grilled broccolini and zucchini.

To compliment the lamb, we had the Patates which were robust and slightly charred in spots.  I enjoyed these as they were soft and creamy with the essence of rosemary.  Furthermore, the seasoning on them was impactful without being salty (could've used a bit more lemon).  Possibly, the sear/char on them could've been more even as well.

I was happy that they had Ekmek on the menu as it is one of my favourite Greek desserts.  This one was excellent as it was served really cold, hence it had some semi-freddo vibes to it.  It was creamy and sweet, but not too sweet.   Beyond the almost frozen whipped cream, the custard was firm too but still had a velvety texture.  The phyllo at the bottom added some light crispiness.  Overall, our meal at Loula's was quite good.  Their Mezze are on point and their souvlaki are cooked beautifully.  A good option for Greek on The Drive.

The Good:

- Food as a whole is solid

- Charring on the pita and souvlaki are excellent

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Some dishes were a bit salty