For my restaurant review, I decided to visit
Pinelopi’s Greek Kitchen with my mom, dad and brother. When we entered the
restaurant we were greeted by an enjoyable atmosphere: cool, calming and
classy. The space in general is well lit, very clean, and comfortable. Being a
Greek restaurant, the interior design followed a Mediterranean theme. The walls
were a lovely blue, with accents of a light brown. On the walls were beautiful
paintings of locations along the Mediterranean Sea. The restaurant is small and
cozy; however each table still maintains an intimate atmosphere. I found the interior to be very pleasing to
the eye.
Immediately when we entered, the waiter guided us
to our table. I was a bit surprised that he did not introduce himself,
considering the rest of his service was excellent. He informed us on the specials for that day
(a buy one get one half off—in celebration of their two year anniversary). He
asked us what we wanted for beverages, and my parents and brother ordered wine.
When they were asking questions about types and recommendations, the waiter was
extremely helpful and knowledgeable on all the various characteristics of the
wine and how they enhance the flavours of different meals. My parents were
impressed! He then came back with our menus and we decided to share a small
appetizer, Spanakopita (a personal favourite).
Spanakopita is french spinach and feta cheese with herbs, wrapped in phyllo
pastry and oven baked. The phyllo pastry was very flaky, and the filling was
very flavourful. It was exactly what I was looking forward to, however I felt
that the dill was a bit too overpowering. The other three people at the table,
however, did not agree.
When the
waiter returned to take our orders for the main course, I asked him a few
questions about the restaurant and menu. He told me that they try their best to
buy locally, especially when the produce is in season; however their main
supplier is located in the United States. All of the food is prepared fresh in
house; the only things that come packaged /frozen are two desserts and one item
in the lunch menu. He also told us that it is an entirely run family
restaurant—from server to the cooks to the owner. At the end of the meal he
brought his chef/owner/mother out from the back of the kitchen and she took
some time to answer any additional questions and tell us about the restaurant.
We then
ordered our meals, and once again he was very knowledgeable on all of the menu
items. I ordered Pasta Pelopennese: it had zucchini, eggplant, red peppers and
mushrooms in a garlic aioli sprinkled with feta cheese. I thought it needed
more feta cheese to add more flavour, because whenever I ate a bite without
cheese, I found it to be a little bland. Other than that, I liked the dish,
especially the combination of flavours and the way they grilled the zucchini.
My mom
ordered Moussaka, which is eggplant, potatoes and meat sauce, layered and topped with a béchamel cream sauce, then oven baked, and served with Greek salad. It was
very rich, and the potato layer was too thick compared to the rest of the
Moussaka. It had a nice flavour however the texture of the béchamel sauce was
thick as well. The flavours were great, only the ratios and textures need work.
My dad ordered the Santorini
Chicken: a boneless chicken breast, stuffed with spinach and feta cheese,
lightly dusted with flower, baked and topped with a creamy roasted red pepper
sauce. It was served with rice and vegetables. The sauce was creamy and
flavourful, and the chicken had a nice and crunchy coating. The chicken was
very moist, and the dish was still piping hot when it was served! The meal was
very appetizing, except for the beans were a little overcooked.
Lastly, my brother ordered four
oregano scented charcoal grilled lamb chops, with and olive oil and lemon
drizzle. He did not care for the lamb chops, which probably more of a personal
preference rather than the quality of the food.
For dessert, we had a lovely
Balklava, made with layers of phyllo pastry, walnuts and honey syrup. The
phyllo pastry was nice and flaky, and they got the ratio of walnuts to honey
and pastry juts right, none of the flavours over powered each other. It was
very enjoyable!
All in all,
the meals were very tasty and it was obvious that they were authentic, homemade
Greek dishes prepared with care. One thing they can definitely improve on is
their portion sizes. The portions were extremely generous. This may depend on
the consumer, but my mom and I both could only finish less than half of our
meal. We ended up boxing it up and bringing it home in an effort to not waste
food. Our overall experience was very enjoyable, and the service was
outstanding!
