Stepho’s Greek Taverna
1124 Davie St
Vancouver, BC
Whenever I see a lot of people queueing outside of a restaurant, two things come to my head: They want people to watch them (hence, hinting where they eat) or the hype is high. Then there is the queue that sometimes form outside of Stepho’s in Vancouver’s West End. This is not a new restaurant; as for as I know, it has been there for ages, yet people keep lining outside to wait for a table. In my case, despite having lived at walking distance from this place, I never bothered to try it, mainly because I did not want to stand outside, waiting who knows for how long nor I bothered to order takeout.
By sheer coincidence, I was walking in the area looking for a spot for lunch and, behold, no queue! Since I have never been there, I seized the opportunity and walked-in.
Once seated and given the menu, a minute hadn’t passed before a waiter asked me if I already knew what to order. Usually, I would have hinted the staff I just sat down and haven’t had a chance to do so. However, since their menu is quite small, not to mention the fact I already browsed their menu outside, I knew what I was going to order. About 10 minutes later, my dish came, along with some bread.
As for my dish, I ordered their specialty: Roast Lamb ($10).
Just in case, I turned around the plate for a better look of the dish.
As for the dish itself, some parts of it was bland (rice and potato); others were quite tasty (salad and vegetable mix/stew were quite good and the lamb). But then, I have to admit I have not had lamb as often as other meats. Ah, the lamb, it was quite tender, almost falling off the bone… (Though not necessarily the absolute best lamb I have ever had).
In the end, I think Stepho’s have managed to apply the fine art of preparing a decent meal at an acceptable cost (for the customer), which results in higher volume and turnaround. After all, if I were to go to a grocery store/supermarket in Vancouver, I am sure a similar piece of lamb would go for at least $6. Would I go back? The answer will be “depends”! As long as I don’t have to queue, I ought to be OK, though I might as well try other Greek places. Now, if they just clean the place a bit more…
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve found their take out service (under 15 minutes) to be faster than their sit down meals at times. Don’t have to bare the lines and the dirtiness.
I think my aunties restaurant has spoiled me…Stepho’s tastes icky compared to her Greek cooking.
That looks nice, I’ve not had Greek food before, is it mostly cous cous and such?
Dan, yeah, after this visit, I will certainly consider their take out. However, at the same time, with so many other Greek restaurants out there, I should visit those as well, right?
Jessica, unfortunately, not all of us are fortunate to have a Greek relative… However, after watching “My Big Fat Greek Weeding”, I am not sure if want to!
monchichi, as far as I know, couscous is more North-African/Lebanese. I don’t think I would be the best person to describe Greek food, as most of the knowledge I have about it tends to be “well known”/stereotypical Greek, like their village salad (aka “Greek salad”), souvlaki, pita, etc. However, that is not too far either, as these dishes were served in a Greek festival I dropped by last year. Check it here.
its a great resturant , the food is perfect (yammy) and the prices are reasonable , we are there every week , line up out side is bugging us but i think its a tradtion for this resturant . u guys need to try it iam sure that u will like it
cous cous is famous in morroco , libya,and tunisa (not lebanon) lebanise food is almost similar to greek food (rice,salad,lamb or beef or chicken ,botato,youghrt)we call it medetranian food
{ 5 trackbacks }