I had been wanting to go to Souvlaki GR for a while purely because of how adorable it looked from the outside. It's a stark contrast to all the other drab NYC buildings in the area although it does have a bit of a Disney-fied feel to it. But on a rainy day in August, stepping into this blue and white delight was exactly what I needed. The inside also has the same blue and white decor and if you've ever been to Greece before, it does transport you back there.
Like most other Greek places in the city, this one is quite laid back and casual. The host was really nice and let me sit at a table and wait for 30 minutes without giving me grief for it. The menu is a classic line up of dips, pitas, and lamb dishes. As I've mentioned many times before, Greek food is such an underrated cuisine and it's definitely one that I could eat all the time. We started with the tzatziki dip ($7.50) and the Greek salad ($13.5) because that's just what you do in a Greek restaurant. As for my main, I was struggling between the octopus and some kind of pita dish but in the end the lamb pita ($8.75) won out. As you can see the prices were super reasonable for a really healthy and hearty meal. To me, it's hard to get the basics of Greek food wrong because a lot of it is food in its natural state with a lot of olive oil, lemon and herbs on it. Everything was simple but flavorful. It was a nice change of pace from the heavy/fried food I had been eating in Quebec although they also had Greek fries which I would have ordinarily ordered if I wasn't totally fried out.
In the end, it the perfect casual and affordable place to catch up with friends. It's not loud (clearly I'm old), serves solid food and they don't rush you out despite it being quite busy. Since I don't live off the F train anymore coming to the LES is kind of a pain (although they have a Midtown location too but that's even more of a pain) but I would definitely put this on the list of places to return to, especially if you're missing the beautiful white and blue vibes of Greece. While you don't get the same blue water view, you can at least close your eyes and imagine yourself away from the city for just a few hours. Total bill: $28/pp with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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