Sfinaki Taverna

Sfinaki Taverna is another North Burnaby restaurant that Big M and I went to on our goodbye tour of North Burnaby. I have had some food from here during Hats Off day but not a sit down meal. I am happy that we finally made it before we left the area because our dinner was great.

My question is, why must Greek restaurants decorate like this?



I know I am not in Greece, why so this? I have never understood the fake roofing. I find it all very distracting. I am sure I can enjoy souvlaki without looking at a statue or urns.

The thing that impressed us the most was the freshness of the food. We were there at around 8:00 on a Sunday night and everything came to the table quickly and not, as Big M calls it, "tasting like fridge". This was especially true with the Greek salads that were included with the meal.



We both expected the salad to be really cold, like they just pulled it out of the fridge after prepping it way earlier in the day. We were so wrong. It was fresh, crisp and not fridge cold. The dressing was really tangy. Excellent start to the meal.

Big M ordered the Kalamari Plate $17.00:
"Deep fried baby squid topped with onions; served with lemon and tzatziki. Guaranteed to make you come back for more!" All plates come with rice pilaf, roast potatoes, Greek salad and pita.



I just asked Big M if this indeed made him want to go back for more. The answer was yes! No lies in this menu. He liked the batter- it was crispy and tasty. These are big plates of food.

The pita was light and warm as it should be:


I ordered the Lamb Souvlaki Plate- $18.00-
"Marinated in our own blend of herbs and charbroiled to perfection; served with tzatziki"



I think the item they should be bragging about is the tzatziki. So good. Again we expected it to be fridge cold and bland but it was really creamy and flavorful. I could have had 3 more. Or the potatoes! I LOVE lemon potatoes. The souvlaki was charbroiled to perfection. The lamb was not dry and it was very flavourful. There was so much food that I had half boxed up and ate it the next day. Luckily for my co-worker I chose to eat it for dinner, not lunch, as they do not go skimpy on the garlic here.

If I could turn back time I would have eaten at Sfinaki more often. The food was so tasty and the service was great- the owner came around and chatted with us about the food, a nice touch.

Great place to go, but don't be fooled by the decor- you have not been transported to Greece.