Harry Kambolis’s Nu Greek has been a favorite of mine ever since I had the delish homemade pita wraps when they had their street cart on Granville, well times have changed and the street cart is gone but they’ve moved indoors with locations on Robson street and now with a location in Gastown where So’Cal’s sandwich deli used to be.
The space is larger than Nu’s other locations and the long communal table is a great touch, in addition to the great souvlaki and dips they offer up a daily selection of fresh-baked pastry’s, desserts, breakfast options and some extra choices in proteins for your meal like octopus.
On the day I stopped in Harry Kambolis himself was cooking up the food, I really like it when the owner is in-house but when he’s making your food it’s totally awesome!
I ordered a souvlaki wrap and a small Greek salad, the salads are really reasonably priced-mine was $4. The salad was made up from simple, fresh and great ingredients, the tomatoes were cherry tomatoes, the feta was placed nicely on top and had that perfect salty/creamy taste that this salad needs and the dressing had that nice acidic twang. I can’t wait to try all the other salads on the menu.
The thing that I loved about Nu when I first ate at the street cart was the pita-it’s the star of the show in my eyes, freshly made from scratch everyday it’s a reason to come to Nu alone! On my visit there were 3 different pita to choose from-original, oregano and a sun-dried tomato pita-I went with the oregano and my protein choice was lamb. I’ve had this wrap before but with a plain pita and absolutely loved it, the homemade tzatziki sauce is thick and rich tasting without being too heavy and the lettuce and tomatoes are super fresh just like with the salad. Needless to say I gobbled this bad boy up and can’t wait for more!
I also picked up some pita to take home with me to use with dinner that night and Harry was nice enough to throw some extra goodies in my bag.
On the savory side there was a mini spanakopita, the phyllo was buttery and flaky and the filling was nicely balanced between the spinach and feta-I could eat about a dozen of these with some beer!
Next up is the Baklava Muffin, this was really lemony, there was zest all throughout the muffin and it went well with the sweet glaze that was on top, this muffin top was crunch on the outside and rich and buttery on the inside. I’d definitely go back for this again.
Lastly Harry included a current and fig scone with an apricot glaze. Again this was a winner, the current flavor was really pronounced and the fig added a beautiful sweetness, the scone itself was nice and crumbly but not dry like the desert.
If you find yourself in the Gastown area part of town and are looking for a solid lunch that won’t break the bank or in need of a sweet mid afternoon treat I highly recommend Nu.
I was craving the roast lamb dinner but on a Saturday I knew there would be a line for a table so I grabbed some take out and headed back home to chow down.
Tiroboukes $5.95 for 6 cheese balls. These are a staple here and a Stepho’s creation, I’m not sure what cheese is inside there but it’s sure damn good!
They are served with a side of Greek pickled beets that don’t have that sweet taste like typical pickled beets-these are more herb infused.
Also you get a side of Stepho’s Skorthalia or better known as-garlic sauce!, its got a bit of bite to it and is nice to dip pita in.
The Roast Lamb Dinner $10.95, Stepho’s house specialty, served with Roast Potato’s
they make good roast potato’s but if your dining in beware that they are smoking hot and can burn you mouth like nothing else, their great with lemon squeezed on them, next on the plate is veggie briami
I have always though this was ratatouille and even tho it’s homemade it taste’s like Cambell’s vegetable soup-not the most exiting in my eyes, next up is the Greek salad
they make an OK Greek salad but have always put in too many onions but the ingredients are always fresh and the dressing is homemade.
grilled pita rounds out the dish, they use a thick pita at Stepho’s that’s great to eat with the garlic sauce. The roast lamb dinner at Stepho’s is one of the most popular items they serve, they put a mustard rub on it and the meat is always moist and tender.
At the end of the day Stepho’s is worth checking out but I don’t think it’s worth waiting in line in the pouring rain or beating hot sun so hit them up later in the afternoon and evening for a non line up experience in the authentic Greek dining room. The result from this meal for me is a total food coma.
