Lefkas Taverna — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Incredibly disappointing food. I have been a customer here since 1994 when I was living around the corner in Gray Rd Hill End, first year of uni. Continued to patronise Lefkas throughout the years but since moving away 10 yrs ago have only been a handful of times when in Brisbane. We have a very strong fondness for this place and it has been talked up to our children who we had never actually had the chance to bring until last Thursday night. We booked with great anticipation and excitement to finally share it with them. Very sad then to pay a lot of money for really bad food, with the exception of the calamari which was excellent. The kids told me, mum your Greek beans, your lemon potatoes are so much better. They are right, they are! These lemon potatoes were DRY and therefore lacking in flavour, firm instead of how they should be ie so well-cooked they are starting to disintegrate. And white pepper seemed to be a dominant taste in both the lemon potatoes and the stuffed capsicums. The capsicums were fairly ordinary - stuffed with cous cous with a vaguely tomato flavour. That was it. But the salad that came with the capsicum and the extra salad we ordered - absolutely inedible!! As if kalamata olives and fetta aren't salty enough (and too much of those things and not enough of the fresher ingredients like tomato and cucumber to balance out the saltiness), the whole salad had been salted in the kitchen to the point it was inedible!! I like salt but this was a level of saltiness that really warranted us sending the salads back. But we had limited time and who wants to complain at a restaurant where the idea is enjoyment? Having to complain or send food back is really not what customers want to have to do. It was so unpleasant. The restaurant was on its second night opening since the owners had taken a break but we were told there were no mushrooms after we had ordered the mushrooms and haloumi. Seriously? that's just poor form. We ordered the dolmades reluctantly as a substitute. We got 5 (or was it 4?) TINY dolmades for $14. the flavour no better than canned ones and the size most definitely smaller than canned ones. The green beans were on the very small side for the price and mine are better by far and I'm not Greek or running a restaurant. The food was very slow to arrive although it was early (5:30) and not busy at all. Not intending to complain about everything (the calamari was great!!) but I liked it in the old days when it felt like a Greek taverna before the expansion next door. The white arches and terracotta tiles have gone but we were so eagerly anticipating the food would still be the same so massively disappointing and most definitely not like the old days. It is so irksome to hand over quite a sum of money for food that is so below standard and poor value. So very sad to say after 40 years of coming here, I wont be back until it changes hands again. Feel free to do the right thing and at least partially refund our meal or offer us a re-visit on the house. That would be genuine integrity and we would take you up on that. EDIT to respond. Sorry for the mis-calculation. You're right. Ive been a customer for 30 years not 40. You're really choosing to pick on this mistake instead of responding to anything Ive said about the food itself? And I didn't say I wont complain; I will if i think it's warranted! Which it was! $14 for 4 dolmades out a tin.... Why do you need to know who I am or where we sat? Are you going to offer us a refund or credit? I will supply details if so. As for assuming we said nothing upon paying, when asked how was everything, my mum said some of the dishes were very salty and some lacked flavour. We were offered a dessert but declined as we needed to be elsewhere. You want to criticise the length of my review? Which parts should I have left out? You are so defensive. Why don't you take a genuine look at my feedback. Instead of a knee-jerk attack response, you should thank me as reviews are an opportunity to improve!! Dont listen to me, your restaurant is perfect 100%...

My birthday is coming up and we decided to go out last night to have a date night. We chose Lefkas and made a booking two weeks prior after having a look at their menus and reviews and it was absolutely a great decision. We had a wonderful night dining at Lefkas, from their service to their food and drinks. As shown in the pics, we ordered a combination platter, which had a bit of everything, chicken, lamb, seafood, pitas and a big chunk of halloumi. The lamb was grilled medium rare and was quite flavorful and juicy. I really loved how they seasoned the meat. The chicken was tender and tasted different than the lamb but still quite delicious. We especially loved their baby octopuses and deep fried calamari. They were so well done and we couldn’t figure out how they cooked the octopuses but they were yummy. And the halloumi, best grilled halloumi I have ever had. We reckon it was pre-marinated. So tender and easy to cut through and the cheesy flavor was well maintained despite of the saltiness that comes with it. The tzatziki dip was so creamy and rich and we loved every bit of it. We were a bit surprised at the portion of the platter when it was brought out as it didn’t look as much in pictures we had seen previously. It was def enough for two people. As for the drinks I got a Moscato and for someone who only drinks a few times a year, I must say I really enjoyed it. It had this distinctive fruity flavor to it and was easy on the throat when swallowing it. My boyfriend grabbed their Vilana Vidiano, which is Greek and I must say even I liked it and I don’t even like red wine that much. The service was quite good. The staff were friendly and attentive. The whole place was radiating a young and vibrant vibe and was so full of energy. It does get busy and you may have to wait for a bit if you show up without a booking. All in all, it was a quite a pleasant and high standard experience and we will def...

Firstly, I want to sincerely compliment the chefs behind the scenes the food was absolutely amazing, generous in portion, and full of flavor. You can tell there’s a lot of skill and love that goes into the kitchen, and it’s truly appreciated.

However, the service on the floor left a lot to be desired. We were a party of four but were seated at a table that realistically only fits two people. Once our mains and sides were served, there was simply no space to enjoy the meal comfortably. The staff placed all the dishes down and walked away no support or explanation, and it became difficult to even plate the food properly due to lack of space.

The most disappointing part was the feeling of being rushed. Despite clear signs from my cutlery placement that I was still eating, I was asked three separate times if I had finished my meal. Rather than enjoying the experience, we felt under pressure to eat quickly and move on even though it was only 8:30 PM and there were visibly empty tables, and no one waiting outside.

To make things worse, our dessert (baklava) was cold, lacked syrup, and didn’t seem fresh. While we were still halfway through dessert, we were again told that we needed to wrap it up and leave, which really affected the overall experience.

I understand the need for turnover in a busy restaurant, but there’s a balance. Guests should feel welcome and relaxed not rushed out the door. I truly believe some basic training in customer service and guest handling for the front-of-house team would make a world of difference.

At this point, I’d have to reconsider returning, and I’ll be sharing my honest experience with friends and family who ask. I really hope this feedback is taken constructively, because the food deserves better...