NISI Greek Taverna Burlington — Restaurant in Burlington

EXITED as my BIRTHDAY finally fell on a Saturday!!! I walked in the NISI restaurant on Tuesday October 22nd 2024 and asked if they have a low table by the window for 4 people to reserve on Saturday October 26th @ 1pm for my Birthday. As I was very excited to celebrate my birthday with my husband, daughter and son. I also made arrangement after lunch to go to Toronto photography to take pictures. I had it all planned and organized my day. Now back to Tuesday October 22nd as I walked in NISI Greek Restaurant I was greeted by this lady with a nice smile and I asked if they have the low table by the window available to accommodate 4 people as I do not like high tables, for October 26th. She very politely said “let me check for you, and Yes the low table by the window is available for you and I will put your name down and I will also write that it is you Birthday!” I see her put my name down on their laminated table map sheet with her marker and I was very excited to sit at this table particularly with big widow as it will be lots of light for my pictures to come out very clear for my birthday. I’ve thanked her many times as I was very excited! Now, on October 26 we were all ready, exited and hungry to eat, we walked in and they ask for our reservation name and I said “I said my name, and I said, I have that table reserved by the window”. This waitress who happen to work on October 26th is telling me that my reservation table has been moved to high table by the entry door. I didn’t like it at all, and I asked to speak to the waitress who had helped me reserve the table. They told me that she isn’t working today and they had to move me to accommodate a large group of people. Very frustrated, I asked to go and sit at the table where I had reserved as I saw no one sitting there at that moment, I also told them that I had booked this table since October 22nd and specifically told the waitress that It’s my birthday and I like low tables. They kept saying “I am sorry, that table is not available anymore for you, you can sit at this table if you would like”. It was high table by the entry door where everyone constantly goes in an out. So frustrated, hungry and now angry, because I had reserved it 4 days ago and they could have called me and let me know so I can make different arrangement if I decided not to stay. And also that I was put by the entry door on a high table as I specifically mention few times that I do not like high tables. And there I was on my birthday with my family by the door and treated like I was nobody! My daughter kept telling me that’s Okay mom just forget it and sit here, but I was so disappointed that my whole mode just changed because the way we got treated so bad and the way I’ve imaged my afternoon to be has just switched like I was nobody and they thought they could put me where ever they like. They made me feel less than an animal on my birthday. My husband saw clearly on my face how bad I was feeling and said, hey hun it’s your decision. So I made the decided to leave. Now, all hungry and frustrate, we were trying to look were to go and eat. All good restaurants would start @ 4pm or you need reservation. My daughter got frustrated with me as she is young and didn’t understand how I was feeling, even though I tried to explain it to her. All frustrate and angry all four of us could not agree where to go and eat and we end it up at Harvey’s restaurant as the children were starving at this point and my son kept saying please just let’s go somewhere and eat. We also had to decide fast because our photography appointment in Toronto was @ 530pm and we didn’t know how the traffic would be. And the children’s mode changed the family pictures weren’t as I expected because of irritable feeling we experience at NISI Greet Taverna restaurant. Thank you NISI Greek Taverna FOR RUINING MY...

Disappointing Experience at Nisi – Won’t Be Returning

Last night, my wife and I decided on a last-minute dinner at Nisi in Burlington. I had been there once before with my family, who are regulars and have generally had good experiences. This was my wife’s first visit, and unfortunately, it was a major disappointment from start to finish.

Shortly after receiving her chicken souvlaki, my wife discovered a hair in the food. We immediately notified our server, Melissa, who was incredibly professional and apologetic. She promptly removed the dish and offered to have it remade, but understandably, my wife had lost her appetite for it. Melissa was the one highlight of the evening—attentive, kind, and clearly doing her best to manage a difficult situation.

The manager on duty, a young man named Emilio, came by to apologize and offered to remove the souvlaki from our bill (which, frankly, is the bare minimum given she had barely taken two bites). He asked if he could bring something else, and my wife requested a small portion of gyro and a side Greek salad. He mentioned there would be a small charge—fair enough.

What wasn’t fair was discovering a $25 charge for that “small replacement” on our bill—just $2 shy of a full entrée price. When a manager says he needs to “check with the kitchen” to provide a modest substitute after a kitchen mishap, it already feels like customer care is not the priority. That suspicion was confirmed when we received the bill.

We asked to speak with the owner. What followed was an incredibly frustrating exchange. The owner, who is also the chef (and, by the way, wasn’t wearing a hair net), was defensive and dismissive. He repeatedly interrupted us while we calmly explained our disappointment. His response: “We don’t give food away for free,” and “What would you like me to do?”—as though it was unreasonable to expect a bit of goodwill after being served a contaminated dish.

To add to the inauthentic feel of the place: the “Greek” salad included red cabbage and was clearly from a bag—hardly traditional or fresh. It’s worth noting, as others may care, that the restaurant is not owned or run by anyone of Greek heritage, which is perhaps why the food and the customer service feel far from authentic.

All in all, this was a poor experience that left us feeling dismissed and disappointed. We won’t be returning—and we’ll be sure to let others know to temper their expectations. The only positive was our server, Melissa, who was wonderful throughout and deserves better support from her...

Update: July 24, 2025- ate here last night with two friends. Some things have changed and not for the better. Firstly they changed all the high top table to low which was a good change. I had the chicken souvlaki. It comes with potatoes and rice you can pick only 2 sides. I chose potatoes and asked to sub rice for Greek salad which is not included. They charge extra 4.00 to sub rice for Greek salad. If you go to Sortiris Greek restaurant they include Greek salad with their meal with potatoes and rice for same price of 24.00. Nisi also charges 3 bucks for an extra Tzatziki sauce which is about 1 tbsp size. I hate upcharges. No mention of the up charge for that when we asked. Their drinks are on the pricey side start at 18 bucks for most including wine. We chose to eat inside but either the ac wasn’t working or they had it set high all 3 of us were sweating during our meal- unpleasant. While the food was good and service was good but with their up charges they are alot more than Sortiris by at least 10 bucks a meal and Sortiris puts the ac on. We rushed to get out because we were all so warm it was unpleasant. Food was excellent service was excellent but between the up charges and how hot it was we didn’t enjoy our experience.

Previous review: What an excellent dinner! First time going to this restaurant. We ordered the hummus with pita which was delicious! We both had the chicken souvlaki with the Greek salad and Greek roasted potatoes. I have to say this is the best Greek meal we’ve had in years! Food was hot, full of flavour, chicken is tender with two generous skewers. Our server was super efficient and did a great job. I can’t say enough good things about this place. Food is superior to both Sortiris and Mythos. Only complaint is mostly high top tables so your legs dangle when you have short legs 😉We will...