Sfinaki Greek Taverna — Restaurant in Burnaby

I had lamb shoulder. The first thing that surprised me was receiving some cuts of meats with no bones or fat. So I am not sure if it was even a lamb shoulder. Even if it was lamb shoulder, I don't think all pieces waa taken from one shoulder. This is the first time I have been served a lamb dish like that in a Greek restaurant. It was too salty. The portion was 15-20% smaller than other Greek restaurants that I have tried. They don't serve tzatziki with all dishes and you need to buy it separately which is very uncommon in Greek restaurants. Overall, I was just OK. I am not sure about other dishes in the menu. Perhaps they must be better since the restaurant is a high rated. Update: Would give 0 if it was possible because of response that I received from the owner. Dear owner, I wasn't looking for bones that you are offering me lamb chops! It is a different piece of meat. Don't make your customers confuse. I was looking forward to taste your lamb shoulder when I visited your restaurant. Roasting and serving shoulder, neck, leg and shank in a whole without meats falling apart requires some techniques. Just search on YouTube! Sadly, you don't seem to be sorry for serving salty food to your customer. I told your staff the food is not OK and they didn't even ask for the reason! They were so busy that we had to wave our hands for them to get their attention to order food! Not sure I want to visit your restaurant again. I am not a fan...

My very first visit here. Was greeted by a supper nice waitress /hostist Lilly. Was planning to order a simple take out donair. But when she introduces the rich menu, I decided to sit down for a good meal. Ordered my forever favorite chicken souvlaki platter with rice. Water served rightway. Nice mediteran music and family oriented decos. Nice and Clean. I see Lilly sanitized and cleaned the table thoroughly (I always observe this when dining in a restaurant to ditermin if I should come back). The food is so delicious. Souvlaki skewer are flamed outside (not burned), inside is moistured, the flaver is locked inside perfectly. The homemade tzaziki sauce is formed nicely, too. It's a perfect meal. I saw some reviews say a bit pricing, but I will say for a nice dining, with a such high quality food and atmosphere, you won't regret spending couple of bucks more. Yap. My bill is only 22.00 with tax. The take out kiosk same platter will cost you around 18.00 plus. And this restaurant cook your fresh fresh meals. Highly recommended. And thank you so much for all the staff here and any business that are still open to serve us. U guys are heroes. Thank Lilly, for your service excellency!!! Keep up the great work. Tks everyone reading my reviews. Hope that...

I rarely write negative reviews, especially having worked in the restaurant industry myself. I understand that some things are out of a restaurant’s control, and I’m usually not bothered as long as there’s clear communication. Unfortunately, that was not the case here.

We tried to walk in on a Saturday night, knowing it might be difficult to get a table. When we asked the hostess about the wait time, the response was simply, “I don’t know, but I can add you to the list.” After about 30 minutes, we checked again with another staff member and received the same vague answer. It was obvious they had large parties coming in, which would mean a much longer wait than 30–45 minutes. If that had been communicated upfront, we never would have joined the waitlist and wasted our time.

We eventually left after not being seated, only to get a call an hour and 45 minutes later, presumably to offer us a table. Honestly, no restaurant is worth that kind of wait without transparency. Proper training on communication and better judgment would go a long way in creating a more positive guest experience.

Based on this, I wouldn’t return—especially when I’ve seen other reviews mentioning poor communication even with...