Kalyvia — Restaurant in Toronto

I went with a friend for an early dinner on a Thursday (~5pm). As a highly reviewed Greek restaurant in Greektown my expectations were very high being a Greek food lover. Ambiance wise, the restaurant is cozy inside and when the weather is nice they have the front open (it was quite a sight to see pigeons walking around inside), there is also a beautiful textured mural set into the wall. Food wise, we ordered lamb and chicken souvlaki entrees which came with Greek salad (very standard), rice and potatoes (plain), and bread (highly enjoyable). We weren't a fan of the lamb as it tasted more gamey than usual (although some may enjoy that) while being stiffer/drier than anticipated; the chicken was definitely better, but nothing special flavor wise. We also tried the cheese pie which our waiter lit and while it was an enjoyable experience, and paired wonderfully with the bread, the cheese was a bit too salty! Service wise, our waiter was friendly enough, but at the end she rushed us for our bills because she was clocking off (probably to ensure she got her tip)...she did let us know we could order more stuff from her coworker, but we were also the only diners at the time so it was a bit annoying. Overall I find food the most important aspect of a dining experience and I just found it ok overall - but that's not to say I'd find other menu items...

Food was very good. My family and I split many different dishes. The unfortunate part of the night was the server. She was slow and very unlikeable. For example, she came to fill up our waters, and filled up three of the four glasses and then her pitcher ran out. We had to track down another waitress who had a pitcher and ask her to fill the glass. Another example included a special request I made with my dinner. I am not much of a salad person, so I asked for extra rice instead and she seemed genuinely insulted and was very rude about it. Everybody has their preferences and I shouldn’t be judged for what they are. There were many other instances like this but the worst was the reaction to the tip. To no surprise, we didn’t leave the greatest tip due to the lack of service. As we were leaving, my father noticed her shaking her head looking at the tip and she gave him a nasty glare. This just isn’t appropriate and it’s very unprofessional. I’m not the type of person to be rude to waitresses and kitchen staff, as I am apart of a kitchen myself, but this wasn’t ok. To end on a better note, the food was excellent and I would definitely recommend the restaurant from a food point of...

This is really 2.5 stars almost 3. Went during Taste of Danforth. Since it was hot and crowded outside we decided to eat indoors. Food costs almost double as if you were to eat in the streets (ie Feta fries $2 outside, $6 inside), Gyros pita $5 vs $8 inside. I guess that's what you pay for the seats, ac, service. The food was meh, I've had much better greek food on Danforth. Portions were a bit on the small side and pricey. I ordered the 3 combo dip and it was almost like those small plastic containers you get for salad dressing and it came with a whole 1 in a half pita bread cut up. I had asked for more pita but he forgot about it but didn't forget to charged the $3 (he did take it off after a bit explaining). Service was so-so, although it wasn't busy I didn't see my waiter much (Mr. Vasili), But I did see him have lunch on the table across from us??? Don't think I would go back, there's much more Greek restos on Danforth to try. Now Messini restaurant which is diagonally across is really good but was packed with 3...