Maria's Taverna — Restaurant in Vancouver

Where do I start? My family and I were celebrating my mother’s birthday and she was craving lamb chops so we decided to try out Maria’s Taverna. I made reservations for four through the phone a day in advance as their online reservation system was not working.

The ambiance is very homey and not too pretentious; perfect for families. Our waiter seated us and we started with an order of their Kalamari. This was by far one of the most delicious calamari’s I’ve ever had. The squid was soft, juicy, flavourful, and the batter they used was perfectly seasoned and crunchy, paired with their dipping sauce. We then ordered the Combination platter which came with moussaka, dolmathes, keftedes, beef souvlaki, two lamb chops. My family doesn’t typically eat Greek food so we decided to try this option as we didn’t know what would be good. We also ordered the Paithakia skaras “four lamb chops” with rice, potatoes, and a Greek salad. All I can say is WOW. The Moussaka was an eggplant casserole that was full of flavour and was so delicious. The dolmathes was not my cup of tea, I just wasn’t a fan of the vine leaf flavour. The Keftedes were juicy, charred, and absolutely delicious. The beef souvlaki was seasoned and charred to perfection and the star of the show was the lamb chops. This restaurant has mastered the art of cooking and seasoning their food to perfection. My family and especially the birthday girl was very happy with the lamb chops. The rice, served with the combination platter and the Paithakia skaras plate was so fluffy, flavourful, and not dry at all compared to other Greek restaurants I’ve been to. The potatoes are a similar story; moist, flavourful, with some charred bits. I almost forgot. The Greek salad served here is amazing. The vegetables tasted fresh, juicy and sweet. The tomatoes were so good, they tasted sweet like sugar.

We ordered a chicken souvlaki to go to bring home for my brother who couldn’t join us. The chicken souvlaki came with rice, potatoes, Greek salad and a pita/dipping sauce. Everything as usual was cooked and seasoned to perfection.

Service was OK. There were two servers, one girl Paula who was taking orders and bringing food and another who was cleaning up and topping up waters. Our finished plates took a while to get cleared but our food came out VERY fast and the dinner service started to get busy. Overall, it seems like this restaurant focuses on their food and service is not over-the-top and pretentious like other restaurants which is totally fine with me. I think I’ve found my new favourite Greek restaurant. Frankly, I wish I could eat here everyday. Apologies for some of the photos of half-eaten food. We were hungry and by the time I realized to snap a photo, it was too late! There was plenty of food and we had leftovers to bring home. Bill came out to be about $160...

Service is horrible unless you go when Lori is working. I received a meal with foods I had asked not to be included because of food allergies and Greg (one of Maria's sons - no job experience in other restaurants - for any of Maria's sons - all are entitled and spoiled) didn't want to annoy his mother, Maria, so didn't take the meal back to correct things. Recycled salad and bread for sure. If taken home the salad goes bad immediately. Kitchen is filthy.Beligerance from one of the brother/owners in particular. 5-10 years ago the place was great. Not anymore. I went until recently but left during a meal when the beligerance became intolerable.The family has a gigantic ego. Delivery guy - Brano - very nice. Very professional. Lori is amazing and draws people in - she saves them. Cooking staff great but get blamed for bad reviews. It isn't their fault - believe me and probably get paid very little. Drunk friends visiting oldest brother/owner one afternoon when I had lunch. One letch in the group kept coming to my table/harrassing me. Another customer had to intervene and say it was very inappropriate. Youngest brother can't stand up to older brothers. Weak. Time to close and move on. Many customers have - a huge amount have. Go in most nights -...

As you can see from my profile I don't often post reviews but I did feel compelled to write a review for this restaurant.

This restaurant has become my favorite restaurant. Not only for Greek food but overall favorite.

I used to think most all Greek restaurants were all about the same. Then over the years a few of them seemed to have gone downhill as I found their lamb shoulder to be under marinated or dry - which I didn't think was even possible for lamb shoulder. Then I came here and found the the big difference.

The lamb shoulder to was extra marinated and tender. The potatoes were very lemony and the flavor was even throughout. I also had the chicken soup which was delicious as well.

Price wise it is cheaper than the other places I have been going. Or maybe I've just been going to the wrong places.

The owner spoke to us on our first time dining there and he was very friendly and genuine. I've been back twice since and it is consistently good.

It made it onto my favorite list (list in google maps) and I plan to bring my sister there who visits from Ottawa. I am sure this will make it onto her "regular list"...