Souvlaki GR Panama — Restaurant in San Francisco

Souvlaki GR is a welcoming spot for terrific Greek food in the San Francisco area of the city.

Normally we go to Meze for Greek food, but Souvlaki has been on our "to try" list for a while and we finally visited. It did not disappoint.

The food was quite good, although its menu isn't as extensive as Meze's. The starter is a delicious spicy feta cheese with pita bread. We ordered the Kolokithokeftedes as an appetizer - which are zucchini, carrot and feta croquettes. They were very well done - not greasy at all and not a lot of bread filling in the croquettes; the spiced veggies and feta were the star. For mains, we tried the langostinos a la Griega and the Pikilia Psita - one of the house specials. The langostinos were perfectly cooked on the grill with the right amount of char; the shrimp were subtly highlighted with good quality olive oil, oregano and lemon. The Pikilia Psita was an enormous plate that contained a wide variety of meats. The lamb chops were a high quality meat and were cooked medium rare. The loukaniko (Greek sausage) and the bifteki (beef patties) were also good quality meat with lots of flavorful seasonings and were quite juicy. The skewered meats were a tad dry for our taste - a bit overdone on the grill for us. The pita bread was fresh and chewy and the tzatziki had the right balance of tang and creaminess. The papas feta were also an enormous portion and they certainly didn't skimp on the feta which contrasted with the crispiness of the fries quite well.

They had a nice selection of Greek wines. We order the Mega Spileo Cuvee and thought it complemented the food very well.

For dessert we tried the Kourambiedes which are almond cookies. They were made with almonds and confectioners sugar and were very light and crumbly, but not overly sweet.

Service was absolutely fantastic - attentive, helpful and prompt. There is parking out front. There is also a small store inside the restaurant selling some items from Greece (e.g. olive oil, baklava, etc.).

It has a charming atmosphere with indoor and outdoor seating and its terrace is...

Tried calling at different times over the course of 45 minutes to try and reserve and no one would pick up the phone listed. I prob tried around 7-8 times and on one occasion it actually had a busy tone instead of just ringing until it went to voice mail.

Anyways, decided to just go and when I got there the girl receiving us asked if we has a reservation. I told her we didn't but that I had been calling and calling and no one picked up. She quickly answered as if it were my fault that she didn't pick up the phone after a certain hour. Im not sure if this is the manager's/owner's idea but its pretty dumb and not customer service oriented at all. And if you are actually going to go through with something like that at least mention it everywhere so your customers KNOW that.

Ok so that automatically takes 1 star away in my books, it started the night on a sour note.

We then sat down and looked over the menu to see what we would order. Went with Tzatziki, Shrimp Skewer and Lamb Suvlaki. The Tzakziki came out fast and was really good, the pita bread as well. While eating it then the other two plates came out.... this was like just 5 minutes top after. Too fast considering the place was PACKED... so this made me suspicious of the food, being already cooked. The shrimps were room temp, not warm or hot, almost going to the cold side. Not sure if it's supposed to be that way in Greek tradition but pretty sure it isn't and the taste was just ok due to this.The Suvlaki was at least warm, not hot and it tasted good so no issues there.

Another thing that is uncomfortable are the tables outside, they are very low and just don't go with the height of the chairs. My friend even bumped her knee pretty good with the table...

We visited this restaurant on a Friday night in late May. We were looking for refuge from the blistering heat of Panamanian evenings and decided to give the place a try.

The ambiance is full of small details that transport your mind to the Mediterranean, far from the chaos of Panamanian traffic.

We were two for dinner, and although the place was packed, we were quickly accommodated.

Dinner started with fried eggplant sticks and homemade tzatziki. I am no expert in Greek food, but I love dips where the blend of flavors stills allows you to identify individual ingredients, where the flavors are not in competition with one another but work together to create something new without losing any of their authenticity. I loved this simple yet delicious tzatziki; the eggplant sticks were warm, firm, and not excitingly oily, which surprised me since eggplant usually sucks in whatever solution is cooked in.

We swallowed the entrance greedily with a glass of white wine from the house and water.

For the main course, we shared a delicious plate of baked ground beef patty (bifteki) in a delicious tomato, fries, and roasted vegetables. We also ordered grilled chicken, but I didn't taste those.

The server was very attentive, accommodating, and quick with suggestions.

Be warned that the place was a little noisy; we found that just gave the ambiance a more “Greeky” feel, but some people will find the place “loud,” especially if they are sensory challenged.

We paid USD$40.00, including tax (tip not included in that calculation), and left the place happy. The food sat well with us, and we continued with our evening with more content stomachs and in...