Greek Islands Taverna — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

My mother and I were visiting my sister for the Holiday and decided this place would be a lovely taste of culture and cuisine. My goal with this review is to immortalize my visceral experience in a way that I have decided is the best course of action in order to cope with this incident.

We began our late lunch with the octopus. It came in a shallow pool of lemon juice and oil- it was outstanding. By far the best aquatic 8 legged animal I've ever eaten. 8 legged? 8 tentacled? After some research it turns out the octopus(barring a few exceptions) actually have 8 arms. Either way- the best 8 appendaged creature I've had, by far. Hats off to Greek Islands Taverna for this understated dish. It was a delectable intersection of savory and tart with a whisper of a refined brine. The kind of brine you assume is how finely crafted brine is supposed to taste but have never had. Today we were lucky but as time will have it- lady luck had other clients waiting.

Just as an aside- its likely I'm not using "brine" in the right context but it felt right and frankly I am not going to consult a thesaurus in order to assure my google review is capturing the appropriate flavor profile of this redeeming octopus.

I ordered the Lamb Youvetsi. The plate presentation captured what we see as children in a Warner Brother’s cartoon. The iconic table spreads of chicken legs and those racks of ribs with the little white caps on the ends, what are those? The lamb was bone-in allowing me to flake off as much meat as I saw fit for each bite of orzo in a red sauce.

About 3 bites in I came to what felt like a very VERY tough piece of chicken, maybe the size of large grape halfway through its transformation into a raisin. After a few harder bites I realized it couldn’t be ingested. It wasn't tough like bone or grizzle- more like the soft cartilage akin to the parts of a chicken wing that makes your dad say "theres still plenty of meat on those bones!”

As I took the presumed piece of lamb from my lips, to my horror I realized my tactile-taste assessment was grossly inaccurate. I gazed upon what appeared to be a fine mesh colored red from what I still pray was from the aforementioned red sauce.

Was this... a band aid?!

Not the traditional band aid- with the two skin tone adhesive halves. This had the look of gauze. Gauze. You know, the stuff you use to DRESS A WOUND when the regular size over the counter band aid won't do the trick!

I paused. I was petrified. Petrified in the literal sense in that I was unable to speak or move. I couldn't look at it. Had I just vigorously chewed on a used piece of gauze? Please- put that mental image in your head. A piece of gauze- presumably from a bodily abrasion or gash, in your mouth and masticated as if it were a tough piece of chicken that maybe just needed a little extra effort from your incisors to penetrate.

I'll wait.

I lived that. That mere thought that made you wince and maybe shake your head in disgust- was my reality. Something I would only wish upon my most worthy of adversaries.

Now for the heated debate. Was it truly gauze? Could it have been some sort of food packaging carelessly left on the lamb? First sneaking past the underpaid cooks during prep and making its way onto my presumably pristine plate- then avoiding detection from the food runner and smuggling its way into my eager mouth? This answer I will never know and that is what haunts me and will continue to haunt my until my end.

Due to the google review character limit I have to wrap this up early. The passive mid-westerner in me somehow managed to apologize to our server when we brought this garish offense to her attention. Her response was “…do you want another one?”

No one was notified- a disservice to the management in my opinion. Nobody came over to explain or show an ounce of remorse. Nothing was taken off of our bill, not even the potential band aid lamb. This occurred on 12/21/18 around 3:30.

I’ve provided a picture of the dubious material in question.

You can decide...

My recent visit to this restaurant, which had been a cherished dining spot for many years, left me deeply disappointed. It pains me to write this review, as I have had countless pleasant experiences here in the past, but this time was an unfortunate exception.

Firstly, the once-charming environment and decor now show significant wear and tear. The outdated floors and haphazardly acquired decor, supposedly reflecting the Greek Islands, no longer capture the essence of what a genuine Greek restaurant should look like today. It felt as if the decor had been hastily purchased at a flea market, lacking the authenticity and charm one would expect.

The issues extended beyond the aesthetics. The service, while the server herself was pleasant, was far from satisfactory. My food was not only dry but also overcooked to the point of being burned, and the side dishes were entirely incorrect. My husband's meal appeared to have been cooked in two different batches, leading to a lack of consistency.

When we brought these issues to the staff's attention, their response was lacking in both professionalism and empathy. While they offered to send my meal back, it would have resulted in me waiting an additional 20 minutes for a fresh plate, while my husband would have had to dine alone. What bothered me the most was the complete absence of apologies or any effort to rectify the situation. It seemed as though they were entirely indifferent to our dissatisfaction, which was disheartening.

To add to the disappointments, I ordered a coffee with my dessert. Initially, the coffee served was lukewarm and extremely strong. While I appreciate strong coffee, the replacement they offered was a stark contrast, revealing that the initial cup had likely been sitting in the pot for an extended period, far from fresh.

After this culmination of disappointments, I found it impossible to overlook the restaurant's lack of attention to its customers, its declining environment, and its subpar service in preparing and serving food. It's with a heavy heart that I write this review, hoping that the restaurant will take it as an opportunity to improve and recapture the standards it once held dear. Until then, I regretfully cannot recommend this...

We were really excited to try Greek Islands Tavern with a group of four, since we're all big fans of Greek and Mediterranean food. The valet parking was a nice touch, although the $6 fee seemed a bit steep, especially since you're already tipping the attendant. We arrived on a Saturday night around 8 PM and there was a line, but it moved pretty quickly. The staff were great – they'd come by and ask how many were in your party, and if they had a table ready, they'd seat you right away. We only waited about 20 minutes, which wasn't bad at all. We opted for a table outside, even though the inside looked way more lively and fun.

Honestly, the food was just okay. Nothing to write home about. The hummus (8/10) was good, but they brought it out with cheap white bread instead of pita, which was a bit of a bummer. We ordered a side of pita, but it never came, and they still charged us $3 for it. No big deal, but still…

The Horatiki salad (8/10) was fresh and flavorful, and the Tzatziki (8/10) was good too – simple, but hard to mess up. The Spanakopita (5/10) though? Tasted like it had been made a couple of days ago and just reheated. And the Fried Zucchini (4/10)? Forget about it. Most places slice it thin, but these were huge chunks, like lazy french fries. No flavor at all. Felt like they were just trying to cut corners. The Octopus (8/10) was the highlight – fresh and well-seasoned.

For entrees, we had a mix of Chicken Shish-Ke-Bob (7/10), Lamb Chops (7/10), and Swordfish (5/10). The chicken was fine, good portion size, and came with rice. The Lamb Chops were probably the best of the entrees. But the Swordfish was kind of bland. Just looked like a big piece of farm-raised white fish.

Overall, it was a decent experience. The atmosphere was fun, and the service was good. But the food wasn't anything special. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again, but if I was in the area and craving some Greek food, I might give it...