KritiKos Grill — Restaurant in Galveston

NOT a 4 star Greek place, DEFINITELY not a 5 star. MAYBE a 3. My wife and I recently took a long weekend to Galveston Island for some R&R. As we are apt to do, we searched Yelp for restaurant ratings and came across Olympia on Seawall BLVD. The reviews were all 4s and 5s, and the menu looked awesome, so we saved it for our last night there. The place is nice and bright and big inside, well decorated and modern. Nice bar. We were promptly seated and attended to quickly by friendly staff. After placing our order for drinks and an appetizer (Strawberry Mojito and spanakopitas---both excellent) we went about ordering the main course. My wife knew what she wanted, as always, she ordered a fresh Greek salad and a Gyro Platter. I was torn between the Moussaka and the roast lamb shank, so I asked the waitress for her recommendation. She was very nice, but informed me she hadn't ever tried either. I asked her how big was the lamb shank, and she didn't know. Taking another approach, I asked her, between the two, which plate is ordered more often? She said the Moussaka, so Moussaka it is I said! Not to make this about her, she was pleasant and friendly and attentive, I blame management for not having her sample the food she is supposed to be selling and serving. For some reason, a couple who came in about 10 minutes after us received their wine, their appetizer, and then their main course before we had any food on the table, but no worries; maybe they called ahead? Now to the food. My wife's salad was excellent, full of feta and very tasty; the Greek dressing was delicious. her gyro platter also was very tasty, the only complaint being the pita bread was very small, cut into 3 or 4 - 3 inch squares ,and no olive oil (we asked the waitress for it and she quickly produced a little bottle). I ordered two sides---grilled potatoes and roasted zucchini, both were nice, but nothing special). As with my wife's plate, my pita came small and without oil. It tasted almost old. My moussaka was a good portion, but smothered in tomato (???) sauce. I could have sworn the menu said bechamel, and I recall having this dish a few years ago at a super Greek place in Colorado Springs, and my memory was screaming BECHAMEL. Nevertheless, I didn't trust my memory and just ate my food. It was good, but I had the nagging feeling something wasn't right. Sure enough, when I got home I googled the menu for Olympia, the menu for the place in Colorado Springs, and several other images of 'Moussaka". ALL of them had a whitish-yellowish sauce on them, none with tomato sauce, and the Olympia menu DID say Moussaka covered in BECHAMEL sauce! I wouldn't say don't go here (I won't again unless they fix these issues), the food was tasty and reasonably priced, but this is NOT a 4 star Greek Restaurant. I'm sorry, but when I rate a Greek restaurant it's not about if I could bring my parrot or dog inside, or how good the fries are (as if I would even order fries in a Greek place). I rate mainly the taste and authenticity of the food, the knowledge and friendliness of the staff, the prices, location, and the ambiance. For all that, I give...

Hummus with pita bread and vegetables

The hummus was ta tastey, the pita bread was warm, and the vegetables were fresh. The cucumbers go great with the hummus.

Make your own pita with red potatoes and vegetable medley

All the ingredients for the pita were very fresh. The meat was seasoned well. It was a mixture of lamb and beef, sliced thin. The potatoes were roasted and seasoned lightly. The vegetable medley consists of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. The vegetables were gently steamed (firm). This dish came with one pita, you may need a second one.

Chicken and Romano ravioli (blackboard special)

It arrived to our table hot and fresh. It came with two large chicken breast, ravioli, vegetable medley, and pita pieces. The chicken breast were cooked perfectly. They were still juicy! The ravioli was cheesey and hot. The tomato sauce was smooth and creamy. The vegetables were gently steamed (firm).

Kids chicken strips and fries

This dish arrived to our table piping hot. It was enough food to satisfy an adult. The chicken strips were crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The fries were hot and crispy.

Customer service

Our server Nick was friendly, helpful, and attentive. Our appetizer and drinks were brought to our table quickly. The manager also visited our table. He was polite and thankful for our business.

Our meal took time to prepare but it was definitely worth the weight. I hope the cooks and kitchen staff know what a great job they did.

This restaurant appeared to have a full bar.

Our experience here was all around great. I would absolutely come back to...

I’m a local, and went to Kritikos for the very first time yesterday on Tuesday and unfortunately I was not impressed. We ordered Guyro Natchos off of the Happy hour Menu and they came out on some burnt chips and the cheese was half way melted. Got 23$ Alfredo with chicken, and a 13$ meat lovers pitta pizza.

Unfortunately the Alfredo was old and sour and the chicken was strips of already prepared chicken with fake black lines on it, I was actually very confused on why the dish was 23$. Described as fresh blackened chicken, but was actually black bag chicken from members mark, It tasted like “walk in” aka something, wether it’s the sauce, noodles, or spinach, it has been sitting in the walk in fridge too long and has now gone sour/bad . The pita pizza was good but i just couldn’t see myself going back for it, but what really turned my stomach up was the bright pink lipstick on the rim of my cup that I was drinking out of.

the Atmosphere was very nice brightly decorated, staff was nice, didn’t really see my server because I believe they were also playing host and door dash attendant for the evening which is no problem! but, it would have been nice to feel comfortable enough to tell them it didn’t taste good but it’s all good. I took my L, paid the tab in full and left, I don’t think I’ll return ONLY for the fact of the menu is very misleading food is subpar at best, cheap ingredients and fancy...