Acropolis Pizza & Pasta - Kirkland — Restaurant in Kirkland

What a delightful family restaurant. This is an updated slice of enduring Americana, serving absolutely delicious American style Greek food (on point 😘👌) and the warmth of human connection.

It has an old world diner like appeal, but also modernized and cozy. The chefs have been there for several decades and the family restaurant has been there for 52 years. A third generation family member, the daughter, was there to check in with how we were enjoying the meal. The waitress Gabby was personable and clearly part of a tight knit crew who knew each other. She was attentive and remembered all the details we requested.

Food was absolutely spot on. Salad had the perfect tanginess as a side salad should in an American Greek restaurant. Their pizzas were so fresh, hot and robust, kinda like a half-thick deep dish style pizza. Crust, sauce, pepperoni, veggies, they were all top notch, generous and I didn't feel like anything was skimped-on. Actually some of the best pizza I've had in nearly a decade (and I really do like Pagliacci as well). Garlic bread was also yummy, light white bread deliciousness.

Dolmates, Warm pita, Spanikopita and Tzatsiki sauce all hit the spot on the top range of what you would like to expect and imagine from just knowing that they were Greek.

Sure, this is not what you're gonna get in Greece or in the home of a Greek person and is the American restaurant formula. But there's a really good reason it works and Acropolis does it really well.

Because it's a long standing family restaurant, the vibe was also amazingly friendly and warm. Hearing the staff sing happy birthday to the table behind us, we said hello. It was so delightful to make friends with the 81 year old birthday girl and her beloved husband who have been coming there for dates through the decades. Acropolis offers a feeling of belonging and joyful connection to each other like America used to offer before we started making enemies of immigrants.

So grateful to have experienced this restaurant. Parking was also easy and plentiful since their lot has spots for free. We will be coming back for their lunch combos for sure, heard that their Grinders are killer good and...

Kirkland has its own Acropolis? Well, not a copy of the one in Greece, but nearly as old. Just kidding, but it seems that way; it's been here since the 1970s, always family-run. That family is a big reason for the long-term success and customer loyalty. Eating here does feel like you're visiting your family (not like that unmentionable garden place). The service is very friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Need a recommendation or have a question? No problem.

The food: despite the "Acropolis" name, it's mostly Italian food, with the only Greek items on the menu being an assorted appetizer plate, a Greek salad, gyros and a Greek-style pizza. I wish they served moussaka. That said, while not gourmet Italian regional cuisine, it's delicious, home-style "Italian-American" fare, with cheese, cheese, and more cheese.

My partner had a chicken gyro, which was perfectly prepared and tasty. I had the baked cannelloni, which was hot as molten lava and drowned in tomato/cheese sauce. After it cooled down, it was a very generous, tasty dish that I enjoyed to the last bite.

This place is famous for their "grinders", or submarine sandwiches. Nearly every other review is about the grinders. Perhaps next time, I'll come for lunch and try one. We will...

I can only describe the taste as over priced DiGiorno’s. Very overpriced.

Additionally, we ordered the pizza to go and then had a change of plans so we asked if we could just sit down and eat the boxed pizza there. We even pointed to the open table by the door where no one was sitting as a suggestion of where we would go. This idea was apparently baffling as we were initially told we could not do that. After repeating that we just wanted to take our pizza and then sit down at an open table, they complied. Only to take our pizza away and tell us it would be right out. We were then seated by a waitress who was not familiar with our situation so she was very surprised when we told her we did not want to order anything. Five minutes pass by and we are FINALLY given our pizza on a tray with the box no where in sight. (Side note: we thought they might be warming the pizza, this was not that case. They were just transferring the pizza from a box to a platter.) We proceeded to eat as much pizza as we could and then had to wait for the waitress to ask for our box back. She never came so I had to return to the front to ask. A pretty ridiculous scenario start to finish for some very mediocre pizza. I won’t...