Uptown Keese's Greek Kouzina — Restaurant in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

If you are new to the Lauderdale by the Sea area and want an authentic mediterranean meal (chicken shawarma, lamb shank, fish, fresh hummus and pita welcome plate, spanakopita etc. with white table cloth service and a wonderful staff who make you feel at home ….it is our “go to” restaurant! If you are at Kilwins or Vinny’s on the commercial Boulevard… thr hiddrn gem is very cosr…It is worth the two block walk to Uptown Keese’s 😊. It is on the block where the bicycle and fishing shop are the restaurant is right next-door. There is Outdoor eating which we enjoy and there’s also comfortable seating indoors. It is not a huge place but plenty big and comfortable seats at the bar if you want to come by yourself.

The Food is fresh and that makes a big difference in the taste. … And is very reasonable priced. There are weeks where we go multiple times a week because we don’t want to cook and do not think twice about it.

Here is the last thing you need to know. Denise is the owner and is great. She is meticulous about the way everything is cooked, she’ll share the heritage of the foods she is preparing and her desserts are made by her mom which are wonderful.

Today is Greek Easter and we were there last night. She shared that they are making special meals today for Greek Easter. This is the kind of thing you don’t know unless you stop in and chat for a little bit. They typically have special meals on Thanksgiving and Easter and holidays throughout the year so check them out if you are a local or just visiting Today is also Cinco de Mayo. We may celebrate both Greek Easter at uptown Keese’s and Cinco de Mayo at the beach with some festivities too.

Back to the desserts they change daily. There’s baklava (perfection) , Greek coffee cake , dense chocolate cake, rice, pudding, tasty pastries with cream in them, Cookies that I called snowball cookies I’m not really sure the name of them that are buttery with walnuts and covered in powdered mouthwatering ! You can order a sample of desserts…. they bring out on a cutting board and it’s $18 and plenty to share. Save room...

Very unfortunate turn of events tonight… we have picked up their “chef boxes” twice and they were wonderful - both times Greek food. Tonight, it was 7pm and we wanted something quick and easy on the way home, so we decided to order their chef boxes again. I picked up and when I brought the food home I realized there must have been a mistake - each box had a cheeseburger hamburger and fries. I immediately called and told them I must have received someone else’s order and felt bad. The young lady put me on hold and then the owner came on the phone and started yelling at me that this was the chef box and that’s an item on the menu and that’s it, nothing she can do. I said no problem, I’ll bring back for a refund and make it easy. She continued to yell at me and said no refund. I would never order nor expect a hamburger at a Greek restaurant so rightfully I was shocked and disappointed. I went to the restaurant and again she yelled at me that the lights aren’t free, she pays her workers, this is wasted food, I should know better, etc - it was a horrific encounter. Every time I tried to say one word, she yelled at me. There was absolutely no talking to this woman and that is so unfortunate. The two young ladies serving are kind and calm… the chef is clearly wonderful… but the owner does not know how to speak to customers. When I picked up the order I told one of the servers that I was so excited to come back for meal at the restaurant! That will not be happening. I don’t think the customer is always right… but I do think there is a right way and wrong way to talk to customers. I’m sure the owner will reply that she offered falafel and rice and she offered to make chicken but it would take 30 minutes… all while yelling at me. If she had been calm and treated me with an ounce of respect, I would have considered one of those options....

We visited Keese's Greek Cuisine on the evening of December 30, 2023. After ordering, we received the requested two glasses of wine and a hummus dip, which were provided by the house.

Nothing happened for 30 minutes after that - no communication whatsoever. The starters we ordered were not delivered.

Suddenly the two main dishes (pork chop and chicken sharwarma) were brought. When we pointed out that we had not yet received starters, the main courses were taken away and after 10 minutes we received the starters we originally ordered.

We were also told to let them know when the main courses were to be served.

After eating the starters, we were served the main course that had already been served - not freshly prepared, but the dishes that had already been waiting for 15 minutes.

Both dishes were cold and the meat was completely dried out. We tried the dishes and returned about 2 thirds.

We expressed our displeasure matter-of-factly and were then offered two glasses of wine at no additional cost, which we declined.

After this bad experience, I paid in full for the starters, main courses and wine I ordered.

Because of the poor service and completely cold main courses, I didn't leave a tip.

Today I noticed on my credit card statement that the restaurant had deducted an unauthorized 40% tip from my credit card without permission.

I have already reported this fraud to the credit card company and submitted the copy of my card receipt. I reserve the right to take further legal action and will file a credit card fraud report with law enforcement...