Sparta Taverna — Restaurant in Ridgefield Park

The Garden State is incredibly diverse, with a variety of nationalities having a major impact on exactly how New Jersey is, particularly when it comes to the extensive choice of international food patrons can enjoy. A favorite for many is Greek cuisine, with a number of delicious restaurants that can savor a sliver of the Greek islands year-round.

Based on the staples of the Mediterranean diet, its culinary culture became more sophisticated as part of the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empire, receiving many influences at the crossroads where the East and the West meet.

Located on Main Street in the heart of Ridgefield Park since 2004 and named after the owner’s hometown, Sparta Taverna is a family-style BYOB establishment. A reservation was easily made for dinner via OpenTable.

Upon entering this cozy, casual, and inviting vibe as first-timers to celebrate an early birthday, my partner, our friends, and I were greeted by the staff and got a table immediately surrounded by hand-painted Greek scenes.

Their menu was extensive, with the iconic favorites such as gyros, souvlaki, and other comfort food dishes with vegetarian options.

As appetizers, we decided on the Dolmadakia - Stuffed Grape Leaves, Saganaki Cheese, and Fried Calamari. For entrees, we opted for Sparta Beef Gyro Pita, Chicken Chipotle on Gluten-Free Wrap, Spanakopita, Hamburger, Pastichio, and Sparta Fries. For dessert, the rice pudding with a birthday candle arrived, and we shared a slice of carrot cake. Complimentary pita bread with garlic hummus started our meal.

Our food was authentically made fresh using healthy ingredients with bold flavors, making it one of the most delightful meals. The portion was a healthy size. The service was friendly and gracious without being overbearing; our server was Carolina. The price was reasonable for the area.

Another exceptional dining experience for the book, which we...

My husband and I just moved to the area and had a few friends and family members recommend Sparta as a great local spot to check out. We went on a random weekday and were surprised to find a good number of parties dining in. Since the area is full of seemingly great restaurants, I took it as a positive sign that so many were choosing to also dine at Sparta that evening.

The menu is pretty robust and I don't know enough about Greek food to speak to its authenticity, but my heart went straight to the falafels. Some might consider it sacrilege to put both fries and falafels into a wrap, but I applaud such audacity to happily 'junkify' a dish. Realistically speaking, both of these fried items suffered a little in the crunch factor after sitting together in a tightly wound wrap, but the flavor and fun was definitely there. My husband enjoyed his gyro wrap just as well, though he encountered a few drier bites here and there.

The side Greek salad we ordered (mainly to balance out all the fried food in my order) was delicious if a little smaller in size than we would've liked. The surprising highlight of our meal was the eggplant dip that we ordered as an appetizer. It was served cold but delicious, and the accompanying pita bread was warm and slightly buttery tasting. Never did I think I'd be writing home about how good the pita bread in a restaurant was, but neither of us could stop talking about it - both during and after the meal.

The restaurant is surprisingly spacious, and service was polite and responsive to our needs. Would definitely recommend if you're...

Been going here and getting takeout for years on pretty and much a weekly basis. They normally provide great food and service. Last 3 orders were wrong and sloppy. Ie - lamb souvlaki platter was served with salad inside the hot dish container which was just disgusting once it arrived... tomatos, cheese and hot meat sitting together are not a good combo. Dish comes standard with rice which is what we've gotten for years. When tried to correct the issue the person kept arguing that they stated to my husband that salad would be put in. Only when we stated we would be driving the extra 15 minutes to go to river vale they changed their rude tone. Additionally last times we ordered greek salad, also a staple we've gotten for years, it was just sloppy with dressing either not mixed in or when we specifically asked today, it was just dumped on top with no effort or regard for the presentation.

Again, we will be taking the time to go to River Vale Sparta Taverna moving forward where the orders are consistently correct and the owner and people that work there are kind and lovely.

You should take care of your long term take out/ delivery customers and not be rude and argue with them when they try to explain that nothing has been correct in all...