Opa Grille — Restaurant in Town of North Hempstead

McDonald's grade Greek food. I've grown up Greek, lived in Astoria for 40 years and am a seasoned home chef, so I know Greek food very very well. It kills me to say this about a fellow Greek, especially another one from chios.

This place may be best if you're not Greek and not looking for an authentic taste of home. It may also be best as a quick lunch option.

What was wrong? Irregularly cut pita bread cut in all different shapes and sizes served right out of the bag. Try cutting it into wedges and serving it warm.

The tzatziki? Runny. Made with regular yogurt (strain it) not much bite to it. Try using Greek yogurt and adding olive oil. Could use more dill and garlic but that was a personal preference.

Stop... Using.. Soybean.. Oil. Just because it's cheaper than olive oil.

The dips? Walnut sized portions. Not the best I've had, but not the worst so... At $12 for 3 expected a little more of them.

We asked for water.. The waitress brought over a bottle and it was warm. I mean WARM. Warmer than room temperature. I could have made tea, that's how warm. Maybe store bottles ready to go in a fridge?

The biggest disappointment was the saganaki! A paper thin slice of Greek cheese that was prepared in the oven and a congealed oily flavorless mess. It's supposed to be flambeed table side with alcohol, like ouzo or metaxa (it even said this on the menu). This was an oily mess baked in a dish. The alcohol cuts the richness of the cheese.. should be served with lemon slices on the side.

The chicken souvlaki platter? Missing the authentic Greek taste of oregano. Was it terrible? No. Was it good? Also no.

The salad that came as a side dish was devoid of any type of dressing... None. Some olive oil and red vinegar at least would have been nice.

There's more (soggy dessert, no Greek coffee, bland lemon potatoes, once again in need of oregano) but overall disappointing food.

Waitresses were super busy and very friendly. Decor was ok.

Will I be...

Last nite my wife did a mobile order that I went to pick up. I said the order is either under Christina or Paul. I believe the young man Kevin was working the register , phones and giving out the take out orders. There was about 6 people waiting on take outs. Kevin said my order comes to $53.01 which I paid with gift cards. He gives me the receipt and its not my order ??? A guy calls his name is Paul and tells Kevin that he recieced the wrong order. ( obviously it was my order that the other Paul took by mistake) Kevin tells him they can't take the food back but that he can come get his order. A woman named Christina walks in and asks for her food. Kevin tells her that I paid for her food and he offers me store credit since I paid with gift cards and he didn't know how to reimburse the money back onto cards. Christina offers to pay me the cash back for what I paid on her order $53.00. So that problem is fixed, I got my money back. Now I have to reorder my food. They dont have a record in system so I have to call home to find out exactly what was ordered so I can order again. It seemed that all the take out orders had some sort of issue. Some given out incorrectly or something was missing. Another person came back with the wrong order and then it was given to a customer who was waiting. It was just a complete mess. I was in restaurant over 45 min after all the problems I endured only to receive a 15% discount. Oh and the order was messed up aswell. I ordered a gyro meat only and it came with lettuce, tomato and onions( my kids won't eat that) I was very disappointed and will not be coming back. This is not how you treat a very patient customer after all...

When is Greek restaurant first open it was authentic food is much better and they actually knew how to speak Greek because they were actually Greeks these people look at people like that crazy I spoke to one gentleman on the phone that had barely any Greek pronunciation or accent so this restaurant is a Greek restaurant opened up by people who are not Greek and it's just not the same anymore and I gave it three stars only because I don't want to embarrass their owners too much but you guys should be embarrassed the woman in the front who took the payment is very rude very Curt and very nasty I'm trying to push me out the door when I was on the only customer in there except for one or two tables and people in there attitude was very distant and didn't seem like a warming environment at all I do not recommend this restaurant to anybody I'm a Greek and this Greek restaurant is an...