Santorini Greek Cafe — Restaurant in Tucson

I ate at Santorini with a couple of family members last night, after reading some recommendations of it online — but overall, we were unfortunately fairly let down by our experience.

So, to start things off: our group admittedly took a bit longer to decide what all everyone wanted to order than I’d thought we would — about twenty minutes, in total. The waitress started off quite patient with us; but she definitely grew a bit frustrated with my family members’ questions, and general unfamiliarity with Greek cuisine. Though, once we got everything ordered, the meal started off smoothly enough. Our salads were great, our waters got refilled regularly, and my appetizer choice of melitzanosalata (eggplant dip) was absolutely wonderful!

After our fantastic set of starters, I’m happy to report that the meal itself was largely quite solid! Personally: my vegetarian plate was absolutely loaded, and everything on it was delectable. The falafel and green beans were perfectly crispy, the rice was deeply savory ‘n’ had a perfect texture, the tzatziki and hummus paired incredibly well with everything I dipped into them, and the slice of spanakopita I had could’ve easily been a meal on its own! As far as portion sizes ‘n’ quality for your dollars go, I couldn’t complain about my order at all.

Sadly, though… my family members’ gyro plates didn’t get such glowing reviews. Their beef and lamb — while tender and juicy, obviously homemade, and visibly hand-cut right off a rotisserie — really lacked zest, and much of the deeply savory meaty flavor they’ve come to expect from Greek joints on the coasts. This could’ve been plussed up into a more than acceptable range with some seasoning; but since there’s only salt and pepper on the tables here, and they were ravenous after a day of walking trails in the Santa Ritas, neither of them bothered to flag down a waiter to ask if any additional seasoning was available. Also: one of their cups of tzatziki was only half-full; another complaint that was only voiced after the meal was over.

Otherwise, though: their pita were as fresh and flavorful as mine, their green beans were similarly fantastic, and their portion sizes were perfectly adequate.

Some afterthoughts: in the middle of the meal, we decided to ask for the free samples of their pork gyro they have advertised in their menu — which we later realized we’d never received. No bother, really — we might come back and try that at some other point. A bigger frustration, though: when I got home, I realized that I also hadn’t received the dolmathes I’d added to my plate for an extra $3.

Oh — and as far as atmosphere goes, this place admittedly punches below its weight. I don’t tend to care much about the vibes surrounding a meal, but… man, I wish their music weren’t on such a tight loop, and that they didn’t have it playing so loudly. In the little over an hour we were there, I believe I heard their playlist loop about three times. Charming, in a way — but definitely a bit mind-numbing, in others. I’d recommend that they double or triple their track list for their employees’ sanity, at the very least.

Also, be warned: this is a very small space. The couple next to us were loud, and spent most of their time rambling about Internet memes and personal drama; injecting as much profanity into their conversation as they possibly could. While absolutely not a fault of the restaurant, that sort of experience is definitely something you risk with a space that’s this limited.

One last thing: in the time before we ordered, and while we waited for our meals, all of our party members made use of their restroom. Which, it should be noted, is outside of the restaurant — on the side of their building. As is the case with most exterior restrooms, you’ll need to ask for a key to use it. Also: due to some mobility issues, getting there was a bit hard for one of our party members. No stars taken away for that, of course — but, it should absolutely be noted!

Edit: huge thanks to the cook for the well wishes, and for taking all of our...

I personally called in to inform you about the food and our experience in a very respectful way. Your employee told me she would have to get with the managers regarding the refund and someone would reach out, after telling you all that my wife and children got sick from your food as it was the only thing we had eaten that day. No one ever called back to discuss the matter. My wife just left a review regarding the experience and they claimed it was a “%1000 Fake Review” However their response in fact is the INTENTIONAL lie and we have all of the receipts to prove it. And now we will press the issue. There was no reason for us to lie and make a bad review it wouldn’t have affected the refund. My wife is a chef and always leaves reviews at the restaurants she tries, many highlighting the positive aspects of the restaurants we eat at as the food in Tucson is sub par relatively speaking. We have no reason to be bias in the review. Take some accountability. Principles reflect infinitely, your response to this matter is showing the integrity and standards of your business. I’ve never seen any business respond to any customer feedback in that manner. No one is hating on your food, to be clear if we really breakdown what the term implies there was initially nothing to despise about your business, there is nothing to envy or be jealous of, nothing threatening, nothing to “hate on” what are you talking about, your response is very childish for all of the old people working there. there was nothing to note about your food until after the fact, we found yall on google maps in 2mins, we were just hungry, we tried your food , and it got some of us sick. Take some accountability. Looking at these reviews, any criticism of your food is deemed as “hating” lol. We own businesses as well…You have no idea who you might be speaking with and this is how you display yourself as a business…Even when talking to your employee I was trying to make sense of the matter telling her that it could’ve been the olives or grape leaves as those were the only things I didn’t try that my wife ate. Statistically speaking it would not be hard for one of you cold food items to get contaminated it can happen in many ways, on top of that we’re not even accounting for potential human error. Mind you our order was toward the end of the day around 6:45pm to be exact. Y’all not bout call us liars, and we are not tolerating any disrespect from yall, and now we will press this issue until you apologize and address it...

I visited on a Tuesday right at opening (11am) and was greeted promptly by one of the lady staff. The atmosphere is really nice and genuine with colorful chairs and lots of wall art to admire. I ordered a Souvlaki on Skewer (chicken) with green beans. The entree was accompanied with a Greek side salad (served before the rest of the food), pita bread, tatziki, and my side of choice green beans on top of rice. Everything I had was very good. Aside from the rice which was simple plain white rice, everything had great seasoning. Especially the green beans. The skewer came with generous portions of chicken, and slices of tomato, onion, and green pepper laid on a lettuce leaf. The pita and tatziki were very good, especially the tatziki. The chicken was well seasoned and perfectly tender and juicy. The entree is $20, which may seem like a lot but it is a large amount of food (and considering the amount of sides that accompany the skewer). I appreciated the lady who took my order, as she mentioned it would be about 15 minutes for the skewer to cook. I expected as much since it's fresh, but it was nice of her to let me know in the case I wasn't aware. My dish was brought out by who I presume to be the head/main cook. He was very nice and pleasant, thanking me for waiting (which I had told the lady staff, it will be worth the wait, and it was!). About 20 minutes after I was given my entree, the cook came back out to check and see if I wanted any desserts or coffee. I decided to try the baklava and was honestly impressed with how good it was. The flavors of the filling, the nuts, the phyllo pastry, and the glaze were all exceptionally good. Overall this restaurant is 5 stars for the experience I had and the wonderful quality of the food. I read some reviews before visiting, and some mentioned the service being not the best, and I can somewhat agree. The service I received was good but I would have preferred to be checked in on more frequently. I also wasn't told if I paid at the counter or the table, but as other customers came and left I figured out payment was taken at the front. Not a problem but just something to know for your visit.

I will for sure visit here again and perhaps try their coffee, as I do appreciate a good Greek coffee.

Thank you guys for the great food and pleasant...