Stephos - 1124 Davie Street @ Thurlow

I know Stephos is overblogged and there is a ton of contradicting reviews out there on the internet, but I thought I'd add it for the sentimental value. I've ordered from Stephos several times over the past few years, both takeout and eating in and every time I've had a good experience with the food and service.

The first time I ate in at Stephos was with B on a 'pseudo date'. We first met at a 'wild' house party a couple weeks before he took me there. At this party, I ended up staying pretty late since I had a couple of drinks but wanted to drive home. So I was waiting for the alcohol to wear off. By the time I was ready to leave, everybody else was pretty intoxicated and in no shape to offer B a ride home across town. So I was persuaded to give him a ride home in complete opposite direction that I was headed. In thanks, B offered to take me out to dinner. Whether he felt bad about the ride home, or was capitalizing on an opportunity to see me again, I don't know. But that is how we ended up at Stephos on our first 'pseudo date'.

Back to the review....

Last week B and I went to Stephos for a Friday night date (a real date this time). After a long day, I was really craving some comfort food and B was conveniently downtown for a convention, so Stephos was the perfect choice. We got there early and only had to wait for about 10 min before being seated. We were seated in a cozy corner of the restaurant with the remains of daylight filtering through the window. The atmosphere was comfortable with a constant buzz of activity in the background.

We both ordered the roast lamb and nothing else knowing that the portions would be generous. The dish included the roast lamb, Greek salad, rice, roast potatoes, Greek vegetable stew and a piece of pita bread. The lamb was tender and flavourful as I have had in the past. The portion was so large that both B and I could only finish half our portions and packed the rest home. The surprising bit was their delicious Greek vegetable stew. B swears that they have really improved their recipe and it was definitely a point to comment on. It was flavourful and could have been eaten as a whole dish in itself.

One of my biggest irks eating out is the lack of vegetables that come with an entree, and Stephos managed to appease me. Between their Greek salad and their vegetable stew, I felt that I had gotten an adequate amount of veggies to fulfill my Canadian food guide requirements.

To sum it up: the service was good, the atmosphere cozy, and the food hit the spot. I don't know if I would go there with a big group of friends, because of the background noise and long wait times, but it worked out perfectly for a simple Friday night date.

~G