The Denman Challenge

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Olympia

We were in the mood for Greek food, and so we decided to give Olympia a try. We were not too sure what to expect, since it seems that this restaurant's reputation is more linked to its controversial use of the Olympic's symbol in their logo, rather than its food.

When: Friday, March 20 2009. (7:35 pm plus 10 minute wait)

We Say: We arrived to a busy restaurant, with people waiting to seat themselves. During our time waiting in the lobby, quite a few more patrons showed up, only to turn around, unwilling to wait for a seat. We kept ourselves occupied during the wait by taking in the views of the Greek vistas surrounding us (complete with blue sky ceiling, and walls of ocean and typical white houses) and observing how relaxed - or should we say, unfriendly - the staff was with their patrons. Is it so hard to smile?

We were surprised to find that this is actually a Greek and Italian restaurant, with the first items on the menu being Italian. This also explained why we saw so many pizza boxes leave the premises during our wait. We thus decided to share the House Special pizza ($14.95 for a medium) and the Roast Lamb ($12.95), for a mix of Italian and Greek. The drinks list is very limited, and the wine list is near non-existant. T ordered a pint of Okanagan Springs Extra Special Pale Ale ($4.55) and M had a glass of Mission Ridge red ($4.25).

The pizza arrived piping hot, and was just as we had expected. It was loaded with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, olives, green peppers and cheese. While it was greasy, the crust was crispy and the pizza was tasty. We may decide to order one of these up for delivery in the future.

The Roast Lamb was cooked to perfection, although it was a tad under-seasoned and too heavy on the cinnamon. Along with the large, nice cut cut of meat, the portion was generous and included rice, Greek salad, tzadziki, lemon potato and pita bread. The Greek salad and the potato were both quite nice. The rice was fine, but a little on the greasy side. The only letdown on the plate was the tzadziki, which was both watery and glutenous at the same time.

House Special pizza Roast Lamb

Overall, our meal was $38.40 with taxes, and we left with plenty of leftovers.

Pro: The restaurant has a nice, large heated patio. They also offer free delivery within the West End for orders over $10.

Con: Perhaps we caught them on an off night, but the service was sub par. The staff appeared cold, and the service was slow. They also did forget T's order of a second beer. In addition, you can get better food at a better price at Stephos Greek Taverna (on Davie Street).

Verdict: T and M say yea and nay. It's middle of the road.

Olympia
988 Denman St
Vancouver
604-688-8333
www.988denman.com
www.olympiapizza.com

Labels: delivery, greek, italian, patio, pizza, restaurant, review, value

posted by Magalie at 6:42 PM

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Name: Magalie
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

I grew tired of dreaming my dreams and decided to live them instead.

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The Challenge

    To patronize at least once every establishment that serves food or drinks on Denman Street, in Vancouver's West End.

    Patronized: 19 out of 79

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Recently Consumed
  • Teresa's Café
  • Legendary Noodle
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  • End of the hiatus
  • Vina
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  • Poncho's Mexican Restaurant
  • Banana Leaf
  • Hilary's Caffè Café
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