***~~ (3/5)

When it comes craving for Greek food, I always prepare myself to stuff my face with tons of rice, skewered meat, and tzatziki sauce. One of the first places I’d think of to do that to myself is Stepho’s Souvlaki on Davie street.

Stepho’s has been around for a long time, and it’s no secret that it’s got good food. I haven’t eat-in at Stepho’s in a while because it’s always got a line up. I usually opt for take out, but this time the hunger got to me, and the hunger told me I should wait in line for 40 minutes. The Hunger is a jerk and it does crazy things to you.

The restaurant was crazy busy as usual, getting a waiter to come around our table to give us water and take our order after we finally got a table was a challenge too. We probably waited for another 10 minutes for our waiter to come greet us. When the waiter finally came, we ordered our food right away.

For appetizer, we got the Kalamari ($7.95), and the Spanakapita ($4.95). For entrée we got a small Lamb Souvlaki, and trying for the first time, the Pork Souvlaki.

The Kalamari was deep fried squid, and it was good as usual. The batter was really crispy, the squid itself wasn’t too rubbery. It was piled on Greek salad, with a side of tzatziki sauce. The portion size was big, so it was a good dish to get and share.

Spanakapita was spinach cheese puff. One order came with 2 big spinach cheese puffs. They were really buttery, and the pastry outside was really flaky. It was pretty good, but the spinach and cheese stuffing inside didn’t taste particularly fresh.

It’s really hard for me not to order the Lamb Souvlaki here because it’s my favorite dish here. This time though, the plate was just OK.  First thing I noticed was that the rice was a bit hard. The lamb was cooked well, but it wasn’t as tender was I’d usually get here. We tried the Pork Souvlaki for the first time. We got it because we always over look it, why would you pick pork over lamb, chicken or shrimp? let’s try it anyway. The first thing I worried was that the pork might be too dry out, but it wasn’t, it was fully cooked, and it still moist and tender. It wasn’t as good as the lamb, but I wouldn’t mind eating it.

I seriously was not in the right mind when I got myself to line up to eat in. I spent 2 hours on dinner, and it felt like I wasted so much time. I was so eager to get out by the end of my meal. I wouldn’t recommend going there at peak dinner hours, i.e. 6 – 8pm unless you just totally have time to burn. I highly recommend take out, the quality of food is just the same as eating in.

As much as I like Stepho’s, I do find that they have consistency issues. They used to be really awesome a few years ago, but lately they’ve had their on and off days. This time, was an off day for me.

Note: Street Parking, Long Line Ups

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Stepho’s Souvlaki Greek Taverna
1124 Davie St
Vancouver, BC V6E
(604) 683-2555

***½~ (3.5/5)

I visited Babylon Cafe right after my horrible experience at Tsunami Sushi. And this place saved my night.

Babylon Cafe is a very tiny falafel/shawarma restaurant located right at the intersection of Granville and Robson Street in downtown Vancouver. I think this place has its own little following, because there is always people lining up whenever I walk pass it. I ordered a falafel wrap ($4.95) and my friend ordered a chicken wrap ($5.95). Soon after I ordered, 4 people came to line up behind me instantly.

It is like when you go to Subway, where you order and you watch them make your food. So after we ordered, we were left there watching our wraps being made. They do not skimp out on the meat! As my friend puts it, ‘when he put the chicken on my wrap, my eyes were smiling because he kept on going!‘ You may choose your own toppings for your wrap, I went for everything. The falafals in my wrap were giant, and very flavorful, the amount of spicy sauce was just right. However the whole wrap all together was a little on the dry side, I would ask for extra tzatziki sauce next time.

After we paid, and tried to leave, one of the dudes lining up behind me had to walk out of the restaurant in order for me to get out. That’s how tiny the place is. The lamb wrap here is really popular, and they sell out fast. One of the guys lining up behind me tried to order it, but he didn’t have any luck. Overall the food was really tasty, and the portion is very generous. It’s a good place for a quick lunch or a quick bite to eat. Although I was a bit turned off by them using the microwave to heat up my falafals, this is still one of the few fast food places I would return.

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Babylon Cafe
716 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z1A1
Tel: (604) 677-3522