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The Greek Taverna
Rating Details »
Categories: Greek, Mediterranean [Edit]
6828 Old Dominion DriveSuite C
McLean, VA 22101
(703) 556-0788
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
12 reviews for The Greek Taverna
The waiters and waitresses are always very friendly and the owners do a great job welcoming guests into their restaurant. The dishes are very generous portions and consistent.
The food has always been delicious. The hummus and tzatzaki are both "must-haves".
This restaurant was empty at lunch time on a weekday. The food was just okay. I tried the Taverna Platter for 11.75. Starting off with their olive bread with rock salt and olive oil with herbs I was very happy. The salad that came with my entree was blah and not worth eating: iceberg lettuce, tasteless feta crumbs, one measly olive. The entree was funny. It was as if they were serving it as haute french food because of the sizes of each sample. The tiny square of Pastitio (spelling?) and tiny square eggplant dish were obviously heated in the microwave, and insufficiently for that matter, as the tops were still cold!!! There was one stuffed grape leave with some strange white sauce on top, green beans, and one spinach pastry. Overall, the food was edible but unremarkable. I have had way better Greek food and they portions were small. I liked the bread the best!! Which is not saying much. Service was friendly though and they actually were playing Greek music, however, I doubt I will come here again.
The Greek Taverna is fabulous. My half-Greek family went there at least once a month for years, and it was always straight up delicious Greek food. They have all the traditional Greek fare in generous portions. I always got spanikopita and the Dionysus salad (basically a Greek salad with grilled chicken), and their house dressing is very tasty.
I remember one Easter we went with a big group and had a huge spread of fresh fish, reminiscent of the big Sunday brunches we had with our extended family during our summers in Rhodes.
The waiters are friendly and professional and the atmosphere is very nice. There are Greek decorations all around the restaurant, but it's not kitschy. You can also sit outside on a nice day, which is very pleasant. The one bad thing I do remember is that the chairs inside are not very comfortable.
I haven't been there in years, but my parents still go with friends, so it must still be good. Highly recommended!
Overall it's ok and it can serve as your first step of discovering Greek food. "Greek" as it is, most of the food are average and it's hard to pick out many dishes that truly make an impression. But the roast chicken is among the juiciest around town.
Not bad. A friend of mine asked me to meet her and coach her through her VA claim - a wonderful byproduct of the two of us crashing into the ground multiple times after jumping out of planes back at Fort Bragg.
We weren't exactly sure what to get but after hearing good reviews about the place, we dove right in. My friend got the shrimp (I don't remember the name of the dish) and I got the Taverna sampler that Leila describes in her review.
I have to agree - I wasn't impressed. The only thing that really stood out in my head was the green beans - they were uniquely spiced to my liking. If I went back, it would be to have a bowl of the green beans alone. My friend didn't complain about her shrimp and devoured it in record time.
I didn't see the "hot guy" that Leila referred to but we did have a gorgeous Mediterranean lady waiting on us. She swayed like a gentle breeze when she walked and always had a nice smile when she spoke to us. But wait, I'm supposed to review the business and not the girls, right?
This is a GREAT Greek restaurant! In fact, I have traveled to Greece and not had a meal that was as good as the ones served here. I am a particular fan of the fish dishes. Swordfish kabob is often a special, but they will only have it if they can get fresh fish. If it's available it's not to be missed. Other good choices include the grilled calamari and the trout. The outdoor seating under the grape arbor is really nice, particularly in the evening when there is less traffic noise.
This will be my first review of something that I found disappointing. The food on the night I was here was not up to restaurant standards. The green beans were shriveled and may have even been from a previous day. The entree tasted on the stale side, too. And, its rather expensive for Greek !
This was disappointing because of the reviews I had read, and the place does have a nice atmosphere, but the food that night (a Saturday night, no less!) was not acceptable, not up to usual Greek standards. I have better leftovers in my fridge.
When a good friend returned from a trip to Greece she called me and another friend of ours with a hankering for some Greek food.
"Greek restaurants. Do you know of any Greek restaurants?"
I didn't. I thought that I'd remembered seeing a couple of different restaurants with the word Greek in them on some road...somewhere...
"That isn't helping."
Luckily, our other friend was a bit more helpful. Her parents, she told us, were friends with the owners of the Greek Taverna. And, true to it's name, the Greek Taverna served Greek food. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to come with us that night, but we decided to go anyway and I'm glad we did.
The Greek Taverna was, funnily enough, one of the restaurants that I had recalled seeing with the word Greek in it as I used to pass it every day when I worked in the area. It has this terrace in front that is one of those places that always presented itself to me as somewhere-I-wanted-to-be. Everyone out on that patio always seemed to be enjoying themselves and during the evening they'd turn on the Christmas lights. I love Christmas lights.
The atmosphere here is comfortable and relaxing. You can take your time to sit and have a long conversation and not worry about anticipating the "time for you to go" dance waiters sometimes perform for you when they're trying to turn and churn. It was warm when we went and we chose to sit outside, which was quite lovely.
I had never really had Greek food before, so I didn't know what to expect. Apparently, Greek food is pretty good. We split a salad [Aika, my friend, told me that in Greece they don't really put lettuce in their salad and I had a, "Huh, really?" moment] though it wasn't truly "authentic." However, both of us thought it was good so we let it slide. We also got the stuffed grape leaves, which I'd always wanted to try. They were interesting, which I know is something that people sometimes say when they think something is kind of bad but they don't want to say that. These were truly interesting, though. They were different and while I don't quite know what to make of them yet, I think it just means I'll have to try them again. They also have really good bread.
I had the spanokiropita, the pronunciation of which our very accommodating waiter walked me through. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and Aika seemed to enjoy her salmon as well. I usually don't take home leftovers because our fridge is a war zone and my leftovers usually quickly become casualties of battle, but I took this home and had it for lunch the next day.
I am deducting a star because while the really lax, take-your-time-and-I'll-take-mine attitude of our waiter perfectly suited us at the time, if I had been there on, say, my lunch break I probably would have been a bit miffed. The good outweighs the possible bad here, though. I can easily see this as being a good place for sitting outside on a warm day and people watching. It's busy, but not crowded; a hard mix to find. It is definitely due for a repeat visit.
"What is that you're eating?"
"It's moussaka."
"Eww! You're eating moose kaka??"
Aside from an occasional gyro, I had never truly experienced authentic greek food. Walking into the restaurant, this scene from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" immediately popped into my head; I knew that I just had to try this infamous dish.
Greek Taverna has great ambiance and customer service. The environment is very cozy and comfortable, while still maintaining a very classy status. A group of ten girlfriends and I decided on this location for one of our "ladies nights"-- let me tell you, we definitely were not disappointed. However, I must admit that even if the food had completely sucked, we still would have been happy. Every single waiter there was an absolutely DROP DEAD GORGEOUS Greek man with an adorable accent!! We may not have completely understood what the specials of the day were, but we sure as hell enjoyed the eye candy explaining them to us.
More water? Yes, please! Another basket of bread? Mmm hmm!
As for the food, it wasn't bad but it wasn't exactly great either. Everyone was given a small plate of salad before the meal... iceburg lettuce, tomatoes, feta, and a few olives topped with ranch dressing. I ordered the Taverna's Special, which is a combination plate of traditional Greek dishes. This included moussaka (layers of ground sirloin, eggplant, zucchini and potatoes topped with bechamel sauce), pastitsio (layers of ground sirloin and macaroni topped with bechamel sauce), dolmades avgolemono (hand rolled grape leaves stuffed with a mixture of ground sirloin and rice and topped with egg-lemon sauce), and spanakotiropita (spinach and greek feta cheese pastry wrapped in phyllo dough).
I wanted it all to be ridiculously delicious, I really did! I was expecting bursts of flavor exploding in my mouth... unfortunately, I was disappointed. Everything was fairly plain, nothing really stood out. The moussaka and pastitsio were similar in taste... very lasagna-esque. The dolmades avgolemono was good... just like any other dolmeh I've had, except it had meat in it. The spanakotiropeta was ehh... very bland. The portions were surprisingly small too... definitely not worth the $18.
Overall, my experience there was good... I had great company, beautiful Greek men surrounded me, and the food was decent. Would I return just for the food? No. Would I go there to meet a nice Greek man to make Greek babies with who would all grow up to just be big Greek eaters? Yes, totally.
From what I remember, this was a classy place. Comforting, warm, like you were coming home... to Greece? The owners walked around and chatted up tables. They have a cute patio where most people will sit on wonderfully warm nights.
The calamari was yum. What I ordered, I cannot repeat. Not that its a secret, I just dont know how to spell or pronounce it. But it was a like a platter of some of their specialties. All of it was "awesome". ( I was so taken away by the taste, awesome was the first word to come to mind.) I can't remember the price, but whatever it was, it was worth it.
Being far away from my hometown that's considered the largest Greek community outside of Greece, I'm always looking for authentic home-cooking Greek food.
If you've never had Greek food before, definitely come here to try their sampler. Their moussaka, and doulmades (sp?) are tres tasty. This dish gives you a hint on what they can do with the best of Greek dishes. Enjoy it in the indoor Greek Isle style decor or the outdoor patio seating for a cozy meal.
As far as everything else is concerned, this place isn't worth your time. The bland Greek salad is not worth your time, money and calories and they don't even serve gyros. What kind of Greek restaurant is that?!?! The waiters were cute, but they're mostly there for looks more than actual service.
For a true, all-encompassing Greek cuisine, find another place. This one can only do so much for your craving for Greek.
When I visited, I wanted a light meal, so I ordered the "vegetarian pizza" that, according to the menu, would have vegetables on it. No, it turned out to be a pita with the dipping sauce they provide while you're waiting baked on it. That's it. Not a goodchoice, obviously, but when I asked about it, they said that was exactly what the menu indicated.
It did taste good, and the dolmade that anotherdiner let me taste was really tasty.
