It’s official. I found my new favorite Greek restaurant in London, Ontario. If you are in the mood for authentic Greek cuisine, fresh ingredients, enjoy very generous portions and customer service that makes you feel like you’re part of the family, you just have to try the Dancing Greek Taverna on Huron Street near Highbury.
I’m a big fan of Greek food and flavours. Lemon, garlic, olive oil, tzatziki, Mediterranean spices – all coming together in rustically satisfying dishes. And in my mind, Greece is one of the more under-rated wine regions in the world. Evidence of the earliest wine production has been uncovered at archaeological sites in northern Greece dating back to 4500 BC. So there’s a good chance these folks know what their doing!
The decor at the Dancing Greek is casual and comfortable. Lots of booths and opportunities to join tables for a big family gathering. And as mentioned in my intro, the service is excellent. In addition to our server, we had a couple different staff members drop by our table to check in with us and discuss our dishes and wine selection. Really friendly and down-to-earth people that make you feel like they appreciate your patronage.
Now to the best part – the food! The menu at the Dancing Greek Taverna is pretty extensive and features all the classic Greek dishes along with some interesting variations. Since this was our first visit, we decided to go with our usual Greek favorites. They have a cool option where you can order complete meals featuring your own custom selections. We ordered four different dishes to share, which came with a generous serving of potatoes, vegetables and warm pita bread.
To start, we just had to try the Greek Village Salad. Just like you can test out an Italian restaurant by the quality of their pizza, a good Greek restaurant needs to serve an outstanding Greek salad. And they did not disappoint. In addition to the fresh and crunchy vegetables, the salad features excellent quality olive oil, amazing olives, and some of the best feta cheese I have ever had. All authentic ingredients coming together in perfect harmony.
For our main course, we ordered the Moussaka, Pastitsio, crazy-good Greek Sausages and the Lamb Chops. Ah yes, the lamb. I will do my best to not get emotional as I write this. They say on the menu that these are the best lamb chops in the city – and they can probably claim bragging rights. Marinated for 36 hours and then char-grilled to perfection. Super juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender, with an amazingly complex and smoky flavour. On my next visit, I think I will just order a half dozen of these delectable beauties. Not to be missed!
And for my fellow oenophiles out there, the Dancing Greek Taverna also features some excellent imported Greek wines that you can’t get at your LCBO. We had a super flavourful and complex 2009 Arte Vera which was the perfect complement to our meal. And even though we were very full and took a good portion of food away with us (made a great lunch the next day) – we also took a couple servings of tasty Baklava home for a delicious late-night dessert. Opa!
Can’t say enough great things about the Dancing Greek Taverna. Next time you are craving some outstanding Greek food, check this place out. You’ll be glad you did. For now, back to the cage.
