Papa has superseded Mama in this spot and recreated himself as a specialty Greek restaurant and looks, in the evening light, a much colder character. I am not sure if I approve of the installation of a TV set on the wall inside — an insidious form of entertainment which destroys diner conversation which should be part of the reason for getting together and enjoying a meal out.
All the dishes we selected were delicious, save Papa’s mushrooms which were not quite as tasty as expected. Everything was hot, served promptly and portions were reasonable in size so everyone tucked in with relish sampling from all the dishes, overall cold décor ambiance totally forgotten in the enjoyment of the meal. A word of warning though, there is no wine menu. You just select a bottle from a rack and there is not a huge selection.
We had ordered our main courses with the starters so they arrived in good time after we had wiped the starter dishes clean with the pita bread! Specialties for the day were spare ribs and Mozambique kebabs with chicken and prawns pieces. On another board was a selection of fish — sole, bream and hake — dishes.Recommended by our waiter was Kleftiko — oven baked lamb — the most popular dish according to him. Spurred on by this recommendation we ordered Kleftikos three times over while the youngest member of the party opted for the ribs — her diner’s ambition being the sampling of spare ribs at every venue known to man! After much debate the chicken Mediterranean — chicken breasts stuffed with olives completed our order.
With the Specialties of the day board, the fish board and the full menu, there really is a wide range of Mediterranean dishes to suit all tastes. Vegetarians are catered for with a number of delicious sounding dishes and at the bottom of the menu was the option to order ladies portions at 75% of the cover price.The Kleftikos arrives wrapped in foil, the lamb pieces surrounded by potato wedges and plenty of meat juices. A selection of vegetables — carrots, butternut and broccoli on the side completed the dish. Maybe expectations were higher than normal after such a strong recommendation but the lamb was a little dry and for my taste a little more cinnamon or garlic and rosemary would have made it a little tastier. On the other hand the spare ribs were delicious, just the right combination of sweet and savoury and cooked to perfection. The chicken Mediterranean was moist and succulent and the combination of olive and chicken flavours was very satisfying. All portions were generous and a couple of doggie bags had to be called for — the option of ordering ladies’ portions should probably have been exercised by some of us.
Again the menu came back and we surveyed the selection of puddings. There was the usual ice cream and chocolate sauce and fruit salad but halva pagoto — ice cream with halva shavings and Yiaourti — Greek yoghurt with honey and pecan nuts appealed to the few left with space to spare. Along with an Espresso and a Cappuccino — the manager is obviously not a coffee aficionado as it was in need of a couple more spoons of medium roast coffee in the pot — we came to the end of a most enjoyable meal. Our waiters had been attentive — a knife dropped by an over enthusiastic diner was immediately replaced — but not over solicitous, allowing us to enjoy the meal at our own pace. While the décor might have a rather cool, spartan feel I can well imagine that on a busier night with the restaurant full and the car park buzzing an energetic, lively ambiance must prevail. There were no plates being thrown around nor was there any of the usual canned Greek music playing but, to a non Greek, the menu certainly has the appearance of authenticity and we certainly came away very satisfied.
Speciality Restaurant – Greek4 PlatesExpect to spend US$35 to US$40 per head Newlands Shopping Centre
