Anyways, let's cut to the chase; I was really excited when I was on my way a couple weeks ago to try new restaurant, specifically a Greek restaurant since I had never really been to one (the closest I've come to Greek food is King Kong's gyros, Ha!). I found this restaurant online and it had really good reviews, so my hopes were high!When I arrived at the restaurant I was excited to see the blue lining of the building (just as the blue roof-tops in Greece). The inside of the restaurant was even better; the decor, the pictures and the setting really brought the place together nicely. I loved the atmosphere, although I found it odd that there were only about 5 tables seated on a Friday night and there were about 60 more to be filled. I always like to see how many other people are dining at the restaurant just because it gives me a little idea about how much people really like the food. So after seeing the low attendance, I was a little leery.
The menu looked very enticing, the names of the dishes themselves were un-pronouncable (new word) since they were all in Greek. I ordered a main dish that would've seemed to me to be much more complex than what actually arrived at my table. Here's what I ordered:
Pastitsio - Mostacciolini, Ground Beef, Romano Cheese, Creamy Bechamel sauce topped with Marinara sauce. Served with rice or vegetable and your choice of potato or house salad with pita bread.
Sounds good right?? I guess I was imagining some kind of dish that had noodles on the bottom, layered with a mixture of beef, cheese, spices and the Bechamel sauce, marinara on the top and then some garnish. Served with rice? Okay, interesting.... But I'll take it, and then the potato as well.
When I got the dish I was very surprised just by the looks of it; It was literally lasagna with buttery rice on the side and potato wedges. Now, I try to eat balanced meals most of the time, and for me, serving 3 carbohydrate items on one plate is not something I would typically eat: Rice, lasagna and potato. But if that's what they eat in Greece than I was happy to oblige. I began eating the dish and was not impressed, to say the least. Maybe it's because I'm used to all the flavors in Mexican food, the peppers, cumin, other spices, I'm not sure, but this was very bland. The Pastitsio (lasagna) seemed dry with little spice, almost like it had been pre-cooked and then re-heated. I was not very happy and did not even finish my whole plate. My other guest diners were not super impressed with their dishes either; I think one of them left more than she ate. Here's the rating I would give Katie's Restaurant and Taverna:
Cleanliness: Great! I did not see any signs of messes or uncleanliness in this restaurant. The bathrooms were clean and it looked very orderly in the restaurant. If I was able to just rate the restaurant based on atmosphere and cleanliness, it would get 11 out of 10 stars!
Care: The waitresses were very friendly and nice! They were very talkative and the person in charge (I think the owner) was also very friendly!
Cost: A little pricey. About $10 a plate. If you add drinks and an appetizer to that, it ends up being about $15 to $20 per person.
Convenience: Very easy to get to, it's right on the turn of 40th and Dodge, once you turn onto 40th st, you can't miss it.
Based on these categories I would give the restaurant 10/10 stars.... The food is what really hurts the restaurant unfortunately; because of this factor (which I assume to be the biggest) I would have to lower the rating down to a 5/10. I will say that the appetizer was the best part (pictured to the right), it was Spanakopita, which is a pastry dough filled with spinach and feta cheese; I may try to make this at home sometime!
I was disappointed with the food, it was way too pricey for what we received and it wasn't even good. I'm not sure if this is what they actually eat in Greece, but it seems to me that it was just overly simplified at the restaurant. The lack of spice and garnishes seemed cheap and I will not be returning. The one good thing about the restaurant being not-so-great? We left the restaurant still hungry, so we were able to squeeze in some Fro-Yo, which is always good, even if it was 30 degrees out!
If you are interested in trying out the restaurant here is the website and the address, maybe you'll have a better experience than I did! And who knows, maybe we didn't try the right things??? I would be very interested in hearing feedback on what you think of this restaurant!
Eat up!
119 S. 40th St. Omaha, NE
402.558.5623
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| Guest diner's meal - Buttery noodles with chicken |
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