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| - Until Volos Estiatorio, Richmond and York was a pretty sad intersection. There are the rear ends of the Four Seasons Centre and Sheraton Hotel and Little Anthony's, a mostly tourist-oriented Italian spot. The arrival of this new Greek resto, however, will have you smashing their plates with glee. (Please don't actually do this.)
Though I was shamefully underdressed [1] and reservationless to boot, our hostess was kind enough to seat us at the bar while they prepared our table. In the meantime we helped ourselves to some Greek drinks. The cocktail and wine menu takes care to feature Greek spirits and vintages. I am ignorant about Greek wine (I thought only Satyrs drank the stuff), so I ordered a gin cocktail called Eros' Passion, and it was good. Erotically so.
As we sat at the bar a Very Handsome Man (I assume the owner) came over and told us a bit about the the restaurant. Volos is a port city in Greece and Estiatorio means "restaurant that leans more to the upscale." The VHM explained their aim of serving Greek food in a dignified way (read: no souvlaki on a bun) while also offering contemporary dishes that allow them to feature local meats and fish.
We started with the Kefalotyri Cheese Saganaki ($11), which was brought to our table and promptly set on fire with brandy. The sheep's milk was soft and creamy, and a bit tart too. Great on olive bread. I liked it a lot. My DC got the moussaka ($19), which I didn't try since I don't eat eggplant, but it got a thumbs up. I ordered the Exohico ($22) which is lamb, spices and vegetables wrapped in phyllo pastry. There is a bit of a story with this one... so sit back weary travelers, and sup at the generous teat of Grecian-food-intake-related tale-telling:
In short: when it was served there was a hole in the side. The waiter told me it was "banged up a bit" on delivery but from my eyes it looked edible. They offered to make me another one, but as someone not prone to waste (and let's face it, I'm impatient), I took the damaged portion and they were kind enough to take it off my bill.
But if the kind gesture didn't leave a great taste in my mouth, the exohico certainly did. So full of flavour and the feta and kefalotyri cheese were seriously drool-inducing. And what isn't better wrapped in phyllo? What? What! I ask you?
We shared two scoops of Greek yogurt for dessert. Be warned, it's very tart and way more filling than it looks, but if you spare the room in your stomach it's worth ordering.
All in all I had an excellent experience there. I think it's a perfect spot for theatre-goers or visitors to the nearby hotels. That is to say: please skip The Keg.
Obligatory Title Pun: They aren't friVOLOus about Greek cuisine.
Menu Readability: The same words a woman uses to describe her ideal wedding: elegant, classic, tasteful.
Need to mention: My date mentioned the VHM no less than five times. I'm not joking.
What this place teaches me about myself: It could be equal parts bleach and bongwater -- if it's called Eros' Passion I'm slurping it up.
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[1] I was actually wearing a baseball tee with this on it. http://i.imgur.com/2BOkgkp.jpg
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