Olympia on the Seawall had a great menu selection and price during Restaurant Week 2013. As a matter of fact they were in the top 5 for menu and price, but the experience…a whole different story. Though their story, history, and menu seem wonderful, the food was a disaster. It was nothing like the experience at Olympia on Pier 21! Promising great food and value, it was a shock to taste a meal that would make Chef Ramsay start cursing for an hour.
The food quite literally tasted as if it were frozen and thawed in the microwave. It was gummy, lacking flavor, flat out boring food and nothing so Greek about it. First off was the soup and salad. The soup had the after taste of Campbell’s canned soup (and making homemade soup all the time at home, that goopy gummy texture usually only results from freezing, when its fresh it’s smooth, creamy and not gelatin-like.) The idea of the soup was ok, but turned out terrible. The salad…a typical McDonald’s side salad with 1 olive and 1 pepperoncini on top and some Feta, iceberg and old tomato…yuk! You can get a generic “Greek” Salad anywhere that tastes better.
Next was the main course. We ordered 2 Restaurant Week meals, so that gave us more food to try. The meatballs had a nice concept, but once again, frozen meatballs with frozen gummy sauce. It seemed to have nutmeg or something to give it a Greek flair, but it tasted old. I really believe that these items were probably great when the restaurant started out. I have a feeling that they have a newer chef and some lazy guys in the back who are not representing what the family has intended. Truly this is a job for Gordon Ramsay….somebody call him please! The Mushrooms were blah, the roasted potatoes were nowhere near as flavorful as Mediterranean Chef on the Strand, and the fish was well, fishy. The crusty outside was soggy on the fish and the sauce had no flavor…once again the taste of frozen food. The Pita bread was the best part.
The desserts, hum. The chocolate cake tasted like a quickly baked box mix and the dry corner was cut just for us. Not even the super moist cake mix either. It was dry, airy and had burnt edges. The Bread Pudding was better, but needless to say, the desserts taken home were eventually just thrown away. I really wanted Olympia to turn out good. Greek food is wonderful and I really loved the Pier 21 location, which must have a far superior chef, by the way. Honestly, Mediterranean Chef is a far better choice as well.
The food presentation was cute, the server was nice and the experience would have gone fine if the food was fresh. What really irks me, is they brag about being the best, having the best Greek salad, the best this, the best that on their website, but they most certainly are not!
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