My wife and I both enjoy Greek food, so we wasted no time in trying the new Acropolis Greek Taverna (http://www.acropolistaverna.com/) close to University Town Center in Sarasota County. We were very happy with our meal, but were disappointed that they had sold out of two dishes.
The sold-out dishes were:
- Fried Kibbeh, which is a wonderful Lebanese dish made of bulghur wheat, beef (or lamb), sauteed onions, and pine nuts.
- House-made rice pudding.
(I noticed several other Levantine Arab dishes on the menu - Felafel and Baba Ghanouj, so I checked out the owner's name - Sam Waez, which I believe is Lebanese. He grew up in Greece.)
We started with an appetizer of Tzatziki and Pita Bread. It was fantastic!!! I could have eaten just that. It was $8.
My wife's main course was the Pastitsio - pasta with seasoned ground beef, with bechamel and tomato sauces and topped with feta cheese. It was very nice.
My main course was Chicken Rhodes - grilled chicken breast in a lemon white wine sauce sauteed with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives, and topped with crumbled goat cheese for $17. It was very tasty, but the chicken was slightly overcooked. It came with two sides. I chose Mediterranean Rice and Greek Potatoes. The rice dish was a mixture of lentils and white rice. The potatoes were delicious, but the rice dish was very ordinary. I would not order it again.
My wife's drink was a Santorini Sunrise Cocktail, which was a very nice mixture of grapefruit vodka, muddled oranges, mint, honey syrup, red grapefruit, orange juice, and club soda for $9. The only reason we knew about the cocktails was the we had looked at the menu n line before going to the restaurant. When we asked our waitress for a cocktail menu, she said they did not have one. She checked to make sure.
My drink was 2015 Tsantali Naousa red wine by the glass for $8 per glass. This pleasant wine is made from Xinomavro grapes from the Macedonia area of northern Greece.
I also had a cup of Greek coffee for $3.50. It was terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!
While we were there, there was various entertainment - the servers danced a lively Greek dance, plates were broken, and hundreds of napkins were thrown in the air, landing on tables and the floor. I could do without the napkin-throwing and plate breaking. I'd think that the napkins on a tile floor might be a slipping hazard. We did enjoy the dancing.
On Friday and Saturday nights, they have live belly dancing and bouzouki music.
The menu has a number of nice-sounding dishes that I have not seen on Greek restaurant menus in the U.S.
They also have a Sunday brunch with some dishes that I'd intend to try.
Our server, Mariange, was super. She was professional with a very warm personality.
The taverna was full on the Sunday night we were there, so I'd recommend reservations.
Acropolis Greek Taverna is a chain of six restaurants, all located in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota area.
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