Olympia Diner

Olympia Diner

3253 Portage Ave

R3K 0W6

204-888-8884

Fax:  204-888-8875

mail@olympiadiner.ca

http://www.olympiadiner.ca/

In an age where restaurants come and die (and reincarnate as Japanese eateries), it amazes me how many St. James joints defy time and continue to thrive.  Olympia Diner, with a plain looking storefront along Portage Avenue, has been around for as long as I can remember.  Even though their website says they’ve only been around for a decade, I seem to remember it from my youth, much longer than ten years ago. 

Although the outside looks plain and unsophisticated, the inside looks bright and inviting.  Lots of windows let in ample light—coupled with the bright blue walls, you can imagine that you’re sitting in the hallowed halls of Olympus. 

As you might guess, Olympia is a Greek themed restaurant, and they offer the usual Greek fare, including souvlaki, spanakopita and moussaka.  Okay, this is perfectly normal.  Now can someone tell me why most Greek restaurants feature burgers as a main component to their menus?  Are burgers common foods in Greece?  Regardless, all the Greek burgers I’ve had are good burgers and I can’t wait to dive into Olympia’s iteration. 

They offer a number of toppings on their burgers but you know, when in Greece…  The Greek burger comes with tzatziki sauce, which acts as a fantastic, health-conscious alternative to the ubiquitous mayo.  Many people judge a burger’s merit by how much goop coats your hands (and falls into your lap) as you devour it; the tzatziki ensures that you have a mess on your hands.  Of course, the Greek burger comes with feta cheese, again a healthier alternative to cheddar, mozza and especially the dreaded processed cheese, which is little better than eating plastic. 

While we’re on the topic, I’m going into a bit of a rant.  Because of an idiotic commercial years ago attempting to rhyme feta with betta (everything tastes betta with feta), everyone thinks it’s fett-tah cheese.  It’s fay-tah people!  You know, like it’s supposed to rhyme with the other Greek letters beta, eta, zeta and theta!  Say it with me:  FAY-TAH!

Sorry, back on track.  The Greek burger comes on a monstrous bun with an equally colossal patty.  While the patty itself needs some flavour, the cooking almost makes up for it.  A great burger should be seared on the outside and moist on the inside.  Olympia’s version has the lovely searing, which provides a facet of taste in itself, but the inside tastes a tad dry.  The oozing tzatziki almost makes up for it, and honestly, I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t out to look for it.

The accompanying vegetables look fresh and crisp, and act as the perfect accompaniment to the dressings.  I would like to have seen a bit more onion but otherwise, this is a home run.

Alas, the vegetables in the Greek salad are not quite as fresh.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re not stale or brown, but just a day or so away from the bright green, shiny look of vegetables as they freshly come off the harvest.  The salad’s a little heavy on the dressing, which leaves the bottom layer of leaves soggy.  Fortunately, Greek dressing is light, and not enough to overwhelm the salad.  The dish comes generously topped with feta (pronounce it again!) but only a couple of olives.

If you prefer fries as a side, you won’t go wrong.  It bothers me to see McDonald’s like fries, where every stick looks identical.  They’re a little too processed and plasticky looking.  You won’t have that trouble here.  Every fry looks imperfect and each is finished to a different degree of doneness.  If like them brown and crispy, you have them.  If you like them golden and soft, they’re here too.  They taste quite sweet, to the point where we almost suspected that they’re made from sweet potatoes.  A few of the sticks look shiny from grease, but that didn’t stop me from eating every last fry. 

The portions are large enough to satisfy Dionysus, but if you need more filler, they have an adequate selection of beer and/or wine to go with your meal, at reasonable prices.  They also offer a generous selection of cocktails, if that’s your ambrosia. 

Sometimes the best restaurants hide behind unpretentious exteriors.  I can’t believe it took me so many years to discover this gem.  I’ll definitely be back. 

**** /5

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