Thursday, March 1, 2007

Stelianas & Saphos, London Road, Derby

Mother, skinny & myself had decided to head off towards the London Road restaurant metropolis in search of an eaterie, on this damp Tuesday night (how much rain have we had lately!), when out of the corner of my eye I spotted Stelianas Greek Taverna. Car dumped down a side street we trotted off back towards the venue.
The radiant white room had it's walls adorned with various souvenirs of trips to Greece & Cyprus. However it wasn't enough to disguise the rooms blandness, it certainly lacked a homely feel.
A traditional bottle of Mythos lager beer (£3.50) for me, a Malibu for skinny and a "skanky" 125ml glass of wine (£3.90!) for mother, got things moving.
I secured a starter of Halloumi cheese, Skinny had Prawns a la Sapho's, de-frosted prawns with lemon and parsley (£5.40), she enjoyed them imensley, but at £5.20 for three slices, my starter was definately overpriced.
For the main feature mother and myself had the Lamb Kleftiko (£13.50), lamb slow baked in the oven. Skinny had the Stiphado & Pork Kebabs (£12.70), Stiphado is a classic Greek dish of beef slowly cooked in red wine, on this ocassion it was accompanied by a skewer of pork kebab. It was meat eaters heaven and both myself & mother were beaten by the amount of meat. Her two Jack Russell puppies weren't complaining the following day though, they seemed to enjoy the cold lamb more than we did.
I remember what freindly people the Greek's are (they've always made me feel welcome on my various trips to the islands) however this guy never spoke a word, not a "how's your meal", etc until I made the first move and asked how thing's were doing. The silence had been broken! Hey mate, lighten up, engage your customers, make the place a bit more cosy, knock ya prices down 20%, and serve a decent size glass of wine!
I have freinds over from Greece next week, I certainly won't be bringing them here. This is far removed from the taverna you probably visited in Corfu last year, ahhh those were the days.......
Food 4/10
Service 5/10
Venue 4.5/10
Tel: 01332 385200

"Ca plane pour moi, ca plane pour moi" (Ca plane pour moi, Plastic Bertrand, 1977)

Martin, Tuesday 27th February, 2007