Stepho’s Souvlaki Greek Taverna
(604) 683-2555
Address: 1124 Davie Street (map)

False Idol
a Quick Bite

By Michael Chin
a Special to Eat Vancouver

As an outsider to Vancouver it’s hard for me to gauge the popularity of certain restaurants. Often times I’ll see a place relatively dead only to hear that it’s an anomaly, and that the joint is usually packed. Luckily, in terms of Stepho’s, I didn’t have to climb such a hurdle. In the three times I’ve been to Stepho’s the place has been packed, and in the first instance (a weekday, around 6pm) a line had formed about 20-30 people deep outside the door. I ended up flaking that day because the line was moving about as fast as a 300 pound woman in quicksand and because the long line just so happened to place me right in front of one of Davie’s many sex shops.

The next two instances however I went to Stepho’s for lunch and while there was no line outside, there was a 5-10 minute wait inside. Speaking of the inside, the decorum of Stephos is not as bad as I expected from the exterior. There are almost two different dining rooms as the section on the immediate left is elevated a bit and is separated from the rest of the establishment by a walking area for patrons who have just arrived. This gives the illusion that the entire space is a lot bigger than it actually is. As for the overall ambience, the feel is very rustic, and nothing too over the top to set itself apart.

As for the food, it’s fine. A regular order of lamb souvlaki consists of one skewer of meat (the same portion for whatever type of meat you order), a pretty standard greek salad, rice, and roasted potatoes. A small bone to pick that isn’t very uncommon to a lot of Greek joints is that the meat is pretty dry. It’s seasoned well yes, but I’d happily concede some salt for some moistness. The big problem I found, however, was the ratio of meat to greens and starches. There was just way too much other stuff and not enough meat. You could order the large portion, which doubles up on the skewers, but even then, the ratio would still be a little off. One of the highest praise I hear about Stepho’s is the low prices one gets for so much food. And while I have to say the prices are very reasonable, I would’ve of happily sacrificed half of my starches for some more meat.

As for other items on the menu, the Roast Lamb (which is Stepho’s specialty) is rather dull. The kitchen held back a bit too much on the seasoning, and the same ratio problems applied. The pita souvlaki (I’ve tried the chicken and lamb) are about as run as the mill as it can come, and all the old problems seem to crop up. The tstaksi sauce is fine but hardly transcendent and on par with the culinary creativity of the folks at the “My Big Fat Greek Restaurant” chain. In fact the whole menu is pretty much on par with MBFGR. And in this case that is pretty much a damning indictment on Stepho’s, whose reputation by the people makes the restaurant out to be some sort of Zeus-like god.

It’s hard to discern if the very core of Greek food and the regular staples that make up the cuisine is what kills creativity in Stephos. As for me, I happen to think the problem is with the word of mouth and the ridiculous idolatry that hovers around this place. It has seemingly brainwashed the kitchen into a horribly bad status quo stupor. Sure it’s priced well and the food is decent, but does that redeem a meal? It’s definitely a stretch to say that I could find the same happiness in a Jr. Bacon cheeseburger meal at Wendy’s, but the fact that I at least think it’s a distant possibility means Stepho’s needs to step it up.