Taverna Opa, a spacious new restaurant located on the second level of Pointe Orlando, is touted for having “authentic Greek cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere.” While this eatery is large on the inside, in terms of décor and ambiance it’s extremely bare and almost warehouse-like in appearance.
As for the food, my party ordered the traditional Greek favorite of flaming cheese and fried zucchini as appetizers. While I found the flaming cheese to be more “sizzle” than flame, I joyfully gobbled up the zucchini. These appetizers, paired with the fresh humus and pita wedges that are served in lieu of bread, were filling enough to act as my meal. However, with one taste of my entrée - a traditional gyro - I knew I would have to find a way to make room for this delicious treat. It was hands down the best gyro I’ve ever sampled.
Around 7:30 p.m., music was cranked up loud (too loud for conversation to continue) and a belly dancer made her appearance. She shook her hips past tables and pulled some unsuspecting gentlemen out of the crowd to dance with her. After that, she jumped on the tables to dance, twirled scarves, and even danced with (and swallowed) fire. This entertainment livened up the atmosphere completely, and it became quite clear that Taverna Opa is really intended more as a nighttime dining spot.
The night I was there I saw a lot of large parties seated together at long tables and I’d have to say that this restaurant does seem like the perfect place to take a group of friends for good food and an entertaining show … as long as you don’t mind hollering over the music (or getting sucked into a belly dancing show).
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5 Comments for “Restaurant Review: Taverna Opa at Pointe Orlando”
December 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 am
[…] you’re looking for early-week entertainment, you might want to give Taverna Opa a try on Tuesday […]
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
We celebrated our friend’s birthday at “Tavern Opa” in Orlando last night and had a fun, excellent and truly unique time. What a great start in the new year it turned out to be as well!
Our server was not only extremely kind, but ensured with her very obliging personality an outstanding service from the moment she welcomed everyone with a hand shake, until the moment we left your tavern. The DJ / music was great, the belly dancer nice to watch, the food tasty, flavorful and delicious, and the entire atmosphere so casual, relaxing and “European”.
We have already shared our positive experiences with our friends and family, and will continue recommending this restaurant to others as a guarantee for an unforgettable time. We are planning to visit again very soon ourselves.
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I’ve been to this restaurant in miami and orlando and as someone who has had a ton of greek food, opa’s food is by far the worst. The service at the orlando location was awful especially with their rule about everyone has to order at least 15 dollars worth of food to even sit at a table. My friend had just gotten over a stomach flu and wasn’t planning on eating. She just wanted to join some friends she hadn’t seen in years. The waitress told her that she had to order something if she wanted to sit down. My friend told her that she physically couldn’t and the waitress told her that that was her problem and that she’s tired of people not listening to her. The opa’s in orlando refused to split checks. The staff basically was just trying to hustle people through dinner to increase their turnover. it was pathetic. but still, overall, the biggest disappointment was the quality of the food. having been to greece and to hundreds of mediterranean restaurants in the u.s., this food made me gag. don’t waste your money or time.
July 25th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I went to this restaurant with some girlfriends, and we had a reservation for 7 pm. About 8:15 our waitress informed us mid-meal that we needed to leave within 15 minutes so that another reservation could be fulfilled. When we asked to speak to the manager he was extremely rude and wasn’t helpful in the slightest. We vowed never to go there again after the way we were treated. We were paying customers and should have been treated with more respect. We were very disappointed with our experience at Taverna Opa
September 24th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I went to Taverna Opa on Sat. had a great time waited like 35 min but it was well worth it! I had there fresh seafood i think it was called Thalasino “Ocean Platter in Greek as my waiter told me” It was really yummy! I cant imagine why anyone would complain about this place its so much fun! I noticed someone complained about the ordering 15 dollars worth of food situation…. ITS ONLY NATURAL THAT YOU ORDER FOOD AT A RESTAURANT!!! I can see why they do that the line is HUGE! People really like this place and I would not want to wait forever because some person wants to sit and drink water! Its not fair! We were a group of 5 and you know they split our check evenly five ways…..so i don’t know why everyone says they don’t split because they do. My only honest complaint is the parking that PLAZA needs to make a walk-way from the parking lot that is enclosed! It rains and were soaked!!!!!!! Thank god that OPA gave us some umbrellas otherwise it would have been a nightmare. SO finally I am concluding that OPA is a fun place for those who go out to eat drink and dance! IF YOUR GOING OUT TO DRINK WATER STAY HOME AND WATCH LOST OR SOMETHING!
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