Review Minoas Greek Taverna - Burnaby

Delicious roast lamb, but everything else was a disappointment. Bland salad without even a single olive. Lacklustre sides. Slow, apathetic service. I don't think we'll be back, but I must compliment the chef on our roast lamb. Tender and juicy with a beautifully seared, crisp and delicious crust. Just a shame about everything else.

Good food and taste good but for my own prospective the portion is too small Compare to other greek restaurants, the cheese cake i order it was frozen on top but went on the bottom, the service is good I love the ambiance garden and greek style

Returned after a spell to the same charming restaurant and friendly family staff for a guaranteed great Greek dinner. We've eaten here numerous times over the years and they never disappoint. Started with their greek salad then shared a saganaki. My wife had their Greek ribs and I went with their souvlaki of lamb and chicken. Entres served with Greek rice, grilled carrots and Greek potatoes. Jackson Trigg wine to compliment it all. Another great dinner at Minoas..and asked for their homemade biscotti to go. Excellent. Normally I take pics but got right into the food so I borrowed some.

Okay, it was my first time coming here. I came with some friends and ordered the two Platters that they offered on the menu (one was seafood). Food was delicious. The meats were all cooked and seasoned well. The rice was really good (plus points for that one). For the price of $60 (more or less), though, I kind of expected more in terms of serving size. However, the taste was nowhere near disappointing. 4/5 Staff were friendly and accommodating. They weren’t as visible as they are in other places but I presumed that was because they were busy that night. 4/5 Ambience was lovely! We dines on the second floor where it had a garden theme to it. It reminded me of a hidden-away cafe I went to before. 5/5 I would definitely come back here and recommend it!

Yummmmmm!!!! Everything was very flavorful and so tasty. The ambiance feels like you are in Greece, having dinner at your friend's family house. Very homey and comfortable.

Ordered in the moussaka dinner and calamari dinner. Salad was unconventional Greek, they added lettuce however taste was standard. Moussaka dinner was very good flavour-wise, good spices, perfect amount of béchamel sauce and ground beef. However the calamari dinner seemed too small a portion of calamari and was chewy. The rice was not very flavourful, a little bland however the roasted vegetables were good, nice and buttery. Unfortunate that the pita was burned and inedible.

Amazing experience! 👏 Food delicious,😋 pleasant ambiance. Service excellent. My family chose this wonderful place for my birthday dinner. I am so happy they brought me there, I enjoyed very much.👍😊 😃 👌

Hands down the best Greek restaurant in Lower Mainland. Lovely ambient, excellent service, if you're looking for authentic Greek experience, from delicious food to warm and welcoming owners, this is the place to go. Been here so many times over the years and they never disappoint!

• Got this deal from Groupon $9 for $20; tip your servers well :)<br/>• This Greek resto has been here for a while now. I’ve been here a couple of times and I still like going here once in a while<br/>• the place looks like a house, not as busy when I came on a weekday. <br/>• Calamari (Kalamarakia) $11 for an appie: a bit greasy but good as always! I love that its tender & crunchy <br/>• Saganaki $11: deep fried cheesy goodness<br/>• Deep Fried zucchini sticks: topped with Parmesan cheese. I suggest use fresh Parmesan cheese instead of the “Kraft” like texture<br/>• Service: is ok, I think the older lady is the owner. She’s ok but I can tell she’s not very happy... no smiles, just like a serious grandma. Anyways, all good though.<br/>• Food is good but not the best. I would still come back and have the Calamari!

The food was great! The atmosphere was really inviting, fun, kind of kitchy, like other Greek places I've been to.  The food was so great, the normal selection that you'd expect at a Greek Restaurant, good quality! Neat selection of beverages, and a really YUMMY selection of desserts, something I've never seen at a restaurant like this! There wasn't a really large parking lot but there was ample street parking. It is a family-run business and it shows in all the right ways. They did a great job with our large group, and I really appreciate their efficiency. I'm not sure why this has previously received low ratings, it's a great Greek Restaurant! The people around my hubby and I, also enjoyed all their food!

Minoas Greek Tavern has been around for a long time now, since the 80s or early 90s I believe! It is slightly hidden behind some trees and the Skytrain covers it a bit. It is located just off Boundary Road, across from Central Park.<br/><br/>Yemista, $15.95: The yemista was peppers stuffed with beef, tomato, and rice.

I’ve always wondered what that shanty looking two story house was on Kingsway. Upon closer inspection…I realized it was a restaurant! While out with the family one night, we decided to give this joint a try to see what the hubbub was about.

This place was very uninviting and not sure if it was because we had a groupon voucher. We went right when they opened for dinner so it wasn't even busy. The lady that served us was not friendly at all and did not even bother to check on us while we were dining but was chit chatting with other customers. While the dinner platter was quite plentiful, taste was below average. Food was cold and tasted bland. The lamb was probably the only thing that tasted decent. Tzaziki sauce tasted funny too..could't quite pinpoint what it was but it definitely was different compared to the other greek restaurants.<br/>If they are using Groupon to attract more customers..it ain't happening. <br/>

This place is very nice. I like the ambiance of it. The food is great as well. A good sub for Stepho's if you don't wanna head Downtown. Price is pretty decent.

Been here once, had shrimps with rice, was decent, nothing great to write home about. The ambience is great though, very very homely and cozy.

在本拿比Kingsway路上有一家開業超越30年的希臘餐廳Minoas Taverna，老闆Chronakis一家人是來自希臘的移民，他們買下這座房子時原意是用來自住的，其後在1986年將他們的住家改建成為希臘餐廳，由家族成員經營，很有特色，也維持著一定的水準，所以多年來一直受到食客們的歡迎。這裡給人有點像家的感覺，很多客人從餐廳開業以來就經常光顧，與餐廳老闆成了多年的朋友，看着他們的孩子長大成人。在這家餐廳，可以吃到地道的希臘餐，感受到濃濃的希臘風情。<br/><br/>餐廳是一座兩層高的古老獨立屋，外觀非常特別，看似童話故事裡的城堡，餐房位於二樓，地下一層主要用作廚房和店主的私人家庭廳。餐廳場地很大，其中分隔為數個廳堂，環境採用的色彩是希臘典型藍和白，天花四周佈滿人工的常春藤及各式傳統擺設，顧客欣賞着希臘風情，享受着希臘民族音樂，在這樣的環境中用餐，是令人難忘的美好體驗。我前後光顧過這家餐廳多次，但由於餐房的裝飾實在太美了，所以每次都會拍下一大堆照片，放在文章裡供大家欣賞！

I love Greek and all their lamb dishes, their shoulders and loins are always so tender flavourful with their spice rubs. Going to Burnaby, I’ve gone by Minoas many times be it driving or transit. It’s not hard to miss an out-of-placed old Greek mansion right underneath the Skytrain. So when I finally got the chance to try it I was majorly disappointed.

Wont Be Going Back. Just not worth it, as there are so many other great places. There must have once been a flare, but that passion is gone. Had the seafood pasta. Yuck! Way too much garlic and the tails of the prawns had fallen off in the pasta. I had a few crunchy surprises. Not at all inviting. Not a thank you for coming not even a smile. Too bad.

Not going back. Staff are too snobby except for the guy.

Not good. I ate there more then two months ago and it STILL bothers me that people who don't care about their reputation can somehow run a restaurant. The waitress was snobby and overworked because they were too cheap to hire another one, my prawns WERENT cleaned properly (the line of poo and intestines was still attached... GROSS!), and the other food I ate seemed like it had been frozen at some point. Also, there was a weird smell in the premises upon entry - I wish I had turned around and left. I don't even usually complain but basically the food wasn't prepared properly, wasn't fresh, and I would rather starve then try that place again.

Delicious Gyro. Especially the tatziki on it. Bread was super fluffy too and the grilled chicken delicious.

No service. Service is soooooo long ZzzZzzz... I'm hungryyy euurrrrr !

Great little hole in the wall. Delicious.

Always Good Food. My wife and I have eaten at Minoas now, maybe 5 times per year for the last 10 years. We have never had anything but a good meal, every time. I know we all have our different tastes in food, so a good or a bad review does not always mean so much.<br/><br/>However, I tend to read the reviews from diners who I can tell know also how to cook. We cook everything at home from scratch. Nothing from a can or package or precooked. So real "home cooking", including all home made sauces from scratch. We find that Minoas has that home cooked flare. Of course it is Greek food, so the spices may not be what you are used to. We have eaten at 4 or 5 other Greek restaurants in the greater Vancouver area, and always prefer Minoas. <br/><br/>So I guess it comes down to your taste buds. If you like your food very salty and heavily spiced, which I find to be common among diners who don't know how to cook, then Minoas may not be for you. If you like your food to have subtle flavors,and good sized portions prepared with care, then Minoas is a good bet. After 10 years we have yet to be disappointed.

Love this place. Hey, I work at the building next door...(the big one-not the "return it " depot. LOL) We schedule the odd lunch here every so often, and I've always enjoyed the food here. A few of the diners at our table commented that they liked Rami's further down Kingsway better, so we had our last group meal there. I found rami's food to be very bland & ...well..."unGreek" tasting, like it had been cooked by someone who wasn't Greek. It just didn't have enough of the elements I expect in my Greek food...lemon, garlic, olive oil & oregano. I really like Minoa's Moussaka & Souvlaki and have found they treat you like a family member.

That's such a shame. Minoas used to be so good. It's my friend's parent's restaurant. My friend now lives in Crete. I haven't been there is years, i was thinking of going there this week, but wasn't sure since last time i went there i noticed it wasn't the same. Must of got a new cook. Then reading these comments, i see it still isn't like it used to be. So will have to check out somewhere else.

Even with the E-coupon, not really worth it.. Went there one beautiful summer day with my wife and we ordered the lamb shoulder dinners. Found the food to be quite bland & the lamb, while a decent size, was far too fatty. As others have stated, its very hit or miss coming here. Too bad it was a miss that day because we live in Burnaby and Minoas is a lot closer than Panos (on Marine drive just past Fraser in SE Vancouver. I hate wasting gas and love using coupon deals to save money, so the fact that we would rather drive three times as far to Panos and skip using my Minoas Entertainment book coupon or even buy a Groupon speaks volumes. We may try it again one day and see if we luck out and hit it on a "good" day. On our first and only visit a few years ago, we both walked out think "eh, even with the coupon, not worth it - lousy service, bland food & very, very fatty lamb shoulder". <br/><br/>Panos, Athenes, and most any Greek taverna in the Kits/Jericho part of town is better.

We used a groupon and well to be blunt it was the worst meal I have ever had. They said the value was $78 which it was not but that is not the point. The lamb was horrible potatoes over cooked. Overall very disappointing

Poor service and food. Went to Minoas for dinner on a Sunday evening. I had bought a Groupon last year and had to use it before it expired. Co-incidentally Minoas also has another Groupon on promotion but with a totally different menu to the one I had purchased. On arrival I showed the Host my groupon on my phone and he commented on that it was the groupon which allowed me to choose either a chicken or lamb platter. Drinks order was placed then when I placed my order for the meal I said that I'd like the lamb platter BUT the server said that I did not have a choice of lamb or chicken ONLY beef and chicken platter which by the way was disappointing. I tried to go back to my groupon to show her that the groupon was the one from last year BUT unfortunately after I pressed the redeemed button I was unable to show the server the options I had to choose from. <br/>The host who saw me press the redeemed button never came over to find out how the food was or if we were happy with everything. He just glanced over in our direction and then looked away. Putting all the facts together I understand why my order was already put in before I had told the server which one I had preferred to eat that night. Very sneaky seeing that I had no proof on a printed Groupon I had not leg to stand on to disagree with the server and or the host. The server had the attitude of I did not want to be here and just gave these looks and said you food is coming. It looks like they were under staffed that evening too. The food too was inadequate for two people. Our platter consists of hummus, tzatiki, pita, marinated mushrooms, deep fried calamari, two beef patties which were dry and small. The chicken Slovaki was one skewer cut in half. This meant that each person got two or three cubes of chicken seeing that the platter was made for two to share. Wow if this is the was they do business by trying to stretch or make the food go further I would definately not recommend Minoas to friends and family. I have been here twice before this incident and was happy with the service and food but not this time. That is all it takes to loose a customer and perhaps many more. <br/>Remember print your vouchers out and always insist that the host looks into the query and do not believe your server when they but your order in before you've even decided on what you want treat that evening.

Cheap food, nice service.. I got the Groupon deal and used them with some friends. The place was about half-full when I arrived, and out of six of us we ended up also ordering some appetizers and desserts. Overall I would say that the food was good; the lamb kept coming apart (so I had to pick some up with a spoon because a fork was just failing), and the calamari was nicely done and had big pieces. Some other things were okay but not stellar, such as the biftekia, which was inconsistent where one was nicely spiced but the other was bland. The bougatsa (an orange flavoured custard, wrapped in phyllo pastry and dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon) was really good for dessert and a nice way to end a meal. Overall, it's very much the stereotypical Greek place: family-run, nothing overly pretentious, with an old-world feeling to it. It's been there for years, and the age kind of shows. But all that said, I would rather have a good, honest meal than have one that's at a flashy place. And this fits the bill.

Reputation Not Reality. So a bunch of us went to Minoas tonight for dinner. We'd set our group to meet up around 715, and three of the five of us were early. After I arrived (approximately 7pm) the hostess came over and asked if we'd like anything to drink, we asked for water and said there'd be a couple more joining us shortly. ten minutes later we were told they were going to have to move us because they just got a call about a party of 18 coming for dinner. We were surprised they would accommodate such a big last minute request but as we'd not ordered anything yet we had no problem agreeing to move tables. 45 minutes later (so by this time it was now almost 8pm) we're finally displaced after one of our two missing companions arrived to another part of the restaurant. Ten minutes later we finally get to order drinks and appetizers, our last guest arrived, and we ordered our food. The saganaki - and I LOVE saganaki - was too-large a portion so the outside was overcooked, and they no longer set it ablaze as they supposedly used to which does actually affect the flavour. Shortly after, we received a greek salad with a very oily flavourless dressing and very little cheese, and then our main courses arrived. I had the lamb shoulder because I also love the way greeks do lamb. Now I do not know who works in the kitchen but they did not trim the meat. At all. Zero trimming done! I have never had meat that was a 1:1 ratio meat to fat before. It was bordering on disgusting despite how perfectly the meat itself was cooked. you couldn't taste any seasoning for all the fat. The potatoes were good, the carrots were overcooked, and I could not even eat the rice - in my first bite I had what looked like a roasted clove of garlic (which would have been delightful) and ended up instead with a mouthful of mushroom which I cannot eat. I felt sick the entire meal. The martini i had was delicious, and inspired me to pick up some pineapple juice on the way home so as to replicate it (as I already have blue curacao and melon liqueur), but the bougatsa I had for dessert tasted of nothing but cinnamon, icing sugar and pastry. The custard which supposedly was infused with orange flavour was more just texture and temperatures but no taste. All in all - I think the only place I've been to that was worse was Stephano's on Davie street. Every other greek restaurant I've been to was better than that! I am so glad I did not take the suggestion to have my birthday dinner there. It would have been an embarrassing suggestion for my entire family. The atmosphere is interesting, but the food is not worth the trip.

We had several different dishes and all were great! Fantastic moussaka! Nice atmosphere inside and fast friendly service. Big meals that were definitely worth the price.

Cute place with okay food. Minoas is situated on Kingsway. It is not that convenient by skytrain, but pretty easy to get to by car. It's in this cute little house like thing with a indoor balcony. I had the chicken souvlaki, like always and the chicken was really good. The potato on the plate however was another story. It must have been the worst potato I've ever had. Then for dessert I had some traditional greek dessert, it was okay, but I would probably not order it again.

Old Food.... We went here on the Sunday of the Labour Day weekend and we were very disappointed. The greek salad was the first sign that things were not so good. We are pretty spoiled in Vancouver by the quality and Greek salad should not include lettuce. When the main plates came there was alot of rice and a big piece of potato but we both very disappointed with the meat. I had the chicken and was quite a bit but man was it "dry" and it did not taste good at all. My girlfriend ordered the lamb and that too was a big piece of meat but it seemed to have been left over from eariler in the week when they have the $13.95 special and we paid $17.95. We think they gave the chef the long weekend off. When we mentioned it to our server who was very nice we were told it might have been a little over cooked. We will not be going back and our meal was not worth $40.00 without drinks or desert.

Easily some of the best Greek in the city. The service is sometimes slow, but the wait is worth it. The Kalamari and Kalamari Skaras (non-breaded, grilled calamari) are really fantastic, and the saganaki (cheese grilled in butter) is to die for. I don't know how they make their tzaziki sauce (maybe a touch of tahini in it?) but it's extra savoury, and the best I've had.

Classic blue and white paint around the house resembled what most of the peoples perception of Greece is. The restaurant was very spacious and good for parties. We were seated in the second floor and got to see a bar nested beside the kitchen entrance.

We now go to Asia’s neighbor, Europe for some Greek. I ordered the small combo souvlaki with lamb and chicken ($11.95). I fell in love with the herbs used for the meat, it was absolutely aromatic with it’s thyme and oregano.

in vancouver, we eat greek food either for souvlaki or for the roast lamb but on this special day, we had a social shopper coupon for minoas greek taverna which had a platter for $29 dollars. seeing as this was probably not enough we ordered a seafood pasta as well and that was a big mistake. dinner platter ($29 - original said to be $64)  2 skewers of chicken souvlaki, 2 biftekia spiced groud Beef patties, spanakopita spinach-pie appetizer, manitaria sautéed-mushrooms appetizer, plus 2 side Greek, 2 sides of rice, 2 sides of potatoes, pita bread & and appetizer tzatziki -  the food on this platter was pretty good although quite standard to me and nothing special about any of the different appetizers. the chicken breast was a little dry, the pita was not as fluffy and warm as i like, and the mushrooms were quite oily but overall, for $29, this wasn't bad but NOT WORTH $64 for sure. 3.5/5 seafood pasta ($18.95): this was NOT GOOD at all…it was very dry and had so little seafood i would've just named it a sauce-less plain pasta. on top of that the pasta was SUPER soft and the whole thing lacked salt and flavour. one of the worst pasta's id ever had. 0/5 overall: with the coupon, it wasn't a bad experience but there are better greek restaurants and this place isn't really cheap either. honestly,

...beef patties very soft and fluffy, like whipped ground beef; pita bread also very soft, would have loved some butter, but Minoas doesn't use butter, only margarine (serious points deducted here); tzatziki dip OK, too much cucumber used in the blending, making the end product too watery; chicken borderline dry; mushrooms tad too salty & oily; filo pastry hardly flaky at all...

The first thing we decided to try was the Dip Combo Platter  ($7.95) as our appetizer. The three dips were humus, made of chick pea and garlic; tzatziki, made of yogurt with cucumber and garlic; and tarama, made of red caviar fish roe pate. My boyfriend and I both thoroughly enjoyed all three with the pita bread that came with the platter. I personally love anything with garlic and it provided a nice mild kick to the dips. We also ordered two entrées, each which came with greek salad. This was not bad but nothing special. For the first entrée, we ordered the Seafood Pasta ($17.95), which was spaghetti with one or two pieces of tiger prawn and a mediocre amount of ca

It was another Groupon inspired dining trip – I recognize this place as I have passed by it numerous times but never really made it in. Through this chance, it was the perfect excuse to check this place out. Located right by the busy Kingsway and Boundary, Minoas Taverna has the Greek house outlook with a bit of hidden image. We were asked to head to the 2 nd floor where it was the dining area. We sat right by the back windows with natural lighting and bright blue and white décor. It has a very family oriented feeling. Dolmades ($7.95) – 5/6 This was recommended by our server. Essentially, it is vine leaves stuffed with rice and ground beef presented as a wrap. At first, we were interested to find out how vine leaves taste like. It has a very subtle taste – not too strong but with a unique aroma. It complimented the rice and ground beef well. Kleftico Platter ($36) Greek salad–n/a This was pretty standard Greek salad – refreshing yet not out of ordinary. Calamari – 4/6 Per

Minoas Taverna has been part of Burnaby since 1986. The restaurant is a large house, and the Chronakis family who own the restaurant actually lived there until a few years ago. The feel of the place is very homey. There are lots of pictures on the walls, and nicknacks from travels to Greece. There are vines that go around the celling and there’s plenty of natural light. All that is fine and dandy, but we were here for the food. A few months back, I purchased a Groupon for Minoas. It cost  me $36 for a dinner for two. I’ve never been here before and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I take the Skytrain everyday for work, and I’ve seen the large Greek house on Kingsway several times. I figured a restaurant with this kind of longevity must be doing something right. What we got for our Groupon was a large platter that featured the restaurant’s most popular dishes: Huge portions of roasted lamb, calamari and moussaka, together with sides of roasted potatoes, rice, hummus, tzatziki sauce and pit

After enjoying a half-dozen invites to restaurants by other food bloggers in GVRD, I thought it was my turn to organize something. So out went my call to Sherman , Kim , and Jessica (who's been on haitus, but is back! ) for dinner at this crazy looking pl

I went to Minoa's Restaurant the other day with a couple of co-workers. Minoa is a quaint little Greek restaurant in a house by Kingsway & Smith in Burnaby. The seating arrangement is a bit odd here. You enter through the ground floor of the house where t

Minoas has been in operation for as long as I can remember. I used to live in the area and *always* asked my mother about that "weird house on the hill that always had Christmas lights on". It wasn't until I was older that, armed with an entertainment boo

For the most part, most food blogger gatherings have been done by Sherman and myself, though, for the last one, it was Jenny who organized it. Out of the blue, Elaine asked if we wanted to go to Minoas Greek Taverna.