Amy always complains that there aren’t very many good restaurants in the Fort Pierce area. Although the selection isn’t as extensive as Greenville, I figured there had to be some hidden gems. I had driven through downtown Fort Pierce and spotted a couple of potential targets. Tonight, Laura and I decided to try Yianni’s Greek Cafe, located on Orange Avenue.
Atmosphere
Stark. There are a few tables with 1960’s styled dinette tables. My view was of plain white walls with only two pieces of art. Laura’s view, on the other hand, was quite different. There was a wall mural with a Greek country-side, and a painting of a semi-nude Venus.
Menu
All of the items are Greek. This isn’t one of those Greek-Italian places like so many in Greenville. There are a few appetizers (5), a matching number of (5), and exactly the same number of salads (5). There were quite a few more entree’s. Prices for the first three groups ranged from about $6.25 to $8.25. The entree’s started around $10.95 and ran to $16.95.
The entree’s came with choice of two sides, and pita points with three types of dipping sauce.
Food
We started with a nice Greek red wine – Kleoni Dry Red. We also ordered dolmades as an appetizer. These were brought along with the pita points and salads. The dolmades were served with a lemon sauce, but they tasted oddly of fish. Unfortunately, so did the salads. The tart acidic tang just wasn’t there. The pita points were a nice palate cleanser, but even the dipping sauces were just a bit odd. One was even a combination of caviar with potato.
Laura had ordered the Kota Reganate with lemon potatoes. This turned out to be a herb-covered chicken breast with lemon sauce. The flavors were wonderful, and thankfully, didn’t taste like fish. I ordered the Athenian Chicken, with was covered in a tomato sauce with feta cheese, served with spinach rice. Mine was OK, but Laura’s was the clear winner. The tomato sauce could have used a touch more seasoning, and the spinach tended to overpower the rice.
We decided to go for broke and have dessert. Laura ordered the galaktobouriko (or, as I called it, Klaatu, barata nikto.) This was phyllo dough filled with a light custard and covered with honey. It was fantastic. I had the kataifi, which consisted of various nuts stuffed into a shell made of shredded phyllo, and covered with honey. It was also great, but once again, Laura had the winning combination.
Service
This is hard to explain. Our waitress was older, but apparently was new to the cafe. There were a couple of questions about the menu that she couldn’t answer. However, she was efficient and friendly. That couldn’t be said for the rest of the staff. The hostess was surly, and the other waitress was downright rude. She even chided our waitress right in front of us for not doing something correctly. I’m just hoping ours doesn’t turn out like the others when she’s been there awhile.
Conclusion
The reviews are mixed. Yianni’s would be much, much better if everything didn’t taste like fish. The entree’s and desserts were good.