broken plate

wonderful dinner!!!. we had a quick business dinner this week at the broken plate - willow park. it was absolutely fabulous. we had the prawn entree & calamari salad. both dishes were absolutely delicious!!! the one thing i want to point out most is how amazing their staff is! so friendly, attentive & professional - this is really fantastic!! i would really recommend thisrestaurantto everyone!!!!

was at the broken plate in willow park on thursday for dinner with a friend and the lovely kate was our server, not only was she personable, but very efficient and knowledgeable re questions pertaining to various types of wine and specials that were being offered. she is definitely an asset to this charming gem of arestaurantand should be commended for going above and beyond the extra mile to ensure customers are satisfied. thanks kate

i should of wrote this review about a month ago but i don't even know why i didn't get to it.

my husband and i ordered a few items with broken plate, through skip the dishes. the food was hot, fresh, and tasted great! however, we were eating in the dark on the couch watching a movie and this was one of the few times that i didn't double check my order... i specifically put "black pepper allergy" in the comments of each dish. i am luckily not deathly allergic, but i get projectile vomiting from black pepper pretty quickly, & diahrea usually the next day.

i found out the hard way that the chef clearly doesn't care about allergies because i go to eat my last dish and i can see a ton of specks in it even though the room is dark. i call therestaurantmanager and he is apologetic but he blames it on skip saying they didn't tell him. fyi a few mins later the vomiting starts! lucky me.

so naturally, my husband messages skip and loses it on them. this is before we realized that we should double check to see if it was on the receipt. well... the mgr lied!!!! it was on the receipt!!! so, now i go from being pissed off but assertive to pissed the f- off. not telling, but i'm mad.

they remade the order without pepper and gave me two coupons for 20% off i believe it was. i gave the food to my husband because now i'm vomiting and i sure can't eat it... not to mention now i don't trust them.

i honestly feel like restaurants don't take some allergies seriously, and i don't know if it was a one-off or not, but i won't be trying them again!!! yes their food tasted amazing... but if you have food allergies, i probably wouldn't suggest going there.

not what it used to be.

this had been our favourite greekrestaurantin calgary for years. it had a cozy ambiance to it and served the perfect greek comfort food. we have been twice since their renovation. the reno is nice and has the famous blue and white colours of greece.

however, the food is really disappointing. rather than being the comforting food that we knew, they have changed the food to be modern contemporary. we understand what they are trying to do but after doing such great food for 15 years, why change it?

the menu used to be large but is now really reduced and not so great. they used to have a good selection of dips but now only have the beet hummus and tzatziki. the main dishes have also been cut back.

to start, we had the beet hummus and the dolmades. the hummus tasted good but the portion size was absurd. it more about presentation than the food. when we used to get the hummus, we would have to order more pita because there was so much. now, there was barely any between the two of us. 

for our mains, we had the chicken souvlaki and pork ribs. both were nice. i am really disappointed that they removed the original salmon dish from the mains (salmon in filo with spinach and cheese). it was delicious.

we had the baklava cheesecake for dessert which was fine but has again been completely changed from what it used to be.

we also noticed that what used to be a bustlingrestaurantand hard to get a table at was not even half full. unfortunately, we feel like it has gone downhill and won't be returning.

i've been meaning to go here for ages, but just haven't found the right partner/circumstances but that changed recently.  after 2 closed-down restaurants in a row, the broken plate became the next up on the list and that turned out to be fortuitous because we loved the place.  there is outside eating if you chose, but we ate inside.  therestaurantis cozy and pleasant.  our server was helpful and ran us through the menu options with explanations for dishes we were unfamiliar with.  drinks were the first order of the day, and at $9.25 the red wine sangria was delightful, if a bit premium at $9.25.  we followed with some pepper-based dip and pita and my eating companion wouldn't let it be taken away until every last bit was cleaned out of the bowl.  we were both anxious to try the greek lemon-based soup (avgolemono?) and were not disappointed.  at some places, the broth is too clear or too lemony.  the broken plate gets it just right with one of the best versions i have tasted in a long while.  we shared some lamb ragout pappardelle and it was fantastic as well.  so, basically 4 big hits for 4 orders.  we will be back to try some of the other traditional greek dishes.  and yes, they do break plates here!  we watched another family do a ceremonial plate breaking by one of their children in celebration of a birthday.  she got a big kick out of it as did we.

chart topping experience over here!  upon entry you are greeted by a polite hostess and ushered to a seat in a cuterestaurantwith modern greek music playing.  you can't help but get in the mood for an authentic experience.

i tried the lamb shank and my wife tried the ionian pasta.  the lamb was tender fall off your bone and seasoned perfectly.  the tenderness was ridiculous, and a definite encore order for me in the near future.  the ionian pasta was loaded with in shell mussels, fresh calamari, and the shrimp that you should share .. but you end up eating all yourself.  

servers checked on me often, and not just one, but others too.  made me feel like they operate as one family rather than territorial paycheque players.  amazing.

what took the cake for me was the gm coming out to check on our table.  all class with some background on our meals and a genuine desire to befriend us.  

it worked, we are coming back and on the regular.

phenomenal.

it's a greatrestaurantwith a good vibe. good service and delicious food. it's a tad too dark but overall great place to go out and eat! i would recommend this place!

do not bother booking a reservation at this restaurant.  this was the second time we booked a reservation and they didn't have a table.  the food brought us back for a birthday, but once again we waited 20 minutes and finally left and had to go to a differentrestaurantas we had event tickets after dinner.  food is good, location is small and tables are almost on top of each other.  you will be waiting the same length of time whether you reserve or not.

cute little greekrestaurantdown in willow park. the food has been quite nice every time i have come in and the service was very pleasant. the food is not super authentic but it's decent. i would recommend the saganaki.

i ate here for the first time today not knowing what to expect. the food was good and the staff friendly. therestaurantwas clean and the only reason i didn't rate it higher is there is a lot on the menu that i can't eat (mushrooms tomatoes seafood). lots of gluten free options as well

excellent like always. we love this place for the fresh and well prepared food and for the fantastic service. this our favourite greekrestaurantin the city. try wine wednesday $20 on all bottles that are not served by the glass!

great experience. we were very pleased. thisrestauranthad been our adult son's choice for his birthday. the food was very good, the service was excellent, and the prices seemed reasonable. i would happily go to thisrestaurantagain.

overpriced, mediocre. calgary needs to look to montreal for greekrestaurantinspiration - montreal is full of inexpensive, fabulous greek restaurants. anyway, i digress. broken plate is incredibly overpriced and the food is mediocre. i won't be back!

an expensive joke. i went to broken plate in willow park for lunch with three girlfriends. service was rather slow - we waited a while for our food even though therestaurantwasn't that busy. my real problem with this place was my food: i ordered a large horiatiki salad with prawns. the salad was food court quality - bland tomatoes, three olives, a salty dressing. and the prawns? i got two of them, for $5. when i told the server i had honestly expected more than two prawns on my prawn skewer, he sent over the manager, who explained that they used to give three prawns (oh, the generosity!) but now they switched suppliers and these prawns, the two of them that i received, are bigger. first, i don't care, and second, really? my friends and i just laughed. a very disappointing $17 salad, i have to say.

never fails to disappoint!. ever since i first visited the broken plate, i've kept coming back and am always leaving satisfied, with a full stomach, practically in a food-induced coma.

my last visit was no different! my girlfriend and i were looking for a nice place to go for new year's eve dinner, and i, being the procrastinator that i am, didn't reserve a table at arestaurantin preparation for our evening. after debate between us, i suggested the broken plate, considering she had never been, and i haven't been back in a while. so, i called, and had them save a table for us, which was pretty sweet considering they were packed.

when we arrive, we're seated right away and greeted by our very friendly server, i think her name was megan?

anyways, since it was new year's eve, they had a pre-set menu with four courses and different options for each course. they even had a belly-dancer perform for everyone, very neat!

i started with an order of calamari, served with tzatziki. it was breaded just perfectly, wasn't slimy or overcooked. my girlfriend had an order of greek meatballs, which she enjoyed as well.

second course was a simple greek salad, with fresh feta (lots of feta, which i love). veggies were nice and fresh also.

for the main entrée, i had braised lamb shoulder served with mashed potatoes and veggies, served with this delicious sauce/glaze (can't recall what it was made of). it was absolutely delicious. the meat was so tender and juicy. my girlfriend order the aaa tenderloin, medium-rare, which was also very delicious as well (i just had to sneak a bite).

finally, there was dessert. we ordered the "duo of chocolates", which was basically a white chocolate/bailey's crème liqueur mousse served in a dark chocolate bowl, topped with fresh raspberries and a raspberry glaze. this was one of the best desserts i've had at a restaurant! we both enjoyed it very much, and at the end of it, we were both very very stuffed!

the service provided by everyone was fantastic, the food was delicious, which proved to be a great end to 2012 for my girlfriend and i. i'll definitely return again soon. keep up the fantastic work everyone at the broken plate in willow park!