Restaurant Review: Panos Kouzina

Denis Baldwin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:09:35 +0000

Kara and I were feeling in the mood for Greek Food, so we tried our hand at Panos Kouzina (3101 State Road 580 # G, Safety Harbor, FL 34695-4923, (727) 797-2667), Safety Harbor’s little Greek eatery with big taste and exceptional service. The layout is simple but elegant, seating about 30-35 people at most. Being in a strip mall, I generally wouldn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised by the portion size, quality of food, attention to detail in the service and the overall positive experience we had.

Since we had a coupon in the Entertainment book for Buy One, Get One, we decided to go all out and try a few extras. Firstly, we tried the French Onion Soup. I know what you’re saying, why would anyone order FRENCH onion soup in a GREEK restaurant? Why not?! It was on the menu, and I had to try it. I’m very glad I did. They got it exactly right, including rich beefy broth, plenty of cheese and the bread inside of just the right consistency. Every bite was great. Even Kara, who usually doesn’t like FOS, enjoyed it.

We also got a greek salad to split. It was exactly as it should have been, relying on lots of chunked feta, olives, sweet peppers and a home made Greek Dressing. The dressing was exactly the way I like it too, more oily with spices and herbs than creamy. It was definitely a great appetizer and actually filled me up more than I wish it would have.

With the soup and salad, they brought out some bread. It was soft throughout with a nice buttery crunch, dusted with herbs and garlic. If all bread was like this, I’d be a thousand pounds. By the time I had worked my way through the bread, I was actually getting too full to enjoy my coming entree. I decided to soldier on and eat it anyway.

My entree, the 3-Meat Gyro Platter, wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be but I was very pleased with the results. When I think of a platter, I imagine piles of meat and vegetables all deconstructed, waiting for me to make it into the final result. What I got was six separate half-sandwiches, comprised of chicken, lamb and pork. Construction aside, the food was delicious. The meats were succulent and cooked just right, complimented by the richest and most decadent Tzatziki sauce I’ve ever eaten. I could tell this sauce was home made because the garlic was so aromatic and flavorful that I found myself licking it off my fingers like a feverish dog. I even got some to go, which I found myself putting on everything from omelettes to toast to biscuits over the next week. Amazing. That’s all I can say about it. The sauce alone would be worth the price of admission, but it was an awesome center to an all around excellent meal.

Kara had the Tuscan Alfredo, a Fettuccini Alfredo dish tossed with spinach, tomatoes and grilled chicken. She had them add artichokes because she’s been on this artichoke kick lately. She continued to comment as she ate it that it was creamy and flavorful. I snuck a bite and was also very impressed. I’m amazed by how many people mess up Alfredo, but Panos does it just right.

This is an excellent value in dinner. With our coupon, everything said and told was under $30 for the two of us, including all the extras, drinks and the tip for the exceptional service. Throughout dinner, we continued to make “Manos: Hands of Fate” jokes at each other, a play on the name of the restaurant and that horrible Mystery Science Theatre 3000 movie. All jokes aside, this was a first class meal and I had left overs for 2 full days afterwords. The next time I find myself in Safety Harbor, I’m going back for more.

MyTampaLife » Safety Harbor

Restaurant Review: Panos Kouzina