Oviedo has gone Greek

1802 W Broadway St
Oviedo, FL 32765

This free standing building has been home to several different restaurants over the years, and each time a new one opens I stop in to check it out and usually leave very disappointed. When I saw the sign go up for Pete's Taverna I was willing to give it a try, but wasn't expecting much. When we entered I was happy to see that the new owners had at least put in new tables and chairs, the last few times the place changed names nothing inside changed. Still I felt like the atmosphere was lacking and was very skeptical, but the people who greeted us were very friendly and so we decided to give it a shot.  

We were greeted by a friendly server who seemed a bit nervous but was nice enough. We ordered our drinks and the three dips tzatziki, eggplant, and hummus  appetizer. The portion was huge and our server made sure to bring us more pita points before we ran out. 

The dips were all very good, but I would recommend finding a way to plate them all on one dish.

For dinner my husband ordered the lamb chops medium rare. They were cooked perfectly, and the flavor was amazing, seasoned just right. I was jealous at first, but then I tried my moussaka, for those of you not familiar with Greek food, moussaka  is a casserole made by layering eggplant and/or potatoes with a spiced meat filling then topped off with bechamel sauce and baked. This dish was amazing, the potatoes were sliced thin, the eggplant was cooked right and the meat was seasoned perfectly. The food was fantastic and for that I will definitely be back. If I had to guess, I would say the owner was a chef with little front of the house experience, because the food was outstanding and the dining area was seemingly an afterthought. My husband will go into detail about the front of the house areas that need to be tightened up, there are a few. I will finish by saying that I hope this place makes it, though they have some work to do the food is amazing and with a little work this place can be great. 

The Husband:

I want to remind the people reading this that my points are intended to be a help to the Owner/Managers and in no way are intended to be negative but rather an outside look on things that if changed can help increase revenue.

There are five main categories that I will use:

1.      Curb appeal,  First impression, and Ambiance

2.      Greeting, Friendliness, and Personality

3.      Food quality and Service Standards

4.      Cleanliness and Upkeep

5.      Value for price paid

Scores will range from 1 to 5 with 5 being the best.

Turn on lights

1.      Curb appeal: This standalone building has been a few different restaurants in the past so for a while I didn’t even notice that the sign had changed. Not really much you can do about that on a limited budget.

 First impression: When we walked in, the lights were off, giving me the impression it was closed. Then the host came up to us after seating another guest and saved us from walking out with her warm greeting.

 Ambiance:  This can definitely be worked on. There is little soul to the restaurant. Lights burnt out, wall sconces not turned on, pictures on wall are too small and the music in the dining area was quite low making the other table’s conversation the only thing you could listen to. These are all little things that the average consumer may not directly notice but in the back of their mind they are thinking something is wrong. All the above can be changed for little to no cost. Score- 3

2.       Greeting, friendliness, personality: The host was great and eventually became our server. I can see this becoming a problem if busy but it was a Tuesday and Labor costs are the biggest expense to a restaurant, just be careful on days you will be busy. The server was very warm and inviting. Score 5

3.       Food quality and service standards: The food was the hot topic of our meal! Exceptional flavor and cooked perfectly. I’m not a food critic, but I was amazed. My lamb chops were cooked to a perfect medium rare, the plate presentation and taste were outstanding. Score 5++

Polish wine glasses

4.       Cleanliness and upkeep: Got to hit the management on this one as well. Having owned a business of my own I can understand not having the money to make things look just like you might want them. What I don’t understand is cleanliness that costs the Management/Owner nothing but their time. The windows had finger prints on the inside and caked on dirt on the outside. A couple of the ceiling tiles were damaged and worn looking. The wine glasses MUST be polished!

      Service standards: work on having the server tell the specials when they first walk up. This is a new restaurant, so be a little more engaging, ask if the guests have been there before, talk about menu items, make specific suggestions. Score 2

5.       Value for price paid: If the above mentioned problems were addressed and we were not drinking wine out of glasses that were covered in finger prints then I would say it was worth the money. The food saved the day and I will try it again, but if the problems still exist I would be hesitant about going back. Score 4