This restaurant was recommended by friends. I had never heard of it, and couldn't even picture it -…read moreeven though the location meant I must have passed by it dozens of times. As the previous review here states, taking a look at the reviews on t'interweb proved very interesting reading. Just what exactly was being recommended here? I'm not sure I've ever seen so many one star reviews, but if anything that just made me more intrigued to check the restaurant out. It would be either Man vs Food, or Man vs Food Poisoning.
On arrival, I was completely surprised before even entering. How the heck had I never even noticed this place? Talk about unassuming - this was invisible! Also, the name hardly gives any indication of what is inside. Who ever heard of a Greek taverna called the Beefeater? You really can't judge a book by its cover though, and nor (for that matter) from what it looks like internally - though it seems many of the reviews have done just this. I entered, and was totally disappointed at first. Not because it didn't look good, or because it looked dated, or because it was filthy. These, after all, were what I was almost expecting, given the previous reviews. To me, it just looked like any Greek taverna I have frequented in Cyprus or the Greek Islands - not so much dated, as timeless. And certainly not filthy. Simple yes, but very clean.
The menu had the expected meals, and I was torn between choosing the kleftiko, the stifado, the dolmades, or the moussaka. In the end, I went for the moussaka and my wife went for the kleftiko. For starters, she chose the tzatziki, and I went for the hoummus and bastourma. The starters were so reasonably priced, it seemed silly not to try a couple. In fact, after finishing the main, I went for another starter (the dolmades) before dessert!
The food is actually really, really good. I didn't think it was particularly oily at all (as some reviews stated). The bastourma was in oil, but that's pretty much the nature of the beast! I chose the hoummus because it has a couple of bad reviews, but it's as good as any hoummus I've ever had - and certainly better than anything you will buy from a supermarket! Not only is the food really, really good, but it's really good value for money. As a comparison for the value for money, we dined at a pub today where one starter cost more than twice the price of two starters at the Beefeater, and was a smaller portion. (It didn't taste as good either...)
The service is also very good. In fact, it was great throughout. The waiter (the owner/chef's son) was attentive without being intrusive, and was very genial and friendly. His humour was appreciated at our table, and by the end of the meal we had built up quite a rapport. While we were one of only two tables when we started our meal, the restaurant was filling up by the time we finished. When you think about it, for a restaurant to stay in business for the good three decades or so that previous reviews suggest it has, then the food and service has to be better than the one star reviews suggest. Either that, of those one star reviews are made by diners who are actually trying to keep one of Bury's best kept secrets to themselves.
This may well have been the first time I have visited, but it will certainly not be the last - and I will be recommending this restaurant too.
