What to make of this place?…read more
When we visited in September (at that time), a wanna-be sports bar had just taken over the Greek taverna Blue Sea Taverna (before that, two iterations of Akrotiri). Both Greek tavernas had failed or gone out of business. So we were curious to see what changes had been made. When we entered, we were initially confused because the seating, especially the lounge seating, did not create a sports bar vibe. Even adding a bunch of TVs did not give us that feel either. Instead, our initial impression was that they were trying to convert an old Greek taverna into a gastropub, similar to other well-known ones in the area. And I should also add we had not been following the local news about the controversy regarding their name association with a World War II fortified bunker that was blown up at the end of the Second World War, and only read about the controversy over their name after we left, and on social media. Apparently, the owner(s) were most likely unaware of its historical context when naming their establishment. So we did not factor that into this review.
Upon entering the Wolf's Lair, the seating was that of a modified Mediterranean restaurant. We chose the comfy seating looking out towards 29th Street and 30th Avenue. It had been raining heavily, and so we were just glad to be inside.
Because our initial impression was that we were in a Mediterranean gastropub, we ordered lamb chops with lemon potatoes. The waiter, who may have been one of the owners, informed us that this vegetable was not on the menu; however, when our chops arrived, as you can see from the photos, we were indeed served lemon potatoes. We got what we ordered, which made us happy, and the chops were cooked to perfection. As we usually do not drink alcohol, beverages were not factored into our review.
However, there was one thing we found a little strange and creepy. When we left, one of the employees, presumably an owner, insisted on coming out to help take photos. This was a little off-putting. Nevertheless, we got some good shots.
In writing this review, we spent a lot of time deliberating our experience at the Wolf's Lair. We focused on the restaurant, service, food quality, and atmosphere. While the overall experience was excellent, we did not find Wolf's Lair to have a sports-bar atmosphere, but rather a family-dining atmosphere. On the day we visited, there was hardly any action at the bar, and most of us seated were into the food, if nothing else, with one family having a birthday party for one of their children.
Overall, we had a good experience. Whether we come back to see if the Wolf's Lair becomes an actual sports bar, well, that's another matter.