Date: 6/13/2016 Time: 5:15 PM 70° Mostly sunny
After dining at Q's Halal Chicken twice already last week, my husband and I were willing to dine elsewhere. We noticed Troy and Pappo from across the street at the Alameda Cinema. Since we wanted something for dinner before 6:00 PM roll around for the watch party of the Warriors game, we opted for Troy. Not knowing what to expect, I brought this restaurant up on my yelp app to check out what other yelpers had to say. It's helpful to have that information. Several of my fellow yelpers gave them high reviews (Jim D, Thuy T, Paul L). Then, I can always rely on Victor G's review. He has never failed me with his reviews - shout out of thanks to him.
Ambiance: Troy is a small restaurant, which probably seats about 15 people indoor. There are a few tables and chairs outside for those who prefer to dine outdoor. The menu boards are on the right side of the restaurant and framed pictures on the left side, along with a pair of wall lamps and a plaque. Cash register on the counter and the back area is the kitchen. Counter also has a display case filled with spanakopitas and baklavas.
Customer service: friendly hostess/waitress took our order and served us. It was also quick; we did not wait long for our meal.
Specialties: Appetizers, two types of soup, side dishes, salads, pita wraps, assorted Greek platters.
Eats: Gyro platter, moussaka and spanakopita. The portions were generous, except for the appetizer. We could not finish our meals, as we were pressing for time. It was already 5:50 PM and we had get to go boxes for the leftovers.
Husband enjoyed his gyro platter. The meat was tender, but not seasoned enough to his liking. He was looking for the salt shaker. The bottled sauces were his only option as flavor enhancers.
My piping hot moussaka topped with bechamel was slightly better than okay. I am not much of a lamb fan. I never really care for the gamey taste of lamb chops while I was growing up. I always had that gagging taste in my mouth eating lamb. Somehow I managed to eat half of the moussaka, despite it containing ground beef and ground lamb, eggplant, cheese and a tomato based sauce. It had a little gamey taste, but not enough to make me gag.
Even though the spanakopita was tasty, the price for four of them was over $6.00. I like them, but the value for the small pieces were just not worth it.
Overall rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
Return trip: yes, for other items on the menu, as long as it does not have lamb. I guess I will never acquire the taste for lamb after all these years. read more