Lourdas Greek Taverna

Meh, this place need to catch up to the improved ethnic food standards of the mainline. It was good 10 years ago but things have changed and Lourdes has remained stagnant. I have been consistently unimpressed during the past few years. I’m not planning on going again anytime soon.

I was shocked to read some of the negative reviews here. Lourdas is our go-​to restaurant on the Main Line… in fact, we are meeting friends there tonight. Its our favorite one of those types of places… nice enough to meet friends, but not so expensive as to break the bank and you can byob too. We love the atmosphere… reminds me of a little place you’d find in Santorini, with colors of bright blue and white… friendly service, great food, run by a mother and son. Did I say great food? Yes… starting with the lentil soup, then pilikia (plate of dips, olives, etc), a simple gyro with outstanding fries, chicken kotopoulo, scallops, souvlaki, lamb shank. moussaka, whole fish… we’ve tried them all and they are all delicious.
Everyone I know who’s been to Lourdas has loved it. In fact, the couple we are meeting tonight is driving over our way because they want to come back to «that little Greek restaurant you introduced us to… its a bit far for us to come to normally, but we’d love to go again… it was so yummy last time!» My girlfriend from Philly requests come out to meet me for lunch in the burbs in order to go to Lourdas… she even took some food to-​go for her husband for dinner that night.
We love Lourdas!

I’m a little confused by some of the negative reviews on here. Since my husband and I moved to the Main Line from the city we’ve been consistently disappointed by the local restaurants. Not so at Lourdes, where all the food was consistently good and the service very attentive.
My husband had the pastitsio, which was quite tasty, but the star of the meal was the braised lamb shank. Falling off the bone tender and coated in rich gravy, it was everything I was hoping for. My only suggestion for improvement is that the orzo side was a bit boring and slightly overcooked. Had it been a bit more al dente and had a little fresh parsley for a fresh counterpoint to the rich meat and sauce, that would have been a home run.
It is on the expensive side for a BYOB and there is the «cash only» stipulation, but it’s well worth 4 stars. Thank you for a great meal, Lourdes!

My experience at Lourdas last Saturday night can only be described as surreal. We’ve frequented the restaurant for about 10 years and almost always have had good meals. Service has been spotty at times, but never terrible. Last Saturday night we were seated next to a couple on one side with whom we pleasantly conversed and I told the woman how wonderful the lentil soup was. She ordered it and loved it too. To my left was a 5-​top and I knew two of the patrons. As we stood up to leave, one of them asked what I’d ordered. I responded and said that I was very happy with my fish. I don’t recall if I was asked about the lentil soup (which I didn’t order that night), but if I had been asked, undoubtedly would have responded that it was one of the best around.
Fast forward maybe 45 minutes. My phone rang and the woman at the other end began to berate me, voice raised, never coming up for air, saying that how dare I act as a «food critic» and tell a customer (as reported by her server) not to order the lentil soup! Not only would that have been the exact opposite of what I’d say, but I’d recommended it to the person on the other side of us, and hello… everyone who dines in any restaurant is a food critic of that restaurant & any other they visit. She went on to rant that henceforth I was unwelcome at Lourdas. To say that I was shaken by her bizarre behavior is an understatement. This woman owes me a serious apology! Needless to say, welcome or unwelcome, Lourdas is off our list. There are too many good restaurants in this city to put up with something like that. Restauranteurs, chefs, and managers with whom I’ve spoken were in shock at her lack of professionalism.
I’ve given one star because our food was tasty. Otherwise there would be none because of the owner’s outrageous behavior.
Update: Not a word of apology. Upon reflection, she did us a favor. We’ve since found a go-​to restaurant where the food is better, the service phenomenal, the prices lower, and the vibe perfect.

You’ll wonder why the lines are so long once you sample the offerings. This is dumbed-​down, nouvelle-​ized Greek food for the faint of heart.
Let’s begin with their taramosalata. It’s an emulsion made from carp roe (fish eggs, or red caviar), white bread, olive oil and lemon juice. In its best and most savory form, taramosalata should be pink. Ours was as white as school glue. It was woefully lacking in roe, and full of potato. So rather than taste the sea — which is what you should expect when you take a bite of pita dipped in real taramosalata — we tasted the sand.
Likewise for their avgolemono soup. The bowl itself was piping hot, but the soup inside was lukewarm. It was also watery — more like a light bisque than the hearty egg and lemon soup with which we’re familiar. It needed some bits of chicken and much more risotto (was that risotto?) than the few lonely grains that were floating in the broth.
Their lamb was just passable and a bit tough. The best entrée of the evening was a hot filo-​dough pastry stuffed with chicken and served with avgolemono sauce (much better than the soup) over a bed of perfectly prepared rice — which is why we’re giving them two stars rather than just one.
The desserts would have been lovely had my Galaktoboureko, a custard-​filled filo pastry, not included a pesky filament from the filo brush used to prepare it. The inch-​long and pointy little piece of nylon lodged itself between my teeth, just at the gum line, and took several minutes to extricate. My waiter was unfazed when I placed the offending object in his hand. «This never happens» said he. «But it did happen,» said I. Nothing more was done about it.
This is a tiny, overcrowded cash only BYOB. You’ll find the prices unusually high for a cash only restaurant. There’s a $ 5.00 plate sharing fee so don’t fool yourself into believing that you’ll save a few drachmas by splitting dessert.
It’s as loud as a subway station and the wait staff need a bit more training. On a Saturday night the lines are long and surly, impatient wine-​toting Main Liners are spilling out onto the sidewalk waiting to dig into mediocre Greek fare — even if they have reservations. We were unimpressed, and we won’t be going back. Spare yourself the disappointment and look elsewhere if you enjoy (and understand) Greek food. You won’t enjoy this, I assure you…

I’ve been here many times over more than 10 years. It is arguably the best Greek food on the Main Line. But I can’t give it a better review due to its inconsistencies. The service in particular ranges from ok to awful. They need to train the staff better. For about 5 minutes at my last meal, we had a food issue and there was not a single staff member on the floor. Everyone was in the kitchen. I eventually went back there to get someone. The food can be quite good. The pastitsio is a regular favorite of mine, and their grilled durad is also excellent. But one of our dishes on the last trip came out undercooked and had to be sent back. BYO cash only.

Went here with friends for dinner on a weekend night. So of course we made reservations.
This is a one room restaurant. Just a few tables spaced closely together. If you have a later reservation time, please be aware that you will have to stand on the side of the room as if you are standing out like a sore thumb at a party where everyone is seated.
We arrived for our 6:30 reservation and were seated right away. The decibel level in the room was loud, and only got louder as the restaurant filled up. Our waitress was polite and told us about the specials. The have pita instead of bread, nothing special.
Our friends had the branzino fish special and were happy with it. My husband had the souvlaki and rice and I had the gryo.
In truth I did like my gyro and French fries.
The souvlaki was very bland. Huh? Where was the spice? It had no aroma or flavor and the rice was not edible.
I ate half my meal without water because no one came to fill the glasses up.
Such a disappointment.

Really enjoyed my meal. The calamari was excellent, they mix some kind of spice into it that really added to the flavor. For my meal I got a gyro that was pretty good but nothing too get too excited about (standard Greek fare)

I have been to Lourdas, numerous times.
The food is ok, but expensive for what it is, since it is close to where I live, we go there.
Last time we were there, the inside of the restaurant was cold, they had a window opened, and when I mentioned it to the waitress, she could not be bothered. We ended up closing the window our self and the only smile we got from the waitress was when the check came. All of us in the party commented, how rude she was.
Will not go back.

This is the first time that I have ever posted a negative review. The food was so bad that I sent back my entrée and they had the nerve to charge me for the half eaten vegetables on my plate. The owner came to the table and was unapologetic. It is beyond me that this place stays in business. Worst restaurant experience ever!

I’m a Greek-​American living on the Main Line, and count me as unimpressed with Lourdas. I visited during freshman year at college because I craved a Greek meal like the ones made by my grandmother that I grew up eating. Unfortunately, I came away unsatisfied.
If you’re looking for Greek food and don’t care about the authenticity of the meal, Lourdas is the most convenient (and only) option for Greek food in Lower Merion. Lourdas’ owners are pretty clearly cooking to satisfy a Main Line palette, so authenticity isn’t exactly to be expected. But, even though it’s decent, the food is way overpriced (you can find better Greek food for half the price at Minella’s in Wayne).
Anyway, the calamari appetizer was admittedly pretty tasty, and my pastitsio was fairly good (but definitely not worth its $ 17 price).
While the ambiance of the restaurant was nice, and the food was decent (even if not great), I found a singed chef jacket button in my meal (which is totally unacceptable). And Lourdas only accepts cash, which is absolutely ridiculous for a restaurant that’s pretty pricey.

Consistently Delicious!
Lourdas Greek Taverna is one of our favorite BYOB restaurants!
The food is fresh and well executed.
Every time we dine here, we share an appetizer, pikilia (plate of various dips, feta, dolmathes and olives), thanks Jerry S., we so agree with you! The tzatziki dip is our favorite since there is lots of garlic, yum!
I usually order the Greek Style Salmon, and my husband orders, either the lamb gyro, or the lamb souvlaki. Although I don’t eat lamb, I have eaten most of the other dishes on the menu over many years and all are wonderful.
My husband and I are regular customers and Bill and Theo take good care of us.

Very quaint and relaxed but still a white tablecloth experience. The Greek food is very skillfully prepared and is certainly authentic. We loved the whole baked fish, the roasted lamb shank, baked chicken, pastitsio, and the pikilia (plate of various dips, feta, dolmathes and olives).
The focus here is on the ingredients, and tradition.

Loved this place! Can get pretty crammed and noisy because they put as many tables as they could into a fairly small space, but it actually contributes to the atmosphere of the place. I had the Shrimp Lourdas, which had a white wine sauce with scallions, tomatoes, and feta– delicious. I would definitely come back. The only downside: they only take cash! Also good to know: It’s BYOB.

So its a rainy Friday, with out of town friends in unexpectedly. We settled on Lourdas, where we had not been for several years, who reminded us «Remember, we are BYOB and Cash» as we made the reservation.
Lourdas is tucked in beside the R5 in Bryn Mawr, great spot. Lots of parking. There were maybe 4 or 5 tables in the small, clean and understated dining room. We stood at the door for a while before being greeted because there was no one working the floor, at 7:30 on a Friday night, not a good sign.
I remember the food here being really great. Deftly prepared, good fresh ingredients, olive oil and lemon. Greek, ya know? Maybe a little pricey and smallish portions. Things have changed.
The simple menu was complimented by a few specials, mostly seafood. Definitely downscale in ambition, but not in price from what I remember. Pretty much the standards you would expect at any Greek diner — gyro, souvlaki, pastitsio, chicken riganato, shrimp and tomato
We split three apps; spanakopita (good), roasted eggplant (ok, but over sauced, cooked and seasoned) and grilled octopus (overpriced and fishy). We had three entrees, «dry scallops», chicken and a greek salad topped with shrimp. The portions were very large on the entrée plates — maybe 8 or scallops and two large pieces of chicken breast, probably 2c of cooked rice and lightly cooked spinach. The grilled shrimp were actually cut in half to make each shrimp look like two. Scallops (which I remembered as spectacular) were lifeless and fishy. Chicken was good.
Dessert, we had some good coffee, a decent galaktaboureko and a flourless chocolate cake that insisted on crumbling off the fork before it got to my mouth. About $ 150 for three people with tip, BYO. Should knock your socks off at those prices.

Went here with a group of people and stayed for three hours. Delicious food, generous portions and it’s a BYOB. The Shrimp Lourdas is incredible.

I had a craving for a gyro and called this place up on the spot. the manager was very nice. I paid $ 8 for a gyro (which comes with fries). I got so much food i ended up eating the rest for dinner. the gyro meat had a great flavor and the taziki sauce was perfect. definitely a great little place…
i will be back :)
CASH ONLY ESTABLISHMENT.

My wife and I recently ate here for the first time. Fantastic! The lamb shank and Orzo was prepared perfectly. The only issue I have is that (contrary to what Unilocal has on their website) the restaurant only accepts cash. I understand the Amex cost issue from a vendors perspective, but I feel that in today’s environment that a restaurant selling at this price point should accept credit and debit cards. As we move more towards a cashless society then places like Lourdas are going to struggle. What if I did not have an ATM card to walk across the street?
We will definitely be back, cash and all!

Definitely adding this to my list of standbys.
I had heard about this place before and finally made the trip, long overdue. I started with lentil soup, which was pretty good, I was expecting better actually, but it was certainly above average.
Entrée was the lamb shank and orzo, really good. The lamb was super tender and fell right off the bone. Loved the sauce it was in too. My wife had the moussaka, which I of course helped with. It was awesome. I have only had moussaka a few times so not much to compare to, but I thought it was great. I’ll probably get it next time so I don’t have to share.
The restaurant itself is small and apparently gets very full. We went on a Wednesday night so no issues there. It is BYO which helps with the bill but big FYI, CASH ONLY.
Good spot, I’ll certainly be back.

Lamb chops were well seasoned and juicy. I very much enjoyed them. The accompanying potatoes were good but not amazing. Now on to the pastitsio… The béchamel sauce was delicious! It did not overpower the met but complemented it perfectly. The pasta itself was cooked to perfection: neither soggy nor al dente. The taramasalata caviar was delish and went very well with the pita, which is amazingly fluffy and buttery. Service is fantastic and the owners are very sweet. Be sure to bring along a bottle of red wine if you’re getting the lamb. A Shiraz would be perfect. Prices are slightly high but the food is very redeeming.