Orapax Inn

We usually visit this restaurant a couple times a year. We had always had great service and food. We went early today after lunch and before dinner. This was a great experience as there were 3 other tables and with 2 waiters managing them service was excellent.
You get fresh bread and an oil to munch on while you wait for your food. Sample some wine on certain nights as well. The menu offers a lot to include traditional Greek items as well as pizza!
We stopped in to redeem a birthday voucher but choose the Big Boss meal which served 2 – 3 people. This platter had a variety of items on it. You are able to actually taste some items you may not want a whole meal of. For example the kabobs or Slovakia comes in a shorter kabob combination of chicken, mushroom, peppers, onions and tomatos. Spanakopita, hummus, pita chips and Greek salad were a few items on this platter.
Friendly open inviting dining room. All table seating. Kids have a separate menu available to them.

A true staple of Norfolk. We can not be nearby and not stop by for lunch or dinner. Every time we’ve been here, we have always had outstanding customer service. Treated like family while we’re here. Best of all the Loukamades!

I’m so disappointed in this establishment. We placed an order on order-​up. Apparently it was past closing time, though it showed it was open until 9:30. We never got a call or an email. I call for a status almost an hour later and the person that answered advised– oh we cancelled that order, we closed. How unacceptable.
Update– appreciate response from business owner. Updating to 3 stars because I think this was also on orderups responsibility.

Really great Greek food. The service is excellent and their bread is great. The Greek salad is my favorite Greek salad ever. They also have great specials.

Do not get the souvlaki carryout. The menu says the entre consists of two 12-​inch skewers packed with meat, but the delivered meal consists of two 10-​inch skewers with about 8 inches of meat. When I complained, the manager said the portions have been reduced due to cost, but the old menues are still being used.
I have been an Orapax customer since 1980, and have seen a marked decline in quality over the past 10 years. I’m sorry to see a formerly great local restaurant go to pot.

The food was incredible. We had the Greek Sampler which was a nice way to try a bit of everything. The tzaziki sauce was the best I’ve ever had, and I normally don’t care for it because I find it generally to have too much of a dill flavor. The portions are more than generous and the daily specials are a great deal. My boyfriend had the Gyro Fajita (so interesting!) special which included a free Greek salad and a baklava dessert. I had a large Greek salad with gyro meat, and I took half home it was so big. Our server, Rowan was great! So glad I stumbled upon this restaurant!

The food was good overall. I ordered the lemon egg chicken soup (don’t remember the exact name) and the lemon flavor was a bit overpowering. The gyro sandwich was tasty but needed a little more tzatziki sauce. The chicken tenders were excellent and so were the fries. The restaurant interior could use an update. It just looks tired. Service was fast and friendly.

I have dined at Orapax more times than I can count over the years. Additionally, I have had two parties at this restaurant with over 25 guests each time. The food and service is always outstanding!

My coworkers tend to order from Orapax Inn often since it’s down the street from the hospital and they deliver! I love their Greek salad. It is huge and the balsamic vinaigrette dressing is delicious! The prices also are very reasonable. I would like to try this place in the restaurant one day so I will update my review when I do!

Had the bacon ranch burger and it was insanely good. I’ve never been here before, nor heard of it… but it’s up there with Mikes Pizza in terms of blgreat Greek food.

This landmark restaurant first opened in 1966, and it had been at least two decades since my last visit prior to this review. It was a valued dining companion who talked me into going back a few weeks ago.
This is a composite review based upon our two recent lunch time visits. During our first visit, my dining companion ordered the following dish from their special menu:
MAROSI CHICKEN: «Named after Mr. Lou’s home town, this half chicken is smothered with Greek herbs and spices and char grilled with Grecian flavors. Comes with Greek potatoes and a fresh vegetable medley.» She passed on the vegetable medley and substituted with some extra potatoes instead.
Her comments: «The chicken was delightfully moist and flavorful on the inside, encased in a skin that was delicately crispy on the outside. The taste of the herbs, especially the oregano, really came through. The roasted potatoes were cut in large chucky pieces and exhbited a very pleasing homemade flavor, highlighted by their strong lemony and garlicy notes.»
Her Rating: 5 Stars. I sampled a few pieces of the Greek potatoes myself and they blew me away. I’ve never had better.
Complimentary bread with freshly pressed olive oil accompanied our meals. The bread was warm and fresh, delicately sprinkled with salt. It exhibited a nice crusty texture on the outside and a delicious soft and yeasty texture on the inside. The olive oil was divine and was described by my companion described as «heavenly.» Our Rating: 5 Stars.
I ordered the following dish from their regular menu during both of our visits:
GREEK SPAGHETTI: «Pasta sauteed with butter, olive oil, garlic, and oregano, tossed with Greek meatballs, marinara, and romano cheese.»
This dish was further accompanied by several slices of warm pita bread slices and a few vegetables on the side, mostly broccoli and squash. I found this to be a nice touch and especially enjoyed dipping the warm pita bread into the sauce. During my first visit, I found the marinara sauce to be a bit too acidic and overpowering. Fortunately, it agreed with me much better the second time around.
The Greek meatballs were cut in half-​spherical shapes and were well seasoned. I thoroughly enjoyed the strong presence of the garlic. The portion size was quite large, and I took home about half of it both times. After reheating it in my microwave, the aroma of the garlic wafted throughout my apartment for a most pleasant sensory experience. My Rating: 4 Stars.
My dining companion ordered the following during our second visit:
GREEK SALAD: «The Orapax classic. Mixed greens, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers, and cucumbers. Topped with feta cheese, pepperoncini, kalamata olives, with homemade Greek dressing on the side. Add Chicken: $ 2.50» (Which she did). She also ordered a side of their Greek Potatoes, which we both enjoyed so much during our first visit.
Her comments: «The salad was well prepared. The feta cheese exhibited a bold and tangy taste. The quality of the olives was above average. The Greek dressing, although tangy, was a bit too mild and not quite zesty enough. The grilled chicken slices were lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, probably in order to avoid overpowering the salad, but I would have preferred a little more seasoning.» Her Rating: 3.5 Stars.
The Greek Potatoes, which we both shared, were every bit as good as described during our first visit. Our Rating: 5 Stars.
Finally, my companion ordered a 12″ CHEESE PIZZA WITH SAUSAGE to take home. Before leaving, we both sampled a slice. She commented: «It had the perfect amount of cheese in proportion to the sauce. The crust was pleasant and thin. The flavor profile of the sausage could have been zestier and more intense.» Her Rating: 4 Stars.
My impressions were somewhat contrary to hers. I found the volume of cheese to be overwhelming in proportion to the sauce. The crust struck me as more thick than thin. The flavor of the sausage was a bit mild, perhaps due to being smothered by the cheese. Otherwise, my slice was hot and flavorful enough to be satisfactory. My Rating: 3.5 Stars.
Our service was attentive and friendly during both of our busy lunch time visits. They certainly were not lacking for customers, and they appear to have a very loyal fan base.
As a result of their current composite 3.5 star rating and a few recent unflattering reviews, both of my visits exceeded my expectations. Personally, I will be looking forward to my next visit, with the end in mind to try an entirely different item on their menu.

Was so glad to visit the Orapax again, can’t say the food was as good as remember, but it’s such a classic and timeless place unchanged since I visited as a kid in the 80’s. Regret I don’t eat pizza anymore but seeing it served on near tables look as good as ever was.
Was disappointed in the mousaka, had low quality ground beef, of the taco meet variety, just a gooey greasy mush in a casserole dish.
Appetizer sampler was great and my colleague enjoyed his kabob dish.

Loved the food, the flexibility to fit my diet and the friendliness and helpfulness of our waitress, Rowan. We had to get in and out rather quickly and the staff made that happen.

I like this place a lot. At first they only offered dollar wine night the first Friday of the month. Now it’s the first Friday and Saturday of the month. Here’s the catch: it’s only a dollar from 5 – 6 then after its two dollars. Still. It’s really good. Cash only at the wine bar but you can pay any way you like in the dining room. I love their gyro pita. It’s affordable. I had a pita, fries, diet coke and ummm 4? glasses of wine and it was 20 bucks. There’s a lot of space and plenty of seating but once 5 pm hits the place fills up QUICK. The service is good, can’t complain. For a group of 7 girls, they were prompt and attentive. Love this place!
parking in the area is decent. The actual parking lot is mayyybe big enough for 6 – 7 cars so you have to rely on street parking which is good.
There’s outdoor seating which is really nice. Good for family and a girls night out.

Delicious food! Enjoyed a fun evening out with friends and decided on Orapax.
Once you enter you are immediately greeted and given a table. Wait staff was fantastic and hard to beat. They quickly take your drink order and inform you of all specials. We happened to go on Ladies Wine night so the staff made excellent suggestions which we took them up on!
For the meal, again, excellent. I decided on the chef speciality dish menu and my friends selected from the regular menu. All meals were tasteful and huge! I was amazed at the size of the dish and the presentation was beautiful. The salad and bread were excellent as well.
Staff was happy to box up what we did not finish and sent us home fat and happy! Thank you for a great evening!

Disclaimer: Being of Greek descent, I will give a disclaimer that I compare everything with my Yiaya’s (grandmother’s) cooking and so I have high expectations when I visit a Greek restaurant. Nevertheless, I am quite sure that my review is not biased at all by my grandmother’s cooking in this case. I took my wife to Orapax Inn on Friday afternoon for lunch. I must state that I was incredibly disappointed with it.
Firstly, we ordered drinks. My wife ordered a lemonade and I ordered a peach ice tea. Both tasted horrible. I then tried some fountain soda Coke and that was also bad. It tasted as if the machine had not been cleaned.
We ordered a Spanikopita as an appetizer and I ordered a Greek burger, to be cooked medium, my wife ordered a Gyro burger.
The Spanikopita did not taste very good at all. It lacked the correct flavors.
My burger was cooked well done which was thoroughly disappointing as I had ordered it to be cooked medium and upon telling the waitress that, she didn’t seem to care. It was supposed to have Greek herbs and spices in it, I tasted nothing that seemed Greek and it was very below average, I didn’t even eat half of it.
My wife told me that her burger also tasted below average and she even found a hair in it which was the final nail in the coffin for our dining experience. After finding it, we decided to ask for the check and leave.
The waitress told us that the manager took the Spanikopita off of our check but only took half of the price of my wife’s Hair-​Burger off, as if we were going to pay it. I asked to speak to the manager and she then removed it. She didn’t remove the price of my overcooked burger despite the fact that I didn’t finish even half of it.
I found this experience very disappointing. I am offended that they serve this food and claim that it is equivalent to home made Greek food when it clearly isn’t up to that quality, in fact, it wasn’t up to the quality of a good Greek take out restaurant.
All I can say is that I hope that people don’t judge Greek cuisine on the quality of the Orapax Inn.

I finally got to try the food at Orapax this weekend… Definitely worth the hype! Hubs and I opted to dine al fresco. It was nice… until the sun went down. Brrrr!
We ordered calamari as an appetizer. The calamari came with cocktail sauce, as well as a creamy horseradish sauce. We both agreed that the creamy sauce was the better of the two.
Hubs had the lamb entrada (or was it entrata?) for his entrée, while I decided to try the gyro platter. Both entrees were generously portioned. I know that I will make the gyro platter my go-​to meal here.
The only con about our experience was our server. Nice dude, but we both felt like he didn’t check on us as often as the other servers were checking on other patrons.
Regardless… we will be back! And next time, we’re trying the pizza!

Came back for dinner here with a group. Had the appetizer sampler — was just as delicious as I remembered, and more than enough for 3 – 4 people to try. I had the Marriso Chicken — a new addition to the menu — greek herbed chicken with, greek potatoes and veggie medley — ABSOLUTELY delish !!! Others had the lamb shank, the gyro platter and another menu special — but unfortunately I cant remember what it was called. I know it was beef and lamb with feta mixed together in a dough and covered with marinara sauce and cheese. DELICIOUS!!! if you see something resembling that on the menu — you really need to try it!!!

smells great inside, though the smell may stay with your afterwards. only greek place in the area so dominating the ‘greek food’ market may explain the slightly expensive menu. gyro was «a-​ok» nothing too spectacular, wasn’t bad wasn’t anything special. splurged on the giant platter on meat, four people shared as an appetizer was okay weirdly had wings but they were good (??)
would consider coming back if I have a gyro hankering.

I really enjoy Greek food and Orapax fills that need very nicely.
I came here as part of a group from work and they handled our group of 12 with no problem.
I had the chicken gyro and a cup of their creamy chicken rice soup. Everything was terrific. The gyro was tender and the sauce made the sandwich. When you order a cup of soup be aware it comes out in a regular bowl. The bowl of soup is something to be shared.
One friend ordered the Spagnaki, it is battered and fried cheese that is brought out on fire. If the presentation wasn’t so interesting the cheese itself would bring you back. Another friend ordered the hummus and pita chips. The hummus is chunky and homemade. It is delicious.
Orapax is great for dinner or lunch. There isn’t a bad item on the menu.