Grecian Gardens

2^nd time here and another FANTASTIC dinner, will be making sure this place becomes a regular place to eat

BE CAREFUL!
Two of us in a party of 6 ate House Salads on June 7 for lunch. Within 24 hours we both had, stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. When communicating the story to friends and relatives, we learned of 2 others who also ate there on June 7. An additional situation came to light as late as Friday, June 10. The restaurant was notified by me, with zero reaction by the employee. DHEC was also notified.
For the record, I’m a long time customer and fan of GG.

They have taken care of this place. From my guess it has been here a while but it is not run down looking. The fake plants aren’t full of dust.
The food was good. I can’t believe anyone would think that Greek and Italian food would in any way be healthy! Seriously.
So if you want good food and not yucky healthy food go here.

Grecian Gardens is a mainstay Greek restaurant in West Columbia. I have been going since you were allowed to smoke in the back room ;-) many date nights with a very affordable selection that is most like Zorba’s of St Andrews.
I like it, always have. Nothing that is Greek has ever blown me away, despite it being tasty and consistent. Though the lamb in the gyro is a little on the lean side, it’s tasty and the pita is toasted for a crunch (nice affect). Might I recommend the lasagna? It’s a fairly generous amount, and a lite eater could make two meals from it.
I think, personally, that’s a little lighting would go a long way to add to the decorum as well, but we’re not talking a high dollar restaurant, but a family style establishment. Still, lighting is important. Anyway, try it out but be realistic about the expectations and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the value for the money.

Girls Dinner and a play night and out of nostalgia, we chose to eat here… normally I would give this restaurant a higher rating… However I am much more health conscious and eat healthy. As far as the food… I did get broiled Tilapia and shrimp… Had to pay 1.00 extra to get them broiled. The fresh green beans with/​squash and tomatoes… were loaded with sugar and grease… the salad was fresh and there was no selection for healthy salad dressings… so, I had a mostly all protein meal. With very little nutrient rich vegetables with fiber… considering what I ate… it was very expensive… Which really ticks me off. Our waitress was very attentive and congenial. The dining room has not changed in 20 years. lol… I surely won’t be eating there… No matter what — in the future. I am adamant about my health.

Very happy with the meal I had at Grecian Gardens! They definitely pulled out all the stops. Our waitress was new, but was really great.
They really have a little bit of everything on their menu and can fit just about anything you are in the mood for (Greek, Italian, Seafood, you name it). I will start by saying their bread and house salad is amazing. The salad alone I would actually order as an entrée, and I never say that about salad. Their house dressing is some sort of oil & vinegar mix I would guess, and it’s topped with crumbly, delicious white cheese.
I ordered the Roasted Chicken as my entrée and it did not disappoint. They must roast those things all day because the chicken was so tender and fell right off the bone. The taste was a little different at first, but it grew on me. I left so full… They do it right at the Grecian Gardens, that’s for sure.

Solid choice. Tons of food. Tasty. Gyro had tons of meat. Spaghetti weighed over 1.5 pounds. Good choice… nice house salad dressing. A go to local spot

What a great place to go to any day of the week. My family and I have enjoyed Grecian Gardens for over a decade and have never had any issues. I’m thankful to have this restaurant in our community, right up the street!

5 star restaurant without the high prices! I have been eating here since I was old enough to eat solid foods. In fact I worked here as a teenager.
When we visit cola, it is at the top of our list of places to eat. I’ve remained friends with the owners all these years and I am still greeted with a hug from big Alex.
You won’t find fresher, more authentic Greek food anywhere else.
The bread is amazing, the dinner portions are yummy & big!
The salads are amazing with all that yummy feta and house dressing.
The Greek potatoes are out of this world along side the baked chicken. The apps are amazing.
Their tzatziki sauce is heavenly. I could go on and on about soo many of their dishes since I’ve probably tried them all!
You won’t go wrong at Grecian Gardens!

Place was crowded, which is a good sign. Service was good, prices fair, nice looking restaurant.
Food was OK, just ok. Pork chops were very tough, Greek potatoes were good. Wife had spanakopita, she said it was good, not great.
Wish it were a bit better tasting. Will try again. The pizzas looked good.

My grandmother was in the hospital in Lexington, and we were all hungry and hospital food wasn’t going to cut it. I opened my handy Unilocal app and found Grecian gardens, and decided to give it a shot. I called ahead, ordered 3 chicken souvlaki sandwiches, 3 side salads, and 3 teas to go. The nice man on the phone said it would be ready within 10 minutes. I got there roughly 10 to 15 minutes later. My food wasn’t quite ready, but they have a nice waiting area in the front lobby area. They were pretty busy for 3 o’clock in the afternoon. I waited another 8 minutes or so before my food was ready. It was worth a small wait for quality food. My mom loved her sandwich, as did I. The salads were almost too beautiful to eat. Everything was fresh, homemade, and delightful. I will have to venture that way again soon.

It was great! It was our first time and we were explained the menu items and our server was very patient with us. She always checked on us and gave us refills when needed. Traditional Greek food, can’t go wrong. Also, when you walk in, the counter is where you pay, you must keep walking left to get to the hostess as stand.

I’ve been looking for a good Greek Restaurant in Columbia since we moved here from Chicago area. Columbia seems to have nothing comparable to the Greek Restaurants in Chicago (which I really didn’t expect it to have), but I was hoping at least they’d have the flaming cheese appetizer that is always served at the Greek Isles, Dianna’s, etc in Chicago. Grecian Gardens didn’t have it and I’ve not found it anywhere other than the old Santorini’s out in NE Cola, which has been closed now for a couple of years. Even Santorini’s wasn’t that good as they served it with a marinara sauce, rather than just flaming it with ouzo and lemon. But that’s another story.
Regarding Grecian Gardens, I had been there for lunch with co-​workers about 10 years ago and can’t even remember what I had, but I thought I’d give it a try on a Friday night. We were surprised that they had quite a bit of open tables at 7:30PM on a Friday. We were seated promptly in a booth and a server immediately took our order. As with a lot of Greek restaurants, they have a very full menu, with a lot to choose from. The atmosphere is sort of a diner type atmosphere, booths and tables, and gives a certain feel unlike a fancy intimate restaurant.
Based on reading other reviews my wife and friend both ordered the baked half chicken with green beans as a side. I usually don’t order Prime Rib but decided to give it a try. My other neighbor ordered baked Tilapia and shrimp. The girls won hands down. The chicken was fabulous. Very tender and juicy. I would order this next time. I ordered my Prime Rib medium to medium rare and it came out well done. The taste was good but definitely was well done. I’d order it again, but make sure I asked for it medium rare. The neighbor liked his Tilapia/​Shrimp. We all agreed that the Chicken was the best meal. Prices were very reasonable and both the women loved the green beans. Service was very responsive and the only mistake of the night was that our waiter forgot to put the Tilapia/​Shrimp order in with our meal so it came out about 8 minutes after the three of us had been served. The waiter apologized and was very nice about it being his mistake. I would go back here just try the Baked Chicken. The pizza looked very good so we’d like to try that also.
BTW — the bread they served before dinner was some of the freshest bread that I’ve had at any restaurant in Cola. Excellent.
Someone… please learn how to make Saganaki and put it on the menu. In Chicago the Greek Isles and other places always have Lamb as a special. I would always order the nightly special of lamb regardless of what it was… it was always the best. Wish I could find a similiar place in Cola!

I went here on a whim. I was wanting Italian and was not disappointed. The service was great, the lasagna was cheesy, meaty, and bubbling hot. My husband got a pizza and was happy. In all a good trip. I’d go back.

We arrived in Columbia tonight very tired and extremely hungry. We love to ask the locals where there favorite local restaurants are, and the desk clerk at the Hampton Inn immediately said «Grecian Gardens!» Boy, are we thrilled that she did!
From the friendly greeting at the door by Mr. Alex, one of the four brothers who own the restaurant, to the wonderful service by Donna, the only thing better was the FOOD!
From the Grape Leaves stuffed with meat and rice, the Greek salads, the Chicken and Steak Souvlaki, and oh my word, the homemade bread and pitas!!!
Even my husband’s sweet tea was perfect. You absolutely cannot go wrong by coming to Grecian Gardens, from the front door to the last bite, you will absolutely be thrilled that you came. Thank you Grecian Gardens! !!

Had a great visit… a lot of food and the service was pretty good as well. The pizza was tasty and the steak was on the money.

Went to columbia to visit friends decided to try out greek food. So stopped by this restaurant found on sunset blvd. It is really easy to find. The food was ok but i really did like desert baklava. Very friendly staff, we ended up on the wrong side of restaurant that was for to go orders placed our orders and then realized our mistake and told staff we wanted to dine in not to go order. They quickly got a table for us and brought food we already paid for.

Grecian gardens is a great place to eat! They give you free bread at the beginning of the meal and then once you get the meal the serving sizes are huge. Needless to say I totally recommend this place!

Recently traveled to Columbia for a baby shower. We wanted Greek food. Based on earlier reviews, I was worried about trying this spot, but am glad we did.
It was a great place for family dinner. Wait staff was pleasant and helpful. Kid/​noise friendly. I ordered the spanakopita, which came with a salad, side of potatoes, and rice. The spanakopita was delicious, more spinach than phyllo. (Definitely NOT from the freezer section at cosco). Salad was mostly lettuce and feta but was fresh and delicious. Flavorful rice. My husband ordered the souvlaki, basically beef kabobs, and definitely cleared his plate.

I agree with many others: there are not many choices or healthful selections for vegetarians. Ex: the eggplant is fried. I did have the Greek lagana pizza and a «small» (although there’s nothing small about it) salad. I really enjoyed the soft, hand tossed style pizza (not oily at all!) I also liked the simplicity of the salad.
Where to check in at is not clear. You have to walk in and head to the left to another podium if you want a seat and NOT go to the counter because that’s where people pay.
The highlights of the visit was the quick seating even at lunchtime, prompt service, and our server was extremely friendly and attentive as well as some other supportive staff. Good price for the portions as well.
Unfortunately I think I had the only 1 thing that kind of fit within my vegetarian and health-​conscious diet. So unless they expand their menu offerings I don’t think I’ll personally return, but I wouldn’t mind recommending the restaurant for other people who are looking for good value and fast, friendly service.