I met up with a group of fellow food bloggers last night at Little Greek Restaurant (located in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center) for a complimentary menu tasting dinner.

Unfortunately, the traffic/black ice had me running a few minutes late. But by the time I arrived, an assortment of “Starters” were already on the table, which included: homemade hummus, dolmades, spanakopita, and homemade falafel. I recommend passing on the falafel, but certainly don’t on the dolmades and spanakopita. The dolmades ($4.99)—grape leaves filled with a ground beef, rice, tomato and herb mixture—were wonderful. Moist, tender and quite flavorful, this appetizer won’t disappoint and is perfect to share.

Greek Salad

The spanakopita (spinach pie-$4.49) is a flakey phyllo dough filled with spinach and feta cheese. It’s a heavy start to a meal– especially when you dip each bite (like I did) into Little Greek’s tzatziki sauce–but I found nothing wrong with the rich taste and overall execution of the dish. In fact, it was excellent.

It’s worth noting that both the dolmades ($9.99) and spanakopita ($7.99) are offered under the “Perfect Platters” section of the menu. If you order the hummus ($3.99), opt for the fried pita bread over the grilled. It tastes better and can hold up when dipping into the thicker hummus.

Little Greek also offers a variety of salads. I was particularly impressed with the Greek salad ($6.49), loaded with lettuce, red onions, green peppers, tomatoes, feta cheese, a sliced beet and potato salad. And no…you’re not seeing things. I typed “potato salad.” You’ll be pleasantly surprised with this smashed version, served on top of the greens, resting under a beautiful beet slice. I suggest adding some grilled chicken ($2.49) to finish things off. It’s tasty and provides for a heartier meal.

A sampling of the thinly shaved gyro meat (90% beef, 10% lamb mixture) proved to be somewhat pedestrian. The meat was both moist and tender, but lacked the proper seasoning for it to truly shine. That said, it wasn’t bad…just not one of the more stand-out items on the menu. The same can be said for the lamb skewers, although I was much more impressed with the char-grilled chicken version, which had some bold flavors from an intense marinade.

Lamb Skewer

All and all…I was impressed with Little Greek Restaurant. The fast-casual atmosphere, sizable portions and excellent price point make this restaurant certainly worthy of a return visit.