Zorba’s Kitchen is mini, but mighty in it’s Med-based fare | Review

“You want pastitsio?” our server asks.

In a few minutes’ time, it will become clear that he is also the chef and owner, Yiannis Bouyouris. I had noted “Greek lasagna” listed as a Tuesday special, but today was Wednesday, so I was eyeing the lemon roasted chicken special instead until my friend stuck his flag in it.

“I made three pans yesterday,” he says, “but I have two plates left.”

“Sold,” I tell him, feeling lucky, a sentiment that tripled when he set this alluring block of homemade yum in front of us on the tiny table.

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By now, the two-top was crowded with a platter of homemade mezze ($11.99): nutty hummus, garlicky tzatziki, a flaky hunk of spanakopita, briny kalamatas and a fave of mine: taramosalata — wonderfully fishy, oily, salty, creamy. It’s so good I could eat it with a spoon. Which I did to cut down on bread consumption. Seasoned pita triangles are served with almost everything here, it seems, and amply so.

I’d planned on a more protein-forward afternoon, but when the gods (especially the Greek ones, they’re kind of a big deal) serve up lasagna ($12.41), you don’t order the salad. You don’t have to, actually. It comes with a little one on the side, and it’s just the way I like it: big hunks of tomato, cuke and red onion with a heap of Feta on top, lightly dressed.

There’s an abundance here. You feel it not only in the food (that pastitsio, for instance: densely packed, well sauced and slathered in smooth-baked béchamel, beautifully browned and redolent of the cinnamon and clove that make it a singular savor) but also in the way Bouyouris tends the tables.

Seemingly along for the first part of our visit, he flitted between tables and kitchen, chief cook and bottle washer, cheerily busy. Later, a woman appeared, equally cheery. I suspect this may have been his wife.

Why am I not sure?

Because as I type, my lottery-like luck with the place has run out. Despite our best efforts, Bouyouris has the best problem possible: the restaurant is too busy for him to take my calls. I’d love to have connected, but like his hungry customers, my deadlines don’t suffer delays.

What I couldn’t find out firsthand, I can compensate for in both exposure and consumption.

The Zorba’s Kitchen website notes that while this is the first American foray for the brand, the first two were opened in Nice, France. The fare here is Med-based, and the specialties are mainly Greek. Greece, notes the site, was where Bouyouris developed his culinary skills. And based on my experiences, they’re quite solid.

I don’t doubt that the staffers here, especially the proprietors, are flying mostly solo and can get in the weeds. Business was brisk on both visits. I’m generally extra careful taking food pics in a place this small, but Bouyouris was flying into the back so often that I was even able to stand and get some overheads on the down low.

Zorba’s is open for breakfast (the menu has a variety of bagel sandwiches plus a Greek breakfast), but once I found out they didn’t make the pita, which is good, I had little interest in bagels. The baklava, however, was definitely on my mind.

Desserts here are shipped in from Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood, Bouyouris informed us as we contemplated the menu. We settled on a baklava cheesecake (the woman in the shop couldn’t say enough about it), but more on that later.

Back to the pastitsio. Served on a formidable tray — the square comes in a yia-yia-approved serving size — and is flanked by a wonderful chunky Greek salad and a bevy of seasoned pita triangles. You will not want for bread here, I assure you. My companion’s lemon chicken ($11.99, dark meat for the win, fall-apart tender, was also a delight alongside roasted Greek potatoes.

These are specials, but I wanted to try standards, so I came back for takeout. The haul: wonderfully lemony-herbaceous dolmades ($4.99) and a generous three meatballs ($6.99), both with generous dollops of tzatziki and, yes, more bread. The chicken gyro ($7.79; we added a side of rice for $1.99) was stuffed with tender meat, crispy veg and a load of saucy goodness. Salmon skewers, a lighter bite ($12.99 and served with a Greek salad), were nice, as well. It was a cold day, and I’d hoped to try some soup, but I came late, and there was none left. I’d come back for it, though, as well as the moussaka, another special about which I’m curious.

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For all of my difficulty nailing down this proprietor as a food writer, Bouyouris is as engaging a host (slash server, slash owner, slash chief cook and bottle-washer) as they come, as was his unidentified staffer, who generously offered her services as decision maker when we waffled between the baklava and baklava cheesecake ($7.75).

“It’s so good,” she said of the latter, laughing.

Two women at the next table, still amid lunch, oohed and aahed over the prospect. The tables are close together here, so we all ended up chatting for a minute or two. It’s that kind of place. Astoria-esque if you’re familiar with this Queens, New York neighborhood, rich with Greek heritage. She wasn’t wrong, we noted, savoring the flaky phyllo against the creamy cheese and honey-nut-vanilla flavors.

Though Bouyouris said they planned to begin making desserts soon — the place hasn’t been open long — and this one may stick around for its uniqueness and popularity.

I hope to say the same about this little charmer of a Greek joint, which keeps him too busy for banter with a journo. As a guest, though, he had all the time in the world for my questions, which is as it should be.

If you go

Zorba’s Kitchen: 7325 Lake Underhill Road in Orlando, 407-270-6505; zorbas-kitchen.com

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.