Meeting a foodie friend for dinner next week. https://barvlaha.com Any HO’s been ? Recommendations what not to miss ? Will post afterwards. TIA
Took my wife for her birthday dinner recently. We definitely enjoyed the Lamb Chops grilled over charcoal. Also enjoyed their Spreads for a starter with their very delicious bread. The eggplant dish was good for a veggie meal, but I probably would order something else next time. The only dish we sent back was their crispy fried mushrooms because they were a salt bomb for us & they told us they couldn’t make it without it being salty. Admittedly, we really are adverse & sensitive to over-salting food which seems to the standard at most restaurants these days, sadly. Service was truly kind & excellent throughout. Also had a glass of Greek white & red wine that complimented the food nicely.
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I did a double-take on the name, because “vlachas” in modern Greek means “idiot”. But Wiki shows it to be an ethnic name for people from parts of Greece and elsewhere in the Balkans, going back centuries. I’m trying to think of an English derogatory term that derives from an ethnic group.
There are several English derogatory terms I am all too aware of for ethnic groups. I won’t mention them.
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Thank you, Phil. We’ll be sure to try the lamb, the bread and the spreads. I, too, am salt adverse and agree it’s a restaurant trend to oversalt. I noticed one can order a loaf of their bread to take home, as well.
Looking forward to my meal !
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Have a great time! I hope you enjoy everything! 
We’ve had brunch a couple times and 2nd (or 3rd) the dips. Also the crispy zucchini chips, if offered at dinner. They were very good.
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Please let us know how it is! We are going there next week for my birthday!
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I will, Sally.
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As promised, we had a very enjoyable meal at Bar Vlaha a few evenings ago.
Started with from the ALOIFES choices with Kopanisti : whipped feta, roasted peppers,
boukovo. The boukovo is a chile oil providing a slight pink-ish color with a mild spice level. Served with the incredibly toothsome house-baked village style sourdough bread we thoroughly enjoyed our first dish. From the For The Table options we chose Karydokeftedes : walnut fritters, potato, mint, makalo sauce. Faintly reminiscent of falafel with softer texture. I wanted the snails but my dining companion was not a fan. we chose Karavides from the traditional dishes : crayfish, ouzo, tomato, fennel, orzo. In a word delicious and the lamb chops grilled over charcoal. Perfectly medium rare, delightfully seasoned we cut them with a butter knife, that tender. Sahmali(?sp) cake and drip coffee finished the meal. Our waitperson, Maria, was well-versed in all the menu choices. Service all around was very even, exceeding my expectations. Even when we took longer to finish than the house had planned for the manager was gracious in letting us know the table was needed for a reservation. We took 2 hours. My caveat is the room was loud, the table too small. Where we would have put any additional selections, I have no idea. There is a section that is to the right of the bar that is slightly partitioned from the main room. I suspect it is quieter and would seek a table there should I go back. I definitely want to try one of the pies and those snails!
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Sounds fab! And we don’t mind loud—to us, it’s festive! Plus when you live with an almost 10-year-old, loud is par for the course. Thanks for the detailed report. The Karydokeftedes are particularly intriguing to me.
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I should have been clearer - I had to ask my dinner companion to repeat what she was saying - that never happens. So, it was the acoustics less than optimal.
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@sciaccagirl - thanks for the report! I can’t wait to go tomorrow. Any dishes that a particular 12 yo who loves steak could eat?
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words cannot express how disappointing our meal was - the highlights were the cheese spread with bread, walnut fritters, and the rolled baklava with olive oil ice cream. My 12 yo loved her lamb chops. Moussaka special was bland, pita with feta was bland (how is this possible?), chicken was bland, fried mushrooms were well-executed but bland, husband/other daughter thought lamb leg was fine, not great… it was very expensive (300 total) and very boring. It was a packed house and a little loud but not terribly so - Sunday night. I would not recommend.
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I am so sorry to read this, how very disappointing!!
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Sorry to hear!!!
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Expensive and disappointing, oh no. Thank you for being so candid.
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Oh my! What a disappointment. I hope you can get a re-do, though you can never get the $300 back! If even the feta is bland, something is seriously wrong. A memorable birthday for all the wrong reasons!
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@Madrid - I would never go back for a redo! Life is too short. In comparison, I had a similarly priced meal at Sarma lasr week and it was unbelievable
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Sorry it was such a disappointing meal, but hope the birthday was still good!
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