Aristo's Greek Restaurant and Café
224 S. 1300 East, Salt Lake City ; 801-581-0888
(see
map)
A revamped menu shows off delicious Greek food in a relaxed atmosphere.
| Overall |
 |
| Food |
|
| Mood |
 |
| Service |
 |
| Kid-friendly |
YES |
| Noise |
 |
|
Cuisine: Greek
Price: $$
Hours: M-S, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Su, 5-10 p.m.
Liquor: Full Service
Corkage: $ 10
Reservations: Accepted
Accepts:    
Website: http://www.aristosrestaurant.com
Recommended Dishes: Garlic dip (skordalia), hummus, fried smelts (marides), roasted eggplant with feta.
June 3, 2009
Aristo's blends menu with patio
By Vanessa Chang
Summer eating means at least two things. The eating is more casual -- it's perfectly fine to use your fingers to taste and eat. And the eating is generally done outside in pleasant weather. Often is the case that one is fulfilled and the other woefully neglected; think heavy food on a sunny patio or seasonally appropriate plates in a freezing cocoon.
Aristo's is one of the few restaurants that synthesizes these simple principles. Locals flock to the patio-abundant block of 1300 East near the University of Utah, where they can find seafood, Southeast Asian and now, a completely revamped showcase of Greek cuisine.
Don't get me wrong -- I'm the first to compose a paean to the virtues of a fine gyro, but to consider this folded delight to be the end all of Greek food is myopic. Extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, fresh lemon juice, herbs and vegetables alone sound simple. But when combined under the advice of a Greek recipe, some dishes can be redolent of sun-drenched, far-off places.
The recently redesigned menu emphasizes lesser known, but no less delicious dishes that underline the pleasure of a simply baked baby eggplant filled with feta cheese and fresh mint in a tomato sauce (imam baldi, $15.95). With so few components, much could go wrong. But the velvety eggplant is a pleasurable puree, the sharp feta and fresh mint function as yin and yang and the bright tomato sauce isn't of the eggplant parmesan ilk.
A good way to experience this new approach -- and as an excuse to linger on the patio -- is to order a succession of small plates or meze. Order a few and the table looks dazzlingly abundant with your preferred spread. You dictate the pace of the meal and most of it can be enjoyed without silverware. If you don't mind a bit of last minute legwork -- a squeeze of fresh lemon and a shake of Greek sea salt that is placed on every table -- it's the ultimate tactile experience.
The left page of the menu is where you can find familiar hummus ($6.95), which in Aristo's case is house-made and delicious in flavor and texture and the creamy cucumber goodness of tzatziki ($6.95). The orektika plate ($16.95) lets you choose three spreads and comes with Aristo's excellent house-made pita. The unleavened bread is soft, supple, addictive alone or with the garlickly skordalia ($6.95) which also is the dip for fried sliced zucchini in the kolokithakia ($7.95). The only time we noticed problems with service was when the pita wasn't replenished as promised. Such is the bitterness of the ravenous and pita-addicted.
Also on the same page is a luscious tyropita ($6.95): think spanokopita without the spinach. Then there's a marinated chilled baby octopus salad ($9.95). The chunks are wonderfully dense and meaty, almost like sinking your teeth into silky chicken. Marides ($9.95), deep-fried smelt, come head-less, but otherwise whole, coated in a crispy batter. Eat them with your fingers like French fries. The lemon isn't simply garnish: Squeeze it all over the plate. I like to season each smelt with a sprinkling of sea salt before I eat it. Put manners aside and nibble on these 3- to 4-inch tender fish and notice the lemony perfume on your fingers. The idea here is to eat them as piping hot and crisp as possible.
Seafood bodes well in entrees, too. The swordfish kebab (xifias kebabs, $19.95) were slightly overcooked, but well-seasoned. The fennel salad paired with it was a different take on slaw -- crisp, refreshing and with the barest hint of fresh anise. The seared halibut (latholemono, $19.95) comes draped with a vinaigrette-type sauce of onions, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil and a side of roasted, caramelized squash.
The vegetables alone were delicious. Whatever you get entrée or meze-wise, consider ordering some horta ($8.50). These simple greens (grown by Aristo's family) are boiled, drained and served with a slick of olive oil. The lemon that arrives with them is, like its cousin on the marides plate, meant to be doused over the greens. The more acidity, the better. Also, reach for that sea salt. As soon as you do this last bit of tinkering, you truly behold the spellbinding power of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice. The tender, toothy greens are a refreshing take on a traditional green salad and the perfect foil to the rich breaded, stuffed chicken cutlet with a mushroom-green onion sauce, spinach and feta (kotopoulo yemisto, $16.95).
Yes, Aristo's does have souvlaki and gyros and interior seating that's bold in color, translating the Mediterranean warmth indoors when the patio isn't open. But when the latter is, it's tempting to wait a little while longer for a table within earshot of the piped-in or Thursday night live Greek music with a mound of those lemon-spiked marides. A meal here is the closest, and most flavorful, option for a stay-cation that I can think of.
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Good
2 stars Very good
3 stars Excellent
4 stars Extraordinary
Entree price
$ Entree under $10
$$ $10-$18
$$$ $18-$25
$$$$ Above $25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
May 12, 2006
A great meal at Aristo's begins with fish
By Lesli J. Neilson
Upscale Greek restaurants are few and far between in Utah, but Aristo's is one of the leaders.
The 3-year-old restaurant must be doing things right. Its proximity to the University of Utah, a slew of outdoor seating and a festive cocktail list all contribute to a burgeoning business. Beginning the second week of June and continuing each Thursday, Aristo's will offer barbecue, which will include whole roasted lamb and other Greek specialties. It's a great idea.
Fish is always a smart way to start a Greek meal. The marides, or smelts ($7.25), and shrimp saganaki ($7.95) are particularly good. A dash of salt and a squeeze of lemon were all that were needed to perk up the expertly fried smelts. Saganaki usually refers to melting cheese, even flaming melted cheese. Aristo's unusual version, plump shrimp resting in a "melting" feta-flecked marinara sauce, was excellent. Battered and fried calamari ($7.25) were crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside.
Orektika ($15.95), an assortment of heaping dips and dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, is another option. The four heaping dips are enough for four to six people. Hummus had the appropriate garlic, tahini and lemon accents but should have been creamier. Melizanosalata, eggplant dip, would have been better with fewer toothsome seeds, while the garlic dip, skordalia, still would succeed with less garlic. Taramosalata, carp roe dip, was the best of the bunch. The plate is finished with cubes of feta, kalamata olives and three 3-inch-long dolmades that were lean on filling.
Many main courses come with a choice of respectable salad or soup, such as refreshingly lemony avgolemono ($3.25 cup, $4.95 bowl), while others include a choice of lemon rice, oven roasted potatoes or french fries.
Two Greek classics had good flavor but needed to be warmer and could have been more thoughtfully presented. Moussaka ($12.95) was a rectangle of eggplant, potatoes and spiced ground meat topped with an overly sturdy béchamel plated with a simple garnish of half a feta-filled tomato, cucumber spears and parsley flecks. Pastitsio ($11.95) was the same shape, with pasta replacing the eggplant and potatoes, capped with the same stiff béchamel. I couldn't help recalling the most divine version of moussaka I've encountered at a San Francisco restaurant. It arrived in its own earthenware crock, smothered with bubbling, creamy béchamel.
An entrée of two thin pork cutlets ($10.95) was overcooked. On the other hand, a recent lamb shank special ($14.95) was delicious and fall-off-the-bone tender.
We ended the evening with two well-crafted triangles of not overly sweet baklava ($2.75), rizogalo ($3.95), a comforting rice pudding dusted with enough cinnamon to make us not want to inhale too deeply, and a kourabiedes (75 cents), a delicate butter cookie, all made by the owner's mother.
Not much stands out on the wine list save the 12 Greek offerings. Ten are from the same producer, Boutari, but it shows the owner wants diners to have a well-rounded Greek dining experience. Let's hope he continues to add more interesting Greek wines to the list.
Service was professional and efficient, but at one point our server inaccurately corrected a Greek dining companion in the pronunciation of moussaka (MOO-SAH-kah rather than the correct MOO-sah-kah.)
My impression after this visit was that the kitchen is on automatic pilot. The flavors are there, but presentation and creativity are lacking. Perhaps the added energy from barbecue Thursdays can inspire Aristo's to become the destination Greek restaurant in Utah.
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Good
2 stars Very good
3 stars Excellent
4 stars Extraordinary
Entree price
$ Entree under $10
$$ $10-$18
$$$ $18-$25
$$$$ Above $25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
August 15, 2003
Whether mezedakia is Greek to you or not, pay a visit to Aristo's
By Nancy Hobbs
Finding a good gyro in Salt Lake is fairly easy, but finding one complemented on the front end by traditional Greek "mezedakia," or appetizers, and at the finale with terrific baklava or galaktoboureko isn't as commonplace. Even less common at local fast-food Greek diners: linen-covered tables and full service,
wine from the mother country or closer, and patio dining bordered by bona-fide foot traffic. Those are elements found in a true urban Greek café, says Aristides Boutsikakis, who is attempting to replicate that atmosphere with his new venture, Aristo's, near the University of Utah campus.
It's still early to speculate on success (Aristo's has been open only six weeks), but the proprietor has discovered the neighborhood's diversity is a boon for business. For the most part, lunch attracts a university crowd, Boutsikakis said, while dinner brings clients from nearby Federal Heights and the Avenues. His toughest critics -- fellow Greeks -- also have been checking out the new place in town.
They are dining on dolmathes and souvlaki, made using recipes passed down for generations, with Boutsikakis taking charge in the main kitchen and his mother overseeing the backroom bakery.
One of the most popular entrées on the menu is mousaka, a Greek classic that is done especially well at Aristo's, with a layer of eggplant and potatoes on the bottom, followed by exotically spiced ground beef and a creamy, but not too thick, béchamel topping. It is served a la carte for $7.95, or with your choice of salad or soup for $2 more. Either one is a good choice, as the salads are crisp, with slices of cucumber, red onion and tomato and an olive oil vinaigrette, and the soup is another Greek favorite: avgolemono, lemony tart with chicken and rice.
Similar to the mousaka, but likened also to lasagna, is pastitsio, a layered dish of macaroni, the same spiced ground beef and béchamel. I preferred the mousaka, with its flavorful and moist vegetables, but my dining companion -- a pasta lover -- would pick the pastitsio ($8.95 with soup or salad).
The souvlaki, with chicken, pork or seafood skewers, was also delicious, with generous bites of meat (we tried chicken and pork) marinated and spiced with the classic Mediterranean oregano, rosemary and thyme. It comes with one or two skewers ($9.95 or $13.95, respectively) over moist lemon rice, oven-roasted potatoes or fries.
And, of course, there are gyros, which come three ways: chicken, pork or the more traditional beef and lamb. Our server reported that four customers in one day told him the gyros were the best they have eaten in town. Of the three varieties, our favorite was the traditional beef and lamb, which was indeed a treat, with lots of red onion, fresh tomato, generous amounts of meat and the house's tzatziki sauce, a luscious blend of yogurt, cucumbers and who knows what? Boutsikakis is liberal with information, but unwilling to give up all the family secrets.
One of the most impressive elements of Aristo's menu is the appetizer selection, with more than a dozen choices. Of course, there are traditional favorites, including spanakopita, which are little triangles of phyllo dough filled with spinach and feta cheese, and dolmathes, grape leaves rolled around a savory filling of meat, rice and, in Aristo's version, lots of tasty mint.
But some are less familiar, such as taramasalata -- a Greek caviar made of carp roe -- and marides, smelts from the Mediterranean Sea, battered and deep-fried. If you are plagued by vampires or arthritis, scordalia may be the ticket. This dip, as the menu describes, is made of "garlic, garlic, more garlic and potatoes." It is pungent, but definitely delicious spread on toasted pita wedges.
With each "meze" order priced from $3.95 to $7.25 (more for assortment plates of dips or meats), you could simply order several for your table and enjoy a Spanish tapas-type dinner.
Many Greeks would wash down their mezedakia with retsina, wine with a strong flavor of pine. Aristo's offers that and other wine varieties by the glass or bottle. Boutsikakis explained the history of retsina, which originated thousands of years ago when Greeks added pine resin to their wine so that invading armies would be repulsed by its flavor and not steal it.
"It's part of our culture now," he said. "We've been drinking it ever since."
The young cadre of servers at Aristo's, many of whom appear to be fairly new to the job, are working hard to learn those nuances of Greek food and culture, some of which is imparted by the clientele. In the meantime, service is friendly and capable.
Ekaterina Boutsikakis, Aristide's mother, gets all the credit for Aristo's desserts, which are among the first things diners see in the display case as they enter the restaurant. All of the confections, from flaky almond cookies to beautiful, chocolate-glazed individual tortes and the house specialty -- galaktoboureko, a custard pastry -- are picture-perfect and hard to pass up. Don't. Speaking from experience, everything tastes as good as it looks.
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Fair
2 stars Average
3 stars Above average
4 stars Excellent
Entree price
$ Entree under $ 10
$$ 10 - $18
$$$ $18 - 25
$$$$ Above $ 25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
|
