Electric City Grill is brand spankin' new and opened it's doors this past month in the Publix shopping center off hwy 81, and is located next to 'Coach & Jo Jo's'. From the outside it would be hard to tell what type of cuisine is featured within it's glass doors. However, once you approach and peer in through the windows you'll find beveled stone accents, waiters carrying pizza on top of stones, and your nose will quickly fill with the aroma of Greek and Italian spices. Upon entering you'll find two charming suits of armor standing upright eager to welcome you in!
The waiting area is quite small and in the way of other hungry customers entering through the main door. If you have a large party and children, it may be best to give them your name and wait outside in the heat as to stay out of the way of other patrons and getting hit by the door. If you're with a party of adults or it's just you and a friend, you can find yourself a seat at their nicely crafted bar featuring flat screen t.v.s and a great selection of red wines, located in the middle of the restaurant.
On our personal experience, it was quickly apparent that the staff was still trying to figure out who is doing what, when, and where. Although a bit frustrating, it's refreshing to see that each of their staff worked as a team and were eager to jump in where needed. We saw a waitress busing tables when she wasn't taking orders, a bartender carrying empty plates to the back of the kitchen, and a hostess carrying hot plates out to tables.
After being seated it took about five minutes to be acknowledged by a waitress who asked "Has no one taken your order yet? I'm so sorry." Typically this would annoy me, however, because the restaurant is new it is understandable for there to be confusion regarding who has what table. I do hope that this gets worked out quickly. Our waitress was very kind and friendly and had an 'exotic' look to her which made the 'Greek and Italian' theme all the more real, like you're really eating in one of the featured countries.
Our food took longer than we would consider 'norma'l to be served. Perhaps, while they're trying to work out timing in the kitchen they could serve each table with dinner rolls or hummus to satisfy grumbling tummies. Not a 'must', just a suggestion!
Once our food did arrive we can happily report that it was very tasty! I ordered the gyro platter which including a pita topped with gyro lamb meat, lettuce, tomato, and tzatiki sauce. Being a gyro lover and having actually had a few in the country of Greece, I was skeptical as to how 'authentic' tasting it would actual be. I can happily report it passed with flying colors! Absolutely delicious! The meat itself was saturated in rich flavors that will leave your mouth watering (oooh it's watering just thinking about it). The portion was perfect, not too much, not too little. It was a a satisfying delicious meal.
We didn't try any of the Italian options on the menu but we greatly look forward to visiting Electric City Grill again and ordering a pasta or pizza. Although, I will admit, it will be hard to pass up the gyro knowing how good it is.
Pricing: Most entrees were about $10.00-$14.00. Salads were about $6.00, and appetizers ranged between $4.00-$10.00. Very affordable!
Would we recommend Electric City Grill to the community of Anderson? ABSOLUTELY! Arrive with patience and with a taste for authentic Greek and Italian cuisine. We look forward to the restaurant becoming more settled, organized, and expanding on their talents as a team.
Our advice? Skip going to Publix for ingredients to make dinner, bring the family with you, and go to Electric City Grill instead!
6 comments:
Great work! Can't wait to see where you go next!
They'll come around. Love the reviews, great idea.
I loved the gyro but the rest of the meal was not impressive. Frozen fries, calamari, and soupy hummus was not what we expected. We were looking forward to hand cut fries and hummus that had some texture. Our server was very accommodating when we needed to return these items to the kitchen and order something different. The gyro made up for the rest of the meal, but frozen products are not always the best choice.
Gyro was really good, chicken primavera was a large serving and was good, pizza was so-so, service is "young" and needs more experience, even on a slow night it seemed like we were keeping them from what they would rather be doing. With a little work this could be a really nice little place to eat. The decor and bar area was really nice! Plenty of wide screen TV's around the place as well.
We ordered hummus as an appetizer for two people because we figured it would be a wait and were right. It arrived... huge plate of hummus and ONE (yes ONE) cut up piece of pita bread. That's four triangles... and they were cold. Not "Just heated up and then cooled off before they got to the table" cold... but refrigerator cold. Even so, we were hungry, we didn't complain and tore through that rather quickly at two triangles each. Fifteen minutes went by, our glasses were empty, our server was nowhere to be found, so we snagged someone just walking through the section to bring us more pita bread. This time they brought a basket full and it was piping hot. Much better. I'm thinking this is probably what we should have gotten in the first place. We were seated at one of the front windows and perhaps the most annoying part was that the bottom half of the window wasn't covered with anything, so there was nothing to really divide us *visually* from the outside but a thin pane of glass. I would have rathered the bottom half of the window be blocked in some way to give more privacy from passing people. The rest of the meal, once it finally got there was very good... but I have to reiterate the frozen fries were disappointing. The original poster may not have minded the higher than average prices but for that cost I expected better than frozen. My experience was mixed. I enjoyed the main course very much (but for the fries) but did I find the rest worth it? No. I can get a gyro just as good from Anderson Coach House and pay half as much... and their frozen fries are actually *better*. I probably won't go back.
I think the only complaint I had was that it looked like a sports bar rather than a Greek restaurant. I found the bar area and tvs distracting. Greeks enjoy their food and the food should always be the main focus. To water it down with entertainment is an insult to the cooking. I simply could not enjoy my food because there was too much going on. If you like the sports bar atmosphere and alright Greek food... this is your place. But for this old Greek? Too much America here to ever be considered an authentic Greek dining experience.
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