Lunch, Anyone? Steve’s Greek Cuisine

Steve’s Greek Cuisine has been an institution on Newbury Street for more than a quarter of a century, yet it often goes unnoticed by BU students. And that’s a shame, because Steve’s offers some of the best genuine Greek cooking the city has to offer—and at prices that won’t empty a student’s bank account.

The family-run restaurant’s façade is unassuming. Large plate glass windows overlook Newbury and Hereford streets. The interior is cheery, with bright yellow walls and large green plants taking up the little floor space not occupied by tables. A whiteboard announces daily specials.

With its pleasant but unremarkable setting, the restaurant is perfect for a laid-back lunch. On the Friday afternoon we visited, servers squeezed between customers, ranging from fidgety school kids with grandparents to businessmen on lunch break, at tightly packed tables.

But forget the décor and the ambiance. The real draw here is the food. The menu offers standard fare like hamburgers, chicken fingers, and grilled cheese sandwiches for picky eaters. But stick with what the owners do best: fresh and authentic Greek cuisine, including stuffed grape leaves, falafel, and mousaka. These dishes leave little room for complaint.

On a chilly Boston afternoon the avgolemono soup (chicken with rice and lemon juice, $4.95) was an excellent starter, pleasantly tangy and satisfying, yet not too filling. The dolmades yialantzi (grape vine leaves stuffed with rice and fresh seasoning, $8) were not as flavorful as expected and a little oily, but the accompanying tzatziki sauce was phenomenal. The homemade dip (yogurt with garlic, cucumber spread, olive oil, and spices) is made fresh and definitely worth ordering with Steve’s flaky pita bread.

The lunch menu is so extensive that it’s difficult to choose just one dish: salads, sandwiches, seafood, and pasta classics, all are tempting. We settled on Steve’s gyro ($8.50), a hefty wrap that doesn’t disappoint. The generous portion of lamb and beef topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce was almost (anticipating the meal, we had skipped breakfast) too much for one sitting.

My dining companion ordered another Greek classic that left little room for dessert: Steve’s pastichio. The Greek lasagna ($12), baked with ground meat, feta cheese, and béchamel sauce, was pronounced “rich but not too dense.” The accompanying rice made the meal impossible to finish, but the Greek salad that came with it complemented the hearty meal.

There are plenty of light lunch items to choose from, including a humus wrap served with tomatoes, onions, and lettuce ($8) or a classic Greek salad ($7).

Satiated after finishing, we were in need of a pick-me-up. We ordered a Steve’s frappe ($4), a Greek iced coffee with a bitter kick, but adding a few sugars to the frothy drink made a tasty, and not overly indulgent, ending.

If you’re looking for something sweet for dessert, Steve’s offers treats like baklava, pie, and cookies, ranging from $1-$5.

Steve’s also serves beer by the bottle ($5) and wine by the glass ($5) or bottle ($26-$34).

Students hardly need an excuse to head to Newbury Street, with all its shops, but Steve’s provides one more reason to stroll down to Back Bay.

Steve’s Greek Cuisine is at 316 Newbury St., Boston, between Hereford and Gloucester streets. The nearest T stop is Hynes Convention Center on the Green Line’s B, C, or D trolleys. Steve’s is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Lunch is served beginning at 11:30 a.m. The restaurant takes Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, but not American Express. Take out is available by calling 617-267-1817. A complete menu is available here. A second location, at Quincy Market, One Faneuil Hall Square, offers takeout only.

This is part of a weekly series featuring Boston lunch spots of interest to the BU community. If you have any suggestions for places we should feature, leave them in the comments section below. Check out our list of lunchtime tips on Foursquare.

Brittany Rehmer can be reached at bmrehmer@bu.edu.

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