You know that saying, “sometimes you have to break up in order to make up”? Well, it’s never been so true as with my on/off love affair with Anna’s Greek Restaurant, a place I had stopped going to for a couple years after a few bad experiences in a row, which I explained in my last review of the place.
Well, she has won me back! The love affair is back on. I was convinced to give it another try when we scheduled a Meetup there last year. The food was outstanding. I went with a friend a few weeks ago. Still outstanding, and the buffet was beyond my wildest dreams. So not even three weeks later, I’m back yet again, bringing my husband and mother along to enjoy the glory that is their Sunday Brunch Buffet.
Most of the time I’m fairly indifferent about buffets, because for the most part, what’s included is super-cheap to prepare, more carbs than you can shake a stick at, or just stuff they need to move quickly. Not so with the buffet at Anna’s. They truly bring their “A” game, bring out the big guns of the menu as you’re about to see.
At $14.95, it’s an absolute bargain. Not only do you get unlimited access to regular menu items that are normally expensive a la carte, but the items are refilled promptly as they are eaten, kept meticulously clean and organized, and you’re guaranteed to get the same experience if you show up at 2pm as you will when the buffet opens at 11am. And the best part? It happens every Sunday from 11am to 2:30pm.
So what exactly does one get for $14.95? Take a look. There’s a table of appetizers/salads/soups, including a delicious tahini-rich hummus, a nice garlicky tzatziki sauce, a couple of types of soups (avgolemono and lentil), pita, a couple of types of salad, cheesy scrambled eggs and potatoes. And that’s just on the first short table.
Once you move over to where the entrees are, you’re met with a myriad of choices, with standbys like gyro meat, pastitsio, and moussaka, to Anna’s-specific dishes like the Chicken Corfu and a rice dish, a Greek tomato based spaghetti dish, to other delicious items like dolmathes (beef and lamb stuffed grape leaves covered in a rich lemon sauce), spanakopita and tyropita (spinach/feta and cheese turnovers, respectively), cod and calamari, grilled chicken, side dishes like lemon potatoes and green beans with tomatoes, and much more. So much more that even with two trips up to the buffet proper, taking tiny samples of each dish, I still didn’t have enough appetite in order to try everything. They even make Greek omelets to order, all you need to do is ask.
If you still have room left, there’s a huge dessert table, with classics like rice pudding, baklava, galaktoboureko (a farina/filo sweet dessert), waffles and fresh fruit, Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts, lemon cake, and more.
Service has always been friendly and attentive, with Anna herself often checking in with her diners to see how they’re doing or how they’re enjoying the food. If you do go, make sure to fill out the survey, as she will send coupons to those who are on the restaurant’s email list.
We missed Anna’s, we truly did. We missed the beautifully muraled space (decorated with a seascape of Santorini with it’s beautiful blues and whites), we missed the people, and we missed the food. If you’d like an introduction to the place, and the dishes it offers, the buffet is the perfect opportunity to get acquainted.
If you’d like to go: Anna’s Greek Cuisine, 7370 Sawmill Rd, Dublin. 614.799.2207
More reviews by swampkitty can be found online at ColumbusFoodie.com.
