VENUE INFO

Click below for address and more

• Hellas Cafe

The appetizer, roasted red pepper hummus, with ground chick peas with roasted red peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and served with pita bread, at Hellas Cafe. (James Yee for The Star)

Gyros Platter, with thinly sliced gyro meat topped with red onions, green beans, rice, and served with pita bread, at Hellas Cafe. (James Yee for The Star)

Hellas combo platter, with green beans, Mousaka, Pastichio, Dolmathe, Gyro Meat, Spanakopita and Tyropita, taken at Hellas Cafe. (James Yee for The Star)

A small Greek salad, with crispy lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, Greek olives, and feta cheese, at Hellas Cafe. (James Yee for The Star)

I love Greek food, but somehow I had never made it to one of the city's stalwarts for this cuisine, Hellas Cafe. So my husband and I headed to Nora to sample the offerings of this neighborhood staple, open since 1986.

Hellas looks pretty darned unassuming from the outside, in a freestanding building outside of a small strip mall. Inside, though, a clean and cool blue-and-white color scheme and upbeat Greek tunes wafting through the speaker system create a pleasant vibe, rivaled by the appetizing aromas wafting in from the kitchen.

Booths line two walls, with tables in the center. Our hostess/server directed us to a booth; I had to do some deft maneuvering to find a comfy spot in the seat, whose spring system apparently has been under quite a bit of customer pressure.

The appetizer menu offered plenty of options, including standards such as tzatziki, tyropita, spanakopita and of course, saganaki. While the latter tempted, we decided to stay healthy (and avoid being the center of an "opa!" moment) by ordering the roasted red-pepper hummus ($6.25). We weren't disappointed in the thick dip, made more savory by the addition of the peppers. We quickly nibbled our way through the first round of warm pita slices and requested more, which were brought in a small basket.

Since we both ordered dinner platters, a small Greek salad accompanied our meals. Here, though, small equals substantial -- the salads were both larger than many traditional side styles, dressed with a simple but pleasant oil-and-vinegar mix and topped with mozzarella cheese, tomato and cucumber slices and a kalamata olive or two.

The efficient but never rushed pacing of our meal continued as the salad plates were cleared and the entrees arrived. In fact, through the kitchen's viewing window, we could see the meat for my gyros platter ($11.95) being sliced from its vertical skewer shortly before the plate arrived at our table.

My serving contained several long, slender strips of nicely spiced meat, with tomato and onion slices and a cup of tzatziki sauce on the side. More pita wedges also appeared, as did the day's vegetable, a tender-crisp and buttery green bean serving. I also was given a choice of rice or a small potato; I chose the former, a white-pilaf style. With plenty to munch, I had a hard time clearing my plate.

He, meanwhile, had plenty of sustenance of his own, thanks to the Hellas combo platter ($18.95). This little-bit-of-everything Greek tour included mousaka, pastichio, a dolmathe, spanakopita and tyropita -- plus the green beans, rice and a browned potato wedge.

I sampled a forkful of everything on his plate and was especially fond of the pastichio, the simple mixture of ground beef and macaroni noodles topped with the restaurant's indulgent Besciamella cream sauce. That same indulgence capped off the ground-beef and eggplant mousaka casserole.

Pete's faves were the tyropita, a perfect combo of melted feta cheese and light, flaky phyllo dough and its spinach-accented cousin, spanakopita. The dolmathe was hard to share, as it broke apart easily when speared with a fork, but the crumbly bit I managed to transfer to my plate was mildly seasoned, and the grape-leaf wrapping wasn't as bitter as some I had sampled.

We decided to skip dessert; not only had we polished off plenty of food already, but the restaurant folks were wrapping things up around us. (The clock had ticked past 8:30, and closing time the night we were there was 9 p.m.)

I wouldn't mind dropping by again, however, to sample a serving of baklava or sip a glass of Greek wine or a frosty Keo beer.

By Julie Cope Saetre / INtake correspondent