Elite Elf Help Lounge At Petra Greek Taverna

I loved it!
What a way to end the Elites year! Ive gone to Tivoli quite a few times and have always wanted to try it! Of course I was running late and hoped there would be food left. To my surprise I walked in and sweet lil Misti Y. handed me a plate with 2 skewers, some chicken breast and veggies! AHHH THANK YOU! Love her! I sat down and tried my yummies!
The chicken breast was soooo yummie as was the melted cheese. I got a petra cocktail and took a drink and was instantly drunk! Mostly because I was on a hangover from the night before though! It was sure yummy! I also tried a kalamata olive thingy and I was like YUM! I’ve never had those types of olives and was instantly in love! All the eats were ace!
The staff at Petra were absolutely phenomenal! They were sooo kind and so so attentive, we never had to go looking for one. They were truly awesome as as the owner! I love the space, it was super comfy and felt very home-​y. What I liked most is that at the bar area upstairs they were playing the Bronco game! woo!
After we did the shopping crawl and picked up some swag! Thanks Misti, Bentern and Petra grill for everything!

Tons of food and drinks… my goodness Petra Greek Taverna, you have outdone yourself… Thank you for providing us Unilocalers with so much food, drinks, and such a wonderful experience… and of course, can’t leave out our wonderful Senior CYM, MISTI Y!
I was so excited to receive a stocking and many cool Unilocal swags… I have never had a stocking before. There were coloring books, temporary tattoos, Unilocal rain coat… wow. Staff at Petra were so friendly and hospitable. They made sure that we are all well-​fed and sip alcoholic beverages to our heart’s content. We also received a postcard for a free alcoholic beverage and/​or free appetizer.
Toward the end of this Unilocaly hour, Misti did the raffle drawing for the Unilocal Shop Local T-​shirt and other giveaways. It was so great to meet other Unilocalers that I haven’t had the chance to chat with.
Again, thank you Petra for your generosity, thank you Misti, Bobby and Ben-​tern, for a fun, tummy-​filled 2011!

This is the second best event I’ve been to in Vegas (the first being the Unilocalmazing Race!)
Don’t mind me, I’m a Greekophile. All things Greek, I’m on it, so when I found out about this event, Hell or high water would not be able to keep me from attending.
I walked past the front doors because they don’t look like doors, so keep your eyes peeled! The place is very pretty inside. My sister told me it looks like a place a nice wedding reception should be held.
The food was great but geared toward the American palate.
— Skordalia (mashed potato) was yummy but skip the cracker.
— Tyrosalata (feta dip) was SPICY spicy, and I handle spicy well.
— Spanakopita (spinach and cheese triangle) was great and I wish I could have grabbed another.
— Hummus. Good. Not smoky.
— Melitzanosalata (eggplant dip) was good, and didn’t have the normal yucky bitter taste.
— Alifi apo elies (olive tapanade) was incredibly salty.
— Tatziki (yogurt cucumber dip) was fine.
— Mini gyros were decent.
— Keftedes were good.
— Saganaki (flaming cheese) was YUM.
–Kebobs: Chicken, Beef & Vegetable were all great. I LOVED that the beef was rare, just how I love it. It was like butter. So tender and juicy. The vegetables were KILLER. –Horiatiki salad was BOMB. The red peppers made this stuff killer. It was so good and there was a ton to go around because apparently, adults have aversions to eating vegetables.
— Petra cocktail: very strong, but delicious. This drink (and the two mini versions I had of it) kept me at Tivoli Village for a few hours before I was safe to drive.
— Christmas cocktail. Knock your head off strong.
— Champagne with a strawberry. Mmmmm. Champagne.
(The drinks had me woooooozy) Loved the location and the food (and drinks!) Met new Unilocalers (most people I didn’t actually recognize) which is great and got a ton of Unilocal goodie swag in my Unilocal Stocking.
Thanks Misti and Ben for putting on a great event and thanks to Petra, which totally doesn’t deserve the low rating it has, for hosting!

Thank you Misti, Unilocal,Ben-​tern, and Petra! Happy holidays everyone, see ya next year! :D
Petra dedicated the whole second floor to the Unilocal event! When I first walked in, past the cool grand glass doors, I asked where the event was being held and the hostess directed me upstairs. I was like cool! Then I got tired by the time I reached the top to sign in (not really tired but wondered if the servers take this route!). Where’s the elevator? There’s a kitchen up here?
I sat down with two new Unilocalers I’ve never met before, Jon and Susan, really cool peeps! And they were already drinking! The drinks were superb! My first dip was in the chocolate peppermint martini, wow that was strong, so I had another to confirm that there was Kahlua in it! The fruity lemonade with strawberry blended drink was sweet and yummy too. The champagne with strawberry was also sweet and yummy. I also met Christina and her husband for the first time. Really cool Unilocalers.
The food was good, I was really impressed with the beef souvlaki though. It was cooked perfectly and still red inside, the flavor was still in there throughout the dining experience. Yummy veggies!
The servers were ON TOP OF EVERYTHING. They were on beast mode today! I was really really impressed! They worked their butts off for us, very much appreciated it!!!
Congrats on graduating Ben-​tern! I would have looked out for you had I known! :D Congrats again, great accomplisment!
Back to the appetizer samplers, ohh yum! What stood out to me was the meatball on dill sauce, the hummus, shoot dang actually everything. I missed out on the caviar that Susan was talking to me about! D: If I can request to dine upstairs during my next visit I think I’ll ask!
The owner stopped by at the end of the service to see if we were all doing well and enjoyed ourselves, we definitely did or at least I did. Thank you sir for having us! I will definitely return!

My first visit to the behemoth known as Tivoli Village and I had fun bringing my ultra-​hip sister visiting from the Big Apple to see how the Vegas Unilocalers roll with the final Elite event of the year at this swanky joint. We were greeted by the soon-​to-​be departed Ben-​tern (they grow up so fast these days) upon ascending upstairs to a private area with tables decked out with little freebies which we could collect into our own little stocking given at the check-​in table. If you need any proof why we have the best Unilocal CM ever, one of the other folks at our table noticed that checking into this event entitled them to a free deep-​bellied «Ho Ho Ho» Santa impersonation from Misti and I have to say, her rendition is pretty spot-​on. I guess we are all Santa’s little Unilocalers after all.
The service and food was fantastic as we were treated to strawberries and champagne, a frozen fruity concoction loaded with high quality rum, and a chocolate mint dessert martini that was dangerously easy to sip. There was no shortage of food as we were treated to an array of meat and veggie skewers, classics such as spanokopita, pita with hummus and yogurt sauce, and the crowd-​pleasing flaming fried cheese. I also learned from my table-​mates about Shakshouka, which is apparently some crazy delicious Mediterranean poached egg and tomato dish that I need to track down now since the name itself is too awesome for it not to be good. My sister is one who is not easily impressed by anyone or anything so it says a lot when she felt the need to post an update on facebook «At my first Unilocal Elite event… living vicariously through my bro!» Happy holidays to the Vegas Unilocal community and looking forward to what lies ahead in 2012.

I am very lucky that my wife SheilaG. is a Unilocal Elite. This allows me to attend such fantastic events that Misti puts together for Elite members and their Plus Ones. Petra Greek Taverna was an outstanding way to celebrate the end of the 2011 Unilocal Elite year.
The people at Petra were so friendly and described all the very tasteful dishes they provided. We arrived early, first time for my wife, and were served champagne with strawberry and the trays of appetizers that just kept on coming. They were great, and then we had a frozen rum cocktail that was wonderful. I had to leave for a few minutes to finalize the adoption of a two-​year old Poodle/​Maltese mix we had the Dog House hold for us at their adoption event right before.
When I got back to Petra they had already served a Greek salad, followed by skewers of chicken, beef, and grilled vegetables. I liked the chicken best, but they were all excellent. Then to top everything off, they served a scrumptious chocolate martini; we all had two.
On our way out I went to the restroom which was very clean and nicely decorated, and I complimented the owner on the clean restroom. He said how important it is to have a nice restroom, which is a reflection of the restaurant. He thanked me for my comment, and I told him we had a wonderful time and will be returning soon.
Thank you Misti for all the hard work you have done this year, and I’m looking forward to all the Elite event in 2012, if Sheila maintains her status for 2012.

Misti did a fantastic job putting this all together. As a new Elite member, this was my first event. I’m hoping to be an Elite in 2012. The food and service was really great. Everyone was so warm and welcoming. Got to speak with the owner about Athens, having been there last year. I can say unquestionably, this food was authentic and as good as the food I had in Athens. My husband, who was also at the event, and I are already planning a return visit to Petra.
The cocktails were really great… especially the specialty Petra drink. Served in nice large glasses, they really had a kick! We were all amazed at the amount of food served. By the end of the event, we were all stuffed to the gills. We defiitely needed to go shopping just to work off the calories!

We arrived early for once. This was a great ending to a fast paced year. So many terrific memories from the past year.
This event was no different.
This was my first time here, even through I live up a few blocks.
I am super impressed by the dessert drinks; strawberry & lemonade, Chocolate peppermint Martini (I hope it is not just a one time thing, I intend to go back). Not too strong or too sweet but delicious, Unilocal I was lit like a Christmas tree.
Despite me being picky, I tried items I would have never tried before. The salad was good combo with the meat.
Unexpected plus… I was full by the time we left!
Next up shopping … I needed to walk it off before I drive.

The entrance to Petra looked like a huge window… I was already impressed: P Then having the entire second floor for Unilocalers was a great treat. Oh Misti. how do you do it??? The restaurant gave such a warm, welcoming atmosphere right when I walked in… the Hostess greeted me politely and hope I enjoy everything. So sweet!
My girlfriend joined me at the bar and we both had a wonderful time. Enjoyed catching up with fellow Unilocalers and seeing new faces as well! Out of nowhere, my favorite song that I get down to. 6 Foot, 7 Foot by Lil Wayne came out from the speakers and I was jammin’ for a second. then it got switched to a more holiday, friendly tunes, which was a good choice in doing: P I had the chance to try a very strong, yet Christmas-​spirited cocktail of Chocolate Peppermint Martini. Great selection of food to sample… I tried the Greek Salad, mini gyros (So cute!), spicy hummus, greek spinach triangle pies, and chunks of great seasoned meat and vegetable skewers. Everything tasted homemade and fresh!!! The owner, Dan the Man came up to say hello and introduce himself. Now I see where the food gets the great taste ;) Grandma’s recipes perhaps??? I enjoyed it very much… so did my girlfriend that just devoured everything in sight. She wanted more of the refreshing strawberry champagne, but thank goodness she only had the chance to sip on one or she would have bought everything and anything that she liked at the Unilocal Shopping Crawl, which was held right after. Phew!
The servers were so accommodating and helpful with our experience at Petra. Also Misti, our one and only wonderful CM was everywhere and making sure all of us Unilocalers had everything we needed to Unilocal about: D Thank you so kindly Misti for everything!!! Also Bobby and Ben-​tern (Congrats on graduating!!) for helping out and making this event such an enjoyable one as always!!! Honestly… when I heard this was the last Elite Unilocal Event. I was quite. Sad. This year went by so fast, maybe because Unilocal made it so fun. that I didn’t even notice, it is almost coming to an end. A very nice way to go out with a bang and celebrate a year being a Unilocaler and being a part of the Elite Unilocal Family. We had a heart-​stirring raffle with tons of great prizes and I’m SO happy I won a Unilocal t-​shirt. I have always, Always wanted one… ever since I started Unilocaling away. I secretly hugged it when I came home. Hehe… Thrilled and can’t wait to rock my Unilocal t-​shirt forever and ever. It even makes me. smile to wear it. So Proud. so proud I am: D
My girlfriend couldn’t stop saying. «this is so much fun, thank you for inviting me.» My reply… «You better join Unilocal now and Unilocal this!» I’m so direct I know… but at least I’m straight to the point?!
Again, THANK YOU Misti, Bobby (Robert), Ben-​tern, and Mr. Greek himself… Dan… the Man. Such an awe-​inspiring event for the Holidays and for Unilocal of 2011. It was a very delicious place to have our last Elite Unilocal event… I’ll definitely stop by again for some more Authentic Greek Cuisine!!!

My first out of town elite event! Misty and her man Bobby were super hospitable and took very good care of us Portland out-​of-​towners. Everyone was happily noshing of Greek delights that kept coming, and coming. Petra’s is a beautiful establishment with creative twists on Greek cuisine. I was impressed with the mojito made with hard to find mastiha liquor. If I lived in Vegas, I would be back in a flash for regular dining at Petras. Thanks for having us!

Awesome event. The atmosphere in the upstairs area was perfect. The staff, drinks, and food were all great. I absolutely loved the blended Petra cocktail. It tasted like a really good peach/​strawberry daiquiri. It was tart, not too sweet, and just strong enough. As busy as the staff was, there was never a shortage of food, or drinks. Tons of mini appetizers (hummus, tzatziki, mini gyros, and spanakopita to name a few). Meat skewers (marinaded chicken, and filet mignon), and veggie skewers, a delicious salad, and some surprisingly tasty flaming cheese. We had a great time sampling everything, and socializing with fellow Unilocalers.

WOW. We had the whole second floor of Petra all to ourselves! Thank you so much Misti for getting us an event in such a great restaurant! I’ve been to Petra once during Restaurant Week but this was a completely different experience. I’ve never been to an Elite event alone before but I got seated at a table with some super awesome fellow Unilocalers that I’d never met before and had a blast. I was barely sitting before I noticed the plated appetizers that were going around the room; I can’t even count how many there were (and they were all amazing). There were stockings and Unilocal goodies all over the room and once everyone was settled, the salads and skewers came around. Aside from the Fogo event, I’ve never been so completely stuffed at a Unilocal party! While I wasn’t drinking, everyone at my table seemed to be really enjoying the cocktails that were rotating through constantly. What a great way to end the Unilocal year!!!

As usual Misti put on a GREAT event!
Petra allowed us the second floor all to ourselves and it was wonderful
relaxed atmosphere.
The wait staff was superb bringing a various amount of
cocktails as well as strawberries and champagne… yummy!
To keep the mood festive there was a sprinkling of Christmas and
Top 40 music which really helped to loosen up the group. This was a nice
event to connect with fellow Unilocalers because we all know the way
to get people talking is cocktails and food! So it was a nice little set up with
great guests. This was one of the first events where I felt like I could really
get to know the people I was sitting with in more than a quick conversational
manner, Which was cool!
The food supplied was plentiful and delicious. From chicken and steak skewers
to veggie skewers and a tasty salad.
After all the noms were completed they gave away gift shirts that were
super cute and someone even had the opportunity to win a Cirque
gift card.
It was a really great way to spend a Sunday; food, drinks, music and raffle
prizes, what more can I ask for!

The Elf Help event today reminded me of my virgin Russian Nightclub experience in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn: You’re seated at a table that’s piled high end to end with overlapping plates of food. You pig out, then find out those were just the appetizers!
We were delighted by the champagne w/​strawberry in the unusually-​shaped glass and the trays of appetizer bites passed by the wait staff: taramosalata, skordalia, eggplant, gyro, and more. They were delicious, and followed by a pretty, frozen rum cocktail. We thought that would be all, and it would have been generous enough.
But suddenly a Greek salad was centered on our table, and then skewers of chicken, beef, and grilled vegetables! The meats were moist, tender, and delicious. This was capped off by an absolutely scrumptious chocolate martini, topped with whipped cream; it was so amazing, half of our table had a second one, and we all staggered out sated and happy!
This was a fabulous way to end the Elite ’11 year! My only regret is that we didn’t get to mingle and socialize enough with our fellow Unilocalers, for two reasons: first, we were kept very busy with all the food and drink. As soon as we finished one thing, there was another to entertain our palates. Second, right before the event started, we visited the Dog House to check out the doggie adoption event. We fell in love with a two-​year old Maltese-​Poodle-​Something mix and asked the shelter people to hold the dog for us, but we had to make a decision halfway through our Petra experience, so we were preoccupied with discussing the pros and cons between ourselves and our tablemates.
Petra went far and beyond to make our event spectacular. Everything was delicious, and since this was our first visit to them and, as a bonus, it’s in our neighborhood, we will definitely be returning, and soon! And once again, our thanks to Misti for never ceasing to amaze us with her abilities!
P. S. The new member of our family is Jake, formerly known as Mickey, and he’s a winner! We had to skip the Shop Local following Elf Help, because we had to hightail it over to Eastern and claim Jake from the Shelter.

The Elite Elf help event was awesome! Petra was very generous with the food and the drinks! They kept the food and drinks rolling in. I loved the spinach in the filo dough it was so good! I hope they serve that on their regular menu. The Beef, and Veggie kabobs were also very tasty! I tried their White Caviar… not my thing but I’m glad I had a chance to give it a try.
I also loved the fun drinks they served the Chocolate peppermint Martini is my favorite! I enjoyed the champagne with the strawberry in it. They also served this yellow and red drink that was like a grown up Slurpee which was delicious!
It was nice seeing and meeting old and new Unilocalers before we say good bye to 2011. Thanks Misti, Bobby and Bentern for a wonderful winter year wrap up for the Unilocal Elite class of 2011!

my 1^st elite event ever!!!
good food and good conversation = good times.
i love meeting my fellow Unilocal elite whilst noshing on fine vittles.
unfortunately, had to pass on the shopping crawl due to scheduling conflicts but i’m sure it, too, was much fun.
the food at petra was surprisingly delicious and the service was fantastic.
we were skeptical because of their 2.5 star rating.
just goes to show that you can’t judge a place by Unilocal alone.
you have to try it for yourself to know for sure.
the hubby and i are definitely dining here again.
the kebobs were seasoned well and cooked perfectly.
the salad was refreshing.
the saganaki was so fun and yummy especially with the pita.
all the little finger foods — hummus, tzatziki, tapenade — were good too.
hopefully, we elite and our +1’s will write some good 4 and 5 star reviews for them resulting in a more favorable overall rating.
thanks to misti for putting together another awesome event!!!
it was great to meet the new intern, ben, as well.
looking forward to participating in next year’s events… well, assuming i make it to the 2012 squad!!!
=o)

Way to close out the year with one of the best Elite Events ever! This was one of those times that everything went right: good (and plentiful!) food and booze, great space, good people!
They had a ton of vegan stuff, and the waitstaff was super awesome about modifying things when possible to make even more stuff vegan!
We had some yummy cocktails — champagne with strawberries and a yummy frozen fruit and rum drink– and SO much food, I was stuffed by the end.
I even got a special HO HO HO from the Yangs! Very special indeed.

Misti and Bentern, LOVED LOVED LOVED this event. Oh wow. I had no idea that when you said that it would be the last Elite event of the year, that you would have us stuffing our faces. :)
I’m so glad that the last event was at this place, since I’d been eyeing this spot since I attended the gift wrapping event in the past.
I showed up late (as usual, lol), but luckily my boyfriend Jude N. saved me a spot. I also got to hang out with some old Unilocalers and meet some new Unilocalers in the too – Christopher A. Nicole F, Rachel S., Kevin P, Regina P, and Earl C too.
First of all, I came starving, but when I left, I almost had to be carried out to my car. Only half kidding this time. The food was so amazing, and even though I got there after they stopped with the appetizers, there was so much to go around that I was so happy.
The drinks… let’s just say that I’ve come to realize that when it comes to Elite events, I need to watch it. The cocktails that they served were amazing – I believe the Petra, Champagne with a Strawberry, and something else that was alcohol-​infused fruitiness. Whatever they were, they were good and strong!
Anyways, back to the food… so I basically sampled everything:
salad with peppers, cucumbers, onions, cheese — full of flavor and very delicious (the one items we unfortunately couldn’t finish at our table)
souvlaki/​skewers with chicken, vegetables, and meat — definitely amazing, since the meat was tender and each bite seemed to just melt in your mouth… whenever I return, I’m definitely ordering at least one of these
bites of kalamata tapenade, hummus, tzatziki spreads were tiny, but enough for you to definitely try out a wide variety of their spreads
spakanopita (spinach, leeks, feta cheese stuffed into filo dough) — a two-​bite wonder… had to stop myself from scooping the contents from an entire serving tray onto my plate. yes, they were that good.
saganaki (type of cheese that is battered and seared) — think any flambé dessert, then apply it to a round container of cheese with accompanying pita bread… that’s pretty much what this was. it was fairly tasty, or at least I thought so, and I enjoyed it, even though I’m not much of a cheese person
All in all, the place was nice, intimate, and cozy – since we were housed in the second floor of this place (yay, Elite takeover, lol). For the sports enthusiasts, they had the tvs (surrounding the bar) playing Sunday football games, so I figure that they could at least appeal to the football fans, too, and make sure that they could get their fill of football, food, and drinks, while socializing.
The wait staff was AWESOME! It seemed like within seconds of our table clearing a plate or downing a drink, someone was either there to take our empty glass/​plate or offer to refill our drinks. I’m not sure if it was because of our event, but I definitely think that I’ll be returning soon to try out the rest of the menu, so that I can write a proper review.
The owner also came out and said a few words. I thought that he was pretty nice and social.
I also attended the Shopping Crawl and made out with some amazing purchases: Chocolate Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar from Cucina Olive Oil, Tiramisu at Leone Café (sadly, that was consumed toward the end of the crawl, but was pretty delicious), and some chocolate bars at Brasado Chocolates & Specialties. Definitely never would’ve found these spots without the Shopping Crawl.
A big congrats to all of the winners of the shirts and gift certificates.