Taverna Opa

Came for dinner with my Greek friend. Service and food was super. No complaints. Will come back.

If you are fine with eating under disco lights, loud club music, and people dancing on the tables next to you while you are eating, then this is the place for you! I thought the food was ok and the portions were generous, but this is not an experience I’m eager to go back to again.

Went here for a group dinner last Sunday night while visiting the fam in Florida. Overall, I enjoyed it…
Here are the pro’s/con’s:
–PRO’s:
1. EXCELLENT Opa salad– if you are a big fan of squid/​octopus/​shrimp, then this salad is for you. VERY generous portion of fish, I couldn’t finish it!
2. The fresh hummus (served made to order) was sooo good; super garlicky though so you have been warmed! Warm fresh pita bread also included
3. Our server was SUPER accommodating with all our needs– we had several individuals who wanted split or separate checks and she was very patient with us.
–CON’s:
LOUD, LOUD and LOUD!!! Don’t expect to hold a normal dinner time conversation. They blast the music especially when the belly dancer comes out every ½ hour or so. It was too loud and we asked them to turn the volume down, which they finally did.
This place is fun, loud, great for parties; think ladies night out or celebrating a fun birthday… not good for casual or intimate dining. Kinda sorta wish there was one out here in Cali only because I want that dang salad again! OPA!

Had lunch here the last time I was in West Palm; the complimentary hummus was absolutely awesome. Portions were good. Prices were high. Service was not on point.

Some friends and I stopped in here on the way back from vacation in the Florida Keys. The day was bright and cheerful. We decided to stop for a refreshing lunch here after seeing it on, you guessed it, Unilocal!We were joyfully greeted by the hostess and she sat us immediately! We had a great view from our outdoor seat overlooking the shops and folks spending their hard-​earned dollars. Lunch began with a hummus appetizer which came with warm pita wedges and was so good we had to ask for another! The food was very fresh, delicious and exactly what I needed to finish the trek back to Charlotte. I would most certainly like to revisit this restaurant in the future and highly recommend giving it a go.
Happy Belly!
Chris

Opa walks a very fine line between entertainment and… well, in any case, something a little lower than entertainment. Opa’s food is probably the biggest disappointment. In the Greek/​pizza/​burger-​topia that is South Florida, expectations for food of the Mediterranean variety are high. Opa doesn’t deliver the way that other Greek joints do. The pita and hummus are just so-​so, the appetizers lack zing, and the entrees are just blah-​nd. Not inedible, mind you. The pastitsio in its bechamel sea is decadent if lacking any sort of pop.
Where Opa really excels is atmosphere. The dancers have serious attitude, and where else can you see half-​naked girls throwing flaming torches around? On second thought, let’s not go there. In any case, Greek club music dominates — and it’s hot. My Shazam was busy all night long, and no that isn’t a euphemism for anything. Opa leaves behind the strip mall chic and opts for atmosphere, which takes the place up a notch in my book.

I love Greek food and had a Groupon so we decided to try this place. It’s not much to look at but the food is excellent as was the service. Our server was David who was very informative, funny and just wonderful. First they bring you fresh hummus and pita that they literally make at your table, I couldn’t stop eating it. I would go back just for that!
To start we ordered the saganaki (flaming cheese) and a greek version of meatballs. They were both delicious. For dinner I got the mousaka which is a greek lasagna, and hubby got the filet kebobs. Both were very good and did I mention everything came out super fast and hot. For dessert we had the walnut cake which was just ok. All in all would love to go back if only for the table side made hummus!

Opa was quite the experience!
Went on on a Friday night and was definitely a happening place among all going on in City Place!
Food was actually pretty good given the location (oftentimes these well situated places have very mediocre food). Filet kabobs with tasty veggies were great while the seafood linguine was good but could’ve used just a touch more.
Had a couple of well done Mojitos as we watched the belly dancers adding to great entertainment!
Used a groupon but would definitely go back.

We went to Taverna Opa on a Wednesday night and we were very surprised by the wonderful service and excellent food. We love good greek food, however, because this seems like a touristy place here in City place, we thought it would be one of those plate smashing spots. But we were pleasantly surprised.
The service was warm, familiar and comfortable. More like a local diner than a big restaurant. The staff was really friendly completely knowledgeable and the food was great.

Mediocre greek salad with greasy dressing and flavorless feta. The saving grace was the house draft beer, whatever it was, it was fantastic. Service was great, as well. However, with many other options at CityPlace, I’d try to eat elsewhere next time.

Had lunch here. The flatbread with mashed chickpeas in a mortar was delicious. It sets a high standard which the wood grilled salmon salad failed to achieve. My salad had too much dressing. My server was sweet but service was pretty slow.

On Friday night my boyfriend had tickets for us to go the Kravitz Center and suggested we eat in City Place. He told me to pick where I wanted to go. I kind of wanted Greek food and was reluctant to come here because the one other time I ate here it was not a good experience. I decided to give it another chance.
I am happy to report it was much better this time! He told the waiter that we only had an hour because of the show the waiter made sure everything came out on time. The quality of food was much better and the service this time was great.
I hope this is not a fluke as I would now be willing to eat there again.

I needed a quick bite to eat before a movie in the nearby theater. Unfortunately, selections weren’t ideal late on a Thursday night. As we walked up to be seated, we were warned that we only had a few minutes before the kitchen would be closing. We promptly sat down and ordered. My lamb gyro was very good, but the lemon potatoes were a little flavorless and the veggies were a somewhat bitter. Our server was great. He was fast and efficient. Our total time there was under 20 minutes and the service was very good. It just wasn’t amazing veggies. I wish I had time to sit and try more, but I would have been late for the showing.
Side note: We were served hummus and pita. I liked the pita, but the hummus was somewhat strongly flavored.
Bottom Line: Ok, but not out of this world. Pretty much the best fast option late on Thursday nights.

Dramatic CityPlace location with hit or miss food. Again location location location…
Spanakopida– great eggwashed filo tasty spinach w. onions
Nice fresh greek salad
’Went for turkey dinner…$ 23.95– roasted turkey breast not a whole bird
Had to tell waiter to bring included veggies
What…no pita…
Still enjoed dining alfresco on the terrace…

My sister and I came to this restaurant because she purchased one of the deals on a coupon site. We arrived to the restaurant with a good vibe so far. We were seated fairly quickly by the hostess, which was very friendly. Our table was a two-​person table near the food runners and kitchen area.
Our waitress comes over to greet us and take our drink order. Everything is going well so far. I asked her if we could order the zucchini sticks inside since they only serve that at the bar for happy hour. She asked the chef, and he said okay.
Then she walked away without taking our order. It’s not a big deal at this time. To the right of us, was some belly dancing and magazine event going on. About 30 minutes later she comes back to take our order.
We had to ask her for the pita and hummus as well. She comes back a few minutes later with the pita and chick peas. She gave us a fork to crush the chick peas with. When I used to go to the Fort Lauderdale location, they gave you a smasher thing that made it easy. Maybe here I am being picky, but you can’t smash chickpeas with a fork!
Now we are waiting for our food, and I notice something on the floor to the left of me. It was a roach! No one noticed it, and it went running towards the tables opposite of us. I tried to take a picture with my phone, but it wasn’t bright enough for the camera.
Now we get the food all out of order. We received the flaming cheese, where they put it on fire right there. That was kind of cool. The cheese was good.
Then I received the lemon potato side dish, and my sister that order it too, didn’t receive her potatoes. The potatoes were awful! It tasted like they had been frozen and reheated. I am a potato fanatic, and I didn’t clean my plate this time.
Then my sister receives her veggie platter, and we reminded the food runner of her potatoes. He was a young kid with a faux hawk that was very nice. He got us salt and pepper and got her a lemon potatoes side. Her potatoes were terrible too.
The best part about this meal was my sister’s veggie platter. Other than that, the waitress was so slow with everything. I would have rather of tipped the food runner because he was nice and got us what we needed.
Such a crappy experience here.

Either you go here to sit outside and watch the TV (which is SO damn annoying to me at a restaurant)
or you sit through slow service and ugly hairy belly dancers. blah.
I’d rather go to Hooters, if I wanted this kind of atmosphere.
Food? ehhhhh. no thank you.
I notice the only single men here– are the real greasy sleezy cheap kind.
blah.

On our last night in Florida we really wanted to go out with a bang! Taverna Opa encourages dancing on the table tops and they have belly dancers to help you shake it! It seems perfect but I had a horrific migraine that was made worse with every beat of music. I still wanted to stay and enjoy dinner so I tried to move past it.
We started with the Original Greek Opa salad that came with mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, Klamata olives, topped with feta cheese. The salad was crisp and delicious the dressing wasn’t too overdone. This was accompanied by hummus and pita bread. The hummus was a bit chunky but you can also pound it to the right consistency because of what it’s served in. The appetizers didn’t stop there .we also had the Cold Pikilia. It came with Caviar spread that we replaced with some sort of potato lemon paste which was my favorite!
I couldn’t get enough zest so I ordered the Lemon Chicken that also came with lemon potatoes. I was only able to eat one piece because my headache was really getting the best of me. It was so good I felt bad leaving it behind with my cousin… at least some one can enjoy it!
If I didn’t feel so bad I’m sure I would have stayed longer but I’m glad I stayed for the entertainment. It was fun watching people dance on the tables and get crazy!

OPA!!!
I really enjoyed this place! A different dining experience: different in a good way!
Went with a group of about 15ppl for a birthday outing and it was really fun! The food was pretty good. The energy in this place makes it really hard to not have a smashing good time!!!
By the time we were done with our food, everyone (almost everyone) was dancing on the tables throwing napkins in the air and screaming OPA!!! and having a really good time!
Definitely plan on going back, with a group of friends again!

I went to Taverna Opa CityPlace for the second time last night.
The first time I went was a late Saturday night for dancing and drinks and it was fantastic. The atmosphere was great, the music was pumping, and I had an excellent time. (Late night was a 4 out 5 stars)
Last night I went for dinner on a Friday night and my experience was a bit different. My friends and I chose to sit inside and the ambiance was great sans the changing lighting that kept my eyeballs burning all dinner long.
The belly-​dancers were enjoyable to watch as were the wait staff dancing on the tables. I enjoyed watching the manager send a free drink to a woman that was particularly kind to a food runner.
What I did not like was my meal. While the appetizer of taziki and pita we ordered was cool, creamy, and delicious as was the hummus. I also ordered a gyro platter and the meat inside was cut into huge chunks and not conducive to eating easily. My side veggies were completely undercooked and I had to send them back. The waitstaff was very kind in getting fully grilled veggies back to the table quickly. The french fries were delicious. My friend’s orders were equally «meh» and we were disappointed by their food display for the night. (Dinner was a 2 out of 5 stars)
Average= 3 out of 5
Go to Taverna for drinks and dancing, skip dinner unless you are going for an appetizer.

If you can get there early, you should try the food… It’s excellent, and the party like atmosphere adds to a fantastic Mediterranean experience. I went here with a group of 6 people, and would suggest sitting inside as opposed to outside. The groups inside seem to be having more fun… Opa has very good belly dancers that shimmy around the restaurant and tabletops periodically. The fun thing is when it gets later in the evening, and when the larger groups lose their inhibitions, the restaurant lets the patrons dance on the tabletops as well… Because of this, Opa gets very crowed on the weekends.
Aside from the party, they do serve some very good Greek food. I’m not a fan of hummus, but theirs is actually very tasty. My favorite was the Kefalotiri Saganaki. It’s melted cheese with brandy and it is a heart attack in the making. The lamb chops was not gamy, well seasoned but not the best I’ve tasted. I also tried the chicken fillet kebabs, and can honestly say I probably would pass next time. It was well seasoned and spiced, but too dry for my taste. Drinks are not too strong but flavorful.
FYI, this is not a place to take kids or to go if you want a quite dinner. After 9 pm it becomes a mad house and you have to yell in order to be heard. This statement is true mainly on the weekends.