L’Athena

Feeling in the mood for something different I decided to give this Greek restaurant on 1^st avenue a try. I’ve never been in this area of QC and it looked like a local place that had nice seating on the terrace outside so I decided as it was a nice evening. The menu was a typical array of your usual casse croute Greek specialties. Souvlaki, moussaka, Beef, chicken and lamb it was all available on the menu plus a great selection of pizzas. My selection for the evening was a gyro with Greek salad. gyro was adequate, lacking a bit in meat and had a nice creamy tzatikii sauce. Portion size was good. The salad was meh with what tasted to be a dressing out of a bottle. The potatoes were slightly above okay. Fried with a light lemon taste. Pricing was extremely cheap and the meal was a decent ³⁄₅. Value for the money is okay don’t come with elevated expectations.

L’Athena saves the saves the day when two hungry tourists stay in a cute hostel/b&b joint outside of downtown on NEW YEARS.
After escaping the old town to explore Laurier Quebec I was completely unaware that the city outside of the touristy bits shut down on New Years– total gringo mistake, my bad. What I wouldn’t do upon realizing this was then back and head back to the old village because I am driving a Kia spectra with 4 season wheels when «light snow» (read six inches apparently) consumes the city and the insanely hilly, tight one way streets of Quebec City. I barely speak French, the host has gone for the night, and I’m hungry, it’s cold, and it’s too snowy for me non-​Canadian ass to venture out.
I somehow find out Athena is still open and order what I thought was a pretty standard Dish– a chicken Caesar salad and a cup of soup, my SO, a lamb pita platter.
Food is absolutely mediocre mind you but oh my god did they deliver. Snow! New Years! I was prepared to go hungry.
PS: caesar salad was hella weird. the dressing was sweet, covered in mozzarella cheese, no parm in sight, and covered, just covered in bacon like some weird rendition of an All-​American garden salad with more cream and MEAT. Some people might appreciate that, I do not.

Let me explain…
This restaurant gets 4 stars because of how fully satisfied we were when we left!
The four stars do no reflect the level of «bourgeois» of this resto… It is a family business with the Greek owner himself working hard in the kitchen; the Menu du Jour are hand written and photo copied and the restaurant décor is «vintage»! BUT!!! the food is SO comforting!
We sat on the patio, which surprisingly can accommodate quite a few people. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and we all craved a good Greek gyro. We ordered the Gyro Platter (Gyro Assiette) which comes with Greek roasted potatoes and Greek Salad. Mmmmm!!!
The wrap was PERFECT! Exactly what I wanted! The wrap itself is very filling and I love how portable they can be… Easily a grab and go item. I’ll definitely be back!!!