Costa’s Restaurant

We came in for breakfast on a Saturday morning and were sadly very disappointed. My Seattle omelette was decent. The waitress was inattentive and paid so little attention when I placed my order, that it had to be corrected.
We also ordered an eggs benedict, and the poached eggs were EXTREMELY overcooked. The hashbrowns were grey in color and the english muffin was soggy. Unfortunately, we will never be returning. Waste of money.

This is one of my favorite restaurants on The Ave, if not my #1 favorite. I enjoy their all-​day breakfast menu and my go-​to item is their Garden Skillet, an excellent choice for those who love their vegetables. I’ve tried the other skillet, the Farmer’s Skillet, which is a good choice for meat-​lovers. As with all the breakfast menu items that I’ve ever ordered, I always get asked how I like my eggs (scrambled) and what type of toast I’d like (sourdough). Always hits the spot.
Service: Dining in can be slow, but I usually call in for a to-​go order, which is ready in about 20 minutes.
Credit card: I believe they take American Express.
Overall: Go to here!

Was staying around Udistrict for a bit, they Open pretty early. perfret time when i was hungry in the morning and got no food at home! Tried the breakfast steak and egg, it was good. Place is pretty nice.
Service was okay. Cooking was not too fast and not too long.
Going back to try something else next time!

Great lil place. Love the atmosphere and neighborhood it’s set in. Nice people. Super delish food. Only thing I had a problem with was the fact I had to ask for napkins numerous times before they were actually delivered but that is literally it. I would definitely go again next visit out… I LOVED the food… I had the hummus appetizer, spanakopita, and gyro plate with rice. Spot on!!!

I found the food to be average and the prices to be relatively high. We were there for lunch.

I like the service, espresso, and overall the food is excellent. I usually get falafel plates or hummas dishes with a lot of veggie sides. Very tasty, easy to find parking, and generally a quieter and roomier restaurant than those closer to the U.

Have been coming to Costa’s for years. Favorite restaurant on the Ave. Great for breakfast and dinner. Love all the chicken dishes. Consistent, clean, great portions, friendly staff, cozy. Will be back.

I was here today on the occasion of a late birthday brunch and while none of the food was bad, it just didn’t compare to other brunch places I’ve tried. Maybe it was just what I ordered, the gyro and feta omelette, that was a little lackluster because the menu selection was pretty huge. I just had a simple request that they didnt add so much feta but it was still too much for my liking. The décor is a plus however, with all the green plants hanging everywhere making it feel like i was in a safari haha. It’s still a place that I would consider going back to but maybe trying other things like the skillet or the benedicts.

This place had some real positive and some real negative aspects that average out to only three stars.
The food was great. The calamari tasted amazing, but it would have been nice if it had come with some sort of sauces. The hummus was amazing, but it came with just one little pita bread. The entrees were all HUGE and were comprised of many great elements, but many of them were so salty that they were nearly inedible.
My biggest problem with this place was the service. We hardly had any time to look at the menu before the waitress asked if we were ready and we told her we needed more time. She gave us a minute and 45 seconds, then came back to get some sort of orders out of us. Our appetizers came out in a decent amount of time but the entrees took ONE HOUR. Three tables were sat and two had left between the time we got our appetizers and finally got our mains. I was seriously thinking about saying something to the server when they finally arrived.
When it came time for the check, that took forever also. We finally had to go to the service area to get the check and, I realize it’s a hassle, we had to do some splitting. The server gave us back the little check book thing with a big pile of credit card slips and receipts, each with a duplicate. When we opened it, it looked like a confetti explosion and we had had to sit back down and gather up all the little slips and figure it all out.
Meh, I think they just need more servers and maybe more cooks. I don’t think I’ll be going back any time soon.

Solid food, decent price, service was mediocre. The atmosphere was lovely and welcoming despite some odd vegetation placed intermittently in the restaurant. My steak and eggs were pleasantly smothered in gravy and the eggs well prepared. I have also had the crepes which were served with an extravagant presentation. Give it a try and just hope it’s not too busy.

Looking for a breakfast place in the U District that opens before 9am, my husband and I (who just moved into the neighborhood) went to Costa’s and were seated right away. There were only 4 – 5 occupied tables at that point since it was around 8:30.
We both ordered from the daily specials: the Beast Mode Omelet for my husband and the Country Benedict for me. While waiting for our food, the restaurant started to fill in more. It had been 30 minutes or more since we ordered food and I was becoming impatient and hangry (don’t mess with me when I’m hungry!!!) and there was no word from staff as to what was going on.
Finally after 45-​ish minutes the hostess brought our food and apologized, explaining she took 10% off our bill and that coffee was on the house as an apology for the inconvenience. Of course it was appreciated that she did this, but it also would have been nice to be warned ahead of time that there were issues in the kitchen and our order was being worked on. I thought our food was forgotten about!
This will probably be in our regular Saturday breakfast rotation.

Came here for brunch and the food was solid. I ordered an eggs benedict and it was pretty standard. Definitely nothing special, but got the job done. I didn’t order them, but they did have bottomless mimosas in 4 different flavors for $ 15 (I think 15.).
It was pretty noisy and there was a large party moving between tables but other than that the service was pretty good.
Giving it 3 stars, not overly impressed but didn’t have any problems with it.

We were staying at a hotel in the University District of Seattle and this restaurant was recommended to us by the concierge at our hotel as a good place for breakfast. It was very good, albeit a bit too much food for me. I had oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar and it was hearty and delicious. My wife had eggs, bacon and toast and it, too, was cooked and presented beautifully. Too bad that we didn’t have a chance to try this Greek-​themed restaurant for lunch or dinner, but I suspect that the food is good and the service attentive.
A quick sidenote. I left a pen at my table (a Spacepen that I’ve owned for years) and lucky for me someone turned it in. The restaurant was very good about keeping it for me and I retrieved it that night. Yea!

My fiancé and I were walking around the Ave today and we were looking for a good breakfast spot. We came across this place and we decided to give it a shot. We couldn’t be happier. Great food. Not the best, but definitely worth it. We ordered two dishes, orange juice and coffee. It was $ 32.
The service wasn’t the best either, but the waitress was super nice every time she came to attend us. We entered the restaurant and we got seated right away. Thankfully we missed the rush hour and it ended up being busy while we were ordering. That explains the service.
Overall, I give it 4 stars and I would easily go back if I was in the neighborhood. Not a Must go to place, but if you are in the U district, definitely check it out!

Meh. I’ve experienced better, is right.
I wandered in for breakfast intending to grab a quick bite.
The omelette was okay and kind of weird and also very big. I could eat only half. The coffee was probably Farmer’s Brothers or somesuch, you know, with little creamer cups ala Denny’s?. As much was expected. I opted for fruit instead of hash, and the cantaloupe was surprisingly tasty.
I remember coming here when I was little and eating dinner with my folks and loving it. My memory of their avgolemono soup is kind of my benchmark. Again, my memory, for what it is, may be a poor reflection of fact.
The service was friendly, if slow. SLOW. Disjointed. As if it were some training ground for waitressing. Or just an employer that hires a grip of young long haired brunette skinny col-​eds just for the weekend breakfast shifts, experience not necessary.
Honestly, I recognized this right away and settled in for an interesting wait, as I observed the flow of service. I completely agree with a previous poster about the more experienced servers and if you can get into their section, do so.
Anyway, I’ll go back for lunch/​dinner if I’m in that area and update my review.

My absolute favorite place to eat on the Ave! The food is good, the staff are friendly, the atmosphere is lovely and it has tons of easy parking nearby.
No visit to Costas is complete without a cup of their delicious homemade Avgolemeno soup! OMGosh! I dare say it is THE BEST lemon Avgolemeno soup I’ve had yet in Seattle! It’s light tasting but creamy, savory but tangy, while still being hearty enough to be a meal if you order the larger bowl size. Pair it with the gyro or hummus platter and you’ve got a great meal!
That’s the other favorite here: the platters. Something for everyone. It’s nice to come and share a platter and a couple cups of soup. The moussaka, spanakopita and dolmathes are all great too! Definitely on our favorites list!
Now I’m not saying they’ll let you live there– but let’s just say they don’t seem to mind if I linger a little during non-​traffic hours. I must have sat for a good hour just enjoying the ambience and working on my notes. No problem! The waiter continued to refill my water and was very friendly making me feel very at home.
Ambience– the restaurant is decorated as if you are sitting outside of a Greek villa. You dining on the patio and the kitchen is in the house. Lots of great natural lighting, beautiful brick and huge healthy plants! There’s just something about this place that makes you feel almost like you’re eating outside but you’re really safe and sound inside where it’s warm and dry and they have a nice hot bowl of comforting Avgolemeno soup for you!

I’ve been to Costa’s twice for dinner and once for breakfast, and each time I’ve really enjoyed the experience.
They tend to be not that busy at dinner, but the staff keep the restaurant from getting eerily quiet with their friendliness. Sometimes they’re more attentive, and sometimes less, but I’ve never felt like I’ve had to hunt someone down to get service. At breakfast, the servers are really on it and take care of you well, even though the restaurant is full of brunch-​seeking college kids then. The overall atmosphere is bustling during breakfast/​brunch and quiet/​intimate during dinner. No complaints there.
The breakfasts are awesome, first of all. They have so many different options, and the portions are the perfect size. They’re great to wake you up on a lazy weekend morning, but you won’t be so full afterward that you want to go straight back to sleep. I can definitely recommend their omelettes, and will be back to try their other breakfast options.
As for dinner, their spanakopita is one of the best I’ve had. You can tell they are freshly made and straight out of the oven, and the feta and tomato sprinkled on top adds a nice fresh touch. Their avgolemono, which is a creamy lemon-​y soup, is so tasty and is actually my favorite part of coming to Costa’s. That soup is a must-​try for sure. I’ve even ordered it at breakfast just because it’s that good. I also love their moussaka, a layered eggplant/​beef/​cheese dish that is the very definition of comfort food.
Their family restaurant style, quality food, and actual attention to service makes Costa’s stand out on the Ave. For fellow college students, this is a nice place to take a date or your parents when they visit.

No mediocre.
Came with a party of 10 for a friend’s bday (not by choice) and was sorely underwhelmed. Entrees came out cold, after waiting 20 – 30 min. Somewhat feels like a neglected family restaurant, oddly situated on the Ave, which has plenty of interesting dining options.
Service — slow, minimal
Ambiance — depressing

I’ve heard that for a period of time this place had gone through some changes. That may be. Me and the missus would come here a lot when we were younger and I am pleased to report the place remains awesome. I’ve been there twice now in the last couple of months.
On my first visit back I got an Olympic Plate. We shared a saganaki. The saganaki had great flavor and the flair I like to see as they serve it sizzling hot and then flaming as the booze is ignited. The plate was solid. The meat skewer was great. Moussaka great too. The steamed vegetables kinda felt like they didn’t get much attention, which was a bit too bad. Didn’t really detract too much though.
On my second trip back we got the fried calamari. It was pretty good. It actually was a bit under-​seasoned and it was on a bed of lettuce that didn’t help it because some of the pieces got a bit soggy. Because we were getting dinner, we got soup. Me and the missus each got a bowl of avgolemono soup. Very rich and creamy and a great balance of lemon and chicken flavors.
For dinner I got what was marked down on the chalk board as a special although walking by it numerous times in the U-​District I was pretty sure I’ve seen it quite a bit. It was the Roast Lamb. Truly amazing. They offer it either with spaghetti or roasted potatoes. I opted for the spaghetti. Now while the Olympic plate is good, the roast lamb is REALLY REALLY GOOD. Awesome in fact. It is very rich. I’m not sure if it comes from a particular part of the lamb or not, but I got a pretty generous portion of a sliced up lamb. It appeared to be marinated in garlic and some other things. It does have some marbling in it, so if that sort of thing bugs you — well more for me I suppose. But it tasted great. The spaghetti came simply dressed with butter and Parmesan and was excellent. The grilled bread it came with was a nice addition too.
I topped it off with a nice cup of Greek coffee. It wasn’t as dark as I have seen it at other places, but it had a great flavor. It had hints of a honey flavor to it that was quite pleasant.
We each got pastries that we took home. I had galactoboureko, a custard wrapped in phyllo dough and drowned in honey. That was great. The missus got a baklava, which looked pretty good, dense with nuts and phyllo and it was BIG. Pretty cool.
They have a few more things I am anxious to try.
The lady that I think was the owner or a part owner or something was very very pleasant and helped us a lot. She seemed genuine happy to see that we were enjoying our food.

This is a Greek restaurant on the Ave that’s not a hot and greasy fast food joint. Instead, it’s nice and quiet and you sit down to be surrounded by… vegetation. There is actually a lot of greenery in here for some reason. I guess they like to decorate the restaurant with a bunch of plants. The waitress was nice and I kind of feel sorry for them that business isn’t booming as much as it could be.
I had the minestrone soup come to my table within three minutes of my ordering. Yum! The Olympic Plate that I ordered took thirteen minutes, and here’s where things started to get exotic. I had already known from the menu that this item featured spanakopita, dolmathes, and moussaka. I didn’t have much of a clue about what any of these things actually were, though. I figured I would just eat everything first and form my judgment, then look up all this stuff on the internet later.
Spanakopita is a Greek pastry with spinach and feta cheese. The one they served me had a nice salty taste to it. Dolmathes are stuffed vegetable dishes, and mine was buried beneath a layer of sauce. Moussaka is made of eggplant and meat, and it’s pretty good. Along with all these wonderful treats were a lamb skewer, rice, and veggies. Wow, that’s a lot of variety! And the food was overall really good. It’s a shame that the restaurant was so empty. Maybe people just don’t like to walk that far from the UW campus to come here. Well, they should! The prices may be higher, but so is the quality.