Ulysses Restaurant

A family-​run business, the restaurant serves up wine, song and dancing to go with the home cooked-​style dishes. The party atmosphere attracts just that, large parties and people who are looking for more than just a quiet meal.
To start I had the oddly named Icarus wings, which were hot chicken and I am confident not made by Deadalous (showing off). For my main course, I went for Keftedes, Greek meatballs in a spicey sauce and really enjoyed them. For dessert, I had a refreshing slice of cheesecake. After such a hearty, belt-​busting meal, I was ready for a bit of belly dancing myself, however the hosts came up trumps and provided their usual entertainment making for an altogether unique dining experience. It’s a whole new take on navel-​gazing. Once tried, never forgotten, but perhaps not necessarily repeated.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on Greek food or even a huge fan of it but on occasion I will pop along to a place like Ulysses to grab dinner with a group of friends. Aside from the food I have to say that the main source of enjoyment for me at Ulysses has always been the element of joviality in the atmosphere. As you would expect from a Greek restaurant this place has the classic belly dancing routines all accompanied by authentic Greek music. I have to say that I wish more eateries would take a leaf out of the Greek’s book as it appears that at places like Ulysses meals are not just a source of nourishment but a source of communal enjoyment and entertainment. They do offer takeaway at Ulysses but if you choose this option you are missing out on so much more than your average restaurant experience.

Having never been to a Greek Restaurant before I didnt no what to expect. But I needn’t have worrried it was a wonderful night with music, dancing and delicious food.
I had a wonderful meal of which my Moussaka which I know now is layers of mince beef, courgettes, potatoes, aubergines with a cream cheese sauce. Well the vegetables were so fresh and the and the sauce divine. I will definately be going back for more very soon.
The evening was such fun and the staff very attentive especially in explaining the dishes to a novice like me.
Myself and friends would like to thank all the staff for a wonderful 40^th birthday meal see you soon.

My sister and I went to Ulysses on Saturday, for my birthday celebrations. We came across the website after google searching for unusual dining experiences.
The website alone is an experience in charming kitsch, replete with dancing Elvis icons, delightfully cheesy music in the background, and a picture of the owner, Panos, with some seriously cool hair. Absolute heaven.
We wanted to have a fun, no-​foodies-​allowed dining experience, and Ulysses completely fulfilled our palates and desires. We went on a Saturday, around 6:30, to have time for pre-​dinner drinks, and make sure we got the train back out of Brum in time.
From the first to the last, Ulysses provided a total dreamy Greek experience. The entrance to the building has fantastic classic Doric columns, with traditional Greek script on the sign.
The entrance is lovely, very large, with comfy leather sofas to sit and wait for a table when it’s busy. The entire place is huge, easily fitting about 70 guests.
Imagine if you will, everything you’d ever dream of in a Greek restaurant. I’m not just talking about divine, falling-​off-​the-​bone lamb. I’m talking murals of Athens, of the first Senate, of Socrates and Plato telling Aristotle to stuff it with the misogyny — this place has it all.
I’m talking Corinthian columns, fake marble design, plastic greenery all over, and huge pictures of the Parthenon: the cheesier the better.
This is what Ulysses offers you. It’s unapologetically kitsch in the extreme, without a hint of irony. The owner is Greek, the waitstaff are Greek, the food is Greek, and if you don’t like the Greek flag, you’d better keep it to yourself.
This place is so Greek, it makes My Big Fat Greek Wedding look milquetoast and WASPish.
The owner greeted us himself, seated us, and chatted to us while we looked over the menus. He then recommended a white wine based on our request, which was dry, but with a bit of interest (hey, I don’t give you a hard time about YOUR naff wine taste).
We had the hoummus and kalamari for starters. The pitta bread tasted home made, nice and slightly crisp on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. Just like me. And three-​day-​old gummy bears.
The kalamari was very nicely seasoned, not too gummy (come on, cephalapods, get a backbone), and lightly fried. The hoummus was WELL nice, great home made tahini, lemony and garlicy.
My sister got the Sea Bass for her main, and even though we didn’t come to this restaurant for the food, I’ve never tasted or seen such well cooked sea bass. It was cooked in a light herb crust, which was gorgeous to crack, and had obviously been slow cooked for a long time, as the fish was lovely, moist and flaked straight off. The spices and herbs had infused the fish, so it was delish.
My main was the Aphrodite Chicken, which made me feel pretty just to order. It was lovely breast of chicken cooked in a cream, garlic and white wine sauce, fairly standard, but done very competently, and exactly what I wanted.
Instead of a dessert, Panos brought us out to lovely, enormous cocktails, both of which were covered in little Greek flags, blue and white swizzle sticks, and a swizzle stick in the shape of an ancient Greek olympian (sans clothing, hurrah).
We were too full by that point for more food, so I can’t comment on the dessert.
The place was about half full by the time we left, around half eight, and everyone, including the big hen party, seemed to be really enjoying themselves, and lots of laughter all round.
The entertainment was a bald fellow with a keyboard, playing a lot of 80s tunes, and some Andrea Bocelli (Italy is close enough, I’m sure).
There is a free car park in the back, and it’s right near Birmingham New Street station. They do large parties and corporate dos, and I don’t think you could do better than this place for an office party.
We had an absolute blast, and can’t wait to go back, next time with a camera.

Took my girlfriend here for Valentine’s Day (having booked two weeks in advance having read the reviews on this page) and I for one was VERY disappointed. It looks like a takeaway from the outside and after a few minutes of going inside we wished it was a takeaway so that we didn’t have to stay! The entertainment consisted of a guy who had clearly been there every week for the last 20 years playing the keyboard on full volume. I couldn’t hold a conversation across our table for two. And when he finished each song there was a deathly silence that filled the time-​warp 80s restaurant. We asked politely whether or not the music could be turned down slightly and the lady (who I assume co-​runs the place) basically said no — as we were sat the furthest away and nobody else had complained. But I would have met my 1970’s plate that sat before me that if she’d ask the surrounding five tables, four of them would have said it was too loud. Anyway, the food was nothing special. It wasn’t bad, but I could have stayed at home and spooned out my Greek dips from a supermarket and could have had a convincing boil-​in-​the-​bag lamb shoulder for a fraction of the cost. So to summarise — the atmosphere fluctuated between awkward and non-​existent. The service was unwelcoming (and that’s when they weren’t running around aimlessly and arguing amongst themselves). The décor of the place I reckon hasn’t changed since it opened in the mid-80’s and is probably what you can imagine a Greek restaurant in Birmingham would try aim for in the mid-80’s. Food was absolutely nothing special. Stay at home!