Kostas Cafe

Every two weeks Matt and I try to go out to dinner. I first noticed Kostas when we moved to Plano three years ago and thinking that we may have found something to replace the Greek House in Norman (The best Gyros EVER) I tried to get Matt to try it with me, but for some reason or another we never made it there.

This past week I finally convinced him that we should try Kostas. There are two locations in Plano. There is one at Preston and Park and another at Park and Alma. We chose to go to the one on Alma.

Kostas was nothing like I expected it to be. It was so much more.

When we first walked in it felt more like an intimate restaurant then a “cafe”. The ambiance was unhurried and gave a sense off a sense of family even though there weren’t many children.

The wait staff was courteous and prompt. But it was certainly the food that was the star.

Before going to Kostas we looked up their locations and found they had their menu posted online so we could see what they offered and knew about how much we were going to spend.

For an appetizer I chose the calamari. (I am sucker for this particular appetizer) When it arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The calamari was a picture of simplicity served with a little dish of clarified butter and a wedge of lemon. The thickly sliced rings were fried golden yellow in a simple batter that had no spice to it all letting the flavor of the perfectly cooked calamari speak for itself. I do believe I ate practically the entire appetizer by myself it was so good.

The main course came with either a soup or salad. I chose to have the salad as I tend to like Greek salads a lot. Matt tried the soup. He was served an egg/broth/rice/lemon soup. At first Matt couldn’t place why the soup had a delayed ‘kick’ in flavor. He then realized that it was the lemon (which he had missed hearing in the list of ingredients when we asked the waiter prior to ordering) that gave it such a unique flavor.

For the main course Matt ordered the Greek Combo (Dolma, spanakopita, souvlaki, broiled scampi and mousaka) and I ordered the Athenian Combo (Lamb chops, souvlaki, broiled scampi). We ordered combination plates to get a wider sampling of the type of food Kostas serves. And we weren’t disappointed in the least.

It was all wonderfully prepared. The portions were perfect, and the flavors worked wonderfully together. The Dolma was firm and I loved the flavor of the grape leaves that surrounded the meat mixture. The Spanakopita was light and flaky. (This was one of Matt’s favorites on his plate.) I adored the Mousaka with it’s delicate flavor and oh so decadent cream sauce topping. My lamb chops were cooked wonderfully. It was however the broiled shrimp that impressed us the most.

By far the best shrimp we have EVER had. I can’t even begin to describe how they tasted. I can say however, that two shrimp is simply not enough on the combination plates. Matt has stated that he will simply order an entire plate of Broiled Scampi upon our next visit.

The one thing I didn’t like about the combination plate was the souvlaki. Perhaps I am just used to pork being more tender, but I felt that the pieces were tough and not as flavorful as the rest of the items on either plate.

Over all the experience at Kostas was amazing and I am looking forward to returning to try more of their dishes. If you are ever in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and want to try some Greek food make your way to one of Kostas 3 restaurants. You won’t regret it!