I get it, I get it. I get why people have been telling me for years about Zorba's, occasionally expressing bafflement, bordering on anger, that I'd never been.
Zorba's turned out to be just my kind of place, but it wasn't what I was expecting. The full name of this Greektown favorite is Zorba's Bar & Grill, and the first floor behaves as much like a neighborhood bar as it does a restaurant. It's typical Baltimore nondescript: a bar up front, tables grouped in the back, but with one outstanding feature — the clear glass at the back with a view into the kitchen, where Zorba's signature rotisseries are spinning over charcoal flames. Upstairs is a more dining formal option, but it wasn't open on the weeknight when we visited. I'm happy in a place like this, but so was the large family with kids that was finishing up when we arrived.
You might notice a few omissions in this review. There won't be a description of that upstairs dining room, because by the time our meal was over, I was too lazy to climb up a flight of stairs. You won't read about the dessert course, because we didn't have dessert. We would have, but the woman who waited on our table encouraged us to come back for the special homemade desserts Zorba's serves only on weekends.
She actually told us to plain not bother with the desserts Zorba's had on hand that night. Though I'd hate it if saying so here causes her any grief, because all evening long, we received steady guidance, thoughtful advice and sustaining humor from this paragon of good service. She even helped us come up with the term "molecular gastronomy" when we all went blank. This kind of thing makes all the difference.
Zorba's has a small and manageable menu. If you order the cold combination platter as an appetizer, which includes taramosalata, feta cheese, chargrilled octopus and Zorba's super garlicky version of the classic Mediterranean eggplant salad, you'll end up having tasted more than half of its appetizer offerings. The standout here was the bright and lemony octopus, and the weak link was the taramosalata, the dip made from fish roe, which here had a store-bought smoothness and blandness to it. Everything goes down well, though, on the chunks of warm, crusty bread that are brought to the table directly from the grill.
We didn't really need an order of saganaki (but who can turn down fried cheese?), and Zorba's take on it is very straightforward, unadulterated, pretty much what someone would make for themselves at home. That is typical of Zorba's, where you seldom feel the strong presence of the chef. Appetizers are not so dazzling, but the evening's pleasures start to pick up considerably with the entrees, almost all which have been prepared simply and plainly over charcoal flames.
Seasoned simply with coarse pepper, salt and minimal rosemary, a plateful of tender and tasty charbroiled lamb chops here are a house favorite for good reason. Even so, they have been outperformed by the kontosouvli, succulent and savory marinated pork, cooked on the spit, and served as a massive pile of chunks on the plate, tremendously gorgeous in its own rustic way.
Meat takes to the charcoal (and the menu also includes New York strip steak, beef tenderloin, quail and half-chicken), and so does fish. Zorba's features each night a lineup of fresh fish like salmon, snapper and bronzini, all usually available either whole of filleted. These are all priced daily and all the same — $22 on the night we were there. A whole bronzini turned out perfectly, with plenty of easily gotten-to sweet white meat just beneath the grilled surface.
For a midcourse snack, we ordered a plate of whole sardines, the large kind, but had them fried instead of broiled, which made them into wonderfully crunchy treats. Don't look for fancy sauces to dress up the seafood, though — a hunk of lemon is all you're given, and all you'd want.
Charbroiled scallops are simply done and served in a large portion (we guessed it to be a pound) that borders on the conspicuous. A friend at the table, visiting from an extended stay in China, said, 'People don't eat like this over there.' People don't always eat like this here, we promised him.
All of the entrees come with sides, and these, too, are given out generously. Firm and sunny oven-roasted potatoes are the best among them; horta, a saute of dark greens, is as adventurous as it gets. The word "seasonal" does not appear on the menu.
There are two "Greek specialties" on the menu — moussaka and pastitsio — but I can't see choosing them over entrees from the broiler and the grill.
Zorba's apparently gets considerable business from people who give up on the inevitable lines at Samos. On any given night, I might choose one or the other, and the deciding factor might come down to this — Samos is BYOB, and Zorba's has a full bar.
Zorba's Bar and Grill
Where: 4710 Eastern Ave.
Contact: 410-276-4484
Hours: Open for dinner nightly
Appetizers: $4.50-$12.95
Entrees: $11.95-$22
Food: ✭✭✭
Service: ✭✭✭1/2
Atmosphere: ✭✭1/2
[Key: ✭✭✭✭: Outstanding; ✭✭✭: Good; ✭✭: Fair or Uneven; ✭: Poor]