The Olympia Pizzeria has been around for many years, firmly implanting itself in the commercial life of the York Road corridor in Lutherville. There is nothing fancy about what happens there, but the Olympia long ago mastered the craft of quick, competent carryout.
Photographs on the wall depict some of the many kids' softball and soccer teams the restaurant has sponsored over the years. There are also fun pictures of Grecian scenes and a nude Greek statue, as well as a nice collection of Olympics posters in the back. Service was polite, and our order was ready quickly.
The menu offers the basics: pizza, subs, sandwiches and a handful of Italian and Greek entrees.
First, the pizza ($6.80 for a small, plain) was quite good - a tasty, thick crust covered with good-quality cheese. A Greek salad ($5.50) provided a hearty serving of iceberg lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and onions, covered with enormous slabs of salty and good feta cheese.
Chicken tenders ($6.50) were thin and deep-fried - and pronounced a winner by the official chicken-tender taster in my household. The chicken souvlaki ($5.70), which featured a gloppy mix of tsatsiki sauce, chicken pieces, onion bits and cucumber on a fresh pita - was perfectly adequate.
The spinach pie had a nice flaky crust and a huge pile of spinach embedded with nuggets of feta and onion; Popeye would have been thrilled. At $5.25, it was definitely a meal in itself. Finally, curly fries ($2.60) were springy spirals and went down awfully easily.
For dessert, the restaurant serves ice cream, milkshakes and carrot cake as well as a creamy rice pudding ($1.95), which was sprinkled with nutmeg and was made on the premises.
The Olympia sits in a shopping center with a parking lot that can be rather treacherous during busy hours.
Olympia Pizzeria
Food: ***
Service:***
Waiting area: **
Where: 1764 York Road, Lutherville
Phone: 410-252-4740
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
Prices: Pizza, subs, sandwiches and salads from $3 to $16; credit cards accepted
Outstanding: ****; Good: ***; Fair or uneven: **; Poor:*