Greekfest . 1940 East Camelback Road
602.265.2990

Hailing itself as "Arizona's Greek Dining Experience," Greekfest lives up to its name. This is one ofClick to enlarge! our favorite restaurants when it comes to immersing ourselves in the Greek experience. The white stucco walls, beautifully carved wood furniture, urns and wall décor all come together to provide the feeling of dining somewhere in the Greek Isles.

For an appetizer, we started out with the Dolmathes (grape leaves stuffed with an appetizing mixture of rice, pine nuts and fresh herbs and topped with a creamy sauce - $5.25). They look like little cigars almost, but they taste much better of course. The grape leaves are tender, yet firm, and the sauce is light and tangy. Accompanied with a Pita Bread Basket ($1.60) and a Cheese Saganaki appetizer (Mild Kefalograviera cheese baked in olive oil, sprinkled with fresh lemon juice and flamed with brandy before your eyes - $7.00), we were now ready to get into our main course.

We also ordered a bottle of wine, and it should be noted that Greekfest has an extensive, almost masterful Greek wine list. There are about fifteen different American wines, but twice as many Greek wines listed here. Wine prices range from $18 - $55 a bottle. Some wines are available by the glass, and a selection of American and Greek beers (as well as numerous other drinks) is available.

For one of our dinners, we chose something from the appetizer menu. Because the cheese Saganaki was so good, we chose the Shrimp Saganaki for dinner (Baked Jumbo Shrimp with a light sauce, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and white wine - $12.00). We also ordered a Greek salad ($3.25 for a small) to go with it, and this was perfect. The shrimp was nice and juicy, as were the olives. One of the other diners in our party chose the Chicken Souvlaki for dinner (tender, boneless, skinless chicken breast marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and herb and grilled - $14.00). This was a wonderfully light dish, which was also accompanied well with the Greek Salad.

Some other meals that our dining companions raved about from their previous visits include: Youvetsi (Braised lamb in fresh tomato sauce, herbs and white wine with pesto, topped with Feta cheese - $15.00) and Mousakas (tender slices of baked eggplant and freshly ground lean lamb sauce, topped with creamy bechamel sauce and freshly grated cheese - $15.00).

We've covered a small portion of Greekfest's extensive menu here. There are plenty of Lamb, Seafood, and Fowl dishes as well as numerous Vegetarian selections. If you have room, you've got to try some of Greekfest's dessert creations as well. We didn't think we had room, but the Baklava Lesvos ($3.50) was too much to resist. The Phyllo dough was light and flaky, and the honey syrup was divine.