Restaurant Review: Bakkhus Taverna Greek Restaurant and Bar

Located just slightly off the main Kemah Boardwalk in Kemah, Texas, you will find a quant patio overlooking the street, and beyond that patio, you'll find the entrance to Bakkhus Taverna Greek Restaurant and Bar. The small courtyard leading to the front entrance is beautiful, but the loud music from the tavern nearby was deafening. Because of the loud music, we opted to sit inside, instead of outside on the gorgeous patio area.

We were greeted by a friendly hostess who showed us to our seats--a booth table by small windows, up on a small riser so we were nearly eye level with the waitress when she came to take our order. The booths were roomy and comfortable, so we were able to kick back and relax.

First, we were handed menus and asked if we would like to see the wine list. The wine list was covered in a thin layer of stretched cork--quite fitting and elegant at the same time. While there weren't as many Greek origin varietals on the wine menu as I had hoped (only three actual Greek wines available) there is a decent selection of inexpensive to moderately expensive wines on the wine list at Bakkhus Taverna.

Next, it was time to look at the main menu. If you don't know your Greek words, the menu at Bakkhus will appear intimidating at first, but fortunately, you'll find plenty of explanation about each dish in the descriptions. Word of warning: there's lots of cheese dishes!

My friend and I settled on ordering a variety of appetizers so we could sample a little bit of everything Bakkhus had to offer. As would be expected from any Greek restaurant, moussaka was on the menu, as well as olives, Greek salad, stuffed grape leaves, and hummus--in fact, spicy red pepper hummus!

We finally settled on a glass of Boutari Retsina and then placed our order.

* Hummus Dip with Pita
Smashed chickpeas, mixed with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Our version had roasted red fire peppers blended in as well, and we dipped with soft fried pita breads.

*Tzatziki Dip with Pita
Tzatziki is strained yogurt with blended cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, pepper, dill, sometimes lemon juice and parsley, and a dash of mint added. We dipped with fried pita.

*Fire Feta Dip with Pita
Pretty much what it sounds like--feta cheese with fire peppers, blended into a dip.

*Flaming Saganaki
This is a yummy cheese dish that is fried in a pan, served on what is similar to a fajita hot plate, and then is flambéed at the table. The flames are doused with a squeeze of lemon juice, and the dish is served with warm pita bread.

*Spanikopita
Small pastry puffs filled with chopped spinach, feta cheese, onion, egg, and seasoning.

*Tiropita
Layers of buttered phyllo dough and filled with a cheese-egg mixture.

*Keftethes
These are Greek meatballs, and what goes into them can vary from place to place, but the ones we had were big and good!

*Baklava
Pastry dessert made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey, or both.

*Galaktoboureko
Greek custard dessert (sometimes flavored with lemon or orange) in phyllo. It may be made in a pan, with phyllo layered on top and underneath, or rolled into individual servings. The type we had was rolled.

Then we also ordered a sampler platter with a variety of other things and two small Greek Salads. We had leftovers the next day!

All the food was very good, but I did consider it a bit pricey for the portion sizes. The wait staff were attentive and friendly, the food served hot and well-prepared.

I wouldn't recommend Bakkhus for an ordinary night out on the town to grab a bite to eat, but the ambiance is nice, and if you're in the Kemah area, it's not a bad place to take someone for a nice evening out. Our bill came to just shy of $100 for two people, but arguably, we ordered lots of appetizers so we could try a little of everything and so I could write about it!

Bakkhus is located at 605 6th Street, Suite A, Kemah, Texas 77565, and you can find more about them on their website at: http://www.bakkhustaverna.com/