Two things jump out on the menu. First is liberal use of the phrase “Georgalis family recipe.” The second is the pricing; a couple who shares an appetizer, a couple of entrees and a glass of wine or cocktail are looking at a $150 bill at the end of dinner. Nikki’s Highland Park-adjacent location should serve as a clue to its upscale intentions, but if your prior Greek experiences revolve around a $9 gyro from John’s Cafe, seeing Greek food that skews high-end can be eye-opening.
The restaurant isn't the typical casual Greek spot. The bar area is bathed in marble and blue.
Alison McLean
But Nikki isn’t defined by looks alone, and traditional Greek flavors here sparkle. Lisa Georgalis tells us that when the restaurant first opened, the menu tried to fuse Greek influences in nontraditional ways. Last fall, Nikki hired Ryan Carbery as executive chef to push the menu back towards traditional Greek fare. Familiar are staples like feta cheese, olive oil and pitas, but Greek cuisine also focuses on fresh vegetables, savory herbs and plenty of beef, lamb and seafood. Carbery toils smoothly in this palette, while Tom Georgalis' cousin works in the kitchen to make sure their family recipes stay true to their roots.
A key feature of Greek dining is the meze. Greek meals are social experiences, and sharing a variety of appetizers and snacks is a key part of the meze tradition. Spanakopita and tiropita are nearly ubiquitous in Greek fare, so it's natural to find them here. Nikki's brilliant phyllo is baked to flaky perfection in both versions; thick rolls filled with feta and spinach in the spanakopita ($15 for three), or the triangles filled with eggs, feta and kefalotyri (a hard, salty cheese) in the tiropita ($15 for two). The tiropita may be our favorite of the two, dashed with a touch of sweet honey glazed onto the pastry for a modern twist.
Greek keftedes meatballs ($15 for three) are also shareable gems. The ground beef is seasoned with onion, garlic and herbs that imbue a more aromatic flavor than traditional Italian meatballs. Greek yogurt in the blend results in a juicy bite, and they arrive perched on a crispy pita and topped with tzatziki, capers and fresh greens.
There's also a trio of hummus, tzatziki and tirokeftiri ($16) that come with plenty of pillowy house-made pitas so you can dip your way through a meal. Alone, the dips hit classic Mediterranean notes. Taken together, they form a medley, the subtle spiciness in the tiokeftiri (a red bell pepper and feta dip spiced up with chili flakes) cooled by the bright tzatziki, itself balanced with an impossibly smooth hummus.
We skipped the traditional Greek salad to try the green goddess salad and were presented with a plate of greens that presents almost as a work of art. Each bite is balanced: the crunch of mixed greens, the sharpness of the shaved kefalotyri cheese and the herby creaminess of the Greek yogurt-based dressing. Our only complaint came after the fact; when we were reviewing our receipts, we were charged $17 for the salad, which is on the menu for $14.
Flavors in Nikki's entrees generally impress. Greece boasts over 8,000 miles of shoreline, and seafood's presence in Greek cooking is a given. Aptly, our meals leaned heavily into dishes from the sea on our first visit. A quartet of buttery scallops ($46) arrived basted in a saffron butter sauce, nestled into a bed of charred kale, greens and a flaky potato pavé. Saffron adds a delicate earthiness and golden hue to the scallops that we enjoyed. Our dining companion opted for a seafood risotto ($47) from that evening’s specials, filled with shrimp, crab and mussels in a unique red pepper risotto that stood out from regular risotto.
We stayed landlocked on a follow-up visit. Nikki’s moussaka is a Greek staple akin to shepherd’s pie. The layers of beef, potatoes, eggplant and béchamel offer stick-to-your-ribs comfort, although for $28, we expected a larger serving. Layering ingredients is a classic Greek technique that also finds its way into the side of briam ($11), a roasted vegetable dish in the same food group as France's ratatouille. The eggplant, onions, tomatoes and squash come layered in small dish and bites nearly melt off the fork.
We took Nikki’s version of steak frites ($34) for a spin, a bistro classic that gets a Greek seasoned glow up with fresh herbs and olive oil. We subbed in Nikki’s excellent lemon-herbed potatoes for the fries for an added Greek twist. We've no complaints on the slices of steak that arrived cooked as we ordered, and the flavors of the dish were great. But again, the portion size of the flank steak felt somewhat less substantial than the menu’s 8-ounce description.
Nikki’s waitstaff are friendly and knowledgable, especially when it comes to wine and desserts. Nikki’s wine list skews heavily into Greek wines, and our knowledge of such is admittedly lacking. However, our servers were twice able to recommend a glass based on our mainstream likes that landed perfectly for less than $20 a glass. The Pavlou Estate Nemea ($17) will please cabernet drinkers, while the Manousakis MRS Syrah blend ($18) was an enjoyable, slightly dryer choice.
At dessert, our server, with whom we developed a playful rapport, guided us away from the chocolate olive oil cake (which he described as “good, but boring”) and into the portokalopita ($16). Perhaps it was a smooth upsell, but the citrusy custard cake, topped with brûléed sugar and pistachios, was delicious without being decadent, and it was sized for two to share.
While Nikki may be modeled on more affluent restaurants in Athens, the bigger question remains if Dallas is ready to embrace Greek food with a higher price tag. Aside from quality dishes that are executed with skill, upscale dining should offer ambiance, thoughtful wine and cocktails, with service and attention to detail that are missing from more affordable options. Judged against those points, Nikki does well. Nikki’s price point is definitely spendier than places like Yia Yias or Kosta Cafe and more in line with the moderately upscale restaurants in their neighborhood.
Coming from years of bar ownership, Lisa Georgalis admits that it’s a large leap to go from a neighborhood watering hole to a sit-down up-market restaurant with a unique menu.
“Not everyone knows or likes Greek food, and I totally understand that,” she says. “But I would give anything to give people that feeling of a traditional Greek restaurant, and that’s been our philosophy, and why we wanted to share so many of our family’s recipes.”
It’s one thing to make the leap, and yet another to stick the landing. Nikki Greek Bistro generally does, even if the value proposition is up for debate. Regardless, Nikki Greek Bistro’s take on Athenian authenticity deserves credit for trying to stand out.
Nikki Greek Bistro, 5757 W. Lovers Lane; Tuesday - Thursday, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. (brunch) and 5 - 10 p.m. (dinner).
