Kalyvia On the Danforth

This is BY FAR my favourite restaurant on the Danforth. Their food is always so fresh and full of lemon and garlic, just like Greek food should be. The feta dip and the eggplant dip are my two favourite things in the world. I order from them often — I would highly recommend you do as well!

Been coming here for years also.
But never done a review.
The best dish is getting the souvlaki with some of the house wine.
The tzatziki it comes with is meh.
Over all I would recommend this place for families with older children.

Not too bad, but too expensive for the amount of food I paid for. Clearly paying for the location in greektown more than the food itself.
Standard Greek dinner. Decent salad (too much lettuce), rice was fine, potatoes were really good, meat was fine, bread was good, and finally tzatziki was not bad but I have had better.

Danforth is the new Spadina. Eat here if you want bad service and want to feel like S#!t when you are done. At least on Spadina it is delicious after copious amounts of alcohol at 2am. Can’t say the same for the carb ridden, salt laced, overpriced, options on Danforth. This place is no different. Sad looking greek salad with what resembles iceberg lettuce, is served by an older Greek man who could care less if you are there or not. Said man could easily have sold another few rounds of drinks but chose to stare at the ceiling opposed to paying attention to customers. I actually had to go up to him to order drinks to begin with! I seriously took about two bites of my meal and was done. Eatable and that’s it. The Kids spaghetti was disgusting! How that could even be offered is truly astonishing. The whole Danforth experience really is baffling. Having been to Greece, I can tell you first hand that you would never find what Canadians call Greek food anywhere in Greece. The hotdog meat that we call Gyros, does not exist! Although a true Greek Gyros experience can be found at Messini and a few other places in the city. This place does have it but it doesn’t match up. If you are looking for the standard souvlaki, rice, potato, salad platter, save yourself about $ 12 and go to any mall food court. Same stuff. Less attitude. Well slightly less.

Been going there for years. Lately they have been dropping the ball, so from once a week I’ve been going once every three months but still very inconsistent. Cooks which are the owners kin have become very complacent.
Hey Hanna K. the salad dressing is olive oil, lemon juice, egg, salt, pepper and oregano. cheers

Not sure why this place is rated 4 stars. Three of people in our party ordered the super combo and no one decided to tell us that they ran out of swordfish they plated and served us the dish anyways. Everything was over cooked. The only thing this place has going for it is the bread.

For my first visit to Kalyvia, my BF and I went on my birthday. It was a Wednesday and very quiet. In fact, the place was ¾ empty but I’m sure that on weekends it’s packed.
First off, the décor. The place can definitely use a good sprucing up. When Ehsan F. wrote «feels somewhat outdated and drab», they were spot on. But on to another issue which was our somewhat overzealous, TOO ATTENTIVE waiter. I swear, this guy was at our table EVERY TEN MINUTES between six o’clock and six thirty. To say it was annoying is an understatement. The fact that he was so nice prevented me from unloading a very nasty «Could you please just leave us the f*&%k alone for ten bloody minutes, so we can decide what we want?!!» He was that annoying and my friend and I agreed that we really should have said something, had we not been mellowed out by the wine. I thought, Dude… come on. It’s Wednesday and dead in here. It’s not like you need the table so stop rushing us! But like I said, the place was not busy so maybe he was just bored.
The food was disappointing. Very typical, middle-​of-​the-​road Greek fare that one can get at pretty much every single restaurant on the Danforth. Nothing special. The Feta Fries while very tasty, did not live up to my other friend’s rave reviews. The Greek Salad I ordered also fell flat. Iceberg lettuce… REALLY!!! Could it not have killed them to use Romaine for a change? And as far as the much ballyhooed «secret salad dressing?» Mine tasted just like good old oil and vinegar and really could have used more of both.
I will say that my chicken souvlaki was the one shining star in the whole evening — tender and juicy but again, I can get the same thing anywhere. I have yet to have bad souvlaki on the Danforth.
All that to say, the only saving grace was that I had a gift certificate so I didn’t have to pay for it. Upon seeing the bill, I was surprised at the amount for such a nothing dinner. I will not be returning to Kalyvia. With all the competition on the Danforth, I am very surprised that they have such a loyal following for serving such mediocre food.

Reading other reviews, it looks like we may have went at a bad time. We, and another
table were the only ones there for a while, and yet the service was slow.
Our Greek salads came, and it is safe to say that this was the worst salad I have ever had. I mean, how can you go wrong with a salad? There was SO MUCH dressing on it, it made the feta cheese all soupy and looked very unappetizing. Also, there was a lettuce head root in my salad which is just very unprofessional in any industrial setting. I got the Greek style spaghetti with cheese, which was just so bland, They did not even bother to put some pepper on it! The bass was drenched in oil! it was like soup. The rice was crunchy and under-​cooked, there version of fries suck too. They were simply soft cold round potatoes. The halibut was very oily and the veggies were overcooked and had a weird taste.
Moreover, there are many Greek alternatives in the area, that are amazing.

I’ve been coming to Kalyvia since I was in diapers, literally. I usually get the small chicken or lamb souvlaki dinner which comes with a side of rice, potatoes and greek salad. I’m always happy with my meal and the service is usually good.
FYI, the dressing on the greek salad is the sh*t. Seriously, I could drink the stuff.

I must admit, I love Greek food. It always hits the spot for me when I’m hungry. As a visitor to Toronto I had to check out the Greek area on Danforth. After travelling through the congested streets of Bloor-​Yorkville we finally got to Greektown. This area certainly has a Greek flavor to it. We were looking for a place that other Unilocalers had recommended, but I think they either changed their names or fell into a deep pita pocket.
We looked around at all the Greek restaurants but most were closed because it was the transition time between lunch and dinner (it was 4:00 PM) We did stumble upon Kalyvia and were able to get take out.
We had the pork and chicken gyros in a pita wrap. The meat was tender and the tzatziki was flavorful. All these goodies were wrapped up in a warm toasted pita shell. This little hand held meal was my saviour on a hot Toronto day as I drove madly through the streets to my next destination, a blue jays game.

On y est allé sur les avis Unilocal!et car notre grec préféré était blindé, mais comme toujours ouvert à de nouvelles expériences nous y allons!
Le resto était aux ¾ vides (comparé à celui d’en face où nous voulions manger) mais bon on y entre quand même!
Il n’y a pas photo la qualité est bien présente mais bon pas de frites avec le grec, il faut en payer à coté!
donc en plus d’avoir attendu plus de 30 min alors que le resto était presque vide on a dû payer une addition de 15 $ chacun, ce qui fout bien les boules pour ce qui n’est quand même qu’un grec!

As the waiting line was so long at the Messini I decided to try my luck at Kalyvia based on Unilocal reviews. I guess this restaurant could be good in other conditions.
— Based on a tuesday night we were unlucky enough to have a table next to us with very noisy customers laughing off like they were alone in the restaurant.
— The wait was quite long even if we were five to have ordered simple sandwiches. Almost 30 minutes to get served is a good reason to leave no tips.
— One positive point in all that: the food was quite good, the meat was tasty and the french fries very good.
— Note to the owners: try to give like detailed bills with the name of the dishes next to the prices, it will be much easier for the customers.
–Finally: the staff is overwhelmed, you know what to do…

We decided to try something different today. The last time we found we were not impressed with the Greek food we at at Astoria so thought we would give this place a whirl.
We started with saganki it was quite good. It had a nice bit of crunch and a good size.
Like everyone else says the tzakiki is delish and the garlic bread tasted like the good old garlic bread we had before.
My husband had the chicken breast dinner the chicken was good a little too much Dijon spice flavoring for my liking but it was good.
I had the beef souvlaki and it was good.
Definitely worth going back.

First time coming here with a group of co-​workers for lunch. This place strikes me as a casual and family-​friendly restaurant. The owner was the only one available to seat the customers and serve the dishes, but there were only several tables full anyways. The owner was friendly, though you can tell he is very proud of his restaurant, and he must be as the food really stood out.
Ordered the chicken souvlaki dinner option (I know, I should have been more adventurous to try something different). Served with garlic bread, Greek salad, roasted potatoes and tzatziki. The Greek salad was outstanding and came in such a large portion. They certainly didn’t hold back on the feta cheese and it complimented well with the dressing. Delicious. The entrée itself was less inspiring though. Roasted potato tasted bland. The chicken souvalki was juicy and flavourful, but nothing special.
Though I do have to compliment the other dishes, as they all looked so much more appetizing than mine. The home-​made gyros is a large portion and my co-​worker couldn’t get enough of it, quoting it to be one of the best she’s ever had. The beef special came in a small stew pot, complimented with cheese and tomotoes. I watched as he wolfed it all down.
I would definitely come back and try something new next time. And it’s right next to Dolce Gelato!

Kalyvia is an OK pick on the Danforth, it has some Greek dishes that are tricky to find elsewhere nearby. (sigh)
I suggest ordering off the appetizers/​mezes menu and sharing. The food is much more interesting than the boring mains (souvlaki and rice, really people? Stop it, just stop…)
We tried a combo platter which was a bargain for $ 16.95, just enough to feed two of us for lunch. It came with keftedekia (greek meatballs), marinated octopus slices, dolmades (vineleaves stuffed with rice and beef), 2 mini spanokopitas, 2 mini tiropitas (cheese pies), and greek sausage. The dolmades still tasted quite briny (grrr!) but everything else was A-​OK.
Service was good, prompt but not overly friendly.
Décor isn’t as exciting or nice and some of the other places on the Danforth (Ouzeri or Pan) but Kalyvia has a more functional family dining type feel.

I’m usually skeptical about Greek restaurants in Greektown just as much as I am skeptical about Italian restaurants in little Italy… just because they’re in the area doesn’t make them good.
I have been to Kalyvia several times because the food is actually pretty decent. The sizes aren’t huge but the food tastes like it does in Greece. I would say Kalyvia is in my top two Greek restaurants on the Danforth, no. 1 being Pantheon.
The service is great, the staff is usually on the ball. The interior of the restaurant is okay, not very fancy looking. I would suggest sitting by the window, because you can at least see whatever is going on outside.
Anyways, I came here this past weekend for a friend’s party. They were very friendly and able to accommodate 31 people on a Saturday night, so that was a bonus. I have to complain though about the HEAT. it was BOILING. I know the summer’s over, but were they cheaping out on AC? I asked them to turn the AC up and the waiter said he did, however it did not get remotely comfortable until the end of the night, which was 4 hours later. The heat was distracting me from the actual food!
I had the tiropitakita, the cheese fillo pastry puffs and grilled calamari. They were delicious. I also had the small souvlaki dinner with rice and french fries, also good. We got a bottle of santorini white wine, which was okay, not the greatest white wine in the world… guess they’re better at making ouzo;)

My favorite greek place on the Danforth! I love the gyros here for lunch, and the variety of dishes available for dinner makes it really hard to decide what to order! I’ve never been disappointed. :)

Our experience at Kalyvia was a lovely one. Beautiful evening weather, seats at one of the three tables on their cozy patio, yummy food, lots of white wine and a waiter keen to please and entertain.
We arrived just as one of only three tables on the patio was leaving so managed to snag ourselves a seat at this prime real estate. It was perfect for watching the hustle and bustle of the Danforth rush by and soaking in the beautiful summer weather.
Upon our waiter’s recommendation we went with (see pictures):
Spanakopita: Little triangle of spinach and feta wrapped in phyllo pastry. The phyllo was light flaky and delicious. I prefer mine with a little more filling but they were still definitely tasty.
The Pork Special: This was a huge portion, very tender and very tasty.
Chicken Souvlaki (the small size): One skewer of chicken, tzatziki, roasted potatoes, and rice. It was tasty, tender and flavourful without being greasy. No veggies served with this dish.
With every meal comes a complimentary salad which according to our waiter came complete with secret recipe house dressing (pretty tasty and they’re definitely not skimpy with the feta cheese), and toasted house bread.
Beware the charismatic waiter. He’s funny, keen to please, proud as can be of his little restaurant, and … a bit of a hustler. I’m not entirely sure how it happened but we ended up with a second half litre of wine on our table without asking for it. Huh?
Anyway, stop into this place if you’re on the Danforth. They make some great Greek food.

We had supper there last night.
We shared a bottle of white house wine … it was good.
Gord ordered Ortikia (two large size quails mixed with herbs and spices baked in the oven) with rice, potatoes and veggies.
I ordered Chicken Breast Dinner (two generous pieces of char-​broiled chicken filet) with rice, potatoes, veggies and tzatziki.
It was delicious!
My only complaint is that the veggies weren’t fresh (they were cooked from frozen).
I’d recommend this restaurant … the food was good and our server was very friendly.

Came here one night with a friend who lived in the area. Hadn’t seen him in a while because I live in the States now so we decided to hit up some Greek food before getting downright drunk. Stopped off at a couple Greek restaurants in the area but were told that the wait would be at least 30 minutes so we put our names down but kept looking. Kalyvia seated us in 15 minutes so we stayed there even though they were completely packed. The lamb souvlaki is downright delicious. Have that with some pita bread and it is like taking a bit out of heaven. The lamb was very tender and not dry at all. At other Greek restaurants that I’ve eaten at, there’s the chance that you’ll end up getting a hard dry piece of meat that is just disgusting. Well. Not here my friend. There are plenty of good Greek restaurants in the area but Kalyvia is one of the better.

Grabbed their $ 4 pork souvlaki at Taste of the Danforth this year and the massive line up? Totally worth it.
Couldn’t stop raving about the pita — it was so thoroughly heated through, soft, smokey, & yet just slightly crispy on the very outside. Super juicy pork, and lots of flavourful tzatziki to top kept me happy while I hunted down some more food.
Could’ve had a better balance on the onion to tomato ratio, but still, with quality like this for a busy street festival, I’m curious to see how the rest of their food is!