Symposium Restaurant & Pizza House

A nice older restaurant/​genuine feel, decent choices, but mediocre food. All in all we didn’t leave hungry but weren’t overly impressed with the quality of the meal.

This is a good place for a good quiet dinner and some adventurous takes on pizza. The dolmas are also pretty tasty and the service is very good. Try their Greek dinners and their pizzas, you won’t be disappointed!

I had the chicken and artichoke pizza with feta cheese. One of the best pizza’s Ive ever eaten. There also seems to be a lot of other food options in addition to pizza. I will definitely be back! You gotta try this place!

Ordered take out food and were very disappointed. The salad was dressed with about a cup of vinegar and was swimming in its box with one sad and lonely tomato slice on top. The two dips we ordered were packaged in plastic cups covered in plastic wrap. The eggplant dip did not taste like eggplant. The pita bread was store bought and in the original bag. The dolmas were covered in a bizarre sauce that resembled a custard. Overall not a good experience.

Came here one night with hubs for date night and he said this is one of the oldest restaurants around so I decided to check it out for myself. We were greeted by a friendly server who sat us down goddess waters and handed us a menu to give us a little time to look over. We ordered a split pea soup which is made fresh daily in house and salad which we split with each other, dolmas appetizer (there grape leaves stuffed with ground beef, rice and herbs), hubs ordered chicken souvlaki with rice and seasonal vegetables for his main and I ordered the moussaka for my main with roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables. And for dessert we shared a baklava. And we shared a bottle of wine which was perfect for our meal.
The soup, salad and dolmas came out first and it was all delicious. The soup was nice and thick with small pieces of ham and the dolmas we’re just perfect little packages with a zesty lemon sauce which were flavourful. Then came out our mains which was a good size amount of food. Moussaka is a Greek dish which is a eggplant casserole made with a spiced ground beef, top with a thick cheese, Béchamel sauce baked in the oven till golden brown.
The server was very friendly and checked up on us often to ensure that we had everything we needed and that we were happy. Overall a great meal to a great night.

The food and service was awesome. I highly recommend the Niko’s Special. I really like the olive oil on the pizza crust. This has to be one of, if not the, best pizza in Davis!

Everything I’ve tasted has been delicious. When I order pizza, I usually get the Niko’s Special :-)

Short version: Order the Spicy Greek pizza. You’ll thank me later.
Longer version: We have literally made pilgrimages back to Davis from the bay area specifically to buy this pizza from Symposium — and when we do, we buy two of them. One to eat and one to have a few days later. It’s that good. They’re great piping hot, cold, or re-​heated in the microwave or oven.
Don’t be fooled by the Goodwill next door. It’s a college town and the strip mall is a bit of a mish-​mash. Inside atmosphere and dine-​in service is great — friendly and attentive.

Definitely a local favorite. Used to be a total hole in the wall with the best food ever. They have made some awesome upgrades which includes an outdoor patio.
Best pizza and baklava in Davis hands down!

A hidden gem in Davis, and one of two Greek restaurants– symposium has more traditional foods than SAMs, so go there if you want a gyro.
Decent atmosphere, good service, and good food– would absolutely recommend as worth trying if you enjoy Mediterranean!

Feta and olives on a pizza? This is your place to get that.
Sat outdoors today– lovely patio to enjoy a warm evening.
low light photo of the pizza. oops.

HAVE AGAIN: the Captain’s filet mignon steak with two large prawns was excellent, as was the lemon rice soup. Wonderful food.

I stopped in for dinner after a friend recommended this place. The dolmas I ordered as an appetizer were delicious. I also really enjoyed the peasant salad which included a nice blend of kalamata olives, feta cheese, Cucumber, tomatoes and oregano. To conclude, this was my first time here but I will definitely be returning to explore the rest of the menu.

Definitely one of the best pizza places in Davis! I’m not much of a crust person, but omg the crust here is amazing! I pretty much devour the whole thing. The toppings are also fresh and delicious. They definitely don’t skimp on the toppings. I highly recommend Nikkos pizza and the Greek American salad. I’ve only had their pizzas here and can’t speak for the other items on the menu. If you do come here for pizza though, you won’t be disappointed!

This place was pretty good on the food side but nothing special. I had a great time with friends. If you go you must get the symposium salad.
Pros: relaxing and fun ambiance; kind service
Cons: nothing remarkable

Got the ham, pineapple, and bacon pizza while my friend got the meat pizza: I have to say that this is one of the better pizza places I’ve tried, not just in Davis, but in general. I love the deep crust and I especially enjoyed how the pineapple chunks were chunks and not tiny slices. Everything was so delicious and a medium was good enough for 2 people. I would definitely come here again. I don’t know why it took so long for me to discover the place. The wait time wasn’t too long. About 30 minutes, but since I lived really close, right across the street, it was very doable. Otherwise I’d call in an order and then pick it up.

I went to college in Davis but never made the time to visit this restaurant. However on a family trip into Davis we hit Symposium with a party of 8.
The restaurant is in a lower end strip mall right next to a large Goodwill. There is outdoor seating available which is fenced off and provides a semblance of privacy from the adjacent parking lot.
Inside the décor is Greek I suppose but looked 70’s-ish and is desperately in need of a facelift. The restaurant although dated seemed very clean.
The food — underwhelming. I’ve had better Greek food from NY city food carts. There appears to be cost cutting measures in place because there were several food items which appeared to be sourced from prepared foods distributors.
From reviews evidently the pizza is the best item on the menu but alas… I didn’t try it.
The staff is courteous and reasonably responsive.

We’ve been coming to Symposium for years and it’s always good. We always order the same thing… Symposium Salad and Niko’s Special Pizza. The salad has chopped romaine, chopped potatoes, capers, kalamata olives and sliced tomatoes and it’s lightly dressed with a zesty vinaigrette. This combination is delicious and like no other salad I’ve had. The small is plenty for two to share before an entrée/​pizza.
The pizza has a thick buttery crust and is topped with a tomato sauce, salami, olives and feta cheese. It is so yummy!!! The pizza is thick, so we usually eat it with a fork and savor every bite.
P.S…the baklava is really good too, but we rarely have room for any…

So after my lymph node experience, I actually didnt visit symposium for like 2 years. Came here the other night and all I can say is:
The Pizza, the pizza, the pizza.
Bomb.

FOOD ⁵⁄₅
Everything was delicious! I had the dolmas, symposium salad and yanni’s special pizza. This pizza put all other pizza to shame. The crust was perfectly toasted while the body was balanced beteween soft and soggy (but a good soggy where your knife could cut through it). I never knew what pizza tasted like until I had this pizza.
SERVICE ³⁄₅
Okay. Since we were in a rush, the hostess reassured us that the meal would not take that long and we would be well on our way, but that was not the case. The service was a little slow.
AMBIENCE ⁵⁄₅
Very nice. Different from the typical restaurants in Davis. Not catered towards college students.