This evening was my first experience at El Greco, and I was pretty impressed. (I did not go because of this Chef Ramsay character -- I don't know who or what that is). I called in a To-Go order but then I got an important phone call, so I didn't get there within 15 minutes, like I said I would. After a half-hour, they called me to make sure I wasn't lost, which was nice. Overall, in fact, my interactions with their wait staffer were very good. They had my order ready to go when I got there, and I admired the interior while I waited for the server to finish serving some wine and come help me. The only negative about the place, to my mind, was that the interior doesn't quite do it for me. I perceived the place as being very blue, and the waitstaff as being overly dressed for what seemed to be more like a Diner than a casual restaurant. I think they need to work out their identity with that part -- is it the kind of place I can go in and order something to go from the counter, or is it primarily a sit-down place with wine? I ended up getting "the check" in the traditional credit card book, despite the fact that I was just picking food up. Overall, I was pretty happy not to be eating at the restaurant. Price wasn't a huge deal for me since I was using a Moolala voucher that I bought a while back. Nevertheless, my first impression was that it seemed a bit high, given my image of the place as a low-cost Greek "deli," rather than a sit down "grill." But my Beef Moussaka was excellent, and well worth the $10 price tag, especially considering the tasty Greek Salad that came with it. I thought all the ingredients tasted fresh and well-prepared. My praise would extend to the desserts, as well (I got both baklava and ravenee), which were very well done. I did like the place and I would like to go back to try their other options, particularly the pita and hummus. Also, I hope they add Dolmas to their menu offerings at some point. Nice job, El Greco.

I spent two weeks in Greece almost a decade ago, and (like all boorish buffoons who try to appear more worldly than they are in a lame attempt to impress people) I consider myself the world's foremost expert on Hellenic cuisine. I'm kidding. Mostly I just get really, really excited about Mythos beer. I spent a lot of time drinking a lot of Mythos beer when I was in Greece. So El Greco would probably get five stars from me solely based just on their Mythos beer availability. One sip of the Coors Light of Greece and I'm sunning on the shores of the Aegean talking pretentiously about Euripides like it's the summer of 2000, man. Good times. ANYWAY, the food at El Greco is excellent too. I've had everything on the menu now, I think. Best pita bread I've ever had. Awesome gyro meat. Appropriately rich moussaka. Great Avgolemono. Particularly well-seasoned souvlaki. The folks at the counter are nice and, though most menu items are a tad overpriced, I've never had to pay for extra tzaziki. Score.

After a herculean effort by Mayor Don P., followed by what could only be described as a comedy of errors, less than half of the newly-formed Yelp Hundy Club arrived at El Greco for our first meeting. Fortunately, it was well worth the effort (especially since Don did most of the work). In keeping with our inability to be organized about meeting, the three of us all ordered the exact same thing, precluding us from sampling much off the menu. We each had a small Greek salad (well, Chad got crazy and ordered a small bowl of soup, too). Don and I had meat on ours; I don't remember whether Chad did. I was initially worried that the small sized salad wouldn't be enough to fill me up, but it definitely was. Of course, even the small cost almost $9, so I guess that's only fair (prices here are the same at lunch and dinner; they did have a few specials on the blackboard, but I wasn't sure whether those were particular to lunch or just the specials of the day). The salad was good and fresh, and the meat was well-seasoned and there was quite a bit of it. I'd say it was a 3-1/2 star salad - a perfectly solid meal, but nothing that knocked my socks off or anything. What brought the experience up to four stars (besides the company of two very cool Yelpers) was the fact that the owner stopped by our table to ask how we liked our meals. Of course, since Don is the Friendliest Guy in Austin, he immediately hit it off with her - so much so that I felt sure that any minute she was going to ask him over to her house to meet her daughter or something. Instead, she offered up a different sort of child - a taste of her delicious stuffed calamari. It was the stuff of comfort food, the way the warmth and buttery-ness of it sort of wrapped around your tongue and cuddled it. Don and Chad were all polite and barely ate any of it, so I was forced to make a pig of myself, because I couldn't bear to leave it on the plate. Definitely need to go back and try that, and some of the other more substantial fare on the menu, as well. The decor is casual and clean, nothing fancy or unusual, but perfectly serviceable. El Greco is definitely worth a second look, especially at dinner time when the prices are more in keeping with the other choices out there.