Alexis Greek Restaurant

• Alexis website

• Location: Chinatown

• Cost to fill up two people: About $45

If you head north from DC to Silver Spring, MD, head back behind the Lee Building on Colesville and Georgia Avenues, there’s a little Greek restaurant that can make your tastebuds sing. Tonight Robyn and I hit up Alexis, which we were told would do the same.

Nope.

Not to say that the food is bad, the service isn’t friendly (it is very friendly) or the place–on Burnside and 2nd in the Pearl–isn’t cozy and fun. But I’d call the food “mall Greek,” i.e., run of the mill, no surprises, borderline tasty.

Robyn and I split the appetizer platter and the dinner platter, so we’d get a little of everything. The octopus was good, but there was barely a dab. Tzatziki and hummus were so-so at best, and the baba ghanouj had so much garlic I’ll be exhaling it for the next couple of days. French bread instead of pita (although it wasn’t bad bread). There was a mixed vegetable dish that put us both in mind of Dinty Moore–obviously frozen vegetables in a nondescript sauce.

We skipped dessert, so I can’t say what that’s like. In that part of town, though, and for that kind of money (we paid about $45 with tip), you can get a much better meal.