GREEK KITCHEN DOUBLES DOWN ON 124 STREET
Cosmos restaurant and Passport Restobar offer similar food but differing atmosphere
An old favourite has returned to its home on 124 Street, but with a new twist.
Cosmos Greek Kitchen, a neighbourhood fixture, disappointed locals when it shut its doors several years back. But the restaurant known for its traditional Greek fare and plate smashing came back last November at 108 Avenue.
Back at 124 Street, this time the space has been divided in two — cosy Cosmos on one side and the Passport Restobar on the other. It’s a novel concept and a slight variation on the recent trend for restaurateurs to open sister spaces next door to their originals. In this case, the menus are very similar, with a quarter of Passport’s dishes also found on the menu next door.
Strangely, though, despite their side-by-side locations, the two spaces don’t share a kitchen. Each operation has its own kitchen and cooks.
The restaurants do, however, share a door behind the bar, which was open on our recent Friday night visit to Passport, allowing us to catch a listen of the loud shouts of “Opa!” and smashing plates that began in Cosmos next door.
We arrived for dinner around 7 p.m. and the space was entirely empty except for staff busy setting up a screen and sound system for the bar’s first karaoke night later that evening. The place started filling up around 8 p.m., with an even split of
guests to imbibe on the craft cocktails featured on the menu and satisfying their stomachs with dinner.
My dining partner and I were there to do both, and started out with a pair of cocktails. I chose the Chronometer, which was a tough name to spit out. Thankfully the drink went down much easier, an herbaceous and citrusy gin concoction made with elderflower liqueur and garnished with a sprig of young thyme ($12).
My partner chose the Cliff Old Fashioned ($12) a well-balanced, smooth and sweet creation that was perfect for the -30 C weather we’d escaped. Most cocktails found on the menu are two ounces and between $9.50 and $12, which is fair as far as the price goes.
We began our meal with the garithes saganaki ($14.50), which appears on both the Passport and Cosmos menus. Five plump garlic prawns are simmered in an incredible tomato sauce and sprinkled with a generous helping of crumbled feta. The saltiness of the cheese was a nice counter to the sweetness of the sauce, and the shrimp thankfully maintained its succulence. A few pieces of Greek pita on the side were perfect for scooping up the sauce.
More than satisfied with the quality of our appetizer, we held high hopes for our mains.
My briam ($18.50, also on both menus), a vegetarian casserole of potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, onions and garlic, while tasty, was a bit of a disappointment. The veggies were baked in the same tomato sauce base as our garithes, making my dinner feel like a sequel I didn’t know I was in for. Topped again with crumbled feta, the dish felt a bit basic and like something easily replicated at home without too much effort. The price, too, felt a bit steep considering the ingredients. The generous helping of Greek salad on the side was a refreshing bite to turn to.
My partner’s Passport burger ($16.50), however, was a hit. Topped with the classic cheddar, crisp lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo, the homemade prime rib patty really made this burger stand out. The high pile of fries that joined it were spectacular — crispy and dusted with a spicy seasoning and piping hot. I stole more than my share from his plate and I wasn’t sorry.
Throughout our evening our sever was friendly and attentive and we got the sense Passport and Cosmos are working hard to earn a local following the way so many other restaurants on 124 Street have. If history is any indication, they have the ability to do it, but time will tell if they’ll find the same success.