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When I attended school in the area, my friends and I ate there once a week. Now, it's the only restaurant I return to in the area. Honestly, I really only ate one thing there: THE SYMPOSIUM SALAD. It's what they do best and all the reason to go there. It's not a green salad but rather 4 dips, 2 blocks of feta, homemade olives, and the best pita bread i've ever had. The service is always good and the old greek men there are very friendly.

I'm astonished by the negative reviews here. I've been going to Symposium for years now, and it feels like home. Both the owner and the main waiter know me by name. There is a great vegetarian selection (finally!) and I usually stick to the Symposium salad (minus roe) or, if I feel like something fattening and comforting, the incredible spaghetti ala greco. The other entrees haven't wowed me but the ones I like are amazing. Their sangria is to die for, the pita they bring to the table is hot and fresh and delicious, the prices are reasonable, and they treat you like family. What more could you want?

food is not fresh- service is poor. waiter kept calling me "honey"-- unprofessional.

The Moussaka tasted like meatloaf. Maybe they were trying to do the dish differently, but the ground beef and mystery red sauce just evoked cafeteria meatloaf. The "garden" area in the back is just a tent with no AC that smells a bit funky. On a positive note, the waitstaff is lovely! They are so sweet and friendly. If you do go, order the flaming (as in, actually lit on fire!) cheese dish. But some burnt cheese is really not worth a visit...

I have dined at Symposium many times in the past ten years. The food is consistently very good, and the [select]ion is much like what you'd find in a taverna in Greece, including dolmadakia, taramosalata, spanikopita, saganaki, radikia (dandelion greens), moussaka, souvlaki, and fresh whole fish. The quantities are ample. Wines are by carafe or by the bottle. The manager and waiters are very friendly. The ambiance is informal. The prices are very reasonable, about half what you'd pay for the same food at any of the so-called "upscale Greek" restaurants.

After being in the neighborhood for several years and visiting this place on several occasions (and tried everything on the menu at least once) I have to finally say that there is not one outstanding dish on the entire menu. I lived in Greece for several years and know my Greek food very well: most of their salads are prepackaged...you can just taste it. Their meats are often bland and dry and their rice always has that 3 hours in a steam table taste. I don't understand why Columbia students keep this place in business, except, possibly, for its nice atmosphere and garden. The one thing on the menu that passes as 'good' is the saganaki (or 'flaming cheese' as they render it, complete with kitschy delivery to the table).

Service was great and friendly. The appetizers were excellent (hard to screw up the mixed appetizer plate at a Greek restaurant, but this one was really good). However the main course of county-style lamb was weak, with chewy lamb and vegetables and rice that had probably been sitting in a stream tray for many hours.