Lemo's Souvlaki

Lemo's Souvlaki is hard to find, tucked away in a corner of Panthapath, hidden behind Mr Baker and Rock n Roll Café. Those who are always on the lookout for new places to eat at have probably already heard of this new Greek place in town, which serves huge portions on a budget.
Once you find it, you will probably be disappointed, though. The tiny non-descript restaurant is crammed with uncomfortable, red chairs, and the walls are plastered with traumatising illustrations (a man with cucumber slices covering his face, mutilated cow organs, raw fish on forks, you get the idea).

Photo: Darshan Chakma

The menu offers a small range of items, mostly chicken dishes and pizza. Somewhat apprehensive about the food, I ordered the roast beef souvlaki, which turned out to be large, wrapped in a fluffy tortilla and filled with well marinated, soft meat. The roast beef might seem a bit bland to people used to spice, so the regular beef or chicken souvlaki fares better. Along with the food, they serve a hot, smoky sauce that will make your eyes water, so make sure to ask for lots of it.
Moving on to the other dishes, it is clear that Lemo's does their meat well. The chicken steak is succulent, browned perfectly on the outside but not overcooked inside. The beef and chicken burgers dripping with cheese and grease, would give burger carts a run for the money, and especially because of the size. They even deep-fry their calamari properly, without making it rubbery but keeping it dry. The portions are big considering the price, as each dish costs between Tk 250-300, and come with sides or extra bread. The extra bread itself is like a dish on its own -- soft, warm and spiced with kalijeera.
Unfortunately I can't say the same for the other sides, as they go overboard with the vinegar, making the vegetables too sour. The Ugly Pizza used to be delicious, something has changed lately, and they seem to put all the ingredients into a waffle maker, making them dry and hard. It feels like the chef had only put in a lot of effort into perfecting the meat, and the other items on the menu are just fillers.
Overall, Lemo's Souvlaki is a place that offers a different menu from the regular places like Ajo and Soi 3. Good if you want to hang out with friends on the low, but only go if you are loaded on conversation and have time to kill, for the service is painfully slow. On the plus size, you can stare at the kitchen through a window, and it looks reassuringly clean.