On a Sunday afternoon, I decided to go to Olympic Pita for a late lunch/early dinner.  Breakfast and lunch make brunch, so I guess you could call this a lunner or a dinch?  Anyway, you know I like to say it how it is and all I can say after my meal at Olympic Pita is this place is a 5 out of 10 at best.  Formerly known as Baraca, Olympic Pita is located at 58 W. 38^th Street between 5^th and 6^th.  So where do I begin?  The hummus was fine.  The babaganoush was fine.  The salad bar was fine.  The schwarma and fries were … you guessed it … just fine.  Nothing I ate was exciting or worth the calories.  Everything needed more flavor.  With that being said, if you love Middle Eastern food, but don’t like too much going on in terms of spices, you will LOVE Olympic Pita because everything is super bland.

The service was subpar, but comedic.  I explained I had never been to the restaurant before and the waitress was semi-helpful when it came to what I should order; however, when I went to the salad bar and came back with four different cabbages on my plate, it took several attempts before someone could tell me the difference between each one.  It turns out I had two cabbage medleys on my plate and two different coleslaws.  One coleslaw had mayonnaise and the other didn’t.  One cabbage had a lot of vinegar and the other one had less.  It wasn’t rocket science, although one waiter told me, “Two of them are red and two of them aren’t.”  Wow, thanks! I thought to myself.

The ambiance was fine, but nothing stood out as super romantic or cozy.  It was a cute place to go if you’re on a casual date or meeting up with a friend.  I’d say the place had a chic look and nice mood lighting starting around 5 p.m. The portions were very good for the price and I highly recommend getting the sampler for the appetizer because you get three little sides with the laffa bread, which is Olympic Pita’s version of a big pita.  Because I got to the restaurant before 4:30, I got to order from the lunch menu.  I ordered chicken shawarma and fries.  The portion was perfect, but it wasn’t worth finishing everything on my plate because everything tasted just OK.  The salad bar with all of the pickles, cabbages, slaws and olives reminded me of an old Jewish deli.  Had there been desserts spinning around in a refrigerator I would’ve thought I was in a Kosher diner for sure.  Alas, there were no spinning desserts, but I have to say, there was nothing on the menu that stopped me in tracks, either.   They have a huge sushi bar, tons of shish kebabs and if I had to do it all over again, I’d order the shawarma in a sandwich opposed to on a plate.  Perpaps the falafel would’ve been a better route.  I’ll keep it in mind for next time. It wasn’t bad by any means, so try it if you’re in the hood.  It’s a good deal.  Just don’t expect to be blown away.

KK

Click here for the Olympic Pita restaurant  listing