Galini on Fraser Highway: roast lamb and a cheese on fire

Where: 101-19475 Fraser Hwy, Surrey (the stretch just west of 196 Street) · 604-530-2881
Hours: Tue–Sun from 4 pm; closes 9 pm, 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Closed Mondays.
Cost: Starters $12–$22, Greek mains $27–$48, platters for two $89 and $99
Website: galini.ca

Galini has been feeding this end of Fraser Highway since 2005. It’s family-run: the restaurant says the kitchen is built on the cooking George and Eleni grew up with in Epirus, in northwest Greece.

Start with the saganaki. It’s kefalograviera, a sharp Greek sheep’s cheese, pan-fried in an egg crust and set alight at the table. The pulled lamb poutine is a fun Greek-Canadian mash-up, and the dolmades are wrapped by hand with beef, rice and a lemon-dill sauce.

For the main event, it’s lamb. The roast lamb is a slow-cooked New Zealand shoulder, and there’s a grilled rack of lamb cut into chops if you’re celebrating. Souvlaki comes two skewers to a plate in chicken, beef, lamb or prawn, with rice, roast potatoes and tzatziki. Can’t decide? The two platters for two cover most of the menu, and George’s platter finishes with a piece of house-made bougatsa.

A plate of Galini's roast lamb with rice, roast potato, vegetables, lemon and tzatziki — Roast lamb. Photo: Galini Greek Kouzina & Grill

Not everyone at the table wants Greek, and Galini knows it. There are steaks, pastas, stir-fries and a kids’ menu with spaghetti, lasagne and chicken tenders.

A few practical things. There’s a parking lot right out front. Groups of seven or more get one bill with an 18% gratuity added, and group bookings run in two seatings, 4 to 7 pm and 7:30 to 10:30 pm. Upstairs is a separate room they use for weddings and parties, and they cater off-site too.

Go if you want a big, warm Greek dinner without driving into Vancouver. Skip if it’s a Monday, or you’re after a quick bite; this is a sit-down, take-your-time meal.