Little Billy's Steak House

Little Billy's is a Greek cuisine restaurant serving steak. I have been wanting to come here for a while and the only thing stopping me has been the idea of possibly leaving disappointed. On a Thursday evening, the restaurant was quite empty and the majority of the clientele were women. I found this interesting because the bartender/host/server/only person at the front of the house had an Australian accent and many of the women giggled while talking about him, which made me feel like I was watching a TV drama.

When we entered the restaurant, we were told to seat ourselves because the man was busy behind the bar. I like that we were acknowledged upon entering because there is nothing worse than being unacknowledged and waiting at a narrow pathway by the door. The interior of the restaurant is very narrow and cramped, I cannot imagine being here on a full house or would ever want to. Moreover, the seating arrangements along the wall resemble a large communal table. This makes it awkward for couples who are on a date because if there is a full house, you are sharing the table with another couple! I even had troubles getting in and out of my seat when my body frame is "average" and the chairs were empty lol. The narrow gap between the tables remind me of a similar situation at Cattle Cafe, where my arse was practically on someone else's food while trying to get to or leave my seat.

CRAB STUFFED MUSHROOM CAPS ($9.00).

The crab stuffed mushrooms consist of canned crab meat as well as imitation, and I am not a fan of mixing the two. Imitation crab meat cooks fast, IE. if you put it in water it turns mushy. So, the crab stuffed mushroom caps have a mushy mashed potato texture due to the imitation crab meat.

Asides from the mushy texture, the caps taste bland. The only flavour is pretty much lime and not a hint of lime, but a pure sour lime zest taste. WIth that said, the lime was added to the crab filling prior to baking which overwhelms the flavour of the crab. A wedge of lime should be provided on the side rather than used before baking. As for the side, the appetizer comes with a side of garlic toast. The edges of the toast are a touch burnt and overall taste dry, crunchy, as well as rock card. For $9.00, I rather purchase two cans of Clover Dale's canned crab meat and make my own stuffed caps. Plus, I will have change too.

CALAMARI ($11.00).

The calamari is lightly battered and taste tender, not chewy at all. However, the calamari also tastes slightly soggy and too oily. Moreover, the portion is small because this it not a fine dining restaurant. Actually, even some dining restaurants serve larger portions than this. But to be far, a female cook (owner?) prepared our calamari while a younger man (owner's son?) cooked another table's. The other table's portion was at least 1/3 more than ours, so perhaps it is by luck. As for the accompanying tzatziki sauce, there is a tangy light yogurt flavour and a wedge of lemon is provided on the side.

SPRING MIX SALAD.

The arugula salad tastes fresh and there is an addition of a light balsamic and olive oil dressing, seasoned with ground pepper. We were not expecting a salad so this was a nice surprise. For those who order greek dishes, a greek salad is served rather than the spring mix. After the salads arrived, the steaks took forty five minutes to arrive. Wow, the restaurant was not even busy too...

BAKED POTATO ACCOMPANIMENTS.

The restaurant provides ham, sour cream and green onion for orders of baked potatoes. I like that the accompaniments are served on the side because it is great for those who are shy and secretly want more toppings (me LOL). In addition, I feel more comfortable helping myself than having the server ask if they should continue adding more.

20oz CHEF CUT BONE IN RIB EYE WITH A BAKED POTATO ($38.00).

The baked potato tastes moist as well as soft, and kept its shape. Furthermore, the baked potato tastes more fresh than The Kegs' (although I never complain about The Kegs'). As for the vegetables, the selection is deliciously sautéed in butter and tastes delicious. Moving towards the highlight, the rib eye is cooked to a medium rare as requested and exhibits nice grill marks on the exterior.

However, the steak does not taste tender and is fairly chewy. Moreover, the steak does not taste juicy or have that "rich" beefiness. But hey, at least the bone in steak is actually "bone-in" unlike Sandbar's and Gotham's. As for seasoning, there is a simple taste of black pepper, sea salt and another ingredient which I cannot think of. BF prefers Joe Forte's rib eye a lot more and he did not like that steak at all. This is disappointing because rib eyes are a favourite of ours due to their rich flavourful taste which Little Billy's lacks, despite the nice seasoning.

9oz BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH MASHED POTATOES ($30.00).

The mashed potato is topped with cheddar and green onion, tasting very creamy, buttery and pretty good. In addition, the mashed potato does not taste neither stiff nor dry. As for the steak, the tenderloin is a touch more rare than medium rare which I personally prefer and exhibits nice grill marks on the exterior too.

The steak tastes extremely tender and almost melts in the mouth, but the tenderloin does require chewing (I have had tenderloins that purely melt in the mouth, amazing). Little Billy's tenderloin is one of the best that I have had in quite a long time  and the seasoning tastes great, especially when tenderloins are a fairly bland cut.

COMPLIMENTARY CHOCOLATE MINTS.

Complimentary chocolate mints are provided with the bill and I prefer these over After Eights'. Isn't it funny when your taste buds get bored of something and once you eat something else, you get hungry again? This is what happened to me I felt hungry after eating the chocolate!

POSITIVES

- Quality is better than Horizons

- Complimentary chocolate mints

- Very efficient and friendly bartender/host/server/only person an the front house

NEGATIVES

- Appetizers are mediocre

- Rib eye steak lacks flavour

- Cramped seating arrangements

- No table bread, complimentary or not

- Fountain pop is already watered down and with 3/4 cup filled with ice, really?

LITTLE THINGS

- Limited menu, seems more Greek cuisine focused than steakhouse

- I have never been to any steakhouse within all of Canada that does not serve or provide an option of table bread, it is kind of mandatory in a way. I guess in the restaurant's defence, they were previously a Greek cuisine restaurant and is now somewhat a steakhouse as well… however, when "steak house" is in the restaurant's name, it sort of implies that the restaurant is a steakhouse rather than more of a Greek cuisine restaurant. The Greek cuisine should sort of be like a bonus, like a good fine at a steakhouse. Or if the restaurant was called "Little Billy's", then the steaks would be a bonus

- Would be a good restaurant to book for a party since the seating arrangements are tight

Food: 2.5/5 (beef tenderloin 3/5)
Service: 3.5/5