By Ljudmila Petrovic
Photos by Jenny Waters

Student discounts and a spot near Harbour Centre only improve food experience

Just on the border of Gastown and a stone’s throw away from Harbour Centre, Nu is the most recent addition to Vancouver’s Greek food scene. The interior is hip, but relaxed, and the atmosphere is very low-key, with only one employee working and any for-here food served on cheap stackable camping plates.

We got the chickpea and mint salad, which was served in a biodegradable paper cup. It was refreshing, but a little heavy on the olive oil, a flavour, which rarely manages to be overpowering. It was only $3 for a decent serving, the standard price for their salads. Other options are the Greek salad, the Caesar salad with octopus, and an orzo and walnut pesto.

The eggplant dip was tangy, with a strong balsamic taste, and came with hot sundried tomato pita bread, which really adds something. Of course, there are the standard tzatziki and hummus dips also available, all of which are as affordable as the salads.

For mains, they have a selection of souvlaki and wraps. Living in a West Coast city like Vancouver, one grows to have certain expectations of their salmon dishes, and the salmon souvlaki was nothing spectacular. Granted, Nu serves Greek cuisine, of which Pacific salmon is obviously not traditional, so slack can be cut here.

On the other hand, the octopus souvlaki was excellent. It’s common to complain of octopus as gummy to chew and bland. Nu’s octopus souvlaki was neither: it was perfectly chewy and had a subtle but pleasing taste. I highly recommend this one if you want to stray from the regular meats such as chicken or pork.

Their chicken souvlaki is quite good: just peppery enough, and perfectly tender. All the souvlakis come in a pita, with lettuce and tomatoes. Be warned: they are very heavy on the tzatziki  sauce. It doesn’t detract from the experience, but I would have preferred a little less. The souvlaki was all $7, with a student price of $5 — and filling enough to be totally worth it.

The wraps, neither of which we tried, also seemed good: there was a $7 prosciutto, feta and eggplant puree wrap, and a $6 wrap with Mediterranean vegetables, olives, and hummus. They also serve breakfast, and dessert (yes, of course they have baklava!).

Nu is a nice place to go for an affordable, quality lunch. It’s fast and low-key, in a nice location, and has window seats for people-watching. You will definitely leave with both a satisfied stomach and a happy wallet.