Standard but good Greek food in Astoria, decent service, decent prices, nothing outstanding, but nothing at all bad, recommended for sure. It is quite big and bright, and I believe they pool their tips, because they service is spotty.
The meal starts with nice toasted bread with a few herbs and olive oil. There is also a huge jar of opened olive oil and one of vinegar on the table, to use as your liking. They also drop off a small plate of lemons, you can douse just about anything they serve with lemon, and you should. For appetizers we had the Avgolemono which was thicker then usual, very good version after I squeezed a few more lemon wedges into it. Great soup. We also had the fried eggplant with Skorthalia, which I usually find too bitter from way to much raw garlic, thankfully this one was seasoned just right. Well fried, lightly battered eggplant, nice portion and well matched with the just garlicky enough Skorthalia. Another good dish.
For entrees we ordered the Seabass and the Sole. Both were good, although the seabass was overcooked and the Sole took an extra 5 minutes to arrive, albeit with multiple apologies from the server. My seabass was grilled as I asked for, but it was overcooked to the point that the entire head was burnt, hard to pick at the crevices for tender pieces. I like the skin crispy so I still enjoyed this dish, especially served with the oil and garlic sauce, but it was a bit dry. The Sole was fine, standard, a bit boring, but that is on the fish, not the restaurant. The lemon potatoes were not so good, not enough lemon and since they cook everything (aside from the fish/meat) in advance it sat around and started to break up, not very appetizing. The rice and peas were passable.
The cherry on top is the free dessert that is so common in Astoria Greek restaurants, (which of course is a Greek tradition). The name eludes me, but it was phyllo stuffed with a type of custard, topped with honey and cinnamon, wonderful flavor although a bit sweet for one of the dinner guests. It was surprisingly light, and I personally loved it. The house wine by carafe was decent, nothing memorable, standard house red. Overall good meal, large portions, you will not leave hungry. Decent service, not overly friendly, but attentive to your needs. The octopus appetizer is $23 which is ridiculous considering how relatively inexpensive octopus is, I know the same dish served better is $12 a few avenues away, however the prices overall were moderate. Recommended for fish.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Koliba
This is a review specifically of their yearly Venison Feast, a very exciting event! This was my first visit and I will absolutely return, I loved this place! The inside looks like a hunters lodge with wood everything and a few stuffed animal heads on the walls. It was quite busy when we arrived, the noise level a bit high, and we almost did not get a seat since we did not have a reservation. Thankfully they seated us, and since 99% of the food appears to be cooked in advance (appropriate since its generally low and slow type food) it was a short meal and they got to turn the table over for the next guests in no time. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful with the menu and beer choices. Excellent, attentive service.
For our appetizers we had the combination plate of Goose Pate and Venison Meatloaf. The pate was amazing, one of the creamiest, richest, full flavored pate i've ever had, we loved this! The meatloaf did not stand up to the qualify of the pate, it was not bad, but a bit dry and not nearly as flavorful as expected. Still a nice sized portion for a great price.
We loved both entrees. Large portions of well cooked, very flavorful, lean, tender deer. Excellent food! The Deer Goulash was great, strong, deep flavor, rich but not too thick, well cooked moderately tender deer. The addition of bacon in this dish was awesome. I'd order this again for sure, however the venison in cream sauce was better and more tender. Fuller flavor, deep brown thick cream sauce which was unexpected and delicious. The sweet cranberries were an excellent foil to the thick velvety sauce, they helped to cut the richness of the dish. We cleaned the plate of meat, soaked up the remaining sauce with bread and loved every bite. I enjoyed the German Spaetzle, but preferred the dumplings which were lite and fluffy and reminded me of steamed white bread in Chinatown. Great sponge for the thick sauce.
Overall excellent, flavorful food, cooked well. Exciting dishes even when they are not serving the venison feast. I do look forward to returning to try basically the entire menu. They have a decent variety of draft beers that are quite inexpensive. Highly recommended!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Aroma31
This place is perfect for me, its casual, service is warm, it feels local, and most importantly they serve excellent Mediterranean food. Everything looked so good we ended up with a 5 course meal on a recent visit! To start the brought us pita slices with hummus, always a great start, I appreciate the complementary hummus alongside the usual free bread most places in Astoria serve.
For appetizers we had the Mac & Cheese, a simple dish served everywhere but not usual with this much class. Excellent, huge portion of rich aldente pasta, cooked to order which is always a plus for mac and cheese. It was so big we had trouble eating the rest of the meal. The octopus was very good, not the best I've had, nor the softest, was a bit chewy, but a nice portion and well paired with capers and tomatoes, a change on the usual Astoria octopus. For entrees we had the burger (one of the few items available with the voucher we had, although those conditions were certainly not printed on the voucher.....). Really amazing thick beef patty with huge flavor. A better burger than one from the place across the street. Slightly undercooked, but served with a pile of fries, that were well seasoned, excellent stuff! The dessert was one of my favorites of all time, Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts. This item is always something I cant stop thinking about, so simple, great contrast of the tart yogurt with the sweet honey, and the crunch of the walnuts are a perfect foil to the texture of the yogurt. So simple, so perfect!
The sangria was the only miss of the evening, just terrible, do not order it. Very watered down, not really Sangria as much as watery cold red wine. However it was amazingly inexpensive. Overall excellent food, a chef that knows what he is doing, attention to detail and quality cooking overall. Good prices too, I look forward to trying this place for brunch, highly recommended!
For appetizers we had the Mac & Cheese, a simple dish served everywhere but not usual with this much class. Excellent, huge portion of rich aldente pasta, cooked to order which is always a plus for mac and cheese. It was so big we had trouble eating the rest of the meal. The octopus was very good, not the best I've had, nor the softest, was a bit chewy, but a nice portion and well paired with capers and tomatoes, a change on the usual Astoria octopus. For entrees we had the burger (one of the few items available with the voucher we had, although those conditions were certainly not printed on the voucher.....). Really amazing thick beef patty with huge flavor. A better burger than one from the place across the street. Slightly undercooked, but served with a pile of fries, that were well seasoned, excellent stuff! The dessert was one of my favorites of all time, Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts. This item is always something I cant stop thinking about, so simple, great contrast of the tart yogurt with the sweet honey, and the crunch of the walnuts are a perfect foil to the texture of the yogurt. So simple, so perfect!
The sangria was the only miss of the evening, just terrible, do not order it. Very watered down, not really Sangria as much as watery cold red wine. However it was amazingly inexpensive. Overall excellent food, a chef that knows what he is doing, attention to detail and quality cooking overall. Good prices too, I look forward to trying this place for brunch, highly recommended!
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