E Taverna
“As luck would have it, a friend from Toronto is visiting NYC this week and I wanted to show him a real Greek taverna in Astoria.”
“Today we ordered the spread and it was so addictive that i think I stuffed my face before the main entree came.”
“The whole branzino is my favorite dish and my wife's is the dorado.”
E Taverna
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
On the last two go arounds I thought to myself that everyone has a bad day but tonight was the final straw. I've resisted a return visit because I preferred to wallow in what once was rather than face the new reality.
First, E Taverna ("The Tavern" in Greek) changed its name ever so conspicuously to E Taverna To Koutouki (The Tavern Koutouki in Ellinika).
Second, Kosta the veteran Greek restauranteur who once loitered in E Taverna is nowhere to be found.
Third, the food is no longer good.
This evening my munchkin, the GF and I ordered the following: Atherini (very small (think minnow) fish that was battered and supposedly pan fried; tapas size keftedekia (meat balls); the special du jour gemista (a bell pepper and a tomato stuffed with rice and sans meat); prasini salata (green salad); side of string beans; and, of course octopus.
Here's the DL:
Atherini: Fishy and tasteless. I should have asked the neighboring table why they hadn't touched theirs prior to ordering mine.
Keftedalia: dry and over-fried
Gemista: Diner-esque. The dish was cooked on high heat for a short period of time not affording the vegetables to soften properly or for the rice to fuse with the herbs.
Prasini salata: OK
String beans: same as the stuffed pepper and tomato. The string beans were hard and the tomato sauce was watery. Clear indication that this dish was quickly prepared rather than allowed to cook slowly over medium heat.
Octopus: Tasted fine but the center was cold. Not lukewarm. Cold. And you know what that means. The octopus came out last. I suppose the octopus was frozen and it took a while to heat-up by microwave.
Interestingly, nobody asked either me or the neighboring table why we had barely touched our Atherini orders. Its as though the staff already knew.
The service was typical and I asked for Nikos the manager so that I could chat about my meal in private. On a Saturday evening Nikos was nowhere to be found. And like Niko and Kosta, I'll do likewise if you are looking for me at E Taverna To Koutaki.
I feel torn giving E Taverna a two-star rating. Things started out well – it's a charming spot with pleasant outdoor and indoor dining space. We were promptly seated. Prices were reasonable (dinner for 6 people with wine and lots of food came to $35 each) and we ordered the meze spread plate with pita, the grilled octopus and the manouri salad to start. These came out promptly and all were delicious, particularly the tender octopus.
Service started going downhill from here. We waited about 30 minutes for our main dishes. The whole branzino was nice but our favorite was the beef in orzo, which was much like a stew. My least favorite dish was the Santorini shrimp, which were drowned in tomato sauce and came with a side of rice pilaf, which I always find uninteresting.
The problem really started, however, when we could simply not get our waiter's attention for more water or for our bill – we waited close to an hour to be taken care of. It was horrendous. The issue is not the waiter's attitude (he was friendly and quite frankly I felt badly for him) but simply that this restaurant is completely understaffed! One waiter (and occasionally I saw the manager or owner came out to take orders) was in charge of the entire restaurant! Other tables were outraged too – the couple next to us ended up canceling their entree order after waiting too long. I saw another customer get up and walk toward the kitchen in order to get his own beer!!
Needless to say, while the food was good, I would never recommend this restaurant because of the service, especially when there are so many other Greek options in Astoria.
Wonderful choice for a relaxed, casual Greek lunch on Sun. in Astoria. No res. needed. Old pictures and knick knacks on the walls inside the dining room look like treasured momentos from a happy, music filled life in Greece. The music softly filling the air adds to that ambiance. The food was excellent. Complimentary warm pita comes with hummus. The small size trio meze sampler, Greek salad and a grilled Dorado brought out with a big plate of wild greens was a filling meal for two at less than $50, including tip. I don't know where you can achieve this kind of meal in Manhattan at that price!
An old friend from the neighborhood was visiting Astoria. Other friends have recommended this place, and neither of us had been here before, so we decided to meet here. It was a great decision.
Our lunch didn't have an auspicious start. The waiter came in and apologized, because the chef was running late and hadn't arrived yet (we were there at 12:30 pm). He said that we could order a salad, but that any cooked dishes would take a while. We decided to stay and start with a Greek salad.
Granted, Greek salad is hard to mess up, but the salad here was very good, with feta cheese, olives, red onions, chunky tomatoes, and lettuce.
I guess the chef had arrived shortly after we made our order, because the appetizers came while we were still eating the salad. We had ordered grilled octopus and shrimp. The grilled octopus was outstanding. it was spiced and cooked perfectly. I am not a big fan of shrimp, but the shrimp here was pretty good.
For our main course, we shared the country Greek sausage and a chicken dish. The Greek sausage was great. I forget the name of the chicken dish, but it was cooked in a very nice sauce, which was great for dipping pita bread.
And, as in many Greek restaurants in Astoria, we got a complimentary dessert at the end of the meal. I don't know the name of what we were served, but it was basically a lemon custard in filo dough. It was really good.
After the dessert, we checked our watches and realized that we had been there for 3 hours!!! Yes, time flies when you're having fun, and we had a great time there. Yes, the company was wonderful, but we were not rushed and were surprised that the waiter hadn't given us a bill yet.
The décor and atmosphere were wonderful. Our only complaints were that they hadn't turned on the air-conditioning, and that there were a few annoying flies. Although, in a funny way, it did make the restaurant have a more authentic Mediterranean vibe.
My friend and I had a wonderful time, and I definitely plan to come here with other friends in the future!!!
This place is a true gem. Aunthentic Greek food and I am PICKY when it comes to Greek food. The restaurant itself has a very rustic feel and it is very clean. The waiters and owner were very professional and courteous. Onto the food: We ordered the Greek salad which uses organic and juicy tomatoes and real feta. The octopus is tender and braised in vinegar – a nice change from the typical grilled. The whole branzino fish was perfectly grilled and seasoned and the potatoes which come on the side were perfectly cooked! All of the vegetables were fresh and lastly, the wine was delicious and Greek. Major points for me! Not expensive, not cheap. You definitely get what you pay for. I will be visiting again very soon!
So where do a Spaniard, Frenchman and Indian-American go for brunch in Queens? Well a Greek restaurant of course!
Pretty much a perfect experience- from start to finish. The three of us arrived around 1ish. It was not busy at all, somewhat to my (pleasant) surprise. Its a beautiful yet small/cozy establishment and maintains the vibe of a local, family owned Greek restaurant very well. We asked the owner for recommendations and frankly they were all awesome. We began with a Greek salad – simple yet was well liked by all of us. We then proceeded to order several meze dishes among us, in total a sufficient amount of food and we did not require anything more. In my view, the highlights were the octopus and lamb – amazing. Especially the lamb which was so tender and cooked perfectly. We also had a cheese dish that was glazed with honey…very good. I feel like we ordered something else but cannot recall. Finally, they brought out a dessert, on the house, which was a nice finale to our experience.
It was entirely reasonably priced especially for the quality of the food. The service was excellent as the owner gave us great recommendations but also made sure it met our expectations. Nothing to complain about- when in Astoria and seeking Greek food, highly advise checking this place out.
Great spot with excellent classic selection. I appreciate their tapas menu so you can have a little tasting, flirt a little over a date, and not cram food in your face.
My girlfriend and I ordered all tapas. the octopus, country Greek sausage, traditional Greek salad, and chicken egg lemon soup.
We came in for lunch on a Saturday so it wasn't packed, which had a nice atmosphere, although I bet the restaurant would still have an intimate feel because of the European country decor.
Our server was friendly and informative. The soup wasn't ready until the end because making it is a several hour process- which we really appreciate.
At the end of our meal, we were presented with a beautiful Greek custard (I cannot spell the name of it!) but can't forget the sweet but light flavor profile.
Everything was great and we will return. I would recommend this place over Taverna Kycladies because of the low key atmosphere and crowds but still have better or similar food at a better price that's served with courtesy.
This place is great! My husband and I came in to dine on a Thursday night. It's a small, cute little place that seems to be family owned. The owner and staff were super friendly!
We started off we glasses of house red wine and their famous spreads appetizer with h to pita. Honestly, this was probably my favorite part of all night. The spreads came with 4 types, hummus, a spicy feta jalapeño dip, tzakiki (yogurt dip), and Tarama (caviar with potato) *OMG THIS WAS AMAZING!!! Don't miss out on it! I'm definitely coming back for this! All the spreads were delicious! I loved the hot pita basket and they were kind enough to refill it for us.
For entree I went with their Branzino dish, while my husband had the lamb chops with lemon potato on the side. The Branzino was ok, not the best I've had…definitely needed more seasoning and flavor to it. My husband's lamb chops were also lacking seasoning, but were cooked perfectly.
We ended the night with some apple pie type of dessert, which was also ok, not something I'd order the next time. Overall, I'd recommend checking this place out, at least for the appetizers. The food was at best mediocre, but the service we received was excellent. I'm definitely coming back to pick up some pita and Tarama! 🙂