Taverna Kyclades
“I love the ambiance of the Astoria location but this location is the only one that serves Mussels in tomato sauce with crumbled feta on top.”
“So thankful they now have a place on Manhattan and I don't have to travel all the way to Astoria to get some saganaki and calamari!”
“I also got the spanakopita to go, unheated, and had it for breakfast the next morning after warming it in the oven.”
Taverna Kyclades
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: 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.
For years I've been eyeing the Taverna Kyclades at the Astoria location but it is always incredibly crowded with long queues that I just don't have the patience to wait around. When I finally found out there's a Manhattan location and that there is minimal wait per reviews, I sought out a fellow seafood lover as my dinner companion.
We arrived on a Thursday around 5:30pm and it was empty as can be. Immediately upon sitting down, we received a complimentary bread basket and iced water. We ordered the octopus appetizer and the Kyclades special to share between the two of us.
– Octopodi (charcoal grilled mediterranean octopus): This appetizer consists of two octopus tentacles. I was somewhat disappointed in the size of this appetizer considering it did cost $22.95 but least I had plenty of room for the main course I suppose. The octopus was cooked well and therefore very tender. It was pretty yummy, but I wish the grill would've brought out the taste of the octopus some more. I found myself dipping the octopus in the (lemon-balsamic vinegar?) sauce to get more flavor in. I think I was expecting some sort of out-of-body experience eating the octopus because of all the awesome reviews – yeah, my expectations were too high. Anyway I've definitely had WAY better octopus elsewhere, but sure I'd still recommend this appetizer.
– "Kyclades" Special: This can feed up to two people and is a good option for those who wants to try a little bit of everything. It consists of three stuffed clams, three stuffed shrimps, a lobster tail, a fillet of sole, and plenty of scallops. All entrees comes with a choice of rice, lemon potatoes, horta, beets, or french fries. We opted for the lemon potatoes. Aside from the lemon potatoes which I found excellent, I thought everything was pretty bland. The shrimps and lobster were overcooked to a point where they were tough. All I tasted from the stuffed clams and stuffed shrimps were the bread crumbs. The scallops were tender and succulent, but lacked any sort of flavor. My favorite was actually the fish, which too, was slightly overcooked. Not worth $46.95.
Our waitress gave us each a complimentary dessert called galaktoboureko which is a traditional Greek dessert consisting of a flaky golden dough with a creamy custard filling. It was a nice touch and much appreciated. Was it great? Meh…
The service was very professional, attentive, and friendly. The atmosphere was clean, open, and a great place to catch up with friends. Towards the back of the restaurant you can find a display of fish over ice which is fun to look at – plus you know it's fresh when you can't smell the fishiness.
I probably won't be back but I am happy I finally got to try Taverna Kyclades.
Ordered the kyclades special and the mezes to try. The special was a bit salty and overcooked, but the mezes were good.
Based on the reviews about this place, I had really high expectations and they delivered. The food here is outstanding. The octopus might be the best I've ever had. It was perfectly cooked and the vinegar-based sauce it came with was fantastic. I also had the swordfish and branzino and both were cooked to perfection. Service was great and the restaurant itself has a nice atmosphere. Overall, had a wonderful experience and will definitely be coming back!
Y'all know that Taverna Kyclades in Astoria is one of my top 3 favorite restaurants in the City.
I went back to Kyclades in the East Village for the 2nd time yesterday and we had a great time and the food was on point. I will say that my experience has been that the grilled calamari or the swordfish in the E. Village location is a tad different than the Astoria location. i.e. a little less succulent or a little bit on the rubbery side.
The Astoria location is still better, but the E. Village location allows you to have similarly amazing Greek food that is *almost* as good as it's Astoria sister with *little to no wait*. THAT is the reason to come to the E. Village.
An amazing first intro to Astoria Greek cuisine. The octopus was grilled and seasoned impeccably. The salmon steak was juicy and moist and melt in your mouth. The tzatziki was fresh and garlicky and everything you want out of this magical Greek dip. Great prices, cheap house wine, and you can't go wrong with a complementary dessert! This place is a win. I can't wait to go and get lots more seafood! This placed nailed it!
Ever since Socrates declared war on the sea back in ancient Greece, the Greeks have been hunting and destroying aquatic life and serving it up as a delicious dinner. It's always nice to know you're eating like the ancients, and Kyclades delivers.
Now for a few minor details that you definitely want to look out for. First off: the octopus was one of the best things I've tasted in a while, but I use the word "tasted" literally: for $23, I think we both got about 6 bites each. Not a good value, but a good dish! You also HAVE to get the Greek salad (or as they call it in Greece, "salad"), which comes with several pieces of lettuce but a GIANT BLOCK OF FETA, and which is probably the highlight of the meal. One of the best salads I've had in years, and that was only $11 or so, for a lot of food.
Then came the main dish, the other part of our sea-creature destroying mission: the swordfish. Like an ancient Spartan warrior in the movie 300, excellent swordsmanship couldn't save this guy, and he ended up on our plate, which I guess is what you get for being so delicious. For $30 we got a giant fish, with rice and "lemon potatoes", and were really satisfied with the amount and deliciousness of the food.
We also completely ignored the common wisdom of "beware of Greeks bearing gifts", because they gave us a dessert of some kind for free that was pretty great and that we totally didn't ask for, which was nice and didn't end up with hundreds of Greek soldiers killing us from within (as of this writing).
So overall good, but a little pricey for the amount you get and probably not somewhere we'll go back. But a good place to get some seafood!
I have been dying to check this place out for quite some time now. I am a huge Greek food fan, and saw that this is a well regarded spot for an authentic greek meal right near #brian.
Myself and #brian went here to celebrate something – i'm not even sure what it was, maybe we were just celebrating it being a Monday, or that it's Spring – and decided to go all out. We split a bottle of wine recommended by our waiter, and though I'm not familiar with Greek wine it was great. We had the assorted dips to start with which was a meal in and of itself. I enjoyed each one of them. We also had the octopus, which was definitely the highlight of the meal. I'm used to getting a piece of octopus that is maybe 2-3 small bites per person. This octopus was an actual large slab of meat and was delicious, melt-in-your-mouth good.
We split a meal as well which was the sea bass and for our side we went with the lemon potatoes. By the time we got to this part, we were not particularly hungry, but still found a way to finish it up, even if it meant we were in a food coma for a couple of hours after.
They also provide a free delicious dessert at the end which was the perfect way to round out a family style meal. I would definitely recommend this place, and will certainly be back.
Greek is one of my favorite cuisines, and taverna kyclades really delivers in satisfying my cravings for it! I've been here twice and enjoyed both times. It's super popular and there's usually a long wait for dinner which isn't so great.
Love the platter of 5 spreads for an appetizer – a must get in my opinion! Really great for sharing and sampling a bunch of flavors. Comes with unlimited pita too.
Calamari is very good, as it usually is in most places.
Salads are gigantic and full of fresh feta and lots of olives. Nothing super fancy.
The first time I went we had the kyclades specialty seafood platter – super yummy!! It offers an assortment of different seafood like clams, shrimp, lobster, and scallops. The scallops are so tender and i also loved the lobster. As you can see, I love being able to try everything and really appreciate the combination options that taverna kyclades offers.
Lamb chops are yummy and well seasoned, but portion was small for the price.
They also give complimentary baklava for dessert. Bonus points for that!
Overall I highly recommend this place, particularly for the seafood. Better to come here early for dinner to avoid a long wait!