Best Greek Restaurant in the City??

Any recommendations? Thanks!

[nativeNYer]

i read the title of the post and opened it so i could recommend pylos. lo and behold it was mentioned already . i've been to greece and grew up with a greek best friend for 15+ yrs.
i was always at their home eating home-cooked meals. go to pylos YUM! onera has since closed.

[seal]

Pylos is my fave - get the grilled fish.

[financialdistrictresident]

I found Avra overpriced and the service poor (maybe it was just an off night?). Atmosphere was lovely. Periyali remains a favorite (consistently very good, love the grilled octopus). Prefer a more mellow lunch at Periyali than the crazy dinner scene on a busy Saturday night. Have also tried Kyma (service can be relaxed, not good for pre-theater) and their grilled octopus was not as good as Periyali's. Tried Ithaka. Was disappointed Ithaka did not have retsina. Hope to try Pylos (East Village) soon. Really need to get to Astoria . . .

Last night we went to a fairly new one on the UWS called Onera. It's on 79th near Bway. We thought it was EXCELLENT, better than Molyvos. There's another on the UWS that's good called Metsovo.

I'll reproduce most of my response from an earlier similar thread: I've always maintained that the Greek restaurants in Manhattan -- every single one of them -- are either ridiculously overpriced relative to the quality of the food (Milos, Molyvos, Avra, etc.) or just plain mediocre (in all other cases)... and, in each casee, inauthentic (particularly Uncle Nick's).... By far, the best Greek restaurants are in Astoria and elsewhere in the outer boroughs -- best in food quality, price and overall authenticity. Start with Taverna Kyclades on Ditmars and work your way down from there.... You might soon get to the point when you'll be deboning the fish yourself -- like a true Greek! (Besides, last time a checked Astoria was party of NYC, probably more true to NYC than Manhattan these days....)

Is this information about Greek restaurants in Astoria recent? I remember reading another thread in the last few months claiming the dearth of good/authentic Greek restaurants in Astoria, which of course years ago was the Greek food mecca.

In terms of the places mentioned, I like Molyvos, the service is warm and the food, in my experience, is good. I also like Uncle Nick's, the atmosphere is boisterous--which can be annoying if you want a quiet dinner--and they do a great grilled lamb & potatoes which is my favorite.

--Maria

[Brian S]

You are clairvoyant. A post such as you described was posted a few weeks ago (one year after you wrote) on Outer Boroughs. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/... Despite this, I still think Astoria is the place to go -- and that post will tell you where.

Molyvos is clearly the best Greek restaurant in Manhattan. I've been there countless times, and have never been disappointed.

Most will never be disapointed at Molyvos because it caters to the non-Greek.

We have been very impressed by Ethos.

We asked a Greek guy we met and he thinks Snack and Snack Taverna are great.

If you are looking for Greek food, as it is served today in Greece, Snack and Snack Taverna are the best, the most authentic, the tastiest, the most traditional and the most true to form.

For Greek food, made by Greeks (barring the stodgy old oil laden steam table heat lamp taxi driver fare at most Astoria places) Snack is the best Greek experience (for food) outside of Greece today.

Upscale - Molyvos
Taverna - Uncle Nicks.
Regards,
JK

I have to disagree about Molyvos. The one meal I had there was nothing to rave about. As for Uncle Nick's, yes, it's good, but Ethos is even better!

For upscale greek I still like Periyali. Not mindblowing, but excellent, simple food preparations and some good, reasonably priced Greek wines. Top it off with a nice space (especially in the back of the restaurant) and professional service, and you have an aging but still excellent greek restaurant.

I have to disagree. While Periyali may have somewhat nicer atmospherics than other Greek restaurants, the just o.k. food is definitely not worth the high price tag.

The lamb I had at Molvos (on three occasions, though the last was a few years ago) was pretty unbelievable. I never tried anything else on the menu, but if they've stayed consistent I'd say it's worth a visit.

oops - Molyvos

Really stunningly good grilled octopus, too, my favorite in the city.