Kefi recommendations

[mboxermd]

Going to Kefi next weekend - anything that should not be missed?

[acpi]

Agreed that the service is not the best. The hostess booked our reservation for the wrong day and then blamed us. Our waitress however, was terrific. The meatball meze and the sheep's milk dumplings are both amazing.

[jsmitty]

whole fish.

[sardinefan]

Kefi is no longer the restaurant it used to be. The love is gone. It's a money-making factory now. Cavernous and crowded but empty-souled. It's a real loss.

[Pan]

What about the food?

[JMJD]

You know, I could see why you would say that, but after trying the new location, I'd say both the service and the food are improved. We had a waiter who was very attentive, particularly with the water. And at the old place I often felt like there was way too much butter in certain things -- the pork dish I mentioned, and usually the rice/spinach side dish. But at the new place that was not an issue in the slightest. They appear to be paying attention....

[StephInNYC]

I think the food at Kefi is great, but the service is god awful. The last time I went there was a solid 45 minutes between courses and we were not trying to take out time.

[JMJD]

Have been mostly to the old location (+ 1 visit to the new) but would agree with the meatballs recommendation -- very tasty.

My favorite dish there recently has been one that I don't think many people order -- it's pork medallions, under shaved raw fennel with a butter/citrus sauce with capers and peppers. We've also enjoyed the fish dishes. (But then again, I also liked their moussaka, which I think has been taken off the menu.)

[prdct]

I'm with you on the pork medallions...I love that dish.

[Striver]

Last time there, I had the meatballs (app) and the flat pasta with pulled rabbit - both were very good.

[j.jessica.lee]

i LOVE kefi! it's great food at such a great price. you're really going to love it. i also recommend the grilled octopus. it was perfectly cooked, very tender, great flavor. the crispy cod is also really, really great. i thought the selection of spreads was also very good. yes, you can get these spreads anywhere, but kefi does them very well. i also highly recommend the sheep's milk ricotta dumplings. the only thing i had when i was there that i was not so crazy about was the moussaka. those were the things that stood out to me when i ate there.

i know you'll have an amazing dinner. please let us know what you end up eating!!

[small h]

I was very fond of the grilled octopus salad. It's one big ol' tentacle, so you kind of feel like a Klingon eating it. The selection of spreads was well-prepared and attractively presented, but you can get that anywhere, and (in my experience) there isn't all that much variation between taramosalatas - like pizza, even bad, it's pretty good. I also had the shrimp with orzo, which is a fine idea, but the shrimp was a bit overcooked, and the whole thing was too salty, like someone forgot there was feta involved. Salty, salty feta.

[Pan]

I don't agree that bad taramosalata is good, but that's OK. :-)

Based on my experiences at the old location, here are some recommendations (and some have already been recommended):

Grilled Octopus, Bean Salad

Sheep's Milk Dumplings, Tomato, Pine Nuts, Spicy Lamb Sausage

Sheep Milk Ravioli, Brown Butter And Sage * manti

Grilled Branzino, Potato, Olive, Tomato

Pan Seared Striped Bass, Green Beans, Potato, Capers, Olives

Braised Lamb Shank, Orzo

Broken Mousaka

I also really like the salads, including the Greek salad, even though it could be criticized for being slightly watery from overdressing.