As we prepare to move further away from Astoria, we’ve been on a mission to try different Astoria restaurants that are the epitome of Astoria. The next one on our list is Bahari Estiatorio. This is conveniently located off the N/W Broadway exit, and it serves authentic, rustic Greek comfort food. The kitchen is open-air, so you can see the cooks making the food. When we arrived on Friday at around 6:30 PM, it was mildly packed, but we were able to walk in for 2 people.
We’ve seen this restaurant Hamido Seafood on social media all over the place. Like many Astoria restaurants, they pride themselves in having the freshest seafood, and they are somewhat close to Taverna Kyclades down the street. We went to the original Hamido Seafood restaurant at 4 PM on a Saturday late afternoon, and we were lucky to be seated right away before the crowds came. They are located very close to the N/W train off the Ditmars train stop.
Loukoumi Taverna was recommended and suggested online for a nice Astoria Greek restaurant. Since we’re planning to be exploring Brooklyn more, we wanted to try more quintessential Astoria restaurants. We’re huge fans of the mainstream restaurants like Taverna Kyclades and Hamido Seafood, so we wanted to see what else there was to offer. This one was raved about for the food, so we took the N-train to Ditmars and walked about 10 minutes to this restaurant. We were able to walk in for 2 people at 4:30 PM on a late Saturday afternoon.
A few weeks ago, we went to Le Petit Pecheur because we were on a mission to try all the various seafood places in Astoria. Abuqir was on my list because it was highly rated for its “Egyptian” flavors, freshness, and value. All the NYC food blogs and Queens food crew for some reason feel this is a hidden find and offers good value. We went to this place around 4:00 PM on a Saturday, and there was a late afternoon crowd already.
Le Petit Pêcheur is one of the highly rated Astoria seafood places where you can pick your seafood and they will cook it for you. We’ve been to Hamido Seafood and Taverna Kyclades several times, so we’re wondering how this place stacks up. This restaurant opened nearly 1 year ago, and it has been low key on the radar. We were able to walk in without reservations around 4:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon.
Woodam is a Korean gukbap house that serves a very few options in the Flushing area. Gukbap is basically a Korean dish where you can put rice into a very flavorful soup, and it is iconic rustic, comfort food in Korean homes. We were in the area, and I thought this was basic enough to take some elders that were sensitive to sodium and strong spices. We were able to walk in for a party of 4 around lunch time without any issues.
Matsunori Handroll Bar, not to be confused with Matsunori Sushi Club, originated as a Boston handroll sushi bar. They decided to open an additional location in Long Island City, where there is an influx of Asians moving in. They do not accept reservations, so we decided to try to walk in around 6:30 PM on a Friday evening. Fortunately, we got there just before the lines, and we were able to sit at a table for 2. The counter at the time was completely open.
The Long Island City area around Queensboro Plaza is definitely missing some Vietnamese restaurants. We’ve been to Cyclo, and it was very mediocre. Since Knock Knock closed down, this family-owned restaurant from Flushing took over the location. We were able to stop by around 5 PM on a Sunday early evening without reservations. There was no one eating, and we asked to sit at the same bar that was located at Knock Knock.
Rice Thief is one of the few Korean raw marinated crab restaurants in New York City. The focus of this restaurant is to provide deeply marinated raw crabs with lots of seasoning in it. To the surprise of many, the raw crab meat is actually a little gooey but quite flavorful. My partner saw this restaurant on Instagram and expressed interest in trying this out, despite me wanting to avoid bringing them here. I’m unsure how they would do with raw crabs and the mess that is to ensue. Nonetheless, this was the catalyst for us to try out this restaurant.
Jing Li has been opened for a few years now in this location. It actually used to be a different Chinese restaurant, so I’m assuming it’s the same owners. The menu looks very typical of non Sichuan Chinese restaurants. Before we walked in, I already decided to go more of a pescatarian selection and hoping the food quality and taste would be similar to what I’ve had before in the San Gabriel Valley. We were able to walk in on a Sunday early evening without reservations. The whole dining area was quite roomy with tall ceilings and typical Chinese decor.