In our conquest to try more Greek restaurants in the Astoria area since we’re moving further away from the region, I saw Stamatis was on people’s list as a place you have to go to. The Ditmars Astoria area has many restaurants around the N/W subway stop, so it makes it easy to access. This restaurant has that taverna vibe, where you have tables and a lot of noise from bustling families and diners. We were able to walk in without any concerns around 5:00 PM for a Sunday early dinner.

As we continue our run at trying all of the popular or recommended Greek / Mediterranean restaurants in Astoria, this one was supposedly the most classy one. It offers a patio area where you can get natural sunlight in the area. Unfortunately, we were seated right behind the host desk at the front, but that was fine since we were here for the food. We were able to walk in without reservations on a Friday evening at 6:00 PM for 2 people.

Dumpling Wang was a new restaurant that opened in Long Island City pretty recently. With the large influx of new Chinese restaurants opening, this whole area is starting to become like a mini-Flushing area. The caveat is the prices are not Flushing prices, so you’d have to wonder if the value proposition is comparable and if the food also is decently tasting. When Dumpling Wang first opened, there were large lines, and people were complaining about the service. We were able to walk in at 4:30 PM on a Sunday without any wait or issues.

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.