Mediterranean on Gourmand Syndrome

Shmone

Fri, 29 May 2026 12:04:07 -0400

Shmone is a Michelin-starred Greenwich Village restaurant, known for Chef Eyal Shani’s neo-Levantine cuisine. Although this is Mediterranean, I wanted to see how it represents Israeli and Middle Eastern. Keep in mind that Michelin Stars are awarded for the food alone. We were able to make a reservation a few weeks in advance without any issue. Do note that this is adjacent to their wine bar which is not their restaurant.

Bahari Estiatorio

Fri, 22 May 2026 21:15:23 -0400

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.

Loukoumi Taverna

Sat, 09 May 2026 19:56:59 -0400

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.

Verde

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 20:08:08 -0400

We were walking around the Chelsea area near the Pier, and we had to decide on what to eat. As we walked towards the Little Island, we saw this restaurant that seemed to be open right next to the Crane Club. My partner mentioned they were interested in trying this restaurant, and I did a quick search and noticed this was a pretty new restaurant. The menu wasn’t super interesting, but I figured it was worth a shot. We did a walk-in for 2 at 5:00 PM.

Motek

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:31:59 -0500

Motek might be a familiar restaurant to those that have been to Miami. When we traveled to Miami a few weeks ago, there were a slew of this chain all around the hot areas in Miami. The menu appeared to us as being very Mediterranean, and it is probably a haven for brunch since it has shakshuka and kebabs. They are slated to open 5 total locations in New York, so we decided to check out the recently opened location in Flatiron. I made a reservation for 2 for 5:45 PM on a Friday a few days in advance fairly easily.

Abuqir

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 19:49:51 -0400

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 Pecheur

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 22:43:01 -0400

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.

Cafe Zaffri

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 17:45:28 -0500

Cafe Zaffri has been opened for just a week and are going through an early preview of their menu. The executive Chef Mary Attea heads the menu by tapping into her Lebanese roots and incorporating Levantine flavors into a modern menu. Along with the Chef, owners Jennifer and Nicole Vitagliano also came from The Musket Room. We were able to make a reservation for Valentine’s Day at 5:30 PM just a few days before because it hasn’t yet been fully discovered by the populous.

Hamido Seafood

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 13:38:53 -0500

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.

Frena

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 22:45:43 -0400

Israeli Chef Efi Naon opened a relatively new Moroccan-Israeli and Middle Eastern inspired restaurant in the Hell’s Kitchen area. I saw this on Yelp a few months ago, and the menu items look reasonably interesting. I was able to book a reservation very easily on a Friday for 5:15 PM without any issues. This restaurant is close to the 50th E train station and relatively near some of the outer edges of the Theater District.

Avra Estiatorio

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:32:55 -0400

Avra Estiatorio was a restaurant that we wanted to check out for a while now. Because we were going to watch Gutenberg Musical at 8 PM, this fit perfectly for the opportunity. Avra has several locations spread throughout the United States: 3 in Manhattan, 1 in Miami, and 1 in Beverly Hills. It’s a rather posh Greek seafood restaurant, and it’s very similar to all the other upper end ones, such as Limani and Milos. We were able to walk in at around 6 PM without reservations, and we were seated at the upper floor. When we met the hostess, they asked if we were seeing a show, and we acknowledged that we were.

Zou Zou's

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 23:02:18 -0500

Located near the Vessel and Hudson Yards, Zou Zou’s was on my partner’s list for quite some time. They simply love Mediterranean small plates and dips. We actually had to make a reservation a few weeks out to nab our reservation at 5 PM on a Sunday night. The restaurant lies in this little courtyard where it leads into one of the Peloton offices. When we arrived, we were able to check in a few minutes early. The hosts asked us to wait at the bar, and when they were ready for dinner service, they will come get you and bring you to your table.

Ilili

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 13:30:43 -0500

On our Fridays, we typically plan a post-work dinner somewhere. Throughout the week, we eat at home a very basic chicken and vegetables dinner, and we use our end of weeks to eat out. This time around, my partner had picked Ilili because it had been on their list for quite some time. I looked online and noticed that they charge $50 if you cancel a reservation, so we decided to risk doing a walk-in right at 5:30 PM. It was not a problem.

SVL Souvlaki Bar

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 11:00:11 -0500

We tend to go to Food Bazaar on the outskirts of Long Island City often, and the easiest way to get there by train whilst having dinner options would be to exit off Steinway St in Astoria via the M/R train. This area has a mix of random restaurants ranging from national chains like Applebee’s to Mediterranean and Latin options. This restaurant is literally right across street from the subway entrance, so it was very easy to access.

Zaytinya

Sat, 30 Jul 2022 14:29:47 -0400

Zaytinya is located right next to the N (yellow) line off 28th St inside of the luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel on the first floor. This is another restaurant of José Andrés, and the menu has a lot of classical Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese influences. What was appealing to us was the menu had hummus, and the prices did not seem too expensive despite being inside a luxury hotel. When you enter the restaurant, it has a very open and modern Greek ambiance to it, similar to many other Greek restaurants in the city. However (in a good way), there were several things we immediately noticed that separate itself. We made a reservation for a Saturday at 3:30 PM for a late lunch.

Limani

Fri, 06 May 2022 18:19:40 -0400

Normally we have Friday plans in the evening for a dinner restaurant after work. We didn’t plan for anything, so this restaurant was a decision at the whim. My partner always prefers either Latin based restaurants or Mediterranean because there they love hummus. This restaurant was on 51st right next to Rockafeller, so it was easy to access even on a rainy day. When we arrived at 6 PM on a Friday night, we were able to walk in without reservations as the restaurant was pretty empty.

Miriam

Sun, 20 Feb 2022 21:34:29 -0500

After an early afternoon along the mid section of Central Park at the Natural History museum, I was looking for specifically Mediterranean restaurants within a half mile walk. As usual, we did not have reservations in mind, so we were hoping we could walk in. Sorting by the “hot and new” on Yelp, we decided on Miriam which seemed to be a second Israeli location for the owners. Fortunately, the restaurant was quite open around 4:45 PM, and we were able to walk in. If we had came closer to 6 PM, it probably would’ve been much more difficult to secure a spot.

Estiatorio Milos

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 16:35:42 -0400

My partner saw on their social media that some of their people had raved about this place for lunch. I took a look at the dinner menu here, and it seemed unjustly expensive for what it was. Usually a good indicator of prices starts with oysters. If a restaurant charges $4 for east coast oysters (average price should be around $3), you would expect the restaurant to have higher than usual menu prices. It turns out that the lunch menu prices were way more grounded, and it was a 3 course prix fixe on weekdays.

Nerai

Thu, 31 Dec 2020 22:32:36 -0500

Summary

For New Year’s Eve, we were fortunate to book this restaurant in Midtown East at the very last minute. This was always on our list since outdoor dining was a thing as the pictures of its settings looked quite appealing. Most tables have their own electric heater that sat directly above the table, so it wasn’t too cold compared to other places. For what it’s worth, it was in the high 30s with some wind chills. We did dress warmer just in case though.

Cafe Mogador

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 14:39:15 -0500

Summary

To the outside world, the pandemic is wreaking havoc like wildfire. However for me personally, the only difference is that people are much more careful about cleanliness. In North Williamsburg, the brunch hipster spots are still thriving, and as you can imagine are very meticulous to avoid any type of spread.

Cafe Mogador has been one of those frequent brunch places that many flock to for weekend brunch. This is not the first time I’ve been here as I’ve always been neutral, but at least this time, I’ve taken pictures of some of the food.

Ravagh

Sat, 17 Oct 2020 14:13:51 -0500

Summary

Unlike the other cuisines in NYC, Persian food is not something that we actively seek out. However, we often are around this area shopping at the now-closed Bed Bath & Beyond and tend to look for restaurants that are very close. This restaurant was something we surprisingly haven’t tried, so we checked it out. I actually haven’t had Persian food since I moved from LA back in 2016, so I am curious to relive those moments again.

Queens Room

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 17:30:23 -0400

Summary

This is a place along Ditmars Blvd in Astoria, relatively close to Taverna Kyclades. There is a lot of interesting outdoor setup on this street. The menu itself appears fairly simple, but this place had been highly recommended to us for the easy going vibe. For this COVID environment, the tables are organized north to south along the side street instead of the main street of Ditmars. It definitely felt a little safer.

Balzem

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 11:46:08 -0500

Summary

This restaurant is right around the corner of Lombardi’s in Nolita. We were hungry, and of course all the super popular restaurants had wait time. This one though for some reason had none, so why not?

They served us complimentary bread with olive oil and olives. Nothing much to say, but it was a nice gesture and good too.

We also ordered octopus which was cooked in red wine sauce, pan seared and served on arugula salad. The octopus surprisingly had a very nice char to it. It was crunchy or tender at the right spots. I liked how some parts of it was like eating a soft sponge, and others was like biting into a nice crisp.

Souvlaki GR

Sat, 12 Oct 2019 22:48:16 -0400

Summary

If you’re just shy of Central Park to the south and it’s in the middle of the day, this might be a good option.

On the bottom is the mixed grilled meat platter for two people (psita tis oras poikilia). It’s a combination of lambchops, traditional Greek sauce, pork/beef skewers, and pita and tzatziki. All of this was pretty good. The lambchops were ordered medium rare, and it was tender and delicious. I like the char on this.

Death Ave

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 14:45:07 -0400

Summary

This is a restaurant located close to the end of the Highline. It’s down on 10th ave at the corner. It’s actually next door to its bar. So if you want to visit this place, don’t open the first door on your left. Open the second door.

The sour beer on the top was quite good. It had some flavors of a Guinness but obviously with the sour in it. The sangria cocktail at the bottom was alright. Not my choice, but wasn’t bad.

Taverna Kyclades

Sat, 05 Jan 2019 15:08:07 -0500

We came here around 8:30 PM on a rather cold Saturday evening. Typically there is a long line outside, but today people were crowded and bundled up inside. I put my name down for 2. The wait was approximately 40-50 minutes. We had contemplated leaving when we heard the wait time, but we decided to power through and wait. It was worth it.

On July 1, 2023, we visited this restaurant again, and it has moved from it’s previous location. For a table of 4, we just had to wait approximately 30 minutes on a Saturday around 7:30 PM.

Miznon

Sun, 16 Sep 2018 17:43:20 -0400

This place sucks a lot, and it’s expensive. Food was just eh. I got the steak pita, and I was still very hungry. Overrated.

Dizengoff

Sun, 16 Sep 2018 17:41:20 -0400

This place was surprisingly good. The shakshooka and bread was really good. Too bad it’s CLOSED.