Ambrosia Garden

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.

Ambiance & Service

The decor in the front of the restaurant is quite nice. They have some splattering of greenery and the table that we sat at had some outdoor feel to it. There are white outdoor style patio drapes, so they were trying to bring that Mediterranean Greek vibe to it.

The service was very quick. Once we ordered, the food came out pretty fast. Something we didn’t realize was the portion sizes for the mains are quite big for one person.

Food

The complimentary Bread came with some seasoning on top and olive oil on the side. This was no frills and was simply room temperature bread with some seasoning on top.

The Grilled Marinated Octopus ($29) came with fava puree. The octopus was a bit on the chilled side, so we were not expecting that. This came more like a salad than what we were expecting. With the fava puree, it reminded me of potato salad textures with the sweetness of the octopus. The octopus tasted pretty decent, but it was not the best we’ve had.

The glass of Xinomavro ($15) came from Thymiopoulos Winery, Naoussa, Greece. The Xinomavro is known as “Greece’s Nebbiolo”, so it would be medium body with bright acidity, tannins, and some complex notes. This glass was just OK for me. I felt by itself, it was an OK drink, and it’s not as complex as other Nebbiolo wines I’ve had. With the food, it didn’t pair great because there was some clashing of tannins and acid with the meat. The red wine was served chilled with condensation around the glass, which may have conflicted with the warm temperature of some of the foods.

The Bouyourdi ($18) came with baked feta with sweet bell peppers and tomatoes in a clay pot. It was served with pita bread on the side. The entire bowl reminded me of a wet, pasta sauce with lots of crumbly cheese in it. The feta was actually quite salty, so you need to use the pita bread as a vessel to balance it out. It was served piping hot, but I felt the flavors were a bit basic for me. Had the feta not as been as salty as it was or perhaps the tomatoes offered more acidity, maybe this could’ve been more balanced.

The Papoutsakia ($28) came with stuffed eggplant with ground beef, caramelized onions, bechamel sauce, and kefalograviera cheese. This reminded me basically of a lasagna but using eggplant as the primary ingredient. The flavors itself were mild, and the texture was mushy.

The Sofrito ($29) was a traditional recipe from Corfu island and came with slow-cooked beef shoulder for 6 hours in a sofrito sauce, served with Cretan double cooked fries. This was basically braised beef. Even though the beef was tender, the quality of the meat was not great. It was dry and not a whole lot of fat on it. It reminded me of overcooked beef, where you get some of the rubbery, stringy textures. The Cretan double cooked fries were surprisingly my favorite part of the dish because they were like mashed crispy mini-potato balls. Otherwise, the flavors for this dish were mild, and the dish was not the best we’ve had.

Overall Impression

Ambrosia Garden definitely has a great ambiance to explore and dine in, but on the food alone, I felt this was no where as good as other Greek places in Astoria. Surprisingly today, we went for some of the meat courses, but even for the octopus, we did not think it was great. Definitely check it out if you’re with a party and want some ambiance to go along with it, but if you’re here for the food, I think this would not rank high on my list to check out.

Yelp & Google Jabs

This Greek spot in Astoria has been rated as Top 50 NYC (on Beli) and I can definitely see why.

I checked out the Beli app before, and while a noble cause to provide another outlet for ratings, the ratings tend to inflate and not match with the actual flavors. Maybe the diners have a distinct palette, but I find most of the higher rated restaurants in Beli are rated by diners that have a straightforward palette. The food here is definitely average at best for Greek, but of course I’m sure the indoor garden adds several bonus points should you also come here for the ambiance.

The table has agreed that the food here is better than the food in Greece. Bold statement I know but from three different people who visited multiple cities in Greece, something must be brewing here at Ambrosia Garden.

This review was posted on April 1, so was this April Fool’s? Jokes aside, it’s possible for food outside of their native countries to be better than the native countries. This Elitist either decided to fluff their review, or they may just not have been to many Greek restaurants in the city.

Revisions

1. Jul 10, 2026 - Initial revision.