By Carl Dombek
In the mood for Greek food, we slipped into Anassa Taverna on a Monday night and had a very good experience.
Having helped open and run a Greek restaurant in Seattle, I'm something of a Greek food snob. In addition, we were hosting our oldest son and his wife, and my sons have been eating Greek food since they were old enough to shout, "OPA!" so we're admittedly a tough crowd.
We started with appetizer dips of tzatziki, fava and taramosalata with pita and flaming saganaki, then a mixed beet salad and wine before moving on to the main courses.
My son and I each chose the lamb skewers (made with ground lamb formed around the skewer rather than chunks of solid meat) while my wife and daughter in law went for seafood. My wife chose the snapper with rainbow vegetables and DIL ordered branzino. Both were ecstatic. My son enjoyed the well-seasoned lamb but I honestly had missed the menu description of "ground lamb," which was not what I had wanted nor expected, but my bad.
The only negative was unenthusiastic service. The older gentleman waiting on our table didn't seem interested in taking the time to answer our questions thoroughly but, as veterans of Greek food, we found our way through. On the positive side, when we asked for a re-order of pita bread, he brought it with a scoop of skordalia instead of hummus, "Since you've already got hummus on the table." Very thoughtful.
The space itself is dark and fairly quiet; just the place to unwind after a busy day in bustling NYC. And it's right next to the Conrad hotel and its Atrio bar, which is my favorite place to head for a nightcap.
Both Anassa Taverna and the Conrad are highly recommended.
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Photos by Carl Dombek
Click on photos to view larger images
Having helped open and run a Greek restaurant in Seattle, I'm something of a Greek food snob. In addition, we were hosting our oldest son and his wife, and my sons have been eating Greek food since they were old enough to shout, "OPA!" so we're admittedly a tough crowd.
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| Delightful saganaki, flamed at our table |
The food at Anassa Taverna was up to the challenge.
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| Three-dip sampler |
We started with appetizer dips of tzatziki, fava and taramosalata with pita and flaming saganaki, then a mixed beet salad and wine before moving on to the main courses.
 |
| Lamb kebob with salad, fries and tzatziki |
My son and I each chose the lamb skewers (made with ground lamb formed around the skewer rather than chunks of solid meat) while my wife and daughter in law went for seafood. My wife chose the snapper with rainbow vegetables and DIL ordered branzino. Both were ecstatic. My son enjoyed the well-seasoned lamb but I honestly had missed the menu description of "ground lamb," which was not what I had wanted nor expected, but my bad.
 |
| Snapper with rainbow vegetables |
The only negative was unenthusiastic service. The older gentleman waiting on our table didn't seem interested in taking the time to answer our questions thoroughly but, as veterans of Greek food, we found our way through. On the positive side, when we asked for a re-order of pita bread, he brought it with a scoop of skordalia instead of hummus, "Since you've already got hummus on the table." Very thoughtful.
The space itself is dark and fairly quiet; just the place to unwind after a busy day in bustling NYC. And it's right next to the Conrad hotel and its Atrio bar, which is my favorite place to head for a nightcap.
Both Anassa Taverna and the Conrad are highly recommended.
Photos by Carl Dombek
Click on photos to view larger images
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