Greek Taverna - Montclair — Restaurant in Montclair

We honestly weren’t expecting much walking into this little Greek taverna—its online reviews were fine, but nothing that screamed “must-try.” Now? I can confidently say those reviews don’t do it justice at all.

From the moment we sat down, the vibe was welcoming and warm, like you were stepping into someone’s home rather than a restaurant. The owner himself came by, checked in on us throughout the meal, and even brought out some appetizers on the house—a super fresh Greek salad and a platter of traditional dips with warm pita. That small gesture set the tone for the rest of the night.

And the rest of the food? Absolutely phenomenal. We started with calamari, grilled halloumi, and grilled octopus—each one better than the last. The calamari was crispy without being greasy, the halloumi had that perfect salty char, and the octopus… wow. It was so tender and flavorful it honestly stole the show. Probably the best I’ve had.

For mains, we split a few dishes to try a bit of everything. The grilled fish was delicate and fresh, seasoned just right. The gyro was juicy and packed with flavor, and the chicken souvlaki had that irresistible smoky char from the grill.

We finished with tiramisu (which, surprisingly, was amazing—super creamy with a nice kick of coffee) and ekmek kataifi, a traditional Greek dessert that was light, sweet, and the perfect way to end the meal. The server also brought out cookies that were sooo good.

The server was so sweet and kind too!!

I honestly don’t understand how this place doesn’t have better reviews. Maybe it flies under the radar because it’s not flashy or trendy—but that’s exactly why it’s special. The food is outrageously good, the people are kind, and it all feels real. No pretension, just incredible Greek cooking and true hospitality.

Do yourself a favor: skip the trendy spots and give this place a try. You’ll leave full, happy, and already thinking about...

If I could give zero stars, I would.

We just had my daughter’s third birthday party here and it was a nightmare. We booked our party over a month ago— reserved the private room. We called a few days prior to confirm we were all set for the party. I felt alarmed because they were confused about our reservation and had to search our credit card number for the deposit we left. They found that our card was charged the deposit, and assured us we were set for the party so I tried to just be positive.

On the day of our party my fears were confirmed— they had double booked the private room. They told us they would accommodate us by closing the restaurant and we could hold our party there.. I was upset but I was happy that we were being taken care of.. or seemed like it.

There’s one bathroom for the facility so people from the private party were constantly coming in our party to use the bathroom. Also, they didn’t post any signs indicating the restaurant was closed, so there were a lot of people coming in looking to be seated for lunch/ dinner.

The staff just didn’t seem prepared for us. They brought out kids meals for roughly half the children, and the rest had to wait a good half hour for their food— chicken fingers and fries.. including my daughter, the birthday girl.

The kicker of all this was how they rushed us out! We hired a mermaid princess for entertainment. We paid for an hour of her service but was only able to get 40 minutes because staff told me they needed us to start taking down decorations— all while patrons started to line across the front of the restaurant. It felt uncomfortable and I was extremely embarrassed in front of my guests. I can assure you I will never pay $1500 for a private party at this establishment to get this type of service.

We also noticed that the party in the private room was still going strong as we were forced to end our party. I will not...

Looking for Greek food? That's what led me here for Mother's Day. Do I regret it? No. Am I slightly disappointed, a little.

Allow me to explain. While the menu was good for the most part, Mother's Day featured a smaller than normal menu. Which personally would have been nice to know beforehand. My 2nd gripe is over/under cooking. Now I understand that it was very busy, which is why there's 4 stars there. However, planning for expected increased business should occur. Because having 3/4 of our tables dishes share this problem is unacceptable.

For the service, Our main server was clearly swamped, but tried her best to attend to us. What I did like is the other staff also assisting with various tables in need, whether that be pita, water, refreshments, or other. They were filling the gap wonderfully.

As for the food, Grilled calamari was excellent, tasteful, and not rubbery, combined with the roasted veggies assortment it blended very well together. Pita was oiled and seasoned well. However, it was a tad dry, most likely due to the server carrying it uncovered from table to table. Main dish of Alaskan Salmon had ups and downs. The salmon was seasoned and seared well, but was cooked for too long. Medium salmon should not leave you searching for a refreshment. The grilled veggies paired with this dish were genuinely excellent. And the rice was as well. As for the dish as a whole, I feel a sauce could be used to tie it together better, but if the salmon hadn't been overcooked, I would've loved to give it...