Anassa Taverna Astoria — Restaurant in New York

I regret to share that my recent visit to Anassa Taverna was extremely disappointing, primarily due to the unprofessional and rude behavior of our waiter, Anthony (or Antony).

From the moment Anthony approached our table, it was clear he was exasperated and impatient. While I was perusing the wine bottle menu, he abruptly closed the book and pointed to another menu featuring cocktails and wine by the glass. When I questioned why he did this and implied I may be interested in ordering from the wine bottle menu, he dismissively replied, "I can tell." This was not only off-putting but also quite insulting.

Despite this initial rudeness, we decided to stay because we were celebrating a friend’s birthday. I ordered a bottle of sparkling water, to which Anthony responded with an exaggerated, "OH, you see, a bottle of sparkling water," and rolled his eyes. This response felt microaggressive and was indicative of his behavior throughout the evening.

Anthony’s attitude continued to deteriorate. He rolled his eyes and sighed audibly every time we interacted with him. He dropped items on our table and immediately walked away without checking if we needed anything else. At no point during our meal did he come to check on us or offer additional water.

The final straw was when a friend requested an additional meal to go on a separate check. Anthony responded with an eye roll and a curt "OK." This behavior was not only unprofessional but made what should have been a joyful birthday celebration feel hostile and unpleasant.

After mentioning this experience to the management, the manager was very apologetic and addressed our concerns sincerely. I have frequented Anassa Taverna multiple times and have seldom had such an experience. This seemed to be a one-time issue caused by a rude employee. I hope this feedback helps ensure better service in the future, as Anassa Taverna usually provides a wonderful dining experience.

UPDATE: The manager, Vasso, went out of her way to make things right by offering us a complimentary dinner so we could re-experience Anassa without the rude server, Andoni. We returned a year later, and while the food took about an hour to arrive and was a bit dry, the overall experience was much better than our first visit. This has at least opened us up to being willing to come back again...

This is the very first time I am writing a review; I have always felt that anyone can have a good or a less-than-good experience once and it’s not fair to judge based on one experience. Having said that, Anassa is consistently fantastic and deserves to be praised. I have now eaten there many times. It is the perfect place for a celebration, and the perfect spot for a night out, and the most perfect spot for an early, leisurely Sunday Family dinner. First of all, the restaurant is beautiful. It’s airy and open and spotless. Nothing better than seeing how clean and beautifully decorated it is. The bar is roomy and lively and a great place to start! The food is as close to what you will find in restaurants in Greece as you will ever get in the United States. The service is consistently too-notch. We have a favorite sever, Dimitris, that thinks of everything to make your dinner be the absolute best that it can be every time you are there. They treat you like family and that’s what sets then apart. As for the menu, I have yet to try any dish that has not been so, so good! My personal highlights: The Bread!! the Cocktail named Selene: you’ll find it on the drink menu and it’s the one with the edible evil eye floating on top; All the appetizers, lol: Try The zucchini patties and you’ll wind up eating the entire plate, that’s how good they are; the lemon potatoes are spot-on homemade tasting; The Greek Salad is an absolute must and besides having the most authentic, delicious Feta cheese, the tomatoes may be the best I’ve ever had in this country. Literally; The Bronzino and the Red Snapper: both unbelievable. Every. time. The Orange Cake for dessert is just the perfect amount of sweet. I could go on and on but you get it — if I can give anyone in the NYC area a bit of advice, go and experience Anassa Taverna in Astoria for yourself... and then try to not feel compelled to...

I came for dinner to celebrate my birthday with my family and friends, and the server was awful and insulting. I worked as a server for five years before getting my degree, and I served everyone with the same quality of service. The server only came to the table twice, took away the cocktail menu without even asking if we wanted to have a drink. He was being attentive to other tables, talking with them and checking on them frequently. To make it worse, my mother requested that the birthday cake (that we brought from Martha’s) and coffee be brought out together 4 different times! Yet, the coffee came thirty minutes before the cake. When I asked if he could bring extra coffee with the cake and leave the coffee that he already brought, he snatched the coffee that I was still drinking out of my hand. That’s when I spoke to the hostess and I think the manager or captain about how I felt my family and I were being discriminated against and treated unfairly when I compared our level of service to other customers there. The captain/manager (a white guy) goes on and tells me and my family that how we feel is completely untrue, which is frustrating to hear as a POC because who is he to invalidate the way my family and I felt at the moment.

Completely ruined my birthday! My family and I decided to pack the cake, pay, and LEAVE. The only positive take away from that night was the busboys, they were great. I would recommend you promote them all to servers!

I’ll no longer be dining at this establishment and I hope the restaurant reassess the situation and invests in a diverse and welcoming environment to all customers regardless of...