Nisi Estiatorio — Restaurant in New York

2025 Update:

Still love it here. Do yourself a favor by going for a restaurant week lunch. Fish of the day was absolutely delicious, and dessert was very cute too (some sort of chocolate cookie over some strawberry sauce). I love that they also have pretty healthy options, and I felt like I could have a high protein low carb meal. They offered complimentary bread, which along with dessert is enough carbs for me 😁 As for drinks, I barely ever drink alcohol anymore, but the NA Peroni did the job, especially on a hot Summer day. If I had alcohol, I would totally go for their happy hour 4pm-7pm.

The only time I haven’t had a great experience here was on Valentine’s like 2 years ago, but I rarely ever love my Valentine’s dinners anyway, especially when there’s a set menu. Other than that, service is usually great, and this is still one of my faves in the area.

Original Review:

This is my new favorite Greek restaurant and hopefully continues to be. It not only is cute looking, but the food, drinks, and service are wonderful. Both times my partner and I visited, we have brought different guests from out of town and they loved it. We recently went for restaurant week with his parents and it was totally worth it.

From the time we entered, we loved how warm it was in such a cold day (they had extra heaters inside), and then the music gave it such an ambiance that I felt like we were in some Greek island. This, along with a delicious Nisi Mule cocktail was the perfect start. Our server Dimitra was very nice and welcoming, and so was the manager.

Dinner started with some complementary bread that was warm, and olive oil/balsamic on the side.

Tzatziki & Tirokafteri spreads - super good! 😋 - my favorite tzatziki is usually the one from BZ Grill, so I’m used to good stuff, and this one did not disappoint, but I was more in love with the tirokafteri (spicy feta dip)

Nisi Salad - delicious! We all shared this, even though we knew we probably ordered more food than we needed but no regrets there. The figs in the salad are such a great touch.

Spanakopita - I never had it the way they serve it before (with yogurt) but I usually get this at a bakery. It was sooo good this way! Just try it.

Saganaki - I’m pretty sure we also got this the first time. Everyone liked it just like everything else.

Fish of the day - opted for branzino, and honestly, I have never had a bad one anywhere (it’s kind of hard to mess up), but I will say that my partner who had ordered the lamb chops was jealous of my dish lol I didn’t want to eat too heavy and that was perfect

Paidakia (lamb chops) - very tasty, ordered it medium, really well prepared, but I’m a fish person. My partner is a steak person and was still more in love with the fish.

Astakomakaronada (lobster linguini) - surprisingly generous portion, tasty, and made for a perfect lunch when I reheated the leftovers next day (somebody else in our party ordered but I got to enjoy the leftovers and I didn’t have to take a flight)

Mosharisia Mprizola (rib-eye) - perfectly cooked, nice grilled flavor, would totally havr this again when craving steak

Dessert - we all got baklava to go and even though it was softer than what I’m used to, it was one of the most delicious I have had around, and it made me want to go back next day just for dessert

It was Monday night when we dined in, so I’m not sure if this is the usual experience, but already have reservations for a popular time and will see how...

This is a new Greek tavern literally opened a few days ago (February 7th, 2023) in Astoria, at the corner of 30th Avenue and 32nd Street. The location by itself hasn't been so successful for many other renters in the past history, which is weird considering the position of the venue (the prime location in Astoria on 30th Avenue), just a few steps from the train station with the same name. Other occupants of the space have included Calexico, Burnside Biscuits, Salt and Bone Smokehouse and Athens Café. NISI Estiatorio is a typical Greek tavern with a rich selection of traditional Mediterranean appetizers and main courses (both from the land and the sea). I had their grilled octopus as an appetizer. Above all, the food presentation was great, the octopus was served on the bed of fava beans spread, with red onions and roasted peppers (a cute acidic kick). A bit overcooked, but tasty, tender (and not gummy) in general. Nice execution, chef 👨‍🍳 For the main course i selected their mousaka, which was surpisingly served as deconstructed (eggplants and potatoes were grilled, plated and filled with the ground beef, tomato and herbs mixture in the middle). The mousaka was served on the warm plate (👍 for that). That was a nice twist, I personally prefer the classic approach (layered mousaka), but this is just my opinion. Also, eggplants should be less grilled (I guess they have to adapt to a new grill station, since the tavern is newly opened). In addition, they should put an olive oil on the each table (my suggestion). The ambient is warm, gentle, a lot of white color is involved in decoration, the bar is vivid and has a great potential. The tavern still has to be adjusted and needs some final touch, but with a right hospitality approach, hard work and fresh food it has an amazing potential. Smiling goes without saying, it is one of the most important ingredients for the Hospitality Business. The bar can be seen from the street, it is in the middle of the main room, next to the kichen entrance. The main dining room is next door and it is quite spacious (good for bigger parties). Guest toilets are way downstairs, well maintened and old school. They have a hostess at the entrance, a lot of staff, the manager is always around, service is attentive and responsive to different questions regarding the food and wines. Btw, the wines are almost all Greek, they have only some German mosel in offer, along with Italian prosecco and French champaign. The sellection of beers is more diverse. Prices are decent and moderate for this location. They do not serve coffees fyi. My server was Konstantinos and he did a very good job. Oh, almost to forgot: for the dessert I had their homemade baklava (server's recommendation). Generous serving, freshly made and not too sweet. Frankly, I was nicley surprised. Overall, my first impression is excellent. Looking forward to come back and try something different (fish, meat). See you soon, NISI! P.S. I gave them 5* in order to support newly open restaurant in my neighborhood, but there is a lot of work in front of them to deserve (and maintain) that level...

I recently went to this restaurant with my two young children. The space it occupies was at one time Athens Cafe which for me was a nostalgic reason to go out of my way to visit the restaurant as I now live in Long Island. The atmosphere is very nice and the colors apropos given the name of the restaurant which translates from Greek to "Island Restaurant". I ordered the hamburger and pork souvlaki for my children while I had two appetizers as my entree, Saganaki( fried cheese) with honey served on a cast iron skillet and grilled octopus.I burned myself on the cast iron, which I touched several minutes after it was placed on the table. It would have been nice to have been warned by the waiter that it was beyond hot. The restaurant served complimentary warmed pita bread garnished with oregano and lightly smeared with olive oil. It was complimented with a plate of hummus and olive oil for dipping. The pork souvlaki was served on a single metal skewer with some type of marinade and lemon potatoes. The meat may have been enjoyable if not for it being full of fat. The lemon potatoes were good but not remarkable. As to the burger, it came as two smaller but thick patties that had cheese packed inside the so that when you cut it through the middle the cheese slowly poured out. There was no bun. The meet was good and reminiscent of keftedes (Greek meatballs). However, given that the meal was for a small child it would have been nice if the waiter had warned me as it was decidedly not a hamburger in the traditional sense. Although to be fair I didn't read the full description on the menu so it may have been elaborated there. All in all the food was average to good, however it did not seem to taste like Greek food. I have noticed this trend at other Greek restaurants as well, so that if you are looking for a relatively good meal and an excellent atmosphere then certainly this restaurant delivers. If you are looking for authentic Greek food and Greek music playing in the background you should go elsewhere. Some other restaurants, not in Astoria, have been able to provide a modern twist on Greek food while retaining authentic tastes like Kyma and Limani (and Limani Mezze). That aside the restaurant is an impressive space especially given that it is located in Astoria. The pricing is moderately expensive and for those like me who have known Astoria since the 80s would likely go for the experience one time for a trip down memory lane or occasional drinks it's probably worth a one time or infrequent visit. For people who are simply looking for a relatively good meal, that doesn't taste like Greek food, while wearing business casual attire this is the...