Stina — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Given in incredible reviews, my partner and I went into Stina with very high expectations. We were unfortunately quite disappointed with the overall experience and probably would not return.

SERVICE: Overall the service was pretty. Nothing spectacular, but they were pretty attentive and fast with the check. Our water glasses never went empty either. Though our server forgot to offer us dessert and instead brought the check immediately after clearing entrees, so I have to ding them for that.

FOOD: Salt, salt and salt. The biggest complaint by far. Everything tasted almost as if it was purposely under-seasoned. We had- Moroccan carrots, falafel, octopus, Lamb Manti, and 2 pizzas (Fungi and Shortrib). Carrots had great spice, but too much salsa verde/herb oil which made it eat greasy and lack of salt. Falafel was probably the most frustrating because the aroma and texture were phenomenal, but it truly tasted as if there was zero salt in the mixture at all. The tzatziki also lacked salt. Octopus, which I’ve heard is supposed to be some of the best in the city, was just ok. It was served whole which normally wouldn’t be an issue, but the octopus was not cooked properly. It was much chewier than it should be and when trying to cut pieces off, the outer skin stayed attached almost like chewy string cheese. The meat was also under seasoned. There were some great bites when you got a piece of octopus with the romesco, aioli, and pickled onions. However, due to the plating it was too much work to get that perfect composed bite. Lamb Manti- Another case of actually tasting as if salt was completely left out of both the lamb filling and the pasta dough. Also be aware that there is zero sauce on the dish and is served with simply plain yogurt and a lot of chili oil. Pizzas- Absolutely perfect Neapolitan-style dough. Unfortunately weighed down by a very thick layer of mozzarella cheese. Salt wasn’t really an issue here as cheese is inherently salty. But it was hard eating more than one slice due to the amount of cheese.

My partner suggested that maybe the food was due to them having an “off night”. But I seriously doubt that is the case and feel the seasoning was purposeful for 2 reasons: The kitchen is very small and the chef/owner was present all night. Secondly, the 2 desserts were actually fantastic! We had the Baklava and Chocolate and Tahini cake. The cake in particular was so good because it was garnished with honey and…FLAKY SALT. So clearly if they wanted to season their food more, they could.

I think the prices were very reasonable, but also think it would be worth paying a bit more for better tasting food at the many terrific Italian, Mediterranean, and middle eastern restaurants in the city. Though Stina’s does offer the convenience of offering 2 types of cuisines...

Saw this on Pancakes and protein, I believe. I was in the neighborhood for another place, which turned out to be closed, and this was 12 minutes away.

Had to wait in the entryway for a little while, even though there were only two different tables being waited on, which was a little silly, but fine. Once I got to my table, the waiter was pleasant enough. He got to taking our orders promptly.

Food wise, the falafel was delicious, and the tzatziki was good, but I've had better tzatziki. The other things on the plate paired very well with the falafel.

The octopus was delicious and charred nicely. It had several things on the plate to pair with it, and I enjoyed this a lot.

The meatballs had a sort of meaty, umami, Mediterranean fusion to them. They were different, in a good way. I would order them again if craving a meaty, but not the typical meaty you think of. These were topped with diced olives and oil, which created more of the fusion taste. They also came with thick chunks of bread that you can dip in the sauce. The bread wasn't amazing, but it was good.

The Kebabs were seared nicely but lacked seasoning or salt that would have made them pop. The chicken tasted fresh, and the hummus pairs very nicely with this, but you might need more. There are also a few olives they put on the plate that go well with this.

The pita bread they serve with this is phenomenal. I've never had better pita. I didn't know it could be done like that. Very delicious.

When it came time to pack my stuff up, because my guests ordered the same plates, when the waiter was packing them up, he forgot which one was which and could only tell because of the bite mark that it was different and asked us. I did think this was going to be confusing when he took them away, but I thought, maybe because it's so empty in here, he has a strategy to remember. But he did not and would have mixed up the order if I hadn't taken one bite out of the pita.

All in all, it's definitely...

Had been hearing raving reviews about Stina and luckily found a 7:15 slot on Resy. The two of us reached at 7 and waited happily, hungrily, patiently watching everyone eat. Our table wasn't available by 7:15. Neither was it available by 7:30. By 7:40 our stomachs were protesting, and finally got our table then. The staff apologized to us about the delay (I understand it's not their fault if people don't finish dining on time, but that's the only reason I'm docking one star off).

We ordered all at once - fire roasted potatoes, charred octopus, merguez pide. They started us off with the fire roasted cauliflower, compliments of the house for the delay. 0.5 star up for that, but I'll still round off to 4, because I'm sure the next visit will make it 5. The cauliflower was a beautiful roasted half, that sadly didn't match up to its looks. The outer char was amazing, but we felt the cauliflower was more than crunchy, almost raw inside, and didn't do much. One of the best looking dishes of the night though.

Next came the merguez pide and potatoes. Wow. Blown away. One of the most unique dishes I've had in a while - the lamb sausage is spicy, savory with the perfect burst of cheese and delicious dough. Highlight of the evening, that made me forget my previously grumpy self. I will definitely have this again, and very soon. The potatoes were delicious - slight citrusy taste with some greens, and a more than hearty quantity. The octopus (priciest item on the menu) was charred to perfection, but you could live without it.

We'd hoped to try a pizza but all this food was definitely more than enough for two famished people. We still did dessert - citrus cheesecake, that I had no intention of having but claimed 50% of after a bite.

I'm sorry for 4 stars Bob, I promise I'll make it up...