Anassa Taverna

This is my favorite Greek restaurant in the city so far. Crowd favorite was the fava bean dip, grilled calamari for appetizers. If you are a mezcal fan then the Frida cocktail is for you, I absolutely love it- although it used to come with Tajín in the glass which was better and now it doesn’t. The lamb chops are delicious.

I went to Anassa for brunch. Not sure what’s the appeal though. At least in terms of brunch options, doesn’t seem to be worth the price (did they create a brunch menu to exploit low cost food items?)… Beware of $17 drinks and $14 mimosas. I ended up trying a very greek dish, the lamb shish kebab with pita and fries. Everything comes at a small sized portion, therefore only two skewers of meat, minimal quantity of small pita bread cut in triangles, and maybe 7 or 8 french fries. Other dishes ordered was the Greek pasta which is tasty and blueberry pancakes. The pancakes (2) are well made though comes with a very small sized syrup cup, and we suspected they used some whole grain wheat for the pancakes. Honestly, the best food I had here and totally surprised me in a good way was the house bread served with a seasoned hummus. The bread tasted fresh, like made on the same day and don’t think I tried hummus this interesting before. Ambient of the place is nice, pleasant and has an upscale vibe. Service is a bit naive (didn’t know if the syrup served was maple or corn based) but handy and proper.

Excellent Greek fare. If you're eating here, you probably want to order fish, as this is one of the best restaurants in New York to enjoy it. Highly recommend the Loup De Mar if you like Sea Bass. It's always fresh and drizzled with a rich extra virgin olive oil. Crispy skin with a very flavorful juicy body. The Snapper is also a wonderful choice. Desserts are worth trying as well, with the chocolate lava cake being one of the best I've ever had and sorbet also being a favorite.