This was a tough one to review because there were a lot of things that I really did like about this place and some that I thought were good but not great. If I were still giving out 1/4 forks, this would be a solid 3.75 rating but since I'm not, I had to choose between 3.5 and 4 and 3.5 won out at the end but I would definitely say that depending on what you order, it could be a strong contender for 4 or even higher.
Vince, Aaron and I were way overdue for our Williamsburg outing and finally were able to nail down a date and since we all lived within walking distance of MP Taverna (and since it had literally just opened the week before) we were eager to try it out. I will give 5 forks for the space and decor. It's a huge and lovely space on the corner of Driggs and 10th and it makes you feel like you're not really in a crowded busy city with its spacious seating. The menu is a very solid line up for Greek food - I haven't been to Kefi yet but this is from Chef Michael Psilakis who has a stellar reputation around the city for great Greek food. Greek food is one of my favorite under dog cuisines that I don't think gets enough love or attention. We all wanted to try everything on the menu - the one thing we wanted to try but couldn't was the whole baby animal! If you call 5 days in advance, you can order a whole baby goat, lamb, pig, pork butt or fish. Next time! Instead we opted for spicy feta dip, tzatziki dip, seared scallops, octopus, loukaniko sausage, lamb chops, mixed grill of the day, cauliflower, and thrice cooked smashed potato. Yes - we clearly over ordered but who the hell cares?
Surprisingly the scallops came out first along with the dips. It was seared in brown butter and it's one of those dishes that was good but didn't blow my mind. I mean it's pretty hard to f*ck up scallop and as long as you don't overcook them, it's always delicious. As for the dips, I was a big fan of them - it's usually my favorite part of any Greek meal. The pita bread was nice and soft and warm and the spicy feta had a real serious kick to it. It had nice chunks of feta mixed in with spicy roasted red pepper. If the spicy feta dip was great, the tzatziki dip was fantastic. It was cool, refreshing and a very nice complement to the spicy feta dip. I could seriously just have a trio of dips for dinner and be a happy camper. Next was what was one of my favorite dishes of the night, the octopus. Octopus is really one of those dishes that can go either way. At it's worst, it can be chewy, dry and just very unappealing. At it's best it's wonderfully tender and incredibly tasty. Luckily it was the later here. They served us 3-4 very big pieces of fabulous octopus that all 3 of us really enjoyed. It's definitely something I would order again here. Next I tried the sausage which was made with pork, orange peel, fennel, leek and other aromatic herbs and seeds. It was grilled nicely and the addition of all the different herbs really added some great flavor to it. On to the meats and sides - and yes at this point, I was getting really stuffed but I wasn't going to complain. The lamb chops were a bit on the small side which was a disappointment. They were at best 3-4 small bites but the bites were tender and juicy. As for the mixed grill plate, I was also a bit disappointed. Maybe it's because I didn't really read the menu to understand what was on the mixed plate but it was just more sausage, more chops and a few more bites of a meat. I'm not saying it was a bad dish but after having tons of similar dishes before this, I'm not sure if this dish really added anything for me. As for the side dishes, they were also stellar. The thrice cooked smashed potatoes were amazing. They were basically fancy potato slices but they were so incredibly addictive. I had 3 and if left alone with the dish, could have eaten the entire thing. As for the cauliflower dish, it was a nice way to get some kind of vegetable in my system for the night.
We ended the night just the way we started - with too much food on the table. We got the grilled pineapple, brownie and then the restaurant kindly served us the creme brulee on the house. Of the 3, I enjoyed the creme brulee the best but really at this point, I was super full and 3 glasses of wine and 1 cocktail in.
The service was pretty good - the waiter was friendly, seemed to know the menu pretty well (except when we pressed him on the whole animal) and the sommelier and GM all came by to ask us how we were doing and made sure we were taken care of. I let Vince pick out the wines and they were all very solid choices and they had a very extensive beer and wine list that would make any drinker happy.
Overall, I really did like my meal here it's just that I didn't walk away thinking this was the best Greek meal of my life. I would absolutely come back here and definitely order any of the dips, the octopus and a side order of the smashed potatoes. I didn't try the Greek salad but that's also usually one of my go to Greek dishes, that I would want to try here at some point. Total bill: business dinner so I'm not sure but overall the prices there were relatively affordable and reasonable.
Photo Credit: Yelp
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