“After taking our order, the waitress sat and ate on the opposite side of the restaurant the whole time while our water glasses ran empty.”

That doesn’t sound like the Greek (now Taverna) that we’ve come to know and absolutely love. Typically the service we get there is solid as could be. We are regulars though, so maybe that has to be taken into account.

The fact that the Taveran is BYO adds to its appeal to me. It allows us to spend an equivalent on wine that we do on food- something we don;t always get to do, and MAN does it make a difference. A forty dollar bottle that we can buy at a good shop would cost $65 if it were part of a wine list at the restaurant.

Anyway, I love the Taverna, and bummed to hear you had a bad time of it. We haven’t been displeased like that yet.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9D02E2DE1E3FF930A35757C0A9639C8B63

The food was above average and made with quality ingredients, but lacked a thoughtfulness and love (for lack of a better word) that i expect from a restaunt of this $$ — especially a greek one. The maranousalata was lovely, but the rice in my dolmadakia was hard and flavorless. My bifteki looked nothing like the above: what i got were 2 flavorful lamb hunks, but *nothing else on the plate* other than a huge bush of watercress garnish. I had to pay extra for 3 very lonely potato halves to go with my dinner, which were tasty but 6$ is alot to pay for 1.5 potatoes. the restaurant was lovely, though a bit cavernous. Lots of nice knick nacks and mirrors, not the usual nautical themed junk and acropolis posters seen in greek restaurants. But after a while the super tall ceilings and lack of service started to make me feel really short or like a bug or something. Not good.

Greeks are a tough crowd to please. however, it is not fancy decor or garnish that will impress them- they expect substance and authenticity when they dine out. Greek Taverna made me feel like was felt like i was in a greek Bertucci’s, and i was just another credit card # to them. In fact it was exactly what one might expect from a strip mall in Edgewater and I walked out saying i should have known better. Next time, i will and will just keep driving across the bridges to Astoria.

Not recommended.

The one question, though: my girlfriend got the bifteki off the menu and it didn’t have the cheese on it. It was bloody delicious, of course, but did you order something special or ask for it?

We will definitely be going back. I forget the name of the appetizer we had, but it was a hot, spiced feta cheese dip thing.

We went to Piccomilo (sp?) up River Road past Mitsuwa for dessert. They make some really tasty gelato. Next time we’re going to try for Magic Pot.