Avra Estiatorio
Avra Estiatorio was a restaurant that we wanted to check out for a while now. Because we were going to watch Gutenberg Musical at 8 PM, this fit perfectly for the opportunity. Avra has several locations spread throughout the United States: 3 in Manhattan, 1 in Miami, and 1 in Beverly Hills. It’s a rather posh Greek seafood restaurant, and it’s very similar to all the other upper end ones, such as Limani and Milos. We were able to walk in at around 6 PM without reservations, and we were seated at the upper floor. When we met the hostess, they asked if we were seeing a show, and we acknowledged that we were.
Ambiance & Service
The interior of this restaurant, which is located across the street from Radio City, is sleek, roomy, and modern. It has extremely high ceilings, and the customers definitely either dress up for an evening out or are visiting right after work.
Like the other higher end Greek seafood places, they have a bar where you can pick out the seafood that you want if you desire to have something by the pound. The price per pound does vary, but at a quick glance, they are all pretty expensive in my opinion. Some of the cheaper fishes are at $57 per pound. I looked at the prawns, and they were closer to $67 per pound. I’ve always felt that is way too overpriced, so we usually don’t order from this.
The service itself is really fast. When we ordered, the food came out in less than 10 minutes.
Food
They gave us complimentary bread, which basically includes radish, olives, and some type of hummus dip. The pita-like bread is crispy and has drizzles of olive oil on it.
The Mykonos Breeze ($20) came with stoli vodka, velvet falernum (syrup for tropical drinks), passion fruit, and lemon. My partner really enjoyed this as it was very sweet, and of course, stoli vodka typically blends well with fruits.
I ordered the Assyrtiko ($17), which came from AVRA, Cyclades, Greece 2022. This was essentially just a typical house white wine. It has accents of peach, and it was a good match with all the seafood elements of our courses tonight.
The Portuguese Sardines ($31.95) came with 4 pieces, charcoal grilled with lemon, capers, and EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil). The sardines were grilled nicely, but it had quite a number of bones that were difficult to chew through. The flavors of this was pretty straight forward though. I wasn’t a huge fan of this due to having to pay attention to what I was chewing, but some of the pieces were quite decadent.
The Grilled Octopus ($37.95) came with sashimi grade jumbo octopus, vidalia onions, capers, bell peppers, and a red wine vinaigrette. The octopus was delicious as expected. It was bouncy with very soft textures and a delicious char to it.
The Lavraki Ceviche ($33.95) came with lime juice, EVOO, sesame oil, sriracha oil, endive, green & red grapes, jalapeno, and sesame seeds. This was good, but it was also my least favorite of everything we ordered tonight. There’s really not a whole lot of flavor since the lettuces water down everything. Other than that, the fish was fresh, but they don’t give you a ton of it.
The Alaskan Halibut ($48.95) came charcoal grilled and was served with spanakorizo, which was spinach with rice medley. The halibut was cooked perfectly, and in this picture, this is just half of the dish. You can request to the server to share a plate, and they will divide up the food for you and your guests. For $50, it was probably a decent sized portion.
Second visit on March 29, 2024
The Lemonade in Corfu ($20 - left) came with Belvedere Lemon & Basil, Lemoncello, Agave, and Lemon. This reminded me a bit of a lemon drop candy, so it was a bit sweet for me. My partner enjoyed it though because it was refreshing with citrus and tart notes.
The glass of Sauvignon Blanc ($16 - right) came from François Chidaine, Touraine, France 2022. This had mineral after notes, and it was easy to drink and paired well with all the foods tonight. It had a little acidity to it, but it was still very smooth.
The Crab Cake ($47) came with Maryland jumbo lump crab, lentils, and mustard aioli. The lump of crab meat was actually quite delicious, and they gave a pretty good portion of it. There wasn’t excess sauce, so you get a very nice dose of crab and its natural flavors on every bite. I don’t know if it’s worth the $47, but it did taste great. My partner thought it was one of the best they’ve had in the city.
The Chilean Sea Bass Plaki ($49) came oven baked, with vidalia onions, potato, herbs, and tomato fish broth. The tomato fish broth was quite decadent with a lot of flavor in it (read: a little on the saltier side), and the fish itself was very delicious. The sea bass tasted very fresh and offered good portions.
The Hawaiian Big Eye Tuna ($56) came with grilled sauteed swiss chard and sliced marinated beets. The tuna was good too, though I don’t think it’d be as good as actually eating it in Hawaii. The tuna meat was dense like a tuna steak, and it tasted very similar to everywhere else that does a seared tuna filet.
Final Verdict
This really was a very typical, higher end Greek seafood restaurant. There was nothing here that was unique or outstanding as expected. The seafood that we had was very fresh, and that’s really what you’re paying for. If you are looking for a light meal and feel a little bougie near all the theaters, check out Avra.
Yelp Jabs
Great service overall. The seating and location are so good. My rating is only based on the fact that they don’t have enough vegan options. The restaurant still made me avacado toast on sourdough bread, but that was pretty much only option.
This Elitist rated this restaurant 3 stars due to them having a vegan diet. This was, after all, a seafood restaurant. Elitists rarely expect things with common sense, so I guess it’s not surprising.
I had a pretty decent business dinner at Avra. I had all protein (chicken was great, steak was a little too rare, and the fish was fantastic)!
Not to knock anyone here, but please don’t come to a seafood centric restaurant and get poultry or steak if you can eat seafood. I have no doubt that this restaurant would cook it well, but lean into the type of restaurant it is to minimize the risk of a bad choice. As far as steak being too rare, the Elitist probably enjoys their steak medium, which in all practical temperatures is closer to well done.
Revisions
- Mar 29, 2024 - Added second visit.
- Sep 29, 2023 - Initial revision.