Psari

Summary

You know what’s one of the great things about Astoria? It’s the excellent Greek seafood restaurants that are within walking distances of each other. We had been to Taverna Kyclades before, but it’s been a while since we’ve dined at their competitors. This was a restaurant that was within walking distance from our Food Bazaar trek on the way back home, so we thought to stop by and give this a try.

Like other restaurants in the COVID situation, they have both indoor and outdoor dining. The outdoor setup appears to have heaters set up in the ceiling aimed toward the table. We opted however to sit indoors where there were very few people to begin with since we decided to eat in the early evening.

For drinks, they have some alcoholic slushy machines in the bar area. So we got the piña colada and mango margarita. I wasn’t too crazy about either, but my partner enjoyed theirs. They do remind me of those hurrican slushies from Vegas.

The garlic bread appeared to be complimentary and was warm and toasted nicely. The crust was crispy and the inner was soft.

The small Greek salad came with romaine and iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, and a brick of feta cheese. They give you olive oil and red wine vinegar on the side. The vegetables were very fresh and crisp. What’s great about these Greek restaurants though is the feta cheese. It was not too salty nor bland.

The grilled octopus was another exciting appetizer. The octopus leg was grilled with a very nice char on the edges. The tomatoes and cucumber offered a nice balance to the seasoning of the octopus.

The grilled tuna steak was a very solid densely piece of meat. If you’re trying to be healthy, this was an excellent dish in that there was very low fat, and it was grilled to a nice temperature. Slight warning though, if you microwave the leftovers, the fish will become dry.

The broiled scallops were also delectable although not as plentiful as what we had at Taverna Kyclades. Nevertheless, they were delicious seasoned and perfectly cooked.

For sides:

• The Greek potato chips were very delicious. They are simply crispy house-made potato chips with some seasoning on it.
• The vegetables still have some crisp to them.

Service was fantastic and very prompt, and the price is comparable to the other Greek restaurants within the Astoria areas.

Final Verdict

This restaurant may not be Taverna Kyclades, but it’s a great alternative. The service was fantastic, and the seafood that we got was just as fresh. Portion sizing may be debatable on some items, but I think it’s acceptable.

Yelp Jabs

Then later they bring me Greek capitan Seafood combination. Later on I felt sick for three days after eating poison rotten shrimps. Very disappointed never coming back again.

Some Yelp reviews come out so vague that it’s hard to take seriously. It would have been nice if they had written how they knew the shrimp was rotten and poison.

Ordered lobster tails - big mistake. Came cold and unseasoned. When I complained, they brought me salt. 32 dollars wasted. Never coming back.

The cold part is probably because the lobster tail had sat there for a few minutes. Unfortunately, lobster can quickly lose its heat if not eaten asap. Also the lobster tail doesn’t really need to be seasoned unless you have a terrible palette for seafood.