Restaurant Name:
Taverna Kyclades Astoria
Address:
33-07 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105
This place is the first main restaurant.
Website: tavernakyclades.com
My husband and I were looking for a house to live together after we get married around early summer in 2017. We looked around places with a broker near Astoria where it is good for commuting. When we found a place where we live now, the broker said that there is a famous Greek seafood restaurant near the house. Maybe that was one of the big reasons that I decided to live in this house. Since we moved in, we often went to the Greek restaurant.
There are many Greeks living in Astoria, and this restaurant is also quite popular to them.
I have always missed fresh seafood from Korea but thankfully, Taverna Kyclades gives me great satisfaction.
Here is my first delicious restaurant recommendation in New York!
The first impression of Taverna Kyclades in Astoria Ditmars was strong.
Anyone can see the restaurant and say it is popular, because of a long line of people waiting outside. The very first time when we went to Taverna Kyclades, we waited for at least 40 minutes, although it was a little past lunch time.
The restaurant sign is in Greek’s favorite color, blue background with white letters, “Taverna Kyclades Seafood”. Overall look of the restaurant is clean and neat.
A bottle of extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar are placed on each table.
The menu is written in English and Greek.
It means that many Greeks come in the restaurant. I tried many dishes in here because I went to this restaurant frequently.
They give a big herb flavored bread with olive oil before the main dish, and it is very delicious.
I always need to be careful not to fill my stomach with the bread before the main dish.
They also give big sliced lemons for main seafood and a salad.
Grilled Clams:
Fantastic flavor of clams! I have never tasted any sand from it because they well purged sand from the clams.
Whenever I miss Korean style grilled clams, I had this grilled clams. It is delicious.
Fried Anchovies:
My close friend Alexis and Dom recommended this menu.
At first, I did not expect a lot because I thought they would fry the tiny anchovies.
However, I was surprised when I saw a pile of fat and finger size fried anchovies in a huge plate.
It was crunchy and tasty, a perfect compatible dish for a cold beer. It is great with lemon. Fried Anchovies comes with a big portion and I love it.
Greek salad:
There are many famous food in Greece but the most well-known dish is Greek salad!
The perfect harmony of crispy cucumber, juicy tomato, flavorful purple olives, fresh lettuce and a delicious chunk of feta cheese will make you happy.
I always take a photo when the salad is served because it is so pretty with many different colors.
It is also a huge portion, so small size is enough for 3 people to share, and it is great with other main dishes.
Grilled Branzino:
Very soft and tender white fish flesh is delicious!
My mouth waters when I see the fish’s soft and moist white flesh.
It is great with crunchy greek salad.
Salmon steak:
I like almost all other seafood dishes in this restaurant except the salmon steak.
For me, it was dry and not as flavorful as other grilled fish.
You may want to order other grilled fish unless you prefer having dry salmon steak.
Grilled Calamari:
Absolutely, my favorite food in Taverna Kyclades!
This grilled calamari is the best grilled calamari I had in my life!
First of all, the grilled pattern on the calamari looks delicious. It is full of flavor and juicy because they cook it as a whole calamari. It is so soft and tender.
I strongly recommend this dish!!
Fried Calamari:
Like Fried Anchovies, Fried Calamari is also delicious.
It is very tender but not as juicy as Grilled Calamari because it is not fried as a whole calamari. The red sauce that they give is not my favorite.
I prefer to dip the fried calamari with the extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar. However, I still recommend this dish because it is good.
Side dishes:
For lunch special, if you order main menu, one side dish is included.
So I strongly recommend getting lunch special. (Mon-Sat 12pm-4pm)
Rice: Delicious buttery rice. The type of rice is a little wider than sushi rice.
Beet: I ordered this menu for the healthier choice. But it was tastier than I expected. It was a little sweet and soft grilled(?) beet.
Horta: It was my first time trying steamed Swiss chard. It was tender and but not really flavorful. It could be a little boring side for seafood dish.
Lemon Potatoes: I strongly recommend lemon potatoes for side! It is huge grilled wedge potatoes with lemon juice. It is very refreshing and great with other seafood.
Overall lunch special price range is around from $13 to $20. Salad is around $10 for small size (yet a very huge size). Although the seafood is in their restaurant name, they do sell meat dish. I never tried it yet so I do not know what it is like.
I want to try Grilled Octopus and Grilled Swordfish next time.
(What should I try next time? Please leave a comment for your favorite dish in Taverna Kyclades!)
Sometimes they served a dessert for free. It became my husband’s favorite dessert and it is called “Galaktoboureko”. Thanks to the free dessert in this restaurant, we often get Galaktoboureko near Greek dessert shop.
When I eat delicious and fresh seafood with refreshing salad in this restaurant, I feel like I am in a beautiful and sparkling beach in Greece, not right next to the hard grey asphalt street.
Atmosphere and Location: 4.2
Although the restaurant is right next to Ditmars road, it is pretty close to subway.
Since the restaurant is located in Astoria, it is a perfect location for me. However, people from Manhattan may feel a little bit far. There are fake grape vines and fake fish decoration which can make us feel like we are in Greece.
Food: 4.8
Fresh and delicious seafood and a big portion of food.
Service: 4.3
The waiters are kind but they are always very busy because there are so many people in the restaurant.
Price: 4.8
Usually it is pricey when it comes to having seafood in restaurants in the United States, but Taverna Kyclades’ lunch special is reasonable price and it always fulfilled my stomach.
The total score for Taverna Kyclades is, 4.5!
If you want to try healthy Mediterranean seafood and be full with a reasonable price, I recommend Taverna Kyclades in Astoria, Ditmars!
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