evvia estiatorio

haiku review: evvia greek, yum. palo alto’s chi chi spot. feel the ipo?

this place has a gorgeous ambiance. and their food is good. but...you're overpaying. so be comfortable with that. 

my favorite dishes i've ever ordered here were two appetizers. the grilled octopus and the lamb ribs. would absolutely recommend.

evvia. hard to get a reservation & a little loud, but great food & wine!

opa!. i ate at evvia estiatorio with a large group of colleagues while visiting palo alto. i have eaten at many greek restaurants in a number of cities and this was one of the best! our dinner consisted of several courses served family style - the chef did not disappoint! for starters, we passed around feta cheese and a trio of dips, which included taramosalata, tzatziki, melitzanosalata, tirokafteri served with toasted pita. the taramosalata was a little fishier than i'm used to, but the tzatziki was divine. after buttery spanakotiropita, we dove into the entrees. whole fish, which was fresh, perfectly spiced and tender in texture; herbed, lemony chicken, and (what greek dinner would be complete without) moussaka. the moussaka was prepared in small clay pots that came right out of the wood-oven. it was rich, satisfying and just the right amount of cinnamon added. as for desert, the baklava was served with both vanilla ice cream and tangy yogurt. although i never had baklava with yogurt in the past, i have no idea how i could ever eat it again without it!

came here for a company event, and boy did i eat to my heart's content! tried various appetizers, entrees and desserts. the items that stood out for me were the octopus appetizer, the branzino and the chocolate lava cake. all of them were really well done & i would recommend them any day. i wouldn't recommend the baklava since i felt it was nowhere as delicate as i'd expected. many of the other entrees were really good too, including the mutton shanks.

the service was great, with a very helpful waiter. since i was there for a pre-arranged event i didn't have to worry about the wait, but i did see people waiting outside when i was leaving.

may be i don't like greek food!! place was nice and completely occupied, tried there several dishes but wasn't impressed with food. great hospitality and ambience

an excellent, accomodating restaurant with delicious greek food. virginia, behind the bar was fantastic. she was able to deal with all our special food allergy issues and suggest something wonderful to eat. lamb chops over swiss chard with a side of wild mushrooms really hit the spot. thanks so much for a great meal.

business lunch. absolutely recommend this place for a business meeting, a date, or anything you want to make sure goes smoothly. staff was patient and really understood when to come in during the conversation pauses to take our order and we never were rushed. drinks were filled continuously and never did we need to search for our server, a simple motion or eye contact brought him by each time when a need was desired to be fulfilled. the food matches the service.

this place offers greek food at its finest.  i honestly don’t know if i’ve ever been to a place with so many unique flavors from their array of appetizers to their beverages to my main entrée.

arnisia paidakia (dish review). this dish, in english-speaking nations, is known as grilled lamb chops. when i have a hankering for red meat, i often turn to lamb before beef. something about the succulent aroma makes me crave it far more than any other protein. evvia, an establishment known as much for it's lamb as it's charm, cooks up one killer plate of chops. this dish clocks in at $38, a handsome sum by anyone's budget. after indulging, though, i think you'll agree this level of quality is worth every penny. the lamb itself is fresh and grilled on a large open flame spit of sorts. after being seared to perfection, it is placed lovingly on a plate with lemon orzo and roasted potatoes. though some pieces of lamb are either over or under cooked, the vast majority of the meat is grilled to perfection. evvia's grilled lamb chops are what dreams are made of, assuming your dreams are made of delicious greek meats, of course.


-----11 jun, 2013-----

evvia estiatorio (mediterranean/greek). evvia estiatorio, the beloved palo alto sister restaurant of sf's famous kokkari, is now high on my list of favorite greek restaurants. though nice decor and friendly service helped win my approval, the food did most of the work. evvia offers most of the traditional greek dinners like moussaka and souvlaki, but also reserves a decent portion of it's menu for those dishes native to the isles rarely seen outside of them. one such dish is the psari sto fournou, a succulent creation composed of whole roasted fish, leeks, mushrooms, and potatoes. evvia is an excellent choice for any greek food enthusiast looking for a romantic night out. though the price is exorbitant, quality food and great people help even the score.

rating: 7.4/10

evvia wine list review. we recently stepped into evvia, and had a spectacular night of eating and drinking. this restaurant has great ambience and energy. it works because it is good for large and small groups. we can't wait to go back.

as with all of vinoservant reviews, you will see the price at the restaurant followed by the mark-up over retail (2006 schramsberg blanc de noirs | $75 | 2.3x). mark up of 2.3x translates into an average retail price of $33.

sparkling wines
2006 schramsberg blanc de noirs | $75 | 2.3x
veuve clicquot brut rose | $110 | 1.9x
charles heidsieck rose reserve champagne | $120 | 1.8x

white wines
2011 whitehall lane napa valley sauvignon blanc | $44 | 2.4x
2011 duckhorn napa valley sauvignon blanc | $54 | 2.2x
2011 peter michael l'apres-midi knight's valley sauvignon blanc | $98 | 1.6x
2011 paul hobbs crossbarn chardonnay | $55 | 2.1x
2010 rombauer carneros chardonnay | $70 | 2.1x
2009 brewer-clifton sta. rita hills chardonnay | $72 | 2.2x


red wines
2009 uccelliera rosso di montalcino | $62 | 2.1x
2008 numanthia termes toro | $66 | 1.8x
2009 willakenzie estate pierre leon willamette valley pinot noir | $70 | 1.8x
2010 schug sonoma coast pinot noir | $44 | 2.1x
2010 dumol russian river valley pinot noir | $125 | 1.8x
2010 seven hills columbia valley merlot | $50 | 2.3x
2010 shafer napa valley merlot | $92 | 1.9x
2005 rosati mendocino county cabernet sauvignon | $70 | 2.3x
2010 paul hobbs crossbarn cabernet sauvignon | $75 | 1.8x
2007 neal family vineyards napa valley cabernet sauvignon | $90 | 1.9x
2008 gramercy cellars columbia valley cabernet sauvignon | $90 | 1.9x
2009 pahlmeyer jayson napa valley bordeaux blend | $90 | 2.0x
2008 jordan alexander valley cabernet sauvignon | $100 | 2.2x
2007 nickel & nickel bonfire vineyard dry creek valley zinfandel | $82 | 1.7x

omg! the portions for the entrees blew my mind. honestly, most of the couples shared entrees but me being the pig that i am, had to have my own (which i did not even manage to finish). the lamb chops were nicely seasoned with a perfect char from the grill so it is so smokey. i loved everything about it. the potatoes i could do without – really sour and not well balanced.

this is an ideal spot for a combination of quality food, atmosphere, and service. located in the heart of downtown palo alto, evvia is surrounded by numerous restaurants and lounges. evvia also has a sister restaurant, kokkari, located in san francisco.

the restaurant opened at 5pm. "no more reservations and no walk-ins will be accepted tonight. we are full!" said the hostess. "full? there is no one here yet." we stated. "do you want to talk to my manager?" asked the hostess. we declined and decided that we would find another place to dine. i'm sorry, but this hostess needs either a refresher in customer service or her walking papers. luckily we caught the manager just outside to ask him about a table. he took us back in and said that we could get us seated but that he needed the table by 6. no problem! ravioli the restaurant is "open air," the wall that faces the street is lined with sliding floor to ceiling window that were open when we arrived. they have a show kitchen along one side of the restaurant and is decorated along the lines of cat cora 's restaurant kouzzina at disney's boardwalk inn, also mediterranean restaurant. the avglemono was less than spectacular. a traditional egg-lemon soup with chicken and rice. um, you forgot

ravioli. herb & cheese ravioli with spring vegetables & arugula-walnut pesto. overall, it was good, but i wasn't expecting it to be so soupy. there were 5 big ravioli, 2 of which had stuck together while cooking so they were a bit chewy