There are quite a lot of nice greek restaurants in the city and Kellari Taverna is one of my favorites. We went there over the past few months, for dinner and brunch, although the latter feels more like lunch considering the dishes we got that are not at all brunch-like. Located few steps from Times Square, Kellari Taverna is identical to many places of that sort: big, with high ceilings, the center piece of the dining room being their fresh fish that is something I always look forward to trying (the fish, not the display).

Well, in fact I tried their lavraki that they deboned for me. The charcoal grilled fish was superb and definitely seemed fresh. The sardines, offered as an appetizer, were less successful. Don’t get me wrong: they were good but they did not remove the bones that can be challenging with sardines. Too bad, because they were pretty good, also grilled. Besides fish, they also propose shellfish, and their yiouvetsi with clams, calamari and shrimp, served with orzo in a tomato and feta sauce is succulent and quite comforting; it was my first time having seafood yiouvetsi; I had lamb before. Talking about lamb, their lamb chops or paidiaka are superb: perfectly cooked medium, juicy and a little bit fatty, they give you a nice amount of it that they serve with broccoli rabe and roasted potatoes.

If you are vegetarian, they have plenty of options as well. For appetizer, you can opt for the classic spreads (we had hummus, tzatziki and babaganouj), Mediterranean kale salad (baby kale, chickpeas, quinoa, graviera cheese and a honey lime dressing) or the greek salad (tomatoes, onions, olives, cucumbers, peppers and feta), that seems to be popular as are the Kellari chips, that are made with eggplant and zucchini and accompanied with tzatziki. They always come straight from the fryer, burning your fingers a bit if you try to eat them like you would chips. What I love also there is their Halloumi psito, where the cheese is grilled and served with apples, figs and honey for some nice sweetness. Interestingly, they do not offer saganaki that is always a crowd pleaser when flambe. For entrees, they have what I would call a Greek risotto: the wild mushroom Kritharoto that is made with orzo and graviera cheese in a creamy sauce. Definitely creamy and quite comforting.

With our meals, I always order a glass of ouzo and Jodi got their sunrise moktail, made with pineapple, ginger, grenadine, lemon, agave, ginger ale and orange juice. And I always finish with a Greek coffee that is similar to a Turkish coffee, ordering it medium sweet. It is perfect with dessert and their baklava that is good, but their bougatsa that is a vanilla custard pie is even better, the vanilla filling being superb.