We made a reservation at Kefi on opentable.com for 7 pm. As usual, we were running a bit behind schedule and called the restaurant to say we would be about 15 minutes late. The response was, “no problem, we’ll see you when you get here.” A few unexpected street closings on Amsterdam meant that we showed up 10 minutes after our stated 15-minute delay. We apologized to the hostess upon our arrival, and she again said it was not a problem, and that that our table would be ready in a few minutes.
We stood by the bar and surveyed the room, commenting on the décor and talking about what we wanted order when the time came. A few minutes soon turned into half an hour, and it was almost 8 pm by the time we were seated. Ok, I know that we were late for our reservation, but they gave no indication that it was an issue, or that they had given away our table. And on our trip to the dining room in the basement, we noticed several empty tables along the way. I thought maybe they were waiting to give us a more intimate table in the basement, since we noted when we made our reservation that it was our first anniversary celebration, but there was no acknowledgement of that note by anyone. In fact, our server was surprised when she overheard us saying it was our anniversary to the table next to us at the end of our meal. Not that I really expected anything out of it, but it just made our long wait all the more puzzling.
But on to more important things: the food. As we perused the menu, we were brought a bucket of bread to munch on. We like to say that the bread is a good indicator of a restaurant; we’ve generally found that the better the bread, the better the restaurant, and vice versa. This version was pretty good – a rustic bread that was served warm and had a sturdy, crispy crust. Even better was the olive oil to go with it – bright green and fruity.
Good bread and even better olive oil
We ordered two glasses of retsina to start. Retsina is something that Josh and I have debated about since our honeymoon. The only time we tried a retsina was our first night in Athens, at a random taverna in the Plaka area. I remembered the retsina being like a refreshing but acidic white wine, and Josh remembers disliking it but not remembering how it tasted. Basically, we both ended up sick that night, and I attributed it to the food while Josh connected it with the retsina. The version we had at Kefi was nothing like either of us remembered. This retsina had a very strong pine taste, something that I associate with gin, which is my least favorite liquor. Josh loves gin, but apparently hates gin-tasting wine. Either way, I don’t think we’ll be drinking retsina again, unless someone can recommend a good one! We also ordered a bottle of wine that was much better on our palates – a medium bodied, fruity and spicy red (as described on the wine list, I don’t remember the name of the wine).
Before coming to the restaurant, I looked at the menu online and had a hard time deciding what I wanted; everything sounded to my liking, and prices topped out at $16.95. After much discussion, we eventually decided on the Greek spreads and the grilled octopus to start, a second course of the flat pasta with braised rabbit to share, and the grilled branzino and grilled lamb chops ($22.95, a special) for our main courses.
The spreads, which consisted of melitzanosalata, tzatziki, revithia and taramosalata, were delicious. The eggplant had a subtle smoky flavor, the yogurt very bright and garlicky, the chickpea bursting with roasted red pepper flavor, and the caviar spread not too fishy. And all the spreads were doused with a healthy sprinkling of that delicious olive oil. The accompanying pita was good too – nicely grilled and still warm; I just wish there was more of it (I am a bread/carb fiend).
Selection of spreads
The other first course, the grilled octopus, was a mixed bag. The plate came with two tentacles; Josh started on the first while I worked my way through the spreads. He passed the plate to me so I could have the second tentacle, and he was amazed when I raved about how tender it was. I gave him a bite and he commented that his piece was much tougher, which is surprising that there could be such a difference in preparation on the same plate. Either way, the bean salad underneath, comprising of black-eyed peas and chickpeas, was a good lemony and garlicky accompaniment.
Grilled octopus appetizer
Our second course of flat pasta with pulled braised rabbit was not what I expected and seemed more Italian to me than Greek. The tender pieces of rabbit and pasta were dressed in a creamy tomato sauce and topped with a crispy layer of cheese. Fresh basil brought out the Italian side of the dish, and the glazed onions, while delicious on their own, seemed a bit of out place. Based on the menu description, I was expecting something a bit more earthy in flavor, though overall the dish was still tasty. My main complaint, however, was that the dish wasn’t very hot. Warm, yes, but not brown and bubbling as one would expect from a pasta that is served in a gratin dish and covered in cheese.
Flat pasta with pulled braised rabbit
Our main courses did not suffer from the same fate, as they were brought hot and still sizzling to our table. Josh’s branzino, a fish that he loves to order in any restaurant, was served as two fillets, cooked perfectly and had addictively crispy skin.
Perfectly grilled branzino
My grilled lamb chops, also a dish I find hard to resist at any restaurant, came as four separated chops from a rack, were very well seasoned and cooked rare to order. The accompany rice mixed with spinach was a bit puzzling, however, as the rice seemed firm yet gluey. It was not a dish that I’ve tried before, and not something that I really enjoyed texture-wise.
Delicious grilled lamb chops
We were too full for dessert (plus we knew we had cake waiting for us back at our apartment) but had some after-dinner drinks. I ordered a frappe while Josh had an espresso. The frappe, my first since I had a bad version at the airport in Athens, was creamy, frothy and cold, with just a hint of sweetness. It was a good way to finish off the meal.
Josh's espresso and my refreshing frappe
Overall we had a mixed impression about the restaurant. Aside from the long wait, the service was frantic. While our server was attentive and observant (for example, she noticed our table was wobbly, fetched a piece of cardboard and then got down on her hands and knees underneath the cramped table to fix the wobbling), it seemed like we couldn’t get through each course fast enough. The runners were bringing our next course before we had finished the previous course, and given the tiny table and lack of real estate for our plates, we felt obliged to relinquish our dishes before we were totally done eating. There were absolutely no breathers in between courses, and I felt like if I put my fork down for one second someone would swoop in and take my plate, which is what happened during the pasta course. Just to give the people who know us an idea of how quickly we were eating, we got through less than half the bottle of wine during the three savory courses; for that amount of food, we can usually go through two bottles of wine between the two of us, easily. We ended up nursing the other half of the bottle before starting our after-dinner drinks, and had to ask for some extra bread to soak up the wine.
Despite the shortcomings, Kefi is absolutely a place that I’ll come back to, just for the food. Reading previous reviews made me aware of the fast pacing, the cramped-ness and the loudness of the restaurant, so those were things that I expected, even if I didn’t enjoy them. The food, however, exceeded my high expectations, and there are still a lot of things on the menu that I didn’t get to try. The prices at Kefi are also extremely reasonable. Our dinner, with two appetizers, a pasta course, two main courses (including the pricier dinner special), along with two glasses of retsina, a bottle of red wine and two coffee drinks, came out to about $170, including tax and a generous tip.
Kefi
505 Columbus Ave. between 84th and 85th St.
New York, NY
Tags: Greek, Upper West Side