Since the closing of our beloved Nick’s, we have found ourselves turning to this moderately priced neighborhood Greek restaurant on Columbus just below 86th Street. The food is good, the prices are right, with many dinner entrees in the teens (not so common nowadays) and they served the best homemade baklava I have ever had–no kidding.I had a surprisingly good shrimp salad there and a wonderful frittata at brunch.

The inside is a light bright blue and white, kind of like Mykonos,(kefirestaruant.com)  and they have a charming downstairs for large parties. (opentable.com)

Executive Chef and co-owner Michael Tsilakis’s goal is to recreate rustic dishes from his childhood, offering “Kefi’s authentic signature dishes, like Baccala, Grilled Octopus, (opentable.com) Hilopita, and Tsoutsoukakia (opentable.com) (voted New York’s Best Meatballs in 2007 by New York Magazine and featured in The New York Times).” They also continue to serve my favorite, grilled branzino, a fish guaranteed to be liked even by the non-fish loving crowd. While you can get in there on the fly, it’s better to make reservations.

#kefirestaurant

#greektaverna

#upperwestsidedining