It was a cold, foggy, drizzly, and in all other ways miserable night when we found ourselves crossing through the vacant patio and into the restaurant proper. Inside, however, the white walls, dark wood, white tablecloths and warm, golden lighting made it all feel like we were suddenly somewhere else entirely. 

The menu does need a bit of an update, as the Amaranth salad is unavailable. There were no lamb shanks prepared either, so we were about to be sad. We were starving after a long day of travel and decided to go for a few small plates. We mention our early frustration to illustrate just how good every available dish was, since we are giving 5 stars despite our first two orders being unavailable. The flavors and textures of everything we tried were the absolute apotheosis of their respective dishes, just the right size and just the right balance of flavors, cooked just right.

The absolute, mind-blowing standouts were in the order we ate them: melizanosalata, oxtapodi, and spanakopita. We have had variations of each of these dishes coast to coast in the US. Nowhere else even compares. 

Melizanosalata is the single best eggplant preparation i have ever put on a pita, simple flavors blended to perfection, and the ideal way to start a meal. The oxtapodi is lemony and smoky and so perfectly prepared and presented that it looks like art, and then you sink in your teeth and it's even more amazing than it looks or smells! We were still just a bit hungry when we finished our third remove and ended the night with the most ubiquitous Greek dish out there, spanakopita. From the first bite, we each knew this was the best we had ever had, better, as Raz proclaimed, than any he'd had in Greece. I'm not certain how Aristo got the filo so flaky, or what he added in seasoning the spinach to make it such a savory delight, but I was already planning to come back before we finished the last bite.