Evvia Estiatorio
| Address: | 420 Emerson St, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-326-0983 |
| Site: | evvia.net |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 5–11PM 5–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
DA
David Liang
Food: 4 Decor: 4 Service: 4 Came here with a party of 8 colleagues for lunch Friday. 1. Evvia Flatbread - caramelized onions, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, myzithra cheese & basil - $9.75 ~Mediocre. My least favorite appetizer, and the flatbread wasnt crispy. 2. Octopus - traditional grilled with lemon, oregano & olive oil - $13.75 ~Really good. Octopus was cooked nicely and seasoned well. My favorite appetizer. 3. Crispy Zucchini Cakes - with marinated cucumber & mint yogurt - $8.75 ~Pretty good. They actually resembled falafels. 4. Lamb Meatballs - grilled with tomato & green olive compote - $10 ~Pretty good. Juicy and not too gamey. 5. Calamari - crispy calamari with lemon garlic aioli & spicy pepper aioli - $12.75 ~Pretty good. Fried nicely, and the aioli complemented nicely. 6. Lamb Chops - rib-cut, mesquite-grilled lamb chops with olive oil roasted potatoes - $29 ~Really good. Two lamb chops, cooked a nice medium rare. Definitely one of the best Ive had. 7. Baklava - traditional baklava drizzled with honey syrup served with vanilla ice cream - $8.25 ~Disappointing. Baklava was way too sweet, and the ice cream was okay. Service was good, although my water was empty at one point during the lunch. Pacing was good.
CH
Christy Baker
Ive been here a handful of times, once with a friend for dinner and a few times on my own for a drink and small plates at the bar. It is decidedly one of the more upscale Greek restaurants in the area and has fantastic food, wine, cocktails. If you are lucky enough to get in to the bar seats (small number and almost always crowded unless you go early with no standing room available or really allowed), enjoy the experience. Definitely make reservations if you are planning on dinner with others. While you can have an affordable glass of wine and a few small plates as I have, it definitely leans more toward the special occasion type of place. It is almost always crowded and parking can be a challenge in that area, even with several free lots nearby due to other restaurants and movie theater. I particularly liked the gigante bean dish as well as the beets.
KR
Kristin C.
Evvia is a wonderful restaurant for a special occasion, date, or nice dinner. Its my absolute favorite place in downtown Palo Alto. All staff members were friendly and accommodating and though Greek food can be quite cheesy, Evvias romantic and cozy ambiance is far from it. For appetizers, we started with the Saghanaki, rich pan fried cheese with a sprinkle of oregano and drizzle of lemon. This was a bit too heavy for me but for cheese lovers its a must. This was followed by Calamari - delightfully fried to a perfect crisp with light batter and a light greek salad. For entrees we loved the whole fish and moussaka -- it reminded me of my most recent trip to Athens. Though its hard to pronounce, you must order the traditional Galaktoboureko for dessert. My only comment is that I wish I had ordered a double portion during my last visit.
AL
Alyx Barranger
This restaurant had great reviews and we had a business lunch here with a client since one of my teammates was friends with someone who worked at the restaurant. I had heard so much about how wonderful the food was, so I was really excited to give this place a try. Overall, I was a little underwhelmed by my experience. I ordered one of the fish specials for the day that the waitress recommended. She made a big fuss over how they carefully debone the fish before serving which I found odd, but it just made the fact that the fish had bones (and plenty of them) when I attempted to eat it. It was pretty off putting since I wasnt expecting them. The best part of the meal was the surprise dessert at the end with pistachio ice cream and a little pastry. That was absolutely phenomenal. I would definitely come back for dessert.
RO
Rosa Jiménez Cano
Uno de los clásicos del centro de Palo Alto. Restaurante con cocina y horno de leña a la vista, de inspiración griega. Excelente calidad de los productos. El precio, para la fama que tiene, no es excesivo. Se conoce por ser uno de los favoritos de Steve Jobs. Se pueden ver ejecutivos Tech cenando tranquilamente. La musaka, los espárragos, alcachofas y berenjenas son excelentes.
MA
Marina Spivak
I first visited Evvia more than 10 years ago during a job interview visit to the Bay Area. After all these years - and I like to try new places - it is still my favorite restaurant in the Valley! The lamb chops - their specialty - are excellent. Various other dishes I tried over the years ranged from excellent to Ok. The only exception being Moussaka, which I thought was horrible, and never gave it a second chance. Evvia has a pleasant interior. And I have always received unobtrusive but good service there. Highly recommended. Be sure to make a reservation, especially during peak times. And if you are in San Francisco, there is a sister restaurant called Kokkari (heard good things about it but never personally tried).
CL
Claudio Criscione
We only had starters here so mine is surely an incomplete experience. Things that stood out however were the high quality of the ingredients and a slightly disappointing and overpriced wine selection. The lamb was particularly tasty, while a bean based starter was in my opinion completely botched and overcooked - but the overall food experience was well above average. The decor has style and is well though (even though the sheer size of the table was a bit puzzling, and basically breaks conversation with anyone not sitting directly close to you) and the level of service was very high without turning in your typical "smile to get tip" american experience. I would surely go back to enjoy the main courses.
MA
Maria Gililova
This is one of the best Greek places I have eaten at. The food is delicious with very fresh ingredients and great flavors. From vegetarian to meat dishes, each plate on our table was amazing. The staff is also very accommodating. There was a miscommunication about our reservation (we had one for the following night which we thought we had changed, but it turned out that change didnt go through). Despite a really full restaurant, the hostess tried to get us seated. We chose to stay at a bar, but that too was a great experience. The bartender was friendly and attentive. He recommended appetizers and dishes and was overall a great host to our experience there. Id highly recommend this place.
BE
Bernard Zaslav
A watering hole for the monied elite of every description, the actual food served is far from what is promised. Spanikopita, excellent, and thats it. Riblets, greasy, fatty, and pointless. Octopus, dont even bother. Lamb, passable only.Whole fish, $35 for not much food. Noise level, maddening. Service excellent, but wouldnt go back for such inferior fare. One each of the above, plus 1 1/2 glasses (no, test tubes rather) of mediocre wine - $114. + tip. My problem - Lived long enough to know how good food was available formerly at a fair price. If this is the best that Palo Alto can boast, suggest you try Osteria on Hamilton.
DA
David Adams
One of the best restaurants in Palo Alto. This place is really hard to get into, so expect a line or make a reservation way in advance. I made mine a month out and could only get an early dinner time (5:30). The food here is very good, but not the best in the bay area. We had the meatballs, a salad and Moussaka. The meatballs were probably the best part of the meal. The moussaka was good, but didnt really have very much eggplant and the ragu was underseasoned. If you want some non-traditional Greek and are willing to wait in line or get a reservation way out, Evvia is for you.
