Pathos Organic Greek

We dined here for the first and certainly not the last time last nite. The food was fantastic and the service was superb. The restaurant is elegant but comfortable. We chose to sit at 2 of the 4 seats at the bar facing the wood stove and kitchen which was a real treat; in fact it was a culinary floor show. The kitchen is spotless and it was great fun watching them prepare and plate the food. We started with the octopus which was truly extraordinary. I had the lamb chops and my wife had the half chicken. The lamb chops were perfectly prepared and the chicken was moist and flavorful. The sides complimented the entrees perfectly. We somehow found room for dessert which was excellent. I, btw, am a big fan of designer cocktails and their bourbon based Astoria is fantastic. We feel like we have rediscovered Greek cuisine and plan to go back again and again.

What a find! I love Greek food, and this place doesn’t mess around. Great food, fab cocktails and great service (Go Al!). Get yourselves to Berkeley, and head to Pathos for some legit lamb, feta and octopus!

Probably a 3 ½ stars.
The food itself is very tasty indeed. Best whole fish I’ve had in a long time, and the appetizers were tasty. Others at my table enjoyed the ½ chicken and the spanakopita.
The service is a bit on the slow side, and we found ourselves waiting a good while to order, even with the restaurant not that full (or that big). There also seemed to be wait staff/​bus boys kind of standing around a good bit waiting for something to do. However, everyone was *very* nice and courteous. And upbeat!
Decour inside is very pleasant, though the block the restaurant is on is a bit run down.
The price is the one really irritating thing here. For a group of 4 it was upwards of $ 175 with tip and no one was drinking booze. Entrees are expensive for what you get (tasty, decent size, not mind-​blowing) and it kind of stings to pay $ 4 for a small, 8oz glass of coke.

Came here to celebrate graduating with my parents and I thought it was pretty solid. The sea bass entrée was excellent, as were the seasonal salad and lamb dolmas. I was a little less impressed with the octopus (which I was most excited for). At $ 13, I would have expected the tentacle to be a little larger (for what it’s worth, the ones in the pictures are much larger). I’d say our tentacle was about 6 inches long with a diameter of 1.5cm at most (vs. the inch diameter in the photos).

I brought my boyfriend here for his birthday tonight. We were very impressed with the great customer service. Also the food was very unique with quality ingredients. We ordered the grilled octopus which had an amazing crispy charcoal flavor on the outside… it was cooked perfectly… it was not over done and rubbery… the inside was soft and did not have a chewy texture. The fried capers and pickled onion paired perfectly on top of the grilled octopus. We also ordered the seasonal salad which was amazing as well! The dressing was not an overwhelming sugary bottled dressing like many restaurants use. The texture of the salad was on point, it consisted of cooked beets, feta, sprouts and a toppled with a balsamic glaze. For our entrée we both ordered the lamb chops and we were not disappointed. We ordered it medium, the inside was moist, tender, and cooked to perfection! The only thing I would request with this dish is to put the potato wedges on the side or serve this dish with mash potatoes only because the bottom of the potato wedges got soggy with the juices from the lamb chop. And I love crispy potato wedges! All in the all, this is a nice dinner place to go if you want a good quality meal, calm upscale atmosphere and good service. Another note to add, the manager was nice enough to follow us out the door just to ask how we enjoyed our meal. We will definitely come back and recommend others to eat here!

I have been to Pathos three times in the past few months and it is my favorite restaurant in Berkeley. Everything is fresh and deicious. And I am picky about Greek food. Here they make authentic dishes like Spanikopeta, Stuffed Peppers and oven Roasted Chicken (in their brick oven) but add a few California touches that enhance the dishes. Whole baked Fish looks amazing and I want to try that next time. I rate Pathos above Chez Panisse and Rivoli for both food and service.

Loved it. 5 stars because the whole package was «good»; services was good, all the dishes we ordered were good. Nothing I could complain about. Is it pricy, yeah, but with the whole package being yummy and service being pleasant, I believe it’s worth it and I will come back. Chef/​manager gave some personal attention at the at of our dinner which is attentive and I appreciate that because it shows he cares. We had Moussaka, sea bass, octopus, chicken egg soup, lamb meatballs, lamb chops, filo with feta cheese/​herbs no pics because too busy eating.

Absolutely DELICIOUS! Had dinner tonight and am already planning my return meal. This place is all about quality ingredients, really multilayered favors, all cooked very well.
Truly epic: Lamb Dolmades, swimming in the most luscious avoglemono broth, I shamelessly drank the sauce out of the bowl. (I can not wait to come back just to get the avoglemono soup)
The lamb chops were the star, perfectly cooked, flavorful and high quality meat.
Dessert: MUST get the bougasta. Served warm. Homemade phyllo dough makes a light and crisp dessert, with a creamy orange scented cheese-​Iike filling. This thing is perfected. #obsessed
I could go on and commit more grammar errors, which I would waste on describing the cocktails. But one must try for yourself. Great date spot, people.

I’m Greek from Greece and I guarantee you this is authentic, super delicious Greek food. Finally a place I can visit when I’m nostalgic of the greek cuisine.

A friend suggested this place for dinner. Our first time, with last minute reservations I was Very pleased with the level of attentiveness/​customer service we’ve received. We ordered the lamb shank (special of the evening) and lamb chops— so Amazing! The chops were very juicy and perfectly cooked-​medium rare. The lamb shank did not require a knife– falling off the bone, so good!
I’d highly recommend this spot! Fab-​u-​lous!

Go here for great Greek! This is by far the best Greek food I’ve had since moving to California 6 years ago. The flavors are spot on and rival those of Greek town in Chicago which is home to some of the most authentic Greek cuisine in the country.
Ambiance and service were great and the corkage was reasonable ($ 20). One very minor criticism is to put the corkage on the website. I tried calling several times only to get a busy signal. Other than that it’s perfect.
I’ll definitely be back again!

3.5 is more accurate. This review is from a vegetarian.
I dined here recently with a vegan friend and his vegetarian-​sympathizing spouse, after viewing the most recent Oscar-​winning foreign film at Shattuck Cinemas a few blocks away. The food, overall, was good (not exceptional). The cocktail menu was very interesting and well thought-​out, but expensive. The service was, by and large, attentive, pleasant, and unrushed.
There were sufficient vegetarian items on the menu, not as many vegan, but enough. There was only one vegetarian/​vegan entrée, the Vegan Gemista, which to me sounded as if it could be boring. Essentially, the Vegan Gemista is a stuffed bell pepper, which I feared, if not seasoned well, could become monotonous after a few bites. My vegan friend ordered it and liked it, while I resorted to making a meal out of a combination of appetizers, which appealed more to my sensibilities as a first-​time visitor and desire to sample the kitchen’s creative hand.
I started with the Triada and the Spanakopita. The Triada was an assortment of three dips (not always the same, depending on the night and the chef’s preference). On this occasion, it was comprised of a roasted garlic, a tzatziki, and a red pepper feta (looked like a pureed hummus) coupled with homemade pita (no gluten-​free substitution available). The pita was outstanding if eaten immediately. Thin and soft, it was a perfect complement to the triad. The tzatziki was my favorite, mixed with the roasted garlic. I wasn’t as crazy about the feta, which I normally like, but this didn’t send me soaring. The Spanakopita, undoubtedly the standout of the night, were three tiny triangles of flaky Olympian flavor. It was some of the finest spanakopita I’ve had anywhere, far surpassing the spanakopita offered at my favorite Greek restaurant in the Bay Area, Kokkari in San Francisco. It is vegetarian, not vegan, as it has cheese.
I followed with the fried brussel sprout special, which was good, and the Melitzanosalata, a fire-​roasted eggplant (also accompanied by homemade pita), which I didn’t much care for. The Melitzanosalata had the texture of a ground beef, but it was dry with the dominant flavor of smokiness. We also shared some olives for the table, which were delicious.
I had one of the creative cocktails, prepared with premium ingredients (high-​end liquors from distilleries like St George’s of Alameda). I can’t remember my drink other than I respected it. I’m not sure I liked it inasmuch as I appreciated the thoughtfulness that went into its invention.
My bill (with tax and tip) was $ 63, which I thought was high for four small plates and a drink. Notwithstanding my reservations on value, my rating of 3.5 stars is based on food. Other than the spanakopita, I wasn’t wowed by any of the dishes. I enjoyed the brussel sprouts, for instance, but had I not taken a photo, I would not have remembered that I had ordered them. Furthermore, in the four weeks it has been since we dined, I haven’t given any thought to my meal or experience at Pathos at all. Pathos uses quality ingredients and it’s a lovely space, but at the end of the day, it didn’t resonate any further.
It’s worth a try for something different. Perhaps the meat and seafood items would have stood out more prominently. Perhaps that’s another hesitation: variety. Were I to return, the only other items I could order would be the Horiatiki (in season), which is a Greek Salad, the Fakes, a lentil soup, and the Gigantes, beans — all very common items at Mediterranean/​Greek restaurants. Would any of them be any better than any other? Is it enough to warrant a return trip for soup, salad, and beans? I was disappointed that there aren’t vegetarian dolmas (the dolmas on offer contain meat) or zucchini cakes, which are one of my favorite dishes in the Greek repertoire. It’s too bad that there aren’t more vegetarian/​vegan options among the entrees either. To be fair, even Kokkari typically has only one vegetarian entrée, and after my first visit, I’ve always made a meal out of the appetizers there as well. That said, Kokkari has far more variety, a fantastic wine list, a welcoming space, and, while expensive, may in fact be a little cheaper for vegetarians than Pathos.
Please note: Pathos is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and (at least as of early 2016), only open for dinner until 8:30p (9:30p on Fri/​Sat).

The food was really good. Traditional preparations and offerings — made with organic food.
The organic ingredients makes it much easier to choose Pathos over other Greek restaurants.
Staff was very friendly and the vibe was very comfortable.

I had been dying to try this place for a long while; there were just too many good options for my vegetarian partner and pescetarian self not to. How nice is it to come out and find you can safely order more than 10 things? A rarity.
I also want my craft cocktails to be less than $ 13 (which these are), unless they come with house-​made everything and a happy ending. My $ 12 standards at other high-​end places around the area are, frankly, better.
And speaking of overpriced, although everything is organic and lovingly prepared, we just felt we paid too much for what we got. It was a very expensive dinner, and although VERY good, not amazing, and made far worse by the fact that there was ONE SERVER for the WHOLE PLACE. She acted like you were the only people in the room when you got her, but imagine needing something and waiting through 5-​minute explanations of things at other tables first. Especially when you need to remind her that she forgot something, and it takes seconds.
Both the food and the service were SLOW, and since it’s probably a pre-​theater place for a lot of people, that’s not great. It just added to the not-getting-what-you’re-paying-for experience.
We weren’t in a hurry, but we were hungry, and it didn’t feel comfortable spending half our meal looking for and waiting for our server, which just takes the attention off being together.
The crave-​worthy stuff I’d go back for:
–Octopus. Best I’ve ever had. SO GOOD. I ate in in about 2 minutes. I’d order 2 more.
–Spanikopita: Also some of the best I’d ever had. Incredibly rich and full of maybe a bechamel?
The items that were good, solid, but not crave– or return worthy:
–Fried cheese (saganaki)
–Melazanosalata: Eggplant with pita
–Gigantes (beans)

This is Vday dinner experience.
It might be better and different if you dine on regular days.
By the way, I also emailed to this restaurant telling them how dissatisfied the vday dinner experience was.
No response.
I guess they don’t care and they are not modest enough to accept customer’s opinions.
Your customer service is failed, Pathos.
On Vday, only $ 150 per person for prefix menu was available.
I was not notified it at all.
No, I didn’t receive a confirmation call either.
Do your part, Pathos.
Don’t make your customers do «homework»
$ 150 was Way too expensive for this meal.
If the food was good enough for the price,
I would be happier. But I say, it wasn’t.
And it was really preFIXED and even on the entrée, there was no choice but rabbit meat.
No chicken, fish or beef.
My husband and I were never be asked if everything on the menu was fine with us.
We had no choice but eating whatever they give us.
I’ve never experienced such impersonalized dinner ever!!!
Yeah, let me tell you more about «impersonalized» part.
Everybody in the restaurant on that night was served same food and wine at the same time.
What? Am I at some sort of banquet?
Yeah, that’s it. It was nothing but a banquet with total strangers.
I’m sure this 100% prefixed menu made them so easy to serve their customers.
But it’s all about them. Not about customers.
I won’t complain if I was dinning at Denny’s.
Well, even Denny’s give you what you wanna eat.
But the bill was $ 331 for this experience.
Damn, it was nothing but waste!!!
I’m pissed.
Thank you very much.
PS My husband is suffering from a bad diarrhea since last night.

I’m not a Greek food expert by any means and to be honest, it’s probably my least eaten type of food. But I’ve eaten enough moussaka, dolmas, & grilled lamb in my day to know that I’ve experienced better tasting (although not drastically) Greek food for a third of the price. This was definitely a time where I wish Unilocal’s star system utilized decimals. No knock to the restaurant, owner or staff. It was a fine meal and service was great. But I would be lying to myself if I gave this anything higher. So let’s dive in!!!
It is a great looking restaurant, I can’t deny that. But it’s not a selling point to me. To some it may and for those people they’ve rated higher. Hence why this is my review. The food’s organic, I get that. I’m an organic eater myself. But I just don’t care much about it being advertised/​emphasized in a restaurant. Unless, it is also in combination with locality, increased in quality, taste. And it may be so for Pathos, but for me it didn’t translate into my eating experience.
I had the spicy lamb meatballs and dolmas to start. Tasted fine. But spending double digits on 3 one-​biter meatballs wasn’t my style. Moussaka was my main course. Isn’t this supposed to be a comfort meal in Greece? For me it wasn’t as comforting as I expected and well all I tasted was cream and butter. Still, it wasn’t bad. But I remember it being something ridiculous like +$ 20. Ugh I don’t want to sound like a cheap stingy guy, but that’s just how i feel. My friend had the lamb and it was delicious and somewhat justifiable in the price.
Again, everything else was great. But would I come here again? Probably not. No, not even for your birthday.

Excellent ingredients, unique ambiance, super tasty. Came here for an anniversary dinner this past Sunday, and it’s definitely an anniversary type of place with anniversary-​type prices and an anniversary-​type experience. Everything was really great from start to finish. First off, their online reservation system through opentable was down, but I called and it was super easy to get a reservation and change it. No problems.
When we got there, they had a table made up for us, but they also offered us this cool bar spot with a view of the kitchen and the fire. We opted for the fire spot b/​c it seemed a bit more romantic ;-).
We got cocktails, which the bartender was very helpful in walking us through. I kind of wish I’d thought twice when the bartender asked, «are you sure you want that?» I thought I wanted a gin martini, but once I got it, I guess I didn’t really. It was unique and made with cool local ingredients, but I’m not really a gin martini guy. It paired well with the food though. We started with:
— the triada — warm pita and three delicious dips. Plenty of food for two for a starter
— the spanakopita — super crispy and tasty. Yeah, there were only 3 pieces, but they were all perfection
— a special fried cheese — lots of cheese, and intense, but unique and I liked it a lot
These were great to start, but we also got the seabass to share. There was plenty for two people, and it was perfection. Such good fish, with a dill bake on it. I’m going to be dreaming of that fish and the rice it came with.
We finished things off with the cannoli which came with an awesome pear and quince fruit topping. Both had unique, perfect flavors of honey and vanilla.
I was a little hesitant about eating fancy Greek food, but it was amazing. I’d definitely recommend this spot as a special dinner spot, b/​c it really delivered. Service was very attentive and warm as well.

This place has it down. The décor, the service and of course the food. Love the overall ambience of the place, but it definitely is more upscale and let’s face it the prices reflect that.
I had a yummy cocktail and we both had waters to boot. The food is definitely what you would imagine organic Greek food would be. Fresh, small and made with lots of layers of flavor.
If you’re looking for more of a home cooked meal type of place this isn’t for you.
I did appreciate all of the thoughtful touches here. The lit candles, the open kitchen concept, the neat presentation on every plate served, the constant check of drinks and the pleasant honest service. I always like it when I ask for an opinion and actually get a real answer.
Make a reservation… had we not at least attempted to call 10 mins before arrival, we wouldn’t have been seated.
On to the food… I had the moussaka and wifey had the lamb special. Before that we had the eggplant with pita appetizer. Portions were perfect and everything tasted delicious. We really wanted to try the bass but it was already sold out. Next time we’d like to try the lamb meatballs. We also tried the dessert that was similar to a blintze.
Would we return? Perhaps, but it may be awhile if we did.

We finally got to eat at Pathos. Every time I thought about eating here (usually on a Monday), they were closed. Well, we were looking for a new spot for dinner on a Sunday evening and snagged a reservation for 2 at the last minute. This place gets super busy so reservations are highly recommended.
The restaurant is beautiful. The wood fired oven, the décor, and ambiance really set the tone. The host and servers were extremely friendly and knowledgeable of all the menu items including the wine and beverage menus.
Unfortunately, I just was not highly impressed with the food. Here’s a brief of the things we ordered.
Melitzanosalata — eggplant dish. Probably my favorite thing that I had tonight… served with pita bread. The thing that boggled my mind though was that it tasted like chunky marinara. However, it was tasty and I made sure not to leave any of it behind.
Lamb lardon — When I think Greek, I think of lamb as a main course. Although the lamb was full of crunchy fatty deliciousness, the rest of the dish was lacking. With the few pieces of lamb it came with, the entire dish was full of beans. Pass.
Moussaka — Probably not the best I’ve ever had. This is probably best described as a Greek lasagna. The texture was off although the plating was nice.
Bougatsa — phyllo dough with custard served with compote. It was nothing but a blintz. I regretted ordering this. Should’ve stuck with baklava!
Their specialty drinks were well thought out. We had the ascent to santorini which highlighted chili vodka from St. George’s, a local spot. Great drink. Lots of effort put into it. Wine menu looked amazing also.
All in all, I had a 3.5 experience. I’d give it another whirl with different dishes.

Few times am I dazzled by an entire dining experience. This is one of the times!
From the moment you step through the door, you are welcomed by some of the most stunning décor and the smells emanating from their exhibition kitchen.
We had reservations at 5:30 (and I highly recommend them since we watched 12 – 15 couples get turned away that just walked in) and were seated and welcomed by our waiter, Dan. He went over the menu with expertise and provided some recommendations to tasty appetizers and a bottle of Chardonnay from Sonoma (Carneros region). We started with the braised lamb app (so savory and delicious bites of lamb) and the Htapodi — grilled octopus, shaved red onion, and fried capers (an excellent well balanced dish with octopus that was cooked perfectly.) Then it was onto one of the best deconstructed Greek salads i’ve tasted. (The feta they used was creamy without being super salty.) Then the next course were the entrees. (what a treat!) I enjoyed the Paidakia — Niman lamb chops w/​roasted potatoes, pan — seared root vegetables and sautéed spinach w/​minced garlic. The lamb chops were cooked to a perfect medium rare and were perfectly seasoned allowing the lamb to shine through. My wife enjoyed the Wood oven Lavaraki — Whole wild white seabass (which you can choose to have the head on our off) w/​lemon — saffron butter, and capers on a bed of pilafi. (She was gracious enough to allow me a taste and it was absolutely lush.)
To end the meal we indulged in two of their desserts — First was a three nut Baklava w/​some of the flakiest layers and a light sweetness. The star was definitely a cannoli type dessert stuffed with orange zested ricotta w/​a strawberry (possibly w/​rhubarb) coulis. (To say that we could have eaten a dozen of them is an understatement. As an absolutely nice touch, Dan, brought out glasses of rose (free of charge) to pair with the desserts. They worked perfectly and were a great way to end an excellent meal.
Thanks to all at Pathos that made our meal special and please continue making Greek food elegant. Well done!