Elia Restaurant

We went there to celebrate my boyfriend birthday and we loved it. The place is very nice, simple décor but you feel like you are in a small Greek tavern. The service was very good, the waiter explained the items on the menu and gave us great recommendations about the menu and wines. Everything we ordered was delicious. I especially liked the octopus for appetizer and I ordered the seafood mix in the clay pod for main course, which was delicious! The portions for main course are pretty big .The food was delicious but very rich, a lot of oil and sauce but it tastes great. For desert I had Semolina custard, my boyfriend had Baklava and everything was great, just too much. We were surprised that place was pretty empty on Sunday evening, but may be because it is Memorial Day weekend. The place is pricy, but it’s worth the money and experience to taste excellent Greek food in the heart of Bay Ridge.

Elia is an amazing Greek restaurant! It’s a bit pricey, but it’s so worth it. Every dish is always fresh and extremely artistic with a great presentation. Everything you try is outstanding and you won’t be disappointed!!! It’s a must for Greek Food! One of my favorite places in NY!

Eaten at Elia half dozen times and talk about a quality experience from the food to staff hard to beat. Mickey the waiter truly runs the show and the dining room with ease. Always upbeat ready to tell you about that evenings specials.
I have tried their chopped salad which is simple but the correct amount of dressing will have you fighting over the last spoonful. The lamb ravioli, the salmon in philo dough and lamb shank are delicious and satisfying.
Now their menu is presented on iPads so you get a visual along with a description. Yes it is pricey, so treat yourself and that special someone and enjoy a great meal.

OK — full disclosure here — it’s small — a tight fit and sometimes a couple may feel they are at a four-​top because they are so close to their neighbors, I did at first, but as the food and drink arrived, I got over it and I loved this place! This is really, really fantastic Greek food. The fried Calamari was probably the best I have ever eaten. It was not the slightest bit greasy and came with some delectable surprises of peppers, onions, and cauliflower without skimping on the calamari portions. The Baked Plaki and the Salmon entrees are both highly recommended. All in all we would say that if you are in the vicinity even if you have to go a bit out of your way, we would highly, highly recommend you stop here for some of the very best Greek food outside of Greece — really, it is that good!

This could have been a five stars restaurant, but it’s not for two reasons: First, we made a reservation and were told when we arrived that the table was not ready and had to wait twenty extra minutes, which I find unacceptable. I mean, that’s the point of making a reservation, right? Second, the price was a bit steep. There were four of us in our party and the bill including tips came out to be over a whopping $ 300.00.
Overall, the food was very good. I had the seafood salad for an appetizer and it was fresh and delicious. The seafood did not taste old as some reviews on here claimed. My dining party had calamari, spanakopita, and shrimp, and we were all in agreement that everything was very yummy. For dinner, I had a lamb shank stew, which, I thought was the real star of the party. The meat was tender and juicy without falling off the bone. The orzo was cooked to perfection — no mushy pasta. As for the rest of my crew, the only one complaint came from my husband, who thought that the side vegetables that came with his ultra tasty salmon were a real meh. The grilled australian lamb chops were very well seasoned and tasty. The ravioli was equally well done. Not to mention that all the dinner dishes were very large. I couldn’t finish half of mine, so these dishes could easily be shared. Not sure about their sharing policy, but maybe worth it to ask since everything is very expensive, which, granted is to be expected when a resturant has a Michelin recommendation. A note about your fellow diners, they all seem to be very fancy, so come prepared. Don’t underdress, otherwise you might feel slightly out of place as this restaurant is in Bayridge, where multi-​million dollar homes litter the streets.

Very good food with authentic Greek flare. Would recommend to anyone visiting g or living in Bay Ridge. Ask for Greek wine recommendations.

So I finally went to Elia after years of hearing it’s great reputation. I had a difficult time deciding between a 3 and 4 star review, but since I plan to return I am hoping next time to be able to give the 4 or 5 star rating i expected to give in the first place.
Anyway, food was a 4 with my wife and myself having the pita dipping platter for appetizer, myself having the lamb shank over orzo for dinner, and my wife having the shrimp with pomegranate couscous. Presentation overall was beautiful. The dipping platter was solid, but may not be a best option for two people — too much pita and can fill you up before the entrée. The tzatziki was my favorite — very light and flavorful. The others were also very good. I was surprised I didn’t like the hummus though — perhaps too sweet. As for my entrée the lamb was fall off the bone cooked to perfection and the portion was large — but the dish as a whole wasn’t amazing as I expected in terms of flavor, having had a more flavorful version at Faros in Park Slope. My wife really enjoyed the shrimp. I unfortunately couldn’t try it due to my shellfish allergy. I also think my allergy limited me on how much I could have tried appetizer wise, and it seems they have a good reputation for seafood.
Now the bad — and what gave this review 3 stars. Waiter was not personable (I don’t have high expectations). He didn’t ask if we wanted drinks, wanting to get our order in quickly. The appetizer and entrees were brought out way too fast, and after our entrees we were basically ignored for a half hour. Waiting for water for way too long for such a small restaurant isn’t acceptable and our plates took forever to be cleared. It’s too bad since I planned to order a dessert but by the time we got water and had our plates cleared i wanted to get out of there.
Will be returning and will give he place benefit of the doubt based on reputation and solid food, but service should be much better for such a small restaurant.

Best Greek restaurant in Brooklyn, hands down
None come close .
Might be a little more expensive than others, but we’re worth it.
Use of top notch ingredients … A true fine dining experience.

Seafood giouvetsi, old, bad seafood. They should have NEVER served this to another human being.
Other seafood was not all that great either and the lamb shank was fresh last week, not when we ordered it.
Salad was cold tomatoes.
I would fire the kitchen staff and hire from McDonald’s. It would be an improvement.

Could not have found a better spot for a Valentine’s Day date! We were greeted with smiles all around, sat promptly and immediately noticed the décor, reminded me of when I was in Greece (of course). White wash and blue accents.
It’s a cozy spot and even though it was full, the noise level wasn’t an issue, we could hear ourselves clearly without raising our voices, even with the music they had playing for ambience.
About the food. .. every single thing we tried was absolutely delicious! We had a super fresh salad and the hummus platter to start. I had the grilled shrimp with pomegranate couscous (epic dish) and my fiancé had the roasted chicken (I had the leftovers). You’ll want to lick the plate. And dessert was scrumptious, also, the plating/​presentation of the food was beautiful throughout.
Irene (our server) was super cool, of Greek heritage, started us off with a nicely mixed Prosecco and another smile. Service was great and the best part? We never felt rushed, which can happen in many restaurants. This was a perfectly romantic and relaxing evening out. We will go back!

Best Greek food there is. Anything you order is always extremely delicious and even when you’re full, you find yourself needing more. They always try to accommodate you even when you make a reservation last minute. Definitely recommended!

Food is very delicious but pricy for this area. The food quality is not unique for Brooklyn. Service should be better. The Mexican waiter was not a friendly guy. Moreover, a birthday cake was tiny, served without singing: «here you go. Enjoy.» And he quickly left. I never had such an experience over my 27 years in US.

One of my favorites. Saganaki when I feel like being bad, is amazing. The grilled fish and the Batzaria are both also amazing for a more healthy choice. The velvety chicken soup is also usually perfect.

Amazing Greek food. The place is small but the food is great. I been here a few times and always get the same. The price range is good. Drinks and wine are well made and poured. Get the Greek spread to start with the triangle pita bread. The main dishes look great. It’s a nice place to go and relax and eat a great meal without being rushed out.

Pressed to find another Greek restaurant besides the one we always go to (no names) I started searching the interwebs for one with a good review in either Brooklyn or Staten Island and out popped Elia.
When we arrived (6:45) the place was almost empty but my concerns over a lack of patronage on a Saturday night were proven to be without merit as the waitstaff tended to us with personalized attention.
My girl and I shared the grilled octopus and also a spanakopita which was doused in ouzo and set aflame table side. Both were very tasty.
For the main course she had the shrimp and I had the roast chicken with potatoes and artichokes which was cooked to perfection.
We had a very good night there and we will definitely go back to Elia in the future.

My husband and I came here on a whim because our original dinner destination had a 30 minute wait. So we walked up a block and found this hidden gem. My fondness and appreciation for Greek food has expanded over the past year or so. Greek was never my go-​to option when it comes to dinner dates but after trying several Greek restaurants in the city, I couldn’t resist trying out new places. Elia is a small restaurant so it’s not very group –friendly. But it has an intimate and romantic ambiance to it, which is perfect for dates. For appetizers, I always go for the spreads. The Pikilia comes in 5 different scoops of spreads: manouri kafteri (a type of cheese spread), meltzanosalata (eggplant dip), taramosalata hummus (fish roe hummus), and tzatziki (yogurt). The warm and toasted pita bread was everything. My favorite spreads were definitely the eggplant dip and hummus. For my entrée, I ordered the oven roasted chicken which was probably one of the most tender chicken entrees I’ve had. I was afraid it would be too dry but it was cooked in perfect temperature and it retained a lot of the moisture in the meat. They were also very generous in portions. I had to split mine with my mother-​in-​law. The overall service was ok but wasn’t terrible. They could be a little warmer if anything. But as long as the food is good, it’s worth coming back here.

Came here during a week night, plenty of tables were available with a full bar in the front. Read a few Unilocal reviews so I knew what I wanted to order. We started out with a garden salad and their hummus sampler. The salad was fresh with lots of different color tomatoes and the feta cheese wasn’t too salty. We got to try different flavors of hummus with warm pita bread on the side. The main entrée we chose the Lamb ravioli with a cream foam. The lamb meat was really salty, but when you dip it into the foam it balances out the saltiness. The side dish of grilled vegetables with a sweet vinaigrette was cooked just right. The food experience was really great, it is a bit pricey. The lamb ravioli dish cost $ 24 bucks, but there was only five raviolis.

We finally tried Elia and we weren’t disappointed.
The place is a good date night, romantic place. It’s a bit dressier and special.
The food was delicious. I had the fish and Lee had the lamb. Both were cooked perfectly. The staff was fantastic and attentive. We will return :)

Great seafood! Grill baby octopus by far my favorite appetizer, although all of them are fabulous. Lamb shank is so tender and juicy, just spectacular! One of the best and my favorite Greek restaurants in the City. Although they do have outside area, the inside is by far better ambience.

A more elegant Greek restaurant than I am normally used to. We walked in after logging many miles on foot, subway and Über dressed in shorts and comfortable walking shoes. There wasn’t many other diners at 8:30 on a Wednesday night, but they were all dressed up for a night on the town. We initially felt a little out of place, but our quirky waiter immediately made us feel at ease.
Since it had been a typically hot day we were in need of a refreshing chilled vino. We settled on Kouros Patras: «The un-​oaked dry white is crisp and elegant with pear-​like fruitiness and a hint of melon on the finish.» It revived and refreshed us, and was a bargain at only $ 28
Our pizza lunch at Di Fara’s earlier caused us to agree on a light dinner. A large salad of huge fresh pieces of tomato along with cucumber, peppers, and feta sprinkled with a light olive oil based dressing was the perfect starter. A basket of fresh baked bread was brought out as well. We split an order of rare tuna that also came with cucumber and tomatoes, also very refreshing. I always have to order Spanakopita, and this was a good version, although the phyllo dough wasn’t as flakey as I am accustomed to. Still very tasty though, and came out mouton lava hot.
Since we went with a light dinner, we rewarded ourselves with desert. Baklava of course! Great recipe, and also a first, it was drizzled with a citrus syrup. And having been a fan of bakalava for many years, this is the only time it came with ice cream??? It worked though, as it was a not too sweet pistachio.
Whenever I travel I like to try the local Greek restos, and this is right up there with Athens Taverna Market in San Diego, and Hella’s (RIP) in Detroit, and also one we ate at in London.
Highly recommended when in Brooklyn!

Wow great food, compliment to the chef
Micky our waiter was super
I definitely recommend that restaurant if you are ever in bay ridge
Been there twice already and definitely will return for more
Kimy
*****

With all of the great reviews and the Michelin recommended sign on the window, this place looked promising. The space is intimate with a nice garden patio in the back. If you go in the summer however, be warned that there are tons of mosquitoes (not the reason for the 2 stars, but it did make for a more uncomfortable dinner).
The food was pretty decent. My husband and I ordered the octopus appetizer and the lamb ravioli and grilled chicken. The octopus was good, but the portion was tiny and not very tender nor warm like it should be. The ravioli was creamy and had a nice flavor. The chicken was okay but dry in some parts.
Now the restaurant gets stars taken off mostly for their inattentiveness to service. We waited literally at least an hour for our entrees, and no one ever came by to refill our water or check up on us. They also took a long time to pick up our bill so we eventually brought it up to them. Overall, ambiance is nice but not worth the pricey meal and long wait.

One of my favorite restaurants. It never fails in delivering. It’s truly a 10 in my book!

We went without a reservation for a late dinner and were seated right away in the cozy, rustic restaurant. Hurray for the valet, who saved us from having to contend with the notorious Bay Ridge parking situation on a freezing December night.
My meal was sprinkled with the best ingredient – hunger – and so I scarfed down my branzino. My friend ate too many appetizers so he only nibbled at his extremely decadent eggplant dish (verrrry cheesy). Overall, I thought my food was delicious! I haven’t been back yet but would certainly jump at an invitation.
Minus one star for the seating. I am severely introverted and prefer an invisible hula hoop of space between me and my neighbors. I felt that the tables were a bit too close for comfort, but I did notice that there were some roomier booths that were occupied at the time, so if you want a more private dining experience for you and your date, make sure you ask when you call.

I had dinner at Elia tonight and although the food was good, I would not return. We spent $ 600 to be ignored. We were seated quickly enough and our order was taken quickly enough but from that point forward, we did not see our server until it was time to clear the entrée and offer dessert. No one offered to refill our water glasses and the only time anyone approached our table was to inquire as to whether we wanted another glass of wine. One of the people at our table wanted a second cup of coffee and although our bill, with gratuity, already totaled $ 600, she was charged the full price for her second cup of coffee. Those small things make a difference in a city were there are thousands of restaurants. Good food is worthless if the service is lacking. Shame on them.

I’ve gone back and forth about giving this 2 or 3 stars. The food was really great here, I had the lamb and it was one of the best I have ever had. My friend had the shrimp and the couscous, I had a quick bite and it was good but my dish was WAY better.
For apps we had the steamed mussels, and the grilled octopus. The octopus was a little bit chewy, but the flavor profile was good. The steamed mussels had a nice broth but so many came out unopened. I felt they should have sorted through them more because having ¹⁄₃ unopened is unacceptable for a dish. Kind of a rip off.
The owner happened to be on site that day. He is a bayridge local. The restaurant was pretty empty, and the owner was sitting in the back with some buddies of his drinking and eating. They were carrying on and laughing, not at all using INDOOR voices. On top of that they were cursing, and I felt that was really unacceptable, and directly disrespectful to us. As the owner he should be concerned about his customers experience. I did complain to the waiter about it before we left, but the owner never came over to the table to apologize or acknowledge.
Considering the mussels and octopus issues and then the rudeness and lack of regard for our experience I have to give it two stars. I will not be returning here despite the delicious lamb shank. I can find a comparable one elsewhere with an owner concerned with customer experience. Though, the waitstaff was good, attentive and kind, that’s not enough for me!
Hopefully the owner reads this and going forward make the effort.

The food was yummy and the staff was accomodating.

Wonderful atmosphere; excellent food with an interesting menu. Have gone twice, and keep asking ourselves — why don’t we eat at Elia more often?

Excellent place

This place is amazing! Best Greek food in NY! Their food is consistently good. I have been coming here for over a year and i love it! I recommend the lamb chops and spinach pie. I also enjoyed the lemon soup and the rib appetizers as well.
Besides the food, the staff is very attentive and accommodating. I will definitely be paying a visit soon. =)

As a general fan of Greek food, I tend to have an easier time finding something that tastes yummy because in general the Greek tend to be light on the sauce/​cream and veggie or seafood based.
Elia did not disappoint.
Décor was definitely minimal — nothing impressive, but still pleasing enough.
Ambiance was fairly romantic and homestyle — probably because of the minimal décor ;)
Service was outstanding! Attentive without being overwhelming and a nice surprise at the very end — the husband ordered a cocktail that did not taste great and seeing this, the waitress let us know that they would not be charging us for it since it was more than half full anyway. Definitely set the tone for a nice tip, but I promise this review would have still been 4 stars without the gesture.
Food! Portions were on the large size, but nothing one person can’t finish if they’re hungry… problem is you end up wanting to try every appetizer so you’re full come entrée-​time. Also — the bread they bring out is absolutely amazing, so yeah, you’re all full on bread and apps before the entrees come.
I had the mussels appetizer as my main meal with a side of their rosemary potatoes: mussels were brothy and full — a little too fennel-​y for me, but easy to pick out just the mussel /​/​potatoes were nothing special and after eating all that bread, i could have done without.
Husband had the shrimp, clams, and mussels over orzo in a clay pot in a red sauce — finished it all with a smile! i tried the scallop that was in it and confirmed the deliciousness.
Friends had the ravioli with braised lamb and also had good reviews.
Apps:
Horyiatiki Salad (general Greek style salad) — the small size was perfect for 2 people, but if for one person as a meal I’d get the large /​/​very tasty and well seasoned.
Marouli & Roka Salata — a good portion for one or two /​/​very delicious yogurt feta dressing! yum!
Saganaki — friends ordered this and it was quite the show, but all cheese so not totally up my alley. they finished it all though so no disappointment there
Pikilia — a great dish of dips with amazing homemade pita! seasoned well and grilled to perfect
Overall a great place for friends or a date and a menu that has almost something for everyone — there were great specials and menu options for fish entrees too!

OPA!!!
Ti Kanis, Unilocal nation. As a woman with 50% Greek Blood coursing through her veins I tend to be a bit biased when going out to dine in a Greek eatery (I rarely do) Unless I am In Greece. That said, I took my Mother here…
” Ooh Neecey I don’t know if this is going to be good” says my mother as she peeps the décor… within 30 minutes that same woman’s eyes rolled heavenward as she devoured her Mousaka, I enjoyed the Kotopoulo (chicken, artichokes, leeks).
We also enjoyed a melon flavored Greek wine, sadly, the name escapes me.
Dessert was of course Baklava, which, although it was very good, paled in comparison to my late Pappoo’s.
Service and presentation were very good.
Decent price point.
If you are in BayRidge check them out.
tha epistrepsei (we will return)