Aegean Restaurant

Used to be great, then it was awful (not ok to substitute without telling you stuffed grape leaves for sausages even if they are the same shape), now it’s out of business.

This place isn’t as good as Esperia Grill, but it’s better than that crap Gyro City on Peterborough Street.
Today, I had a gyro to go, and it came with a (cheap and lazy) house salad. I asked them to substitute Greek roasted potatoes and an extra of tzatiki, and the total came to be $ 31. Ummmm… no thanks. Anyways, I just had my gyro and it was $ 15 and some change.
It was such standard Greek food. I can’t tell if the meats were made on-​site or if they were purchased from a vendor.
All I know is that my buddy, Tim Athaniasiadis, owner of the Esperia Grill, has nothing to worry about.
I won’t be coming back.

I should have checked Unilocal before going to the Agean Restaurant in Watertown, MA for dinner this evening. We had been patrons for more years than I can remember. In short we will not be going back there again. At 4:15 they were out many major entrée. What I ordered was served raw — yes raw and totally in eatable. Waitress was unsolicitous and very rude. The wait staff is young and more interested in fooling around in the bar area than waiting on customers. Keeping moving on Arsenal St. for there are too many other good restaurants in the area.
PS the smelt appetizer was over cooked and small in size. Oh ya, when I returned my raw meal I was charged for a small salad which came with the entrée.

Mediocre. Got the greek salad. Had all the components of a salad, just wasn’t exciting. Dressing was okay, but I can make better. So can Paul Newman.
The humus/​eggplant appetizer was good.
I like Demos better.

We haven’t been here in a few months, but having eaten here again, this is clearly the best Greek restaurant in around Boston.
We came with a friend who is Greek and the waitress also spoke Greek. She treated us very well but I’m sure it would have been the same without my Greek friend. I love the pita bread that is warmed up and when asked, I received.
We ordered the fried smelts to start. I couldn’t tell if these were fresh or frozen, but they were not fishy. Nicely fried. For dinner, we had lamb ribs ($ 18) — my husband’s favorite, baked lamb ($ 17) which is my favorite, and Aegean broiled seafood $ 20). You can see from the photo that portions are very big. I’ve had baked lamb at the Greek Corner in Cambridge and Desfina in Cambridge that were much smaller in portion. We will be back.

Greek restaurant with Gyros from Sysco, not a spit. Lamb was plentiful, but like slices of meatloaf. More pot roast, than lamb roast. Even Greek salad off. Not fresh, no olives. They spent their limited resources on the surroundings, not the food or the cooks. Empty on a week night. Bet it will close down soon. Leave it to pass away peacefully.

Looking at the reviews for this restaurant, they seem very polarizing. Either really low or really high. I my opinion, this restaurant is very close the the middle. The lamb leg was OK, the salad was OK, the hummus was fresh, the olive oil and feta with the bread was excellent, the rice pilaf was not good, the moussaka was good, the grape leaves were good.
Overall nothing was exceptional (esp compared to a certain other greek spot in North Cambridge) – but this place takes a hit because its really expensive for what you get. My dinner bill was over $ 60 for food for 2. You can eat an exceptional dinners for $ 80 and get better food for $ 50. I advise going somewhere else for a meal. Just too many other good options recommend that you eat here

For the past 3 years my friends & I (10 of us) have had my birthday dinner here as we enjoy the food & like to dance. This year — Saturday night — no lamb kebobs, no avgolemono soup, no band. ?? We asked & were told the customers (it was near empty @8p.m. Saturday night) didn’t like the music. I have never seen the place so empty. They shut the air off at 9:30 so we left. Are they closing down?

I always come here all the time for their rack lamb. Haven’t been here in a really long time and tonight was a pleasant dinner. The complimentary bread was very cold and hard. The Greek salad was my favorite but only one tomato. The sauce is delicious. I got rice pilaf for the side. The sauce is tasty as well. I haven’t been to this place in a long time because the last time I came here, one of the waitress was rude and it was very salty. Well it’s been a while and it’s winter so got to get some lamb in the system. This time my waitress was nice.

I would’ve given a 4 star if not for the prices.
I went with some co-​workers for lunch and had an excellent experience. As other reviewers have said the wait staff is excellent. They are quick, efficient but still attentive.
I ordered the stuffed grape leaves. The grape leaves were by far the best I’ve ever had. The salad that accompanies the meal was very good too especially the dressing. I ordered the rice which was a little bland and I believe there was some kind of paprika sauce on top which didn’t really help.
My only beef with the place is the prices. Everything on the menu except for a few items were over $ 15. Those are their lunch prices! Yes my food as well as my co-​workers was very good. But not good enough to justify those prices. $ 15 for 5 grapes leaves?
It was good but I probably won’t be back because of the prices.

Ordered the broiled half chicken which came out cold. They replaced it but while most places would have offered you some comp for the inconvenience we got nothing. My girlfriend ordered the house speciality which was almost inedible. Would never go back

Me: «I’d like to order a chicken kebab but without mushrooms»
Hostess: «but the skewers already have mushrooms».
Me: «Yes. That’s what I’m asking for mine without mushrooms.»
Hostess: (with a look of disgust) «well, I guess I could ask them to remove the mushrooms.»
I walked out. I didn’t think I was asking for much to ask them to remove mushrooms from an overpriced $ 22 chicken kebab entrée. I didn’t think I was asking for much but have no patience for service like that. Even Burger King will make an effort to «have it your way».

Very critical on food when eating out, being a cook myself and with my love of greek food. But this place is amazing. huge portions great service and the complimentary dip and pita is amazing.. The kitchen u can see into and its one of the cleanest looking kitchens I have seen which means the people that work in it take pride in what they do … which is VERY apparent with how great the food is. Wil definitely be coming here more often when I get up that way.

Upscale Greek restaurant. I would love to take my girlfriend there on a date next time. It is expensive depending on what is ordered. The dress code is shirt and tie.
Good food: lamb is awesome

Incredible food with incredible flavor. You get what you pay for and then some. Tons of food – you will not leave hungry.
The pita and olive oil dip with feta is delightful, and they bring that out right away.
If you haven’t already destroyed your appetite by binge-​ing on that, try the stuffed grape leaves or lamb kabobs. Holy moly. Their salads have a delicious feta dressing that you will want to drink by itself.
I can’t wait to go back!

Visited The Aegean with my fiancé this past Friday night. Started with the bread with seasoned olive oil. It wasn’t bad. I had the broiled shrimp with feta. It was tasty. It came with the rice pilaf. This was also tasty. My fiancé ordered the Greek salad with lobster. The waitress rudely informed us they we were out of lobster. How can you be out of lobster in July when your a restaurant in the Boston area? My fiancé switched it up to the Greek salad with shrimp. It was ordinary. Nothing special.
My biggest grip with this restaurant is the prices. The greek salad with 5 small shrimp was 21.95. I expect that when I’m dining around Faneuil Hall but not on Arsenal street in Watertown. The pricing for the other salads were similar. My portion was rather small. I believe I paid 22.95. I was interested in a kabob dinner, but I opted against because I could get the same dinner at Demos for $ 4-​$ 5 less. The pricing to portion ratio just really turned me off. I’m not sure if we will be returning

So there are reviews below that are questionable. I’ve been here once, and my job gets food from Aegean for our company lunches. I’ve NEVER had an issue. The service was good, wine offerings were good, and the food is very delicious. I’ve only been to the Watertown location, but the interior is very Greek — white walls with blue and white tablecloths. I liked it :)
The food. I ordered the scallops and it also came with a huge side of rice pilaf with a red sauce. I practically devoured it. The rice with the scallops was a nice accompaniment as well as the salad, pita bread, and dips that were given to us after we were seated.
Today for our lunch I tried the spicy sausage, which I didn’t like, but my friends loved it. I enjoyed the chicken and beef souvlakis, rice pilaf, roasted potatoes, and the garden salad.
I’m a boring Greek eater. I don’t like feta or tzatziki sauce… but I’ll eat anything else. I also tried dolma for the first time, and it was okay for my first try.
Galaktoboureko. Order that thing, and savor each bite… it is SO good. Almost like a Greek version of Boston cream pie without the chocolate…
Now I cannot be productive for the rest of the work day… but it was worth it. Each and every bite.

My wife & I were somewhat frequent visitors of the Aegean Restaurant for both Framingham and Watertown. I must say I’m a little biased as my parents are both from the Aegean coast, so most of this food was common to me as a child.
Over the years, I’ve noticed the prices creep up to very high prices for so-​so food. I got used to the upsell of adding Feta Cheese to salads for an extra ($ 1 – 2), but the food quality has been going downhill.
I’ll admit that I rarely get the seafood at the Aegean, but the Aegean is really known for smaller bony fish, so I’m not sure how authentic salmon or tilapia is on the menu, but it’s common for here, so okay.
As for the authentic dishes, the dishes have been getting smaller and smaller, and the prices rise higher and higher. Last night, I ordered the grape leave appetizers, which came 4 for $ 12. Another common ordered dish was the calves liver which used to be in the $ 14 range and is around $ 19. Liver is typically a cheaper cut of beef (offal, for experts) so charging that much for liver and onions is a little out there. The final stroke was a veggie kabob for $ 18; please don’t tell me that half an onion, half a pepper, and a couple of cherry tomatoes cost $ 6 wholesale. I have yet to see a piece of Feta Cheese which isn’t a crumble; for Greeks, Feta is measured on how well it stays together, so a crumbled Feta is typically the worst quality (trimata, for experts)
Finally, they have these unauthentic sauces which have become thicker and thicker over the years (one «red» sauce is in one of the photos.). Greeks aren’t known for these very thickened gravies or roux of lemon or cinnamon-​paprika concoctions.
Overall, the Aegean is becoming less and less Greek, and my last stop for Aegean cooking.

This review is for the Watertown place, my experience there was pleasant, the ambient is quiet and low light, good for couples. I going there for the rack of lamb is delicious. When I don’t go there I order by phone.
I highly recommend for my friends.

Weird how different some experiences can be from others — I had such a great experience and a fantastic meal!
Our waitress was incredibly friendly, attentive and helpful. The bread with feta and olive oil to start the dinner? Gahhh. sooo yummy! I had to move the dish to get it out of my reach. The fried calamari was sooo tender and fresh tasting — maybe some of the best calamari I have had in a while. The spanikopita (one of my favorite foods) was flaky, feta-​y, garlicy yumminess. After stuffing myself with all of the above, I receive my Greek salad with grilled salmon. The house made salad dressing (which comes in a cool bottle they open for you at the table) was fantastic. Lemony and delicious. The salmon was perfectly grilled, the seasoning tasty and the salad was huge and full of tomatoes, feta, cukes, red onion and olives.
On this Saturday night night they had live music (which was starting just as we were leaving) and there was a really lively and festive vibe. I would absolutely make a point to come back — if just for the bread basket with feta and olive oil alone!