Bar Vlaha

I loved this place SO much. I cannot wait to return. The food here was SO good. I loved everything I ate and the portion sizes were good. We went for brunch and loved the options available. Our waiter was incredibly friendly as was any other staff we interacted with. I love Greek food and this was some of the best i've had in the area. I will absolutely be back and cannot wait to try more during dinner time.

Interesting take on Greek cuisine, but ability to improve to reach those 5 stars!PRICE: Though the menu can seem jarring, the prices are actually quite filling and the total bill came out to around $65 each. Not a bad split for a supposed higher level dining experience. FOOD: The lamb chops were excellent, a set of 4. Very soft meat and well seasoned. The bread was served with a delicious whipped sheep's butter that we couldn't get enough of! I would skip the saganaki, I'm not used to it being so oily and there was a bit too much sweetness added. EXPERIENCE: Easy to get to, well connected by train in Brookline. You must reserve a table, and reservations seem to fill up sometimes months in advance. Be aware! We reserved a spot outside, my only qualm is that the circular tables are super small for a "sharing plates" style of restaurant. I did feel a bit crammed and rushed to keep eating and make room for the next plates quickly. There are just a few tweaks missing for those 5 stars, but overall a a cool and new dining experience!

So many friends recommended this place and it did not disappoint. Got the tzatziki, taramosalata, and galotyri dips with bread. All were amazing, even the side of the butter that came with the bread was delicious. Also got the fried oyster mushrooms and the horiatiki salad. Loved those, especially the salad which was full of chunky fresh tomatoes. At that point the two of us were unfortunately stuffed so we didn't have room to for mains - but we will absolutely be back to try more. The drinks were also great, definitely recommend the orange sparkling wine. Overall this place is a 10/10, the ambiance felt like a taverna in Greece, and our server was very knowledgeable and kind- even giving us a free shot of mastiha at the end. Never tried it before but I liked it more than ouzo. I think the only thing I'd do differently is come with a big group in the future so that we can order more items and get a sampling of everything :)

Great meal! We've been to Krasi a lot so was interested to try to concept. We started with a trio of spreads (galotyri, tzatziki, kopanisti) the bread, and the alevropita. All 3 of those items were soooo good, would recommend. Only complaint is I dont think the dips would have come with any vessel if we didn't order bread. Wish these came with any complimentary pita etc. Next course was the frog legs and the horiatiki salad. The salad was very much like a traditional Greek salad but all the ingredients and the feta block on top were so fresh! Even though it may seem basic, we all enjoyed it. Frog legs were done simplistic but also delicious. If youve never tried them before, this is your chance!Lastly we had a grilled veal dish and the rainbow trout. Both were good. Only complaint was the trout had a lot of mini pin bones which we didn't realize until we took a big bite. It's a bit far from where I live but I'd return if in the area!

Great vibes and great food. Generous portions as well. Staff is also very friendlyARADOPITA- corn meal pie- savory, salty, flaky, and delicious. So yummy  4/5As simple as it gets- huge portion perfectly  cooked tender leg of lamb. Lightly seasoned with salt and a side of  onion and lemon to squeeze over the meat.  5/5Didn't have dessert because the plates were so filling. I will def come here again for the food, service, and dessert?

Overall: sister to Krasi does not disappoint whatsoever. Service was top tier with a little funny oopsie and the food was great albeit maybe a little too salty. Food: like everyone else recommends get the Beef cheeks and lamb (either works). The beef cheeks are so rich and decadent with a couscous thats almost orzo/risotto like. The lamb is grilled so that it's not too gamey and salted well but the crust could've been dusted a little better. There's like a 50% on any given bite that the lamb may be too salty. The pies are absolute insane but I think the phyllo could've been a bit thinner. Maybe another fold or two and it would've been perfect as it became noticeable how thick it was once it was rolled up near the crust. Ambience/Decor/Service: the ambience and decor was incredibly well thought out. It was giving transport me to Greece vibes. The only caveat is that there was a lot going on between the bar the open seating the chefs table the little nook in the corner and the open kitchen. The service was exceptional with the one funny thing that happened. The server brought a covered plate and said it was the crayfish dish (which we didn't order) double checked us (felt a little gaslit) and then came back later with the similar looking covered plate with our beef cheeks. Funny situation but he was super nice about it.

I've been here one other time for dinner and had a great experience so I definitely wanted to come back for brunch. I made reservations ahead of time but they only had outdoor seating available. I called to check if there were any cancellations for indoor seating and the host who was helping me was very friendly. There were no cancellations for indoor tables but she was able to reserve bar seats for us and that worked out well! The servers at the bar were super friendly and we had a great overall experience. As for the food, everything was delicious. It's Greek small plates so everything is shareable. We ordered 6 different things and there were three of us. We probably could have been good with just 4 of the plates but I guess it depends how hungry you are. We had some leftovers to take home so that was nice! Everything was good but my favorite was probably the Tost which was the mushroom dish. It had great flavor and I love the bread it was on. The bread was also in a majority of the dishes we ordered. This restaurant is a sister restaurant of Krasi in Back Bay and it definitely has a similar vibe. Both places are fantastic! Highly recommend Bar Vlaha for a girls brunch, date night, or any occasion! Just make sure to make reservations ahead of time because the tables fill up quick!

Being one of the few restaurants in Boston that offers authentic Greek food outside of gyros and falafel wraps, I just had to check out Bar Vlaha.The interior of the restaurant was beautifully decorated; warms comforting, and all-around welcoming. For the kitchen to be the first you see when walking in will guarantee to get you excited for what's to come. Service is also spectacular. Attentive, funny, kind, and very knowledgeable of the food!And now... the food.The trio of spreads were extremely generous in size! Each one tasted fresh, truly embracing the natural flavor of its ingredients! We, of course, had to get bread. Admittedly, it's rather silly to have to pay $6 for bread instead of having it come with the spreads; otherwise, what would you even be dipping into the spreads? At least the sour dough tastes fresh, not at all stale. And you can ask for as much as you like, which is nice. Highly recommend the spreads as a starter!The crispy oyster mushrooms, despite being fried, were light and really flavorful! Almost tasted like calamari, with each bite enriched with the earthy flavor of the mushrooms accompanied by a delicate crunch from the thin, fried coating.As for mains, WOOOOO BOY! Order those beef cheeks!!! To call them tender would be an understatement! I tried using a fork and a knife; my mistake. Those beef cheeks just fell apart by the slightest force of my spoon! No teeth needed to even chew those morsels of meaty flavor! And the grain on the side - perfect vessel to soak up that red wine sauce. 100% MUST GET.As for the other dish, it fell a bit short. Granted, the bar was set extremely high by the beef cheeks. The chicken, though also extremely tender (outright fell apart when I tried to lift it) somehow tasted dry. Adding on, the flavor of the overall dish just felt... underwhelming. Tomato sauce over pasta with chicken on the side; if that sounds simple and something you could easily make in your kitchen, that's because it is, and it tastes just like that: tomato sauce over pasta with chicken. Finally, the venison special. I'll admit, I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. The meat was tender, juicy, but just felt a bit simple. Of course, I suppose I shouldn't be expecting much from grilled meat. Oh! But can't forget about dessert. The dessert sampler was a fantastic way of sampling bits of everything! Despite that, only truly stood out: the chocolate cookies and the baklava, but even the baklava just tasted like a standard baklava you could get at any fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant. The cookies on the other hand - phenomenal! The other two desserts were too simple, in my opinion. Ice cream with vanilla cake. If you're with a group of friends, sure! Go for the sampler. If by yourself or with one other person, get those cookies!Okay, now time for the thing no one likes to talk about: the price. No, Bar Vlaha is not some place you should be going all the time. The mains, especially, are on the costlier side. But, given its presentation, it's obvious this restaurant meant for special occasions where everyone's just looking to treat themselves to something nice. So, in the end, come give this place a try! Bar Vlaha truly captures the essence of authentic Greek food - simple, natural, but extremely flavorful! A bit too simple for the price? Perhaps. But I would gladly come back for those beef cheeks, alone!

We've dined at Krasi before and loved it, so we were excited to try Bar Vlaha when hearing that it was from the same owners. It's a nice small, intimate restaurant for a date night or dinner out. The menu may be a bit intimidating to some with so many unique options, but our server did a great job of highlighting some of the popular menu items. We ordered a variety of dishes and enjoyed all of them. We came with a party of 3 and ordered 3 small and 2 larger dishes and left quite full. The desserts were definitely the highlight of the meal. We ordered the galatopita (ruffled milk pie), samali cake, and gianniotiko (baklava) and found the flavors of each to be unique. Each dessert was paired with a delicious ice cream or sorbet. Other dishes we ordered:- Manitaria: Fried oyster mushrooms. These were fun to munch on, though wish they were a bit more crispy.- Saligarria: A must try. The snails are in a flavorful tomato sauce. Dipping the bread in the sauce brings it to the next level. - Chicken kontosouvli: At first look, this dish may seem basic, but the meat is so tender from the slow roasting. We would come back just for this. - Pestofra: Whole rainbow trout. Delicious but the skin could have been a bit more charred to really pack in more of the grill flavor.

Delicious food! Loved getting the spreads and bread, was a nice appetizer. The staff was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions thoroughly. They were adamant about getting us out of our table within the time limit even though we had a reservation and plenty of time. This was a little stressful, but still very friendly staff. Was a bigger scale of the sister restaurant krasi. Would recommend getting spreads and then 2 main dishes for 4 people.