Ammos Estiatorio

I actually like coming here when it's not too busy.The wine selection is good and the cocktails aim to please.The decor and setup of the restaurant/bar is gorgeous (lots of flowers, white, and organized well) and it's one of 3 Greek restaurants in the city located near GCT.I will keep this place in my arsenal.

The lunch pre fixe is at Estiatorio Milos prices ($55) but this restaurant *really* falls short. A case study where Yelp is accurate and Google reviews are useless.What should have been a 45 minute express lunch was, inexplicably, a 70+ minute affair. The spanakopita looked amazing (like a puffy lasagna) but it was awkward to eat. The filo dough was too hard and trying to cut through it just caused a mess with my fork screeching across my plate.Pretty long wait. The catch of the day was served with two hard, unseasoned, potato wedges and two small cuts of fish. This is nowhere near Estiatorio Milos in terms of taste, elegance, or portion size.I was *really* surprised to see expense account people seemingly enjoying themselves even as the lunch took 30% longer than it should have and the food was this *meh*.

Beautifully decorated. light and spacious atmosphere serving up top quality dishes. VIP customer service all the way. I was impressed! I came for lunch and reserved a table for 4 on there website and bought a gift card for $500 value for $450. Great deal. When I arrived the Hostess handed my gift card to me. They had it ready in an envelope under my reservation. Nice touch. I ordered the fish special which was sea bass. Delicious! prepared perfectly. A winner! You can't go wrong with fresh fish. Lots of selections on the menu. The acoustics were good- every table full, lots of background chatter but you can't hear anything specific from the people talking at the nearby tables I could conduct my business and hear well without distractions at my table. I hate places where you can't hear people at your own table. Great acoustics here.Overall this spot is a winner. Directly across the street from Grand Central Station. A great looking bar. Clean Bathrooms. Check them out. Nice spot!

I've visited Ammos twice, once during peak lunch hour and once for dinner. I recommend making a reservation, as lunchtime gets very busy, while dinner is much quieter.The fish here is incredibly fresh, though a bit on the pricier side since it's sold at market price by the pound. The sea bass is my personal favorite--perfectly grilled, with a nice char, and deboned for your convenience. The service is also great; everyone is friendly and attentive.

If I had an expense account, this would be the place to waste money at. However, without one, the prices seem extremely high for the mediocre fish and cocktails. The service was decent, probably because one of my dining companions knew the manager.Our group of five shared some appetizers and each ordered grilled fish as the main course. Unfortunately, the fish lacked flavor and needed more seasoning. This is surprising, as I usually prefer a more natural taste. As a fish enthusiast, I could easily buy black cod from Whole Foods and air fry it for a fraction of the price, and enjoy it more.

Great restaurant week deal that we tried a few months back. This spot is a Greek spot by Grand Central. The menu is a bit pricey ($$$) on a normal day. Luckily we did the restaurant week deal.We started off with complimentary bread and olivesAppetizers: Octapodi Kalamari (it was interesting, I haven't seen unfried calamari at a restaurant before)Keftedes (meatballs)Entrees:Psari Imeras (Fresh catch of the day) Arni Yiouvetsi (Traditional slow cooker lamb shank)Dessert:Viaourti Krema (Greek yogurt)

Ammos Estiatorio is an excellent restaurant with a great menu for restaurant week. Reservations were easy to make via Open Table and I was immediately seated given Ammos was relatively empty on a rainy Friday evening. Ammos is conveniently located on the western side of Grand Central along Vanderbilt. Upon entry, it took a moment to be seated in its beautiful interior along the Vanderbilt facing windows.I already knew what I wanted from the restaurant week menu, which was well chosen and I applaud Ammos and other restaurants for offering a great menu for restaurant week. I ordered the lobster and yogurt salad as the appetizer and the Arni Yiouvetsi lamb shank as the main course to be accompanied by a bottle of red wine, the old vine Dougas Rapsani blend of Xinomavro, Krasato, and Stavrato varietals aged three years before bottling.Olive oil drizzled bread slices were immediately brought to the table with a ramekin of black olives and a green olive in the center. I ate a few of the black olives and the green olive, which is a remarkable achievement given I have never liked olives. Taverna Kyclades in Astoria and Ammos Estiatorio have helped me along in trying to expand my palate to include olives. I'm still not there, but one day I might like olives. The olive oil drizzled bread was good.The Rapsani old vine blend at $92 is excellent with a definite cherry note and a trace of minerality. It noses well and has a medium to full body, a decent mouthfeel, and medium length in finish. What it does well is pair with the food, particularly the lamb shank.The lobster and yogurt salad was generous with lobster and worthy of the $18 upcharge. It has chunks of lobster meat in a yogurt avocado puree dressing with a touch of jalapeno, black pepper and lime which lend an uplifting kick to it. It's perfect for summer and I could see it as an entree in a larger portion with watermelon and sugar kiss melon chunks and perhaps a sharp cheese roughly grated on top. The flavors and textures of the lobster salad were balanced and the fresh lobster and dressing worked well with the red wine.The oh so tender lamb shank with orzo in light tomato base came next. It came out piping hot and upon mere probing with the fork and knife, the meat fell off the bone in one movement. No cutting or knife action was required. The tomato base was used in restraint to balance the richness of the lamb and the orzo became the carrier. My server, Konstantino, better known as Dino, said most patrons order the lamb shank and I can well understand. Dino was well versed in whatever is on the menu and understands their composition and preparation well, particularly how they prepare the lamb shank so that it is both juicy on the inside and caramelized on the outside. The wine synergized and paired so well with the lamb shank.Then, as if it all could not be topped, I ordered the Karidopita walnut cake with vanilla ice cream with coffee and cream to cap off the meal. The honey cinnamon syrup drizzled on top will captivate your sweet tooth palate and you will wish they provided a real scoop of ice cream to accompany it. Regardless of where I dine, restaurants are always far too limited with the ice cream and sorbet. The patrons can handle and want more than a soupspoonful. Nevertheless, it was a great cap to a great and fulfilling meal and it leaves me wondering how the overall rating of Ammos Estiatorio is as modest as it is and how the restaurant could be so relatively empty, despite the rain.Four great stars!

For another work event, the organizer selected a place that specializes in Greek dishes near our workplace, tucked at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan.This place is spacious and elegant. We were led to a private mezzanine for the gathering of 14 people. It was a prix-fixe menu of appetizers, starters to share, main entrees, and desserts to share.For the first course, the group started with the following:- Octapodi: Sushi-quality grilled Mediterranean octopus, fennel, spring onions, roasted red peppers, sweet balsamic emulsion- Pikilia: Tzatziki, taramasalata, melitzanosalata, htipiti, skordalia, served with pita- Keftedes: Ground sirloin meatballs with barrel-aged feta & parsley cooked in tomato & basil sauce- Saganaki style Greek graviera cheese, dry figs, flambéed with Metaxa brandyWe found the dishes delicious and elevated, with a nice presentation.We then followed it with our entree. My eyes caught Rizi Thalasinon: Tiger shrimp, finely chopped shellfish & fresh catch fish fillet in wild mushroom risotto & truffle oil. It tasted wonderful and was freshly made, but my only qualm is there were only two pieces of tiger prawns right in the middle of the plate.And we were served an assortment of savory house-made desserts such as baklava, Yiaorti, Sokolata, and fresh fruits, served with fresh brewed coffee & tea.With a very good first impression, I will definitely come back here to try their dinner menu.

Don't understand why this spot got low reviews! I had an excellent experience for lunch. Ammos is situated in the middle of grand central, beautiful decor and great service! I ordered the special fish dish of the day, which was the halibut with veggie risotto. And a side order of the gigandes. The halibut was cooked to perfection! Perfectly seared outside and soft and tender inside! It is very easy to get halibut to overcooked (that happens to me all the time). And my side order of gigantes, I could not get enough of! So delicious! And will absolutely return.

A great place for your traditional Greek influenced dishes. Service A, Food A and atmosphere and A.Great for large parties.