Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Agora Taverna - Mini Review

I'm out of town for a couple of days, so this will have to be a quick review. Before I left, I went to the new Greek restaurant, Agora Taverna, on Austin, for the first time. I think the food is excellent. I will give the place a strong A. Everything was fresh and delicious. I ordered the Branzini (whole fish) for the main course and found it absolutely delicious. Someone else had the chicken kabob and absolutely loved it. For an appetizer, I had the tzatziki. This I found could have been a bit more flavorful. For dessert, I had a Greek coffee, which was really good. I will definitely be going back soon. I haven't had such a great piece of fish in a while, and certainly not in Forest Hills. This is a great addition to our neighborhood.

My Branzini was absolutely delicious. 

The chicken kabob was also excellent.

They also said they will have outdoor seating when it gets a little warmer. That will really liven up this entire corner. I can't wait to see how that adds a touch of cosmopolitan flair worthy of a NYC neighborhood to our shopping district. Finally, good things are starting to happen on the core strip of Forest Hills!

Agora hired a world-class architect and it really shows. There are many little touches - flower pots overhead, white stones in the floor when you walk in - and some big touches as well - the ceiling and the overall color scheme are just fantastic - that make this an exceptional dining experience.

Little decorative touches make this a delightful dining experience.

The service was fine, but quite harried. While the waiter was pleasant and attentive, and the food came out in no time, I felt we never had the waiter's undivided attention. He was constantly off and running in a second. It is nice for a waiter to actually smile and focus on the people you are serving for more than just a few seconds, instead of darting off to the other tables you are also working. Maybe he just suffers from some ADD? :)

Service: B+
Atmosphere: A+
Food: A (Not an A+ because the appetizer was a little dull in flavor, and so was the rice pilaf that accompanied my fish.)
Overal grade for Agora: A

3 comments:

  1. So glad to hear you liked it! I was really hoping it'll be a good place. I guess the Greek place upstairs is going to suffer though.

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  2. Much improved over the previous place which moved to the other side.

    Much higher caliber of crowd and clientel.

    Excellent for the community.

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  3. Just ate here last week and really enjoyed it! The atmosphere was good and the food was delicious. I had the crab stuffed shrimp, mmm.
    Only complaint is the bar area is very small and for the people sitting at the tables around the bar it was very cramped for them. If they took out 1 table it would make a difference. Otherwise, can't wait to go back!

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