Thursday, May 16, 2013

Agora Taverna, Just to Clarify

I feel I want to just clarify my previous post about the Greek restaurant on Austin St., Agora Taverna. Overall, I'd give the food here a B+, and the ambience/atmosphere, an A+. As I mentioned in the previous post, it is certainly an exceptionally beautiful restaurant they built here in Forest Hills. I think it would be hard to find anyone to argue with that.

As for the food, I love to have great seafood and fish dishes, but I also really, really like an excellent chicken dish, especially in a Greek or any other Mediterranean restaurant. I've tried several different dishes at Agora and my conclusion is that it does a real nice job with seafood and fish dishes (shrimp, Branzini are among my favorite dishes there), but could do better when it comes to straightforward chicken dishes, like chicken kabob. I didn't find the chicken bad, I just found it bland, without much taste. It wasn't very memorable. Quite frankly, I was kinda disappointed with that dish since I was hoping a new Greek restaurant would do an exceptional job with it. I'm thinking of places I've been to in Astoria, for instance, that serve great roasted and grilled chicken dishes.

Now that being said, I have not been back to Agora in several months. Other local restaurants opened and I have really liked them so they have kind of taken me away from going back to Agora. (Again, as others have commented on this blog, the competition is heating up for restaurateurs here in Forest Hills for sure.) So, I am hoping Agora's has improved its chicken kabob. I'll visit soon to find out and let you all know what I think.

Otherwise, I hope I am being clear that I am not criticizing Agora as a whole. I think it's a beautiful restaurant—one of the nicest we have in central Forest Hills—and a really nice place to dine with friends and family, and, it serves very good fish and seafood dishes. I am just hoping they can do something more exciting with their chicken!


7 comments:

  1. A story about Agora, and why I will NEVER return.

    Last year, the restaurant where Pui Bello is now offered to allow the use of its refrigeration facilities to the FH Volunteer Ambulance Corp for their BBQ at Night Out Against Crime - an annual Police-Community event during the first week in August each year. That restaurant went out of business in July, so the organizers were in a bind (meat...August...you get the picture)

    Agora was then asked to please allow the use of the refigerator. They refused (nastily). Garcia's then offered, without a moment's hesitation, to help out...and they did.

    We will NEVER return to Agora. A restaurant in the community, who cares not a whit about it other than what they can profit from, is NOT a restaurant that anyone should frequent. There are enough similar restaurants to patronize.

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  2. Restaurants are nit allowed to store unknown and uninventoried food according to Board of Health
    They could get fined if an inspector shows up suddenly.

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  3. Drake, I think you're being too kind. As a Greek living in FoHi and really excited when it was about to open, we've been disappointed all three times there. Not very authentic (I remember a fish with paprika which was head-scratching); indifferent service; on the expensive side; and noisy. We haven't been back and are happy making the twenty-minute drive to Astoria.

    Will it get better? Hope so.

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  4. I've eaten at Agora at least a dozen times. Maybe being Irish, my taste buds are not as we'll tuned as a Greeks. But I have never had a bad meal at Agora. I was very pleased with the new menu; fewer items, easier to choose! As long as the chef keeps a nice rotation of specials, they will do well. I have had meals made for me that were not on the menu. So, you get what you pay for.

    Also, I have always found the staff and management to be very gracious and accommodating. At the end of the day, Agora is a bargain!

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  5. I just went there this past weekend and thought the food was amazing. Im not greek so im not sure how authentic it is but my taste buds were happy and thats all I could ask for. They dont take reservations though and some of the other restaurants in Forest Hills dont either while others will. Does anyone know the rationale on not accepting reservations?

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    1. Probably because you really don't need them usually. I'm always amazed when I venture into the wild of suburbia how people there spend half their lives waiting to get into restaurants. Pretty much all the places I go to here in the City I never need a reservation for, I occasionally just have to wait a few minutes and am able to get right in. I obviously don't go to the hipper, trendier spots, just the places with really good food that I've been going to for years :) I guess there are so many choices here in the City the waits aren't as long, unless you're trying to get into one of the hottest spots.

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    2. I think your absolutely right if your a small group. I was going with 6 people though and wanted to be sure we got a spot. Ended up only waiting 15 mins so im def not complaining but just thought it was odd that some restaurants take reservations while others dont.

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