Restaurant Spotlight
Posted by estiator at 10 September, at 03 : 51 AM Print
Kellari
19 W 44th St, New York, NY
kellariny.com
Just a block or two from Times Square and the city’s Theater District, Kellari has been a mecca for native New Yorkers, businesspeople, and tourists for nearly 20 years, contributing to the rise of Greek cuisine in the metropolis and beyond. Stavros Aktipis (whose other ventures include ‘Cesca, near the Beacon Theater, Elysian Fields, in the up-and-coming environs in the shadows of Columbia University, and Lefkes, across the river in Englewood Cliffs, NJ) is the force behind this highly acclaimed eatery.
As with many of its neighbors in Midtown Manhattan, at Kellari’s heart is its bounty from the sea. Fresh fish from the Mediterranean are brought in daily, with local oysters and giant prawns rounding out the case that’s proudly displayed in the dining room. Signature seafood specialties give the menu depth, such as Seafood Youvetsi: enormous shrimp, diver scallops, and clams with oven-baked orzo enhanced with a delicate and complex tomato base. A light touch of crumbled feta added as the dish is plated offers a hint of brightness without overpowering the seafood or the orzo.
Stavros Aktipis
As anyone who has ever eaten in a Greek home will attest, a meal is not a meal without plates of shareable mezes to pass around. These are the conversation starters, the palate primers, the sparks that ignite an evening of experiences. Kellari does its part with a lineup of superb offerings that include fresh oysters; traditional Greek dips (tyrokafteri here is delightful, with a slow burn that resonates without overpowering); seared diver scallop with a cauliflower puree, black mission figs, and sage; PEI mussels sautéed in coconut cream, mustard, lemongrass, and mastiha; and, of course, octopus, served here with hummus, capers, onions, and peppers.
Translated from the Greek, the restaurant’s name means “cellar”; Kellari offers more than 350 wines by the bottle and dozens by the glass. To help navigate the huge selection, an electronic wine list, presented on a tablet, enables guests to tap onto each bottle to view the label, as well as tasting notes, pairing notes, and winemaker notes—a genius touch, as an increasingly knowledgeable generation of foodies looks for specifics in their wine and food choices.
Living up to its word that guests “enter as strangers and leave as friends,” the restaurant is an oasis of hospitality, with a dining room that exudes a comfortable elegance. Wood tones, high ceilings, wine barrels, plants, and a gorgeous piece of art that doubles as a chandelier descending from the ceiling at the center of the room provide a stunning backdrop for the restaurant’s most discernable design element: crowds of animated diners engaged in conversation, laughter, and conviviality, with plates of appetizers and whole fish at each table’s center.
Kellari is open for lunch and dinner, seven days per week, with brunch on Saturday and Sunday, and serves a price-fix pre-theater dinner menu. Private groups are accommodated in a warm and welcoming back area. The restaurant has a superb off-premises catering program perfect for meetings and events.
