Taverna Opa - CLOSED

• Cuisine(s): Greek, Mediterranean
  Hours: Sun-Thu 4pm-12am, Fri-Sat 4pm-2am
  Price: $$
  Payment Types: MasterCard, Visa, American Express
• Attire: Casual
  Features: Smoking, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout, Private Party, Catering, Wheelchair Accessible, Kid Friendly, Vegetarian Friendly
  Serving: Dinner, Late Night, Lunch
  Entertainment: Live Entertainment
• Alcohol: Full bar
  Reservations: Accepted, Recommended for Large Parties
  Parking: Meters, Valet

Description

Don't let the hokey neon sign out front fool you: Taverna Opa offers some of the best traditional and innovative Greek/Mediterranean food for your buck. Inside, small plates of meze ($6 to $19) for sharing and long, sturdy communal tables set a scene like a Greek family reunion, because your dinner company is as important as the food. That is, if you can part for a moment with the moist ladolemono lamb ribs (that melt like butter off the bone) or tender pan-seared quail over roasted red peppers. Waiters first bring fresh, warm bread and a garlic/chickpea-based spread; then they offer olives and wine to start. The Boutari Nemea ("blood of Hercules") from southern Greece is a decent glass of five-dollar red. Entrées such as the Santorini shrimp, seared with chopped tomatoes and feta cheese over rice, are available along with warm and cold small plates. Sloppy food presentation makes the dishes good rather than great. But after a bite of crisp clove-and-walnut baklava, you'll forget all about aesthetics.