First of all I just want to say that I am Turkish and I grew up with relatives that cooked all of this food(Turkish food is very similar). I have had some amazing meals back home but that being said... This place is amazing. I always get take-out because I work right next door. Up until today, I always got the Village Salad with grilled chicken on top. It is so good! fresh veggies and grilled chicken with awesome feta cheese on top. And the side of bread they give you is so fresh and tasty. Then today, I decided to try out the lunch mixed grille special. for 10 bucks you get chicken, beef and pork with a hefty side of veggies or rice. and then a seperate salad on top of that! The okra ruled. Super good deal This place knows how to use their spices. Most places just char up some chicken and serve it up but you can tell this place marinates all their meat. Everything is real tasty and juicy. Nothing is ever dry. I dont know why this place isnt packed for lunch everyday. YOU MUST TRY THIS PLACE read more

Some of the best bread, service, and overall food-for-price in the Boston/Cambridge area.

Incredible meal and service - thank you, Orhun! My husband and I were celebrating our two year anniversary... wishing we were back in Santorini where we honeymooned. A (Greek) friend of ours recommended Desfina, and it was perfect! read more

Pretty damned good. But get there early to get a table. We met a the bar at 7 to grab dinner for four, and were luck to get the last table in the place on a Thursday night. By the time we sat down it was fully booked. The food was damned good. Grape leaves stuffed with ground meat and spices were a standout. Grilled calamari and feta and olive appetizers were also very good. Could have used more olives and a larger portion on the squid. No complaints from any of the Gyros consumers. Moussaka was a bit dry. Dinner salads were undersized and bland. Solid food, no silliness here. I'd go back again. Service was dodgy, though, because of understaffing. Waiter and waitress, who was doubling as bar tender, really couldn't keep up with the full house they had tableside. read more

BEST GREEK FOOD IN MASSACHUSETTS! I am Greek myself, let me just say my last name is 11 letters long and ends in opoulos, the food here is incredible! Just like my grandmother makes. In some ways i find it to be better than the food in Greece, if that doesn't say enough, it's cheap, and very friendly! Highly recomended, it has my Greek seal of approval! read more

Lamb was gristly and tough, I couldn't eat it. Greek salad had huge chunks of poor quality tomatoes. Servers are always super nice, and they have great frappes, but I would not eat here again. read more

a solid 2.75 stars We read some pretty good reviews on Yelp before trying it out ourselves. The restaurant is located on a really quiet street in the Kendall Square area. We show up on a Saturday night at 8pm and aside from a couple in the corner and a guy sitting on a stool by the kitchen drinking beer, the place was empty. (I do have to mention a few other small parties did show up about an hour later.) While this usually isn't a good sign, we decided to keep an open mind and give it a try any way since it was considered to be a hidden gem, according to The Improper Bostonian. The hostess stayed behind the counter and told us we were allowed to choose whatever table we wanted and allowed the waitress to come by with menus. The waitress was apparently new because she didn't know the answer to any of our questions, including what the most popular dish on the menu was, and asked the kitchen staff for help. We ordered fried calamari and eggplant salad which came with pita bread. The eggplant salad was pretty good and went quickly but the calamari seemed as though it was a little old as it tasted a little rubbery. We received a salad with each meal, however, the lettuce was ice cold. The waitress asked if we wanted feta cheese on our salads and we accepted but she neglected to inform us that we'd be charged for the tiny sprinkle of super salty, not fresh feta. It was only $0.75 per plate so not a huge deal but still would have been nice to know before receiving the bill. I got the chicken kebab with rice (pilaf type) which was well cooked. My husband got the lamb kebab with french fries. The lamb was pretty good but the fries were definitely store bought. A couple of friends got roasted potatoes with their meals but there was nothing roasted about them. Our friends described it as really salty and a little uncooked. Needless to say, all the potatoes remained on the plate. The waitress wrapped up some leftovers and generously included the fat and bones removed from the pieces of meat already eaten and moved to the side of the plate that was clearly meant to be thrown away. One of our friends mentioned the restaurant kind of reminded her of a place that would be on Kitchen Nightmares...several of us agreed. Overall, the experience was just ok and they have many things to improve upon, mainly the freshness and quality of some of the food as well as the quality of service . read more

I have to say I've had good meals here but last night it was not fresh and the bread was stale. Service not good either. Not sure what happened here. Very disappointing and won't be going back. read more

When I need real food at lunchtime, I go see the cute waitresses at Desfina....yes, even the grandma is a hot mama - obviously a refined lady who keeps me laughing....sounds like a French accent, but that does not compute....oh yeah, the food: dolmades - lamb and rice in grape leaves with a lemony sauce.....aaahhh...yum....I always say I'll save 1/2 for later....still trying to make that happen...I eat it ALL. Generous portions at a fair price...not cheap....I've gone in for a bowl of soup and still ended up spending $10, but you always get a basket of fresh baked, old world bread with butter and frequent drink refills. I was introduced to moussaka ( too lazy to spell check now): it's like a shepard's pie with eggplant instead of corn- delish (and I don't like eggplant). I sat at the counter and watched them cook - they do the authentic gyro - stack pieces of meat on the skewer, then slice it off....not the pressed meat stuff. Exploring Greece through my local diner ... read more

I absolutely love this restaurant! I've been many times, and it never disappoints! I adore the Mousaka, and I can also recommend the Kebabs and Dolmades, as well as Spanakopita and Saganaki - all delicious. But the best thing about Desfina is not the excellent food but the wonderful environment. It feels like such a neighborhood gathering, where everyone knows everyone else who comes in. The servers and chefs are so personal with you, as I've had the chef come over to our table to ask about the food. I've even had a server give us free dessert because they were out of baklava so she wanted us to try something else for free. I cannot say enough how much I love this local spot! There's truly nothing else like it in Boston! read more

Great service. Nice crusty bread offered before your meal. The mousaka was disappointing though, bit dry and way too salty. The green bean side tasted like overly salted canned beans. The fish and chips didn't look spectacular either. read more

Great homey Greek restaurant in between Kendall and East Cambridge. Good Greek salad and lamb shwarma. Enjoyed the desserts too.

We started eating... fork by fork. I was primed to like this place. My husband recommended it. I was in the mood to try a new place. It was simple and unpretentious, full of rowdy greek old(er) men. We ordered the Shrimp Desfina and the Roast Lamb. Salads were quite good and bread was fine. Take a bite. hmmm... interesting. Rice + tomatoes + feta + shrimp - keep chewing.... lamb + boiled green beans... glance up and he says "This tastes kind of like cafeteria food." YES! that's it. mystery solved. Maybe we ordered the wrong thing. read more

Good, traditional Greek food. Very friendly service. The decor is old but the place is clean and I enjoyed the ambiance. I had the lamb kebab, which included plenty of lamb, cooked to perfection. It comes with a delicious salad and serve-your-own portion of their delicious salad dressing. The only thing that wasn't a hit was the custard and filo dessert, which was tasteless and uninteresting. read more

Watch out for the upsell. Asked if we wanted feta on our salads and home cut fries or some such. Both added as extra cost on the bill. Not a lot of $$ but unprincipled. read more

This is a fun restaurant with good service, food, and atmosphere. My only reservations are that charging 75 cents extra for feta cheese on a Greek salad is cheap and the place gets loud. read more

Great Mediterranean food. Grilled calamari is the best. Its good for the big parties. The owner is a little bit rude but the staff is friendly. read more

This is my second time at a authentic greek place, and boy it sure is authentic! The service and venue is great. The waiting staff is very friendly and ready to assist you with anything you need. The overall size of the restaurant is quite small but this just adds to the authenticity to the place. My favorite thing to get here is the lamb kebabs. If you go there I highly recommend ordering the Saganaki OPA! (Cheese on Fire) read more

If you are ever in East Cambridge, head to Desfina for dinner. We arrived at 5 pm and were greeted by friendly wait staff and could sit any where we wanted. I always like a window seat. We both ordered lamb - what else to eat in a Greek restaurant? I had the lamb kabob dinner and my dining partner had roast lamb. His lamb was so tender he didn't even need a knife to cut it. My kabobs were perfect, also tender and grilled with onions, tomato and peppers. Of course there was rice pilaf that had a hint of spice to it. Very creative. Of course, there was room for dessert. I loved the baklava and he had rice pudding, topped off with fresh coffee. We took our time eating and little by little the locals came in for dinner. Staff was attentive to everyone and greeted regulars by name. The decor was simple but lovely and Greek music (not muzak!) played. Two hours later, we finished our dinner. We weren't rushed at any point during our meal and the entire experience was top notch. Five stars for sure! Thank you to everyone at Desfina for a wonderful meal. read more

Amazing Greek chicken salad. The best I've had. Suggestion: call ahead especially for lunch, it's usually packed and the service is just ok. read more

Desfina is definitely one of the better Greek restaurants around. It's a great place to walk to for lunch if you work in Kendall Square. They've got a good menu of traditional Greek food, including this eggplant appetizer which is the best I've ever had. I have a lot of their meals (pastitsio, mousaka, grilled octopus, soulvaki) all of which are good. Also, the bread they give you is excellent...I think it might be homemade. There are only a few (minor) downsides to Desfina - they don't put feta on their salad (and that's just wrong!), i don't love their gryos (they aren't like the traditional, off-the-spit kind) and their lamb can't beat the Olympia's in Lowell. But all in all, I'd pick Desfina over a lot of other Greek restaurants in the area. read more

Fantastic. Lamb chops are great. Lamb Kebab killer also.

Lots of lemony, delicious flavor. What stood out were the grapeleaves, mussels, potato slices that came with the lamb, and the bread. Yum. the grapeleaves were big, somewhat sloppy, but probably the best I've ever had. read more

Great Greek Food, especially sad since Boston has so many Greeks but so few Greek places, but Desfina's is it. Great greek food, forget about the down-to-earth interior or isolated location. Great for dinner or lunch. Solid, enough said! read more

I work in the area so this is a great lunch spot for us. The fresh bread is delish. Love the standards - greek salad, gyros and the mousaka. It's a little family restaurant - nothing fancy. People are nice & its a friendly spot. Lunch can be crazy busy at times. I've been there when there was a wait for a table. read more

Good value in a neighborhood tavern in Cambridge. Tasty Greek fare at reasonable prices with friendly service.

Went there for dinner, cozy atmosphere, friendly staff and had the chicken gyro which was delicious. Service is very good as well and will return as the menu looks great read more

I absolutely love this place for lunch. Warm, friendly and everything is delicious. This is real deal yummy Greek food.

Good greek food, family run place, right around the corner from my house. Can't ask for much more.

I love this place and it reminds me so much of greece. It is hard to find authentic greek food in the states. For appetizers my favorite is the grilled octopus, shrimp grand marnier and the eggplant salad. For fish i love their broiled haddock or the grilled sea bass which is outstanding. As for meat I love the lamb chops or the baked lamb with yummy red sauce. I usually get rice or the lemon baked potatoes as a side. This place is family owned and a nice place to hang out. They also have a variety of Greek wines on their menu and a full bar. read more

Really this is a 1.5 stars, but I gave it a 2 being nice, it doesn't really deserve it. I was disappointed in Desfina after reading all the reviews here, what were you people eating? For disclosure purposes, I'm not Greek, so I can't make any argument based on "authenticity of what I ate growing up." However, I lived in a Greek area of town and had many Greek friends, and most importantly I love Greek food. Just not at Desfina! The service was mediocre at best, my wife got a soap tasting Stella. Yum, nothing like a cold soapy beer on a hot august day! The appetizer came out in about 3 seconds flat, good thing it wasn't pre-made, huh?! The main dishes were okay, but lacked any discernible flavor (where am I, in NH?). Moreover, the price didn't reflect the quality of the food. If it had been cheaper, I wouldn't have complained by the lack of creativity, or if the quality was better, I wouldn't complain about the price. Either way, I won't be returning, too bad the rest of the reviews failed to mention any of this. read more