Charming decor, delicious and authentic Greek food with knowledgeable service! We had the trio of dips, lentil soup, grilled shrimp, swordfish and sea bass. Every dish was excellent. Lovely Greek Sauvignon Blanc. Pricey wine list but good! read more

I was looking for a place to have dinner for my birthday and decided on Elea. The reservation process allows you to add dietary restrictions for each guests. I made a reservation for 8pm. The day of my reservation I called and was able to move my reservation to 6:30pm. I arrived a little late and the staff made me feel welcomed. I was glad they sat my date in my absence. The interior of the restaurant is beautiful. The bread they serve before the meal was delicious & warm. The olive oil is in a very nice bottle with the name of the restaurant on the bottle. Our waiter asked who the pescaterian was? I appreciated the fact that he reviewed the dietary restrictions. We ordered the chickpea hummus to share as an appetizer. For dinner, I ordered the Pan Seared Cod, and my date ordered the Salmon. Both dishes were delicious. The staff was very attentive. I ordered The Greek Old Fashioned, it was good. I ordered the chocolate mousse cake and a glass of sancerre for dessert. When my dessert came came out, it came with a sparkler, and they wished me a Happy Birthday. I didn't like the chocolate on the bottom of the mousse. I did enjoy the wild berry coulis. Overall, I had a great time, and I want to try brunch next. read more

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A lovely Mediterranean place in the UWS! I came here for brunch in a group of 4 on a Saturday around 11:40am, and we had a great time. It wasn't too busy yet since they open at 11:30am on Fridays and weekends, but it definitely filled up as time went on. If you're coming at a later time I would make a reservation to be safe. The service was attentive and we didn't feel rushed. Along with coffee and a mocktail, everyone except for me decided to try the eggs Benedict. I went rogue and tried their Elea burger. Everything was pretty good! My friends thought their eggs Benedicts were presented nicely and well flavored. My burger was okay, I enjoyed it but I wouldnt get it again. Our favorite was probably the fries that came with my Elea burger, so I suppose it's a good thing I went rogue! This place is good for brunch and I'd be down to come back to check out their dinner options. read more

Eléa - Elea Burger - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

Classic Greek dishes, simply prepared with fresh, high quality ingredients. Attentive and gracious service, anticipating your needs. Highly recommended. read more

My second time at Elea. Fantastic overall experience, from the minute we walked in, to the minute we left. Top notch service, incredibly attentive, phenomenal food and drinks, fantastic ambiance. 10/10 read more

Eléa - Tsipoura - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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I really want to love this place, cause I live on this street, but this is the 3rd time I've come and been a little disappointed. There's always something that goes wrong. Went for brunch today. Asked if they could do the souvlaki without fries and another side instead. Cause I can't eat potatoes. He said he'll check and get back. He came back and said he could do an extra portion of the side salad. I said spinach would be better to keep it interesting but extra salad would be fine too. When our food showed up, I received my plate with a mountain of fries. Obviously. When i reminded him that I had said no to fries for some greens instead, he said "sorry it's not possible". If you couldn't do it why did you offer it? And why didn't you tell me before it came out so I could order the salad instead? Some day, it will work. read more

I went to Eléa for brunch (yes, the hours on Yelp are wrong as they are in fact open for brunch in addition to dinner). After reading great reviews about the octopus dish here, I had to try it for myself. That ended up being a great choice, as the octopus was possibly the best I've ever had. While most octopus is rather chewy (in a bad way), this octopus was super tender and easy to bite into. Also, the shallots and capers complimented the octopus nicely, adding some sweetness to the dish. The fava (bean paste) underneath was a great way to round out the dish by adding a creamy texture. My one complaint about this dish was the somewhat small portion size for $24. The restaurant itself is decorated to have a light, open Greek island kind of vibe while maintaining a classy atmosphere. There is a nice outdoor dining area in front of the restaurant in addition to the indoor seating. The staff are friendly and the service speed was pretty fast. Overall, Eléa is one of the best Greek places that I've had, taking everything into account. The bang for your buck might be slightly lacking but certainly do not let that deter you from making a visit. read more

Eléa - Octopus - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

Came on a weekend night. Highly recommend reservations. The outdoor seating was packed on a nice night. Indoors was busy as well. Service was friendly and timing was good. They waited until we were ready to order and allowed enough time between first and second courses. 1. Elea chips - Good for 3 or more people. Thin, crispy, good with the cheese and dip. Deceivingly filling! 2. Dips - Good quality. Had the red pepper, fava, and hummus. 3. Short rib - Comes with a hunk of meat in the center or orzo. Took half home since I was too full. Meat was a bit dry but the orzo makes up for it. Overall, a good restaurant! Tad on the pricier side but good to try at least once. read more

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This place is consistently a good choice, particularly for their branzino, zucchini chips, and lamb chops, which are all outstanding. They also offer a great selection of other dishes. The ambiance is ideal for a date night, an evening out with friends, or a gathering with colleagues. Very good service. Moreover, it's a fantastic spot for both lunch and dinner. read more

Came here for a Sunday brunch and it was okay. The restaurant itself is really nice and the wait staff was very attentive, but the brunch food was average. All the other tables seemed to be getting pita and olive oil complimentary and we never received any. I got the Elea salad with shrimp for an entree and while it was good I did not expect it to be so small. All of the ingredients in the salad were diced including my shrimp so I am pretty sure the salad itself only include 1-2 pieces of shrimp. The croutons in the salad were delicious! Also if comes with Manouri cheese which I thought would be in more abundance as it's my favorite Greek cheese. However, there was only a light dusting on the top of my salad. My husband got the steak and eggs. The steak was a legit sized steak so bravo to Elea for that. However, he said the steak started out good, but as he worked his way through it, it became clear the steak was over cooked and under seasoned. He said the eggs were the highlight of the dish. Definitely wish the brunch options we chose were better as we were excited about this place as we are Greek restaurant frequents (and we're both Greek) but it just fell short. We may return if we're ever in the area, but it would likely only be for drinks as their Greek alcohol selection is the best we've seen in recent past. read more

We booked 2 group dinners for Columbia University in the private room in January, our first time at Elea. Andrew was fantastic in helping us book our reservation all through the evening of our dinners. From the moment we arrived, a nice ambience was set with the beautiful décor of the restaurant. We were beyond pleased at the private room and how it is truly distinct, we were not overpowered by the noise of the restaurant as can happen in some venues. The room itself is very warm and welcoming, and the size was perfect for our group of 30 to spread out. The upscale service was beyond stellar. Staff were extremely attentive and made sure all guests were welcomed with their drink of choice as soon as they arrived, and our group did not have to want or wait for anything. Thank you to the fantastic on-site staff, aside from Andrew and Angelo; Emma, Maria, Hilario, and the others whose names I could not remember. Now the food was beyond incredible! The presentation of the dishes was robust and eye-catching, and everything tasted delicious and fresh. We appreciated the large portions of the family style appetizers, when other venues often skimp on this. Our guests easily could have filled up on the appetizers alone! Every single person in our party was especially happy with their main course, and again we were impressed with the hearty portions. We of course had to find room for the incredible desserts! Our attendees absolutely loved the experience, we received so many rave reviews in the days after! We look forward to returning in the future! read more

Eléa - Private room - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

Sometimes my mind will wander and i will think back fondly to a meal i've had at Elea and my mouth will literally start to water. it's just too damn good. i wish it were easier to get seating but i understand why it's so popular. positively delicious. yum read more

I definitely recommend getting this menu if you ever visit this restaurant!! It's fried zucchini & eggplant, tzatziki, and kefalograviera cheese. The fried chips were so crisp and light, and paired deliciously with the spread. I l00000ved the spread. I feel like I can dip almost anything in that spread, and it would elevate the flavors. I really enjoyed this dish!! On top of the salmon pieces were avocado and jalapeño. Although the serving size was pretty small, each bite was so flavorful in taste and texture. read more

Eléa - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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Great service, food, everyone there so professional, I went for friend big Birthday party and brought cakes, they brought perfect time and perfect presentation, couldn't be more happy!!! All served timely manner and food all delicious, everyone on our party were had great time. Would recommend to everyone! read more

A nice spot in the Upper West Side. Had never tried some of the items and was curious about the Kagiana. It was really good. Service was prompt and courteous and overall decently priced. I would go back! read more

Eléa - Eggs Kagiana Brunch - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

Wow. Where to start. Will absolutely be back...!!! We did get the restaurant week special which was $60. Included a full size app, entree and dessert. Full size!!! Horiatiki, keftedes, watermelon salad, octopus and also had to order (not on special) the eggplant chips. Everything was so fresh. We grazed through everything but could barely finish. We had to get the dessert to go so can't speak to that. Very attentive service and restaurant was packed. So happy to see the restaurant thriving as we "visited" during covid and had delivery. Owner always makes his way around to ensure satisfaction which is greatly appreciated and my husband always pulls out the Greek to feel at home. Thanks for a memorable meal and experience! read more

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Okay, this is a hidden gem if you ask me. I went for the classics since good authentic Greek food can be hard to find, and yes, I have had the real deal. Chicken souvlaki was seasoned perfectly and the pita was also seasoned which was a nice surprise and not authentic but loved the addition. One side note I found strange was it didn't come wrapped and it didn't have tzatziki sauce which are both pretty standard. I ordered a side of tzatziki because it's a necessary compliment to chicken souvlaki. It too came with seasoned pita which I loved the more I ate it. Glass of rose on an unusually sweltering night it was a great meal. Our server was lovely, the place was pretty busy but she was perfectly attentive. We had a great time. You have to try this spot if you like authentic Greek food I have to say I was really delightfully surprised at how good it was. read more

This place is good! We went here for brunch and it's a great brunch spot on the UWS. I feel like there are quite a few Mediterranean places in that area, so it's hard to make one that super stands out. I wouldn't say this is the best food I've ever had but it's quite delicious. They also have a good bottomless deal for brunch. They have a variety of brunch cocktails which is nice, it's more than your typical mimosas. They have house made sangria that's is tasty, almost a little too easy to drink. Our server was delightful, wish I could remember her name to give a shout out! We sat outside, but the inside also looked quite nice. Would love to come back and try their dinner! read more

Everything was great from the very start. Just upon entering the restaurant, you know you are about to have a great dining experience. Our server was attentive and efficient and kept up with refills during the bottomless brunch. Our entrees came out in a timely manner and just as ordered and everything tasted delicious. Me and my partner ordered the steak brunch dish, tasted so good! For dessert they gave me a cheesecake with a sparkler because I was there was my birthday. It was a great time and experience, highly recommend! read more

Lovely restaurant with well prepared Greek dishes and excellent service My moussaka was delicious and large enough to have some to take home. read more

The service is great. The food is delicious. The owner is on-site, which seems like a good thing. The "basement" level is lovely and has much better acoustics than the upstairs seating area behind the bar. It's a great place. I don't drink, but the bar there looks fun. A friend told me the fig martini is delicious and I tried a passion fruit non-alcoholic cocktail the previous time I was there that was not-too-sweet, which I like. It's a fantastic neighborhood spot (UWS) right next door to a once-good now-terrible restaurant called French Roast. I would choose Elea over French Roast every time. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it would be so great if Elea could expand into that space! A girl can dream. read more

I went to Greece over the summer and I ate so much delicious food there and consequently developed an obsession with Mediterranean food. Eléa's food was on par with what I had in Greece! All the food tasted super fresh and was seasoned well. The standout in my opinion were the chicken souvlaki. The chicken was delicious: it was super juicy and honestly addicting. I definitely want to come back and try more of their dishes, including their desserts! read more

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Good vibes! Decent wine list. The restaurant was busy but the service was still good. Warning, there is 0 cell service in the basement. read more

Eléa - Lentil soup, Seafood Orzotto and others! - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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Food is amazing, but here's the highlight for me: 1/ the chicken souvlaki. They use chicken thighs. perfectly cooked. It is juicy and tasty. 2/ the Lamb chop medium rare. Full of taste. The herb crust is flavorful. 3/ The Taramasalata. Its so easy to get carried away eating the dips why waiting for the mezzes/entree. Self control is a must! The sidewalk outdoor space is heated, decorated, and dog friendly. Forgot to take a pic of the Souvlaki, its a sleeper dish. Didnt realize it was the bomb! read more

Eléa - Hummus, Taziki, Fried Calamari - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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Good brunch spot! Cute inside and outside too. Live music on Sunday afternoon inside. read more

Eléa - Tsoureki French Toast Brunch - this was HUGE, could easily feed two. - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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So yummy! We came here on a Sunday around 2:00 p.m. We got seated downstairs, where they had live jazz playing. We ordered a salad and the chicken souvlaki. All of it was incredibly delicious. I would come back for sure! read more

Eléa - Chicken Souvlaki - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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The service is one of the best in Manhattan everyone is trained to make you feel welcomed. The food is very good specially lamb skewers read more

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Fantastic Greek restaurant. Have dined here three times and consistently good food and service. Seafood, zucchini chips, the lamb all tasty. Highly recommend it, beautiful space and great addition to the UWS. read more

Eléa - Delicious lamb - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

One of the best on the Upper West Side. Great food, great service, great ambiance. Highly recommend read more

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Food was absolutely amazing. The spreads are unreal (especially the spicy feta). Filet mignon, salmon, and mushroom risotto were all 10/10. We had a reservation but still waited about 20-30 minutes when we got there but it was worth it. Our server was very nice as well. Inside it's elegant and cozy at the same time. Highly recommend. read more

So excited for Elea. Tried it on a Tuesday before 6pm it was already filling up. Tasteful and elegant interior with plenty of patio seating which was very welcome on this beautiful early summer day. Pros: octopus- perfect texture and well executed accoutrements- whipped fava beans cherry tomatoes pearl onions and capers Grilled shrimp- loved how the shrimp were cooked, simple yet somehow very savory and not overcooked at all Horiatiki- greek salad, nice blocks of feta, ripe tomatoes, well dressed. Watermelon salad- loved this dish especially with the jalapeno vinagrette which i would buy on its own if they sold it Lemon potatoes- perfectly cooked, nice portion, fresh herbs were a welcome addition Spinach- nicely cooked, would order again One suggestion- I wouldve also liked to have ordered a Marousalata- romaine, dill, chives, and feta salad. Hope that's added to the menu sometime. Good quality olive oil is served with the bread, and i believe this attention to quality ingredients is an approach the chef uses for all aspects of the meal- quality ingredients are one of my top criteria for restaurant choice these days. For instance I asked if there was canola oil in any of the dressings or dishes we ordered and was (happy to be) told there is not. The icing on the cake was this- we were visiting with two young kids who LOVE calamari tentacles and I politely asked our server to ask the kitchen to give us predominantly tentacles in our fried calamari if possible. When he brought us the dish it was almost all rings, and when i asked him about it he said "yeah they dont have time them just throw it in" - it was clear he did not make the request to the kitchen. When the manager or owner? came by we mentioned our disappointment with the calamari, to which he immediately replied, I'll have them fire a new one for you... It is THAT level of service that sets this restaurant apart. When you combine service like that with high quality ingredients and simple yet creative greek food, you have a winner. Will be back here soon. read more

Visiting NYC and had a phenomenal dinner at Eléa. The servers were very attentive, the restaurant has a chic vibe and good amount of seating outdoors as well. The food was fantastic, easily the best Greek food I've ever had. We decided on a bunch of starters rather than 2 entrees to have more variety. Started with the fig martini, not too sweet at all, made with fig vodka! A new favourite. Then went on to the 3 dips, the taramosalata, tyrokafteri, and the fava. They come with grilled pita bread. All were really, really good. Also had the eléa chips, which is thinly sliced, and fried to perfection zucchini and eggplant, with fried pieces of a salty, savoury cheese called kefalograviera, and tzatziki. The whole dish was delicious! We followed those dosages with the keftedes, which are greek meatballs, in a nice feta sauce. The meatballs were tender, pretty much perfect. We also had the chicken souvlaki skewers, which were divine on their own, but elevated with a really good honey mustard sauce. Finally we had the spanakopita, which had a great spinach, feta, leek filling, in a crispy phyllo. Would absolutely return and will be recommending to everyone I know visiting NYC! ! ! read more

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One of my absolute favorite restaurants in NYC--the service here is always outstanding even when the restaurant is busy (as it was when I went) and the ambiance is convivial and conducive to conversation. The most important part (the food) is always incredible: I've gotten something different here every time I've been and it's always delicious. read more

Oredelreld spanakopita spinch wozh chrese filodough orzo past sauce shrinp jasmine tea and dessert read more

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Very nice, trendy Mediterranean restaurant with the bar as a big focal point on the main level. There was a lower level but we were seated upstairs. Very friendly, helpful staff. Food was very good - 5 of us shared a lot of dishes, all of which were good. No absolute standouts, though the watermelon salad was very refreshing so would highly recommend. Outdoor seating was also an option. There wasn't really anywhere to stand while waiting for our table to be ready aside from the bar, which was packed. read more

Elea used to be "THE place to go". The operative words are "used to be". Now, it is "THE place to stay away from". Had the Moussaka. It was like some $2 frozen lasagna that I wouldn't buy in the supermarket. They should be ashamed serving inedible slop . The service was realllllyyyy sssslllloooowww, and not in a good way. If the reason is that they cannot find help, maybe they should consider cutting down on the number of tables they serve until they can find help. If they are just trying to cut corners and make more $$$, it is backfiring. As far as the help... there was a busboy from west Africa (I asked where he was from) who was the only one in the entire place who appeared to want to do his job and to make every customer happy.... He is a keeper. If I had a business with any need for a hard working and decent individual, I would have offered him a position on the spot. Elea is coasting on it's reputation. The owners won't understand what they have done until the place is empty and eventually shut down. If you are looking for a great and enjoyable meal, this is not the place I would recommend. read more

Great service and very accommodating for larger parties! We did the sampler of dips and were able to choose 7 to try from. It was so fun to try all the dips and was the perfect amount for an starter. The pita bread was so delicious. I got the chicken souvlaki for my main. The sauce that came with the chicken was so good. Everyone had nothing, but good things to say about their mains. So you definitely can't go wrong with your choice here! read more

Eléa - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

I am so incredibly impressed by the service we received. The food and drinks were excellent, but the service was outstanding. A main dish for a person in our group was forgotten and sold out when that was discovered. Our very-knowledgeable & dedicated server and the manager went above-and-beyond to try to compensate for the situation. Our friend said she was 100% fine and had eaten enough anyway. They kept trying everything they could think of to improve the situation when we were 100% okay. It just shows how much they care. I've never had a situation where the restaurant was so caring and effusive! I will make a point of coming back to Elea - and telling everyone I know to go there too. Thank you, Elea! read more

We ordered quite a few dishes as carry-outs for 5 people, and all of them were tasty. For our selection of 3 spreads, we chose SKORDALIA (blanched almonds, garlic paste), MELITZANOSALATA (smoked eggplant, fresh herbs), and FAVA (Santorini yellow split pea, shallots, dill). They are all quite flavorful, particularly SKORDALIA and MELITZANOSALATA. From the Eléa Classics menu, we ordered GRILLED SHRIMP, SARDELES, HTAPODI and CHICKEN SOUVLAKI. They each had a complex and unique flavor profile and tasty very good, but GRILLED SHRIMP and SARDELES really stood out to me. In addition, we also ordered two main dishes, SEAFOOD ORZOTTO (shrimp, mussels, clams, saffron, orzo) and SHORT RIB YOUVETSI (xinomavro braised short rib, baked orzo, kefalograviera cheese). These are the most flavorful of them all, especially the braised short rib dish. read more

Great food but unfortunately had a bad experience, the lychee martini was very sour, we asked for a different drink which was also sour. I guess they used a sour mix for the cocktails. We got our mains 30 min after the appetizer, we we're ready to leave at that point. Very unfortunate bc the restaurant is very delicious. read more