A Greek Bearing Dreamy Gifts

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

On a foggy evening, the glow of Onera’s understated facade gently beckons from its setting in an innocuous row of townhouses on 79th Street’s retail strip. Inside, a suave hostess ushers diners past a tiny bar and through a constricted passage to the dining room, a low-ceilinged but nonetheless commodious little chamber. A central pillar dominates the comfortable room and lends visual intrigue. The walls’ blue and white evoke the Greek flag, but the vivid color, combined with the closeness of the quarters and its palpable remove from the outside world, gives the restaurant a certain unearthly feel; one has the momentary sensation of dining in a bathyscaphe.


Cool, skillful servers in sweaters keep the meal moving at an easy pace, but they can heighten the mild sense of vertigo by their sheer profusion: odds are that the person who brings your amuse-bouche will do only that duty and never reappear; likewise the dessert-plate-clearer, crumb-sweeper, and several water bearers. A deft phalanx of waiters, bussers, as well as the chef and his wife, patrol the small room nonstop, yet there is never a traffic jam, delay, or communication lapse: the management is mystically artful.


The food and drink afford a similar oneiric transport. Chef Michael Psilakis’s take on Greek food brings unexpected flavors and preparations to a cuisine that several New York restaurants do lavishly but seldom with this degree of creativity. Dishes here cover a lot of interesting ground, but never forget their roots. Traditional fare like grilled fish and moussaka puts in an appearance in fancy dress, but shares table space with cosmopolitan dishes in which Greek elements are auxiliary. The menu’s wide-ranging flavors all remain mutually complementary, though, never straying too far from a hearty, intense Mediterranean foundation.


Dinner starts strong with a selection of “raw meze,” a Hellenic rendering of the carpaccio/sashimi concept in tapassized servings. From a list of five, diners can choose two for $11, three for $15, four for $19, or all five – the best option – for $22. A roasted orange vinaigrette, redolent with herby olive oil, dresses three creamy pieces of yellowtail, amplifying the fish’s rich flavor without drowning it out. Meaty raw sea scallops get a garnish of pickled fennel and a topping of rich, cool, unabashedly traditional tzatziki sauce that swamps the mollusks’ mild taste just a bit. Lumps of sea urchin roe sit atop toothsome little beet circles; salty haloumi cheese and lemon rounds out the slightly confused flavor of this one. In a play on vitello tonnato, veal carpaccio and tuna tartare are wedded with a lightly creamy, garlicky sauce; crisp fried capers provide a tangy note. Lastly, bright red slices of savory raw lamb glisten with oil on a bone-white plate festooned with shreds of pungent arugula; feta and crunchy fried shallots add savor.


After (or in lieu of) the raw meze come regular starters. A plate of zaftig grilled Mission figs ($9) rises above the rest; it’s the sort of fine-tuned construction that appeals to the intellect and the senses simultaneously. Wrapped with prosciutto before grilling, the dark-flavored fruits have a smoky, mouth-filling richness that is offset by their filling of tangy, peppery, soft Greek cheese. The house version of a classic soup, giouvarlakia avgolemono ($9), deviates little from tradition: an abundance of small, delicate meatballs give grounding to the intensely lemon-flavored soup’s frothy vigor. A lighter choice, seared scallops and cauliflower florets ($11), bask in a brown butter sauce incorporating sage, capers, and sour cherries in a delightfully nutty diapason.


Pastas can comprise an intermediate course or a good, affordable alternative – none are over $16 – to the meat and fish main courses. A comforting and barely modernized open plan moussaka ($16) layers eggplant, potato, and melting braised goat meat with a hardly necessary velvety bechamel. Sheep’s-milk gnocchi with thick tomato sauce ($15) benefit from another painstaking assemblage of flavors: lamb sausage, dandelion greens, and feta cheese add nuance to the simple dish.


Pan-roasted poussin ($18) is, almost note for note, the same pan-roasted poussin that Psilakis serves at his esteemed Long Island northern Italian spot, Ecco – in other words, not noticeably Greek, but comforting and delicious, with a winning sweet-smoky backdrop of caramelized apples and smoked bacon. Pork tenderloin ($21), beautifully grilled with none of the dryness that can plague this cut, comes with a memorable sweet corn fritter; a slice of super-fatty braised pork belly, bursting with taste, serves as backup to the leanish tenderloin. An at-table pour of butternut squash puree adds a sweet, autumnal dimension to mild, firm-fleshed seared John Dory ($25) with tart goat cheese, savory crisp shallots, and a crab-orzo salad.


To conclude the meal, Onera offers a choice of three excellent cheese platters (all $10): each dedicated to the output of a different milk-giving animal. Greece, unfortunately, is unrepresented among the largely French and Italian cheeses, but a pairing of three dessert wines ($10) compensates nicely: Agros’ Muscat ($6 on its own) is honeyed, spicy, and dense; Etko’s Commandaria St. Nicholas ($9.50), a Cyprian classic, is woody, rich, and nuanced; a Mavrodaphne from Achaia Clauss ($7) is ruby-colored, raisiny, and clean. Sweets include a simple but memorable array of thick, luscious Greek style artisanal yogurt, vivid plum sorbet, and complex honey ($7), as well as a “red rose sampling” ($8) of rose ice cream, rose loukoumi candy, delicate rose custard, and a tiny rose milkshake.


The restaurant has assembled an impressive list of over 300 Greek wines (and even more from the New World). Necessary though it may be for most diners to rely on the staff’s advice for navigation through a sea of unfamiliar varietals and producers, there are definite finds to be found; the imported bottles’ obscurity keeps prices very low indeed for wines of this caliber. A soft, dark red made by Agros from Nemean agiorgitiko grapes ($30) balances the menu’s complex flavors very pleasantly. A wealth of by-the-glass choices, such as an $8 Cretan Peza red with intense fruity body, gives a good opportunity to explore without commitment.


Onera’s acute, intelligent attention to detail makes it a startlingly good new restaurant, with a promising future. If it inspires a wave of copycat creative-Greek cooking, so much the better.



Onera, 222 W. 79th St., 212-873-0200.


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