Evvia Estiatorio, Palo Alto

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Evvia Estiatorio 420 Emerson Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-326-0983 Evvia Estiatorio Website Book Reservation

Why did we dine here? – Evvia is the sister restaurant of popular Kokkari in San Francisco. Our last visit here was over 10 years ago, so it was time for a refresher. Reservations are not easy to come by at this small restaurant, just off University Avenue.

As they put it: Named after the largest island in Greece, Evvia, serves food prepared using the freshest, season ingredients, combining traditional Hellenic flavors with a contemporary sensibility. Dishes are simple, yet flavorful, allowing the ingredients to take center stage.

Insider Tip – Reserve Early

Cuisine – Mediterranean – Greek
Location – Downtown Palo Alto
Opened – 2004

Service – Evvia is a small restaurant with lots of servers running around, helping kick the service to a high level.
Verdict – Evvia and its sister restaurant Kokkari, are must visit spots for those who like Greek food and especially lamb.

Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Yes. 1 Hour? Maybe.

Evvia Signature Dishes – Lamb Chops, Octopus, Lamb Riblets

Evvia’s Menu is pretty wide ranging with lots of cooking using their beautiful oven.

Website Evvia Menu

Evvia Food Picks:
Mojito ($10) was strong and well made.

Anginares Souvlaki – grilled artichokes & eggplant skewer with Greek yogurt ($15.50) is a nice starter with tender veggies and some really smooth yogurt.

Octapodaki tou Yiorgou – traditional grilled octopus with lemon, oregano & olive oil ($17.75) is a popular dish. Not large, they cut up the octopus
and it is served with a nice grilled crust on it, but a bit soft in the center.

Branzino ($46 special) was a special dish that evening. Excellent, perfectly done and a must order if available. Not particularly pretty, but they know how to cook this. You can even eat the bones.

Arnisia Paidakia – rib-cut, mesquite-grilled lamb chops with olive oil lemon roasted potatoes ($47.50) had 3 large chops cooked to perfection. Very high meat quality with no gaminess. The potatoes were cooked so they were crisp on the outside, tender on the inside. They sell a ton of these.

Yiaourti Sorbet – Yogurt sorbet with fresh fruit granita ($9.75) was refreshing with its blend of richness and fruitiness.

Galaktoboureko – Traditional phyllo wrapped vanilla bean semolina custard with pistachio ice cream ($10.75) is a must get. We downed this dessert way too fast.

OK: (Order if you like this dish)
None

Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None

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