Estiatorio Rafina

Wonderful Greek food. The best of the Greek restaurants I've been to. The owner came to our table to greet us and was there to say good night. The food was fresh and so delicious, even old favorites like fried calimari were the best...non greasy, tender, wonderful. All the dishes we had were wonderful. Try a variety of appetizers but be careful...the portions are big big! The place is large and very pretty and you can sit outside on warm nights near the beautiful fountain. Try this place. You'll love it. more

Nothing like a fresh, perfectly grilled whole fish, while sitting outside on a gorgeous NYC evening! more

I don't normally write reviews, but I was a bit surprised at the 5 star reviews on citysearch for this restaurant. Granted it was all written in the same month nearly a year ago... I ate at Estiatorio Rafina a few months ago, and was pretty disappointed based on the previous reviews. None of the reviews were very specific about the actual food, so here goes. I arrived with a few friends so we had a sampling of the whole menu. One of my friends is a vegetarian, and chose to have a salad with 2 appetizers to satisfy her meal since there were no strictly vegetarian entrees (which is totally fine). I think we all sensed a strange vibe from the waiter taking our order when my vegetarian friend made this request--as if this was a burdensome request of some sort. The rest of us ordered from the rest of the menu and shared the mixed spread of tzaziki, eggplant spread and a salty caviar spread. All pretty decent, but the bread was cold and a bit stale/hard. My vegetarian friend ordered a cold soup which was fine, grilled portobellos which was flavorless and a salad. I tasted the other dishes my other friends had...the moussaka (creamier and greasier than I've had in the past), red snapper (unfortunately overcooked, and I usually love whole fish, but it can be hard to make perfect) and the chicken kabob (average, not particularly exciting, but I guess chicken kabobs usually aren't). The 2 stars are for the food (slightly below average compared to the food in the area). If I had to include service in my review, it would be down to 1 star. We had an odd experience with our server (always felt like we were asking for something too much, forks, refill on water, and the 3 veggie dishes instead of one entree)...service was slow, despite the restaurant not being full. The owner was a bit rude when we asked where our food was, because it seemed as if they were more focused on serving large group of their friends (?) at a nearby table. On top of that, when the bill came, we asked to split it between 2 credit cards (which is not too difficult) but unfortunately, the server had difficulty with the math. It ended up being more complicated than it needed to be with a manager and someone else being involved, just to try to figure out a rather straight forward check! It was a bit confusing because the restaurant suddenly got very loud with a live singer crooning off tune, and I think there was difficulty hearing us talking as we were trying to clear this up. I would really like to give this place 1 star for the overall experience, but am refraining because to be fair, the food was at least edible, but the service was completely unacceptable. more

My husband and I ate at the new Estiatorio Rafina for the first time on Friday. We had been fans of Rafina when it was located on the Upper East Side - but this new Rafina is so much better! The food is EXCELLENT, the wait staff is super attentive and Dennis, the owner, is as gracious and charming as ever. If you are looking for great food in a relaxing atmosphere, we highly recommend the new Rafina. (PS -The spanakapita is to die for!) more

I wasn't expected to find such a amazing place in this part of the city.Visiting my friends in Murray Hill we choosed ESTIATORIO RAFINA who just opened .The staff very professional and attendive ,the OUTSTANDING food,the music and decorations made us feel for a couple of hours like we were in Greece .We had the pleasure to meet the General Manager ,Ciprian , who came to make sure we are enjoying our dinner but also the Owner ,Dennis .Very friendly people . I highly recommend this place and we will definately be back . more

Have had the pleasure of dining at Rafina's on several occassions and I have to say that it is by far the best Greek food in the city. Everything from the atmosphere to the service and especially the food was nothing short of outstanding. You not only find fine dining at a great price but on Friday and Saturday nights there is an added treat of live Greek music. A fantastic place that is now on the top of my list for dining out. ENJOY!!!!!!!! more

I was there tonight and sat outside on the elevated patio..WOW! what a treat! overlooking a gorgeous fountain while enjoying fabulously prepared food! the staff was very attentive, an unexpected treat was the live greek music that started while having our dessert. A great night at a great place!! more