Barbounia
250 Park Avenue South at 20th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 995-0242
Subway: 6 to 23rd Street
Bus: M1/3/4 to 20th Street; M2 to 23rd Street
My husband made a reservation at Barbounia for us for Valentine’s Day 2006, and my initial reaction to his choice was “ugh.” Part of it was that I hate the whole schtick behind expensive prix-fixe Valentine’s day dinners. That it was at one of the recently-opened, might-as-well-have-been-cloned restaurants on Park Avenue South certainly didn’t help matters at all. I cancelled the reservation.
Fast-forward a year, and I still hadn’t tried Barbounia, so when a friend (my dentist, in fact!) wanted to go, I was game, despite my initial hesitation, and a table for two at 7pm on a Thursday evening was easily secured through OpenTable. I’ve walked by Barbounia a number of times, and from the outside, it looks like a huge restaurant, so when I arrived, I thought it would be larger. Instead, I enjoyed the airy, café-like feel inside. A few couples entered at the same time as I did, and I couldn’t be bothered to wait for the hostess to get to me. Fortunately, my friend was already seated, and her waving caught my attention.
Barbounia is a self-proclaimed Mediterranean restaurant, but the menu seemed very Greek to me (not that I’m so familiar with Mediterranean v. Greek). Dishes seemed pricey, but not outrageous. There was a good size assortment, from small dishes for sharing, to normal-sized entrees for those who don’t like to share. While we were deciding what to eat, we noshed on their combination dip platter, which had a smaller portion each of hummus, tzatziki, baba ghanoush and spicy feta spreads on one plate and was served with a warm flatbread cut into fingers. All of the dips were quite good, and after our second piece of flatbread, there wasn’t much room for entire entrees.
We each chose a salad (mine was Greek, hers was mixed greens) as well as the charred octopus appetizer. The feta in my Greek salad was delicious. The rest was merely a Greek salad. The octopus Nicoise salad was incredibly tasty with well-cooked octopus, perfectly tender potatoes and crisp haricot verts. Although we both weren't hungry after the salads, we still chose a strawberry Napoleon for dessert. It was simple, slightly difficult to eat and not worth overstuffing yourself for.
My only complaint about Barbounia were that the tables around the perimeter of the room were a bit close together, so I felt like I was sitting with the couples at the tables to my left and right. It’s not that it was loud, just close together. Service could have been more attentive, but it wasn’t deplorable.
Barbounia pleasantly surprised me. It wasn’t overly expensive ($45pp with tax and tip - mind you, I had two glasses of Cava with my meal), the interior was harmonious, and the food we tried was generally good. And I’m fine with that.
250 Park Avenue South at 20th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 995-0242
Subway: 6 to 23rd Street
Bus: M1/3/4 to 20th Street; M2 to 23rd Street
My husband made a reservation at Barbounia for us for Valentine’s Day 2006, and my initial reaction to his choice was “ugh.” Part of it was that I hate the whole schtick behind expensive prix-fixe Valentine’s day dinners. That it was at one of the recently-opened, might-as-well-have-been-cloned restaurants on Park Avenue South certainly didn’t help matters at all. I cancelled the reservation.
Fast-forward a year, and I still hadn’t tried Barbounia, so when a friend (my dentist, in fact!) wanted to go, I was game, despite my initial hesitation, and a table for two at 7pm on a Thursday evening was easily secured through OpenTable. I’ve walked by Barbounia a number of times, and from the outside, it looks like a huge restaurant, so when I arrived, I thought it would be larger. Instead, I enjoyed the airy, café-like feel inside. A few couples entered at the same time as I did, and I couldn’t be bothered to wait for the hostess to get to me. Fortunately, my friend was already seated, and her waving caught my attention.
Barbounia is a self-proclaimed Mediterranean restaurant, but the menu seemed very Greek to me (not that I’m so familiar with Mediterranean v. Greek). Dishes seemed pricey, but not outrageous. There was a good size assortment, from small dishes for sharing, to normal-sized entrees for those who don’t like to share. While we were deciding what to eat, we noshed on their combination dip platter, which had a smaller portion each of hummus, tzatziki, baba ghanoush and spicy feta spreads on one plate and was served with a warm flatbread cut into fingers. All of the dips were quite good, and after our second piece of flatbread, there wasn’t much room for entire entrees.
We each chose a salad (mine was Greek, hers was mixed greens) as well as the charred octopus appetizer. The feta in my Greek salad was delicious. The rest was merely a Greek salad. The octopus Nicoise salad was incredibly tasty with well-cooked octopus, perfectly tender potatoes and crisp haricot verts. Although we both weren't hungry after the salads, we still chose a strawberry Napoleon for dessert. It was simple, slightly difficult to eat and not worth overstuffing yourself for.
My only complaint about Barbounia were that the tables around the perimeter of the room were a bit close together, so I felt like I was sitting with the couples at the tables to my left and right. It’s not that it was loud, just close together. Service could have been more attentive, but it wasn’t deplorable.
Barbounia pleasantly surprised me. It wasn’t overly expensive ($45pp with tax and tip - mind you, I had two glasses of Cava with my meal), the interior was harmonious, and the food we tried was generally good. And I’m fine with that.
