Evvia, Palo Alto -3/20/2021

 

Evvia is an upscale Greek restaurant located in Palo Alto and has been a fixture in downtown Palo Alto for over 25 years.  It operates on the Greek concept of hospitality known as xenia, where guests are treated as friends.  As soon as we walked in we are  greeted warmly and taken immediately to our table. 

Loan made a reservation for my birthday back in February but because of COVID I requested that we delay it until March. It was the right decision as COVID is more contained and dinner inside is now allowed.  Our reservation was at 5:30Pm so the restaurant is not quite full yet.

 

The patio was recently added for outdoor dinning during COVID but it turned out to be so beautiful and I hope they will keep it permanently.

 

We got a table in the middle of the main room looking out into the street and to the newly built Patio.

 

From out table looking to my right there are 2 tables that are far apart and in the far end is the kitchen with a wood-fired oven, where the lamb, chicken and fish are roasted. 

 

Table is set up and menu are brought out.

 

 

Close look at the menu.

 

Starting with grilled bread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

 

Hoa brought the Chateau du Pape, Maily Brought the Caymus and Minh brought a bottle of white wine but I forgot to take a picture.

 

Our table was right in the middle of the room with a great view of the patio

Cheers!

 

Hoa wanted to start with a cocktail so our server recommended a Ouzo,  a dry anise flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece.

 

Starting the meal with a glass of white wine and a bunch of appetizers.

 

Octapodaki tou Yiorgou, grilled octopus with lemon, oregano and olive oil

 

Tender, flavorful, and simply delectable!  Great way to start the meal.

 

Marithes Tiganites-crispy smelts with almond & potato skordalia and Lemon

 

I love fried smelts and I wish they were crispier but the flavors are there and the dipping sauce goes really well together.

 

Garides skordates-wood oven roasted prawns with tomato, scallions & Calabrian chili butter.

 

The colors are so vibrant and so is the taste. Excellent dish, so tasty!

 

 The prawns were so delicious with a really yummy sauce and the tomatoes are so sweet.

 

Arnisia Plevrakia- grilled lamb riblets with lemon & oregano

 

This is one of my favorite dish.

 

The lamb riblets are slow roasted and the meat just fall apart in your mouth.  Simply delicious.

 

Our server going around the table to serve the lamb riblets.

 

Our server is really friendly, lively and we had a lot fun talking to him.

 

Psari Psito-Grilled whole Mediterranean sea bass with lemon-oregano vinaigrette & Horta

 

The fish was perfectly grilled and we all enjoyed it.

 

Kotopoulo Souvlaki-Chicken breast grilled with onion, bell pepper, Cucumber salad tzatziki & potatoes.

 

This is a classic dish that you cannot go wrong with.

 

Mosharisai Brizola-22oz charcoal grilled dry-aged rib-eye with braised greens & Evvia potatoes

 

We ordered rare but we got more like a medium steak.  Maily complained about it and our server told us he will remove it from the bill.

 

Cheers to great meal!


Time for coffee and desserts.

 

Our waiter told us to trust him with desserts so we let him surprise us.

The first thing that came out was a Galaktoboureko - phyllo wrapped vanilla bean semolina custard with pistachio ice cream

 

I love this dessert!  It was a crunchy exterior and the interior is warm and when you bite into it the custard is oozing out.  So delicious!

 

He also brought out 2 more desserts to share: Raspberry cheese cake and a chocolate lava cake.

 

Enjoying our desserts with a hot cup of coffee.

 

We did very well and ate almost everything...

 

This is our way out and the patio is now filled with guests.

 

Another view of the Patio and the entrance of the restaurant.

 

We got in at 5:30Pm and by the time we were done with our meal it was around 9:00pm and I could not believe that there are so many people waiting to get a table.

It's been a while since we have been eating in a nice restaurant so it felt so special to be able to go out and enjoy life.  We had such a wonderful evening, the food was great, excellent service, and surrounded by such a lively ambiamce so and let's hope that life as we knew will resume back soon and go back to our daily routine.

Cheers!

 

Filed under: Restaurants

 

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