[Wilfrid1]

It seems like the doors at Dona just closed, but they are set to open Anthos next week. This will be the upscale, midtown version of Psilakis's Mediterranean cuisine. There is an entry on Open Table, but reservations not yet being taken online (telephone: (212) 308-0830).

As I have only eaten good food at fair prices at Dona and Onera (which is now Kefi) I don't care how soon I go.

[Wilfrid1]

An $85 chef's tasting, sayeth Grub Street. Psilakis is stealing softly toward the goal of a Greek restaurant which can compete at the three, and maybe one day four, star level. Monday is opening day.

[wingding]

The sea urchin/Tasmanian crab/salmon roe dish pictured on the Eater site looked seriously delicious.I think that Psilakis is one of the most talented chefs working in the city right now;his food is not like anyone else's...and definitely have Anthos on my to go soonish list.

[wingding]

We made the trip uptown,stopping to admire some of the beautiful workmanship in the buildings of Rockefeller Center.Anthos is a sleek,modern room,done in neutral colors.The fine dining aspirations are evident:Lots of servers buzzing all over,beautiful dishes,amuses,bemuses...Fancified versions of the chef's cooking at Onera.A good time was has,but I had the same beef that I seem to be having all too often;oversalting and ingredients that don't taste enough like themselves....I have a taste memory of what halibut tastes like,what tangerine sorbet Should taste like...and found things lacking.A trio of fish apps just didn't have that jump off the plate seafood sparkle that I expected;Tasmanian crab a little mealy,a second dish that I can't even remember,but it was too salty,and an ok oyster.A rabbit and snail dish was pretty good,served on a long piece of pasta with bits of cheese.Bread served with two whipped butters,sheep and goat were nice,as was a crisp bottle of Santorini white wine.Then we both ordered the oil poached halibut,served with morels ,caviar,and a broth that was poured tableside.The fish had been seared on one side,and the seared portion was dry,and peeled right off.The morels stole the show,but the halibut had zero flavor....caviar on top is ok,but didn't do much beside add salt.Citrus sorbets for me,and they were refreshing,but not disinctive.Fresh made donuts[sorry that I'm blanking on the authentic names],were filled with a slightly rose flavored cream,and were delicious,served with honeys and coffee ice cream.I had mixed feelings about the place...I'd probably go back,because I still admire the chef's talent and ambition.It is getting more difficult to source fish with great flavor these days,and like any new place,there are kinks to work out....but given the price point Anthos is at,I'd give it a hesitant recommendation.

[Ron Johnson]

wingding, on Mar 23 2007, 07:14 AM, said:

We made the trip uptown,stopping to admire some of the beautiful workmanship in the buildings of Rockefeller Center.Anthos is a sleek,modern room,done in neutral colors.The fine dining aspirations are evident:Lots of servers buzzing all over,beautiful dishes,amuses,bemuses...Fancified versions of the chef's cooking at Onera.A good time was has,but I had the same beef that I seem to be having all too often;oversalting and ingredients that don't taste enough like themselves....I have a taste memory of what halibut tastes like,what tangerine sorbet Should taste like...and found things lacking.A trio of fish apps just didn't have that jump off the plate seafood sparkle that I expected;Tasmanian crab a little mealy,a second dish that I can't even remember,but it was too salty,and an ok oyster.A rabbit and snail dish was pretty good,served on a long piece of pasta with bits of cheese.Bread served with two whipped butters,sheep and goat were nice,as was a crisp bottle of Santorini white wine.Then we both ordered the oil poached halibut,served with morels ,caviar,and a broth that was poured tableside.The fish had been seared on one side,and the seared portion was dry,and peeled right off.The morels stole the show,but the halibut had zero flavor....caviar on top is ok,but didn't do much beside add salt.Citrus sorbets for me,and they were refreshing,but not disinctive.Fresh made donuts[sorry that I'm blanking on the authentic names],were filled with a slightly rose flavored cream,and were delicious,served with honeys and coffee ice cream.I had mixed feelings about the place...I'd probably go back,because I still admire the chef's talent and ambition.It is getting more difficult to source fish with great flavor these days,and like any new place,there are kinks to work out....but given the price point Anthos is at,I'd give it a hesitant recommendation.

Informative review Wingding. Thanks.

[nuxvomica]

ha! was there last night for a pre-party snack at the bar and liked it a lot. i think that warmed up the room (ex-asqua pazza a lot) and the pasta wingding mentions was very good. ack! am about to finally board, more later

[nuxvomica]

the acqua pazza space anthos opened in is not very different from the original restaurant but much warmer and inviting. we ate at the bar, which was very comfortable but the room looked good. great sparkling greek wine (by the glass) and their signature drink (anthos) was delicious as well - don't remeber the ingredients except for metaxa and rye, it was well balanced, not too sweet and just different enough to delight

the rabbit snail pasta with bits of cheese was my favorite dish (the ingredients are placed on a long narrow sheet of pasta, interesting presentation. very good rouget over bacony lentils (3 filets - sizeable portion), good octopus (if not particularly special) and raw meze - 5 or 6 different fish, some more successful than others but over all quite good and some interesting pairings in terms of accompaniments.

there was an amuse - a single pasta (tortelli) but i'm forgetting what it was filled with. pleasant but not memorable. the 'welcome' for the table was delicious and fun. 4 different amuse size pottions of lamb tartare, lovely spread with herbs, then olives and something else i'm forgetting. i liked the goat's milk butter much more than the regular one. good bread.

dessert - could not resist the sesame one - halvah, sesame caramel and honey (?) filling oozing out when halvah disk was cut open. very good.

i'm disapponted to hear that entrees were not so great, but i'm definitely going back

[Wilfrid1]

I am recovering from surprisingly large portion sizes.

The first thing which struck me about Anthos is that it's much plainer - sleeker, in the modern use of the term - than Dona. Clean, modern lines; no more wedding cake decor. It's also smaller, as far as I could see, and the menu is currently much, much shorter. No tasting offered, although it's early days.

The amuse mentioned by nux - wasn't it a cheese tortelli, with a big hit of lemon and salt? A good jolt to start with. The rabbit dish described above was pretty good too: a sort of do-it-yourself rabbit and snail raviolo, inviting you to wrap some of the tender pasta strip around each bite. The snails did not rise to the level of the knockouts served at Craft, but were better than most, medium-sized and earthy. The rabbit was tasty, coated with a sticky reduction.

I tasted good red mullet with lentils too, and some lightly battered bacalao, almost a salt cod tempura. Psilakis has a way with bacalao. The selection of crudo is not designed to be shared, but we managed somehow. Most unusual was the colia, a white fish with dense flesh, garnished with a sliver of lamb "terrine" - more like a lamb jelly, with a subtle infusion of Indian spicing. The scallop was terrific too.

The entrees were all monster-sized. A whole grilled loup de mer was very neatly deconstructed - no, not just filleted - served as boneless torchons of creamy flesh, wrapped in the crisp, salty skin. The pork dish involved at least two chops, a good part of the loin (slightly dry), and a massive slab of belly. The belly meat was terrific; the fat on top offered no crunch. Most curiously, a complimentary glass of sweet sherry arrived to accompany the belly, a combination I didn't really understand. I couldn't come close to finishing the dish.

Desserts proved sizeable too, and two were plenty for four to share: one dish featured various expressions of baklava, including a nice sponge cake; the other was a "portrait", no less, of sheep's cheeses: four pungent varieties, each served over a contrasting, artistically smeared purree. Or chutney.

Almost too satisfying a meal, and a further confirmation of the chef's sheer reliability. Service, though sweet, needs much work. Bread was served to each diner's right; bread plates were constantly and tiringly removed and replaced; dishes, tea, coffee - mostly wrongly delivered. It will surely improve.

If anyone is an expert on Greek varietals, perhaps they can remind me which refreshing white we drank. The name was something like "Kidney" .

[Aaron T]

While we perused the menu they brought 4 kinds of snacks to the table: shrimp, sausage, cheese puffs and something else. A nice assortment.

The garlic and potato soup with the bacalao was good, although the soup was very thick and not very liquid. The description of the cod as tempura is apt.

I had the lamb chops, which were excellent. Nicely spiced, served medium rare. They also came with moussaka.

All the food was generally good, the service could be improved. The sommelier was helpful. I think it would be better to separate out the half bottles on the list, otherwise finding them feels like an edition of Where's Waldo?

I liked the clean look of the room. Not fussy at all. There is definitely a pretension to a level of service - as our drinks were carried from the bar on a tray (although then delivered to the wrong people) and they passed the napkin test.

I would return. The restaurant was surprisingly busy for a Monday evening... The chef was in the house too, he spent a lot of time in the dining room, just not at our table.

[Wilfrid1]

I think you gave away a lot of the lamb dish, good though it was. A rack of lamb, and a mousaka.

[Wilfrid1]

I am surprised it's been open long enough*, but Anthos is in Bruni's sights tomorrow. Eater predicts two stars, and I agree.

*Just over two months. Fair game.

[Wilfrid1]

Would a kind Amin merge the two Anthos threads?

A very positive review in the June Gourmet by one Colman Andrews, which also offers a nice sketch of the rise of Greek dining in New York: Estatorio Milos, Molyvos, Pylos, etc. One false note - a most extraordinary description of Donatella:

"...Arpaia patrols the room, black-clad and unsmiling, like some ominous extra in an old Melina Mercouri move."

Maybe her goldfish just died?

[mitchells]

Went last night and everything was very good.

I'll declare the raw fish sampler best in the city (sans the Japanese places). Very interesting and varied flavors. Better than recent samples at Esca and Insieme.

The large portions seem to have been resolved. My roasted sturgeon included two very small pieces.

Only downside was some very spotty service including forgotten drinks, coffee.

P.S. The butter is delicious.

[Wilfrid1]

Thanks for reminding me I posted Arpaia's picture.

[mitchells]

She was nowhere in sight last night.