Stamatis Restaurant

I could seriously eat here for every meal. But I won’t, because then I’d have to be rolled out.
Delicious mezze, great vegetarian options, and INCREDIBLY affordable. Always busy, but always delicious.
Also, the owner is my favorite person in all of Astoria.

I’ve been raving about Greek seafood for a while to a lot of my friends and have been begging SOMEONE… ANYONE to go to Astoria with me to experience it. finally After hanging out at the beer gardens all day we decided to get some grub. Like everyone knows, the wait at Taverna Kyclades was insane so we wandered down the street to Stamatis where there was no wait but it was very very busy inside. Our server was kind of meh but the food was absolutely amazing and my friends who are noobs to Greek cuisine were seriously impressed. Ambiance was interesting, the interior reminded me of a lot of Greek restaurants I’ve been to in Florida with just the huge dining space and busy waiters running around sweating their butts off. The seafood was a littttttle pricier than I could afford but the souvlaki was A+ and their tziki sauce holy hell, it was outstanding. But question. why didn’t we get the free desert?! Whaaa

The restaurant seemed very authentic and legit given that most of the customers are real Greek people. I tried the mussels and my husband had the lamb leg. I’m not a huge fan of lamb in general so the lamb dish had too many foreign flavors for me. I liked the mussels… had a lot of flavor, but wasn’t a home run for me.
The restaurant is pretty busy so it can get pretty hectic.

Came here because of all the rave reviews. Was initially unimpressed by the host and the wait before anyone even brought us water /​generally acknowledge they’d be checking in with us soon, but that’s all been forgotten. The spinach croquettes are SO good. The eggplant salad (appetizer) doesn’t taste anything like eggplants but it went well with the SUPER garlic bread that was brought alongside it. This place is kind of a nightmare for vegetarians — your options boil down to getting a bunch of appetizers, a basic salad, or stuffed peppers. The funny thing with the stuffed peppers is that they’re tomatoes — but it was still pretty good. Everything looks and tastes like home cooking which is nice, and they even gave us dessert on the house. Totally sweetened the experience, and ensured a return visit.

When I go out, I like good food and good service. At Stamatis, the food was good, particularly the grilled octopus appetizer, and the unique «nest» (stewed beef inside of baked spaghetti, covered with cheeses and yogurt sauce). Everyone else seemed to enjoy what they had (although an order of lamb chops was slightly overcooked).
The service was another thing all together. From a forgotten appetizer (then when pointed out, was declared to still be in process as «stuffed calamari takes about 30 minutes.» 30 minutes later, another promise of 30 minutes. At the end of the meal, we simply had to ask that it be removed from the bill. The food was delivered haphazardly, some on time and as promised, a dish designed to have orzo in it did not and the answer was «I’ll bring it on the side and you mix it in yourself». After the meals were delivered and eaten, right about the correct time for coffee and dessert, we were presented with the bill. A mumbled apology about being out of dessert and «it takes 30 minutes to make new» (Oh no, not THAT old gag!!). We decided to go elsewhere for dessert (our discussion assisted by the waiter, «yes, get dessert at the café, you’ll enjoy»). So it really wasn’t a completely good night. My advice — call in an order to go and take it to Astoria Park, or home, or anywhere else but the dining room at Stamatis. The service will surely be better.

This Greek restaurant in Astoria is worth the train ride! Delicious, authentic cuisine… menu written in both Greek and English… lamb shank AMAZING!

My friend who is proudly 100% Greek from Queens swears that Stamatis is the best place to dine on his native cuisine. For dinner that is. And for variety. He has another recommendation for lunch (Fontana’s Famous), which is my next stop.
Stamatis is an unassuming place with a large main room; what my husband calls a «shouting hall.» But how can you complain when the din is comprised by happy people having a good time?
The menu is written in both Greek and English and the food is classic Greek American. A wide variety of fish, seafood, lamb, and vegetarian options.
We began with the small Greek salad ($ 6) and the small antipasto plate ($ 8). The salad was as expected but all four dips — eggplant, taramosalata, skordalia, and tzatziki, were all delicious. In fact, the skordalia (garlic and potato purée) was extraordinary.
For my main dish, I had the lamb fricassee, chunks of meat stewed with chard in a creamy lemon sauce ($ 13). Others had the roast lamb ($ 13) but it was a bit on the dry side. Perhaps the best dish we tried was the Iman ($ 10), a roasted eggplant stuffed with caramelized onions. The smoky eggplant contrasted beautifully with the sweet onions, and inspired me to try it at home — one of these days.
Stamatis is a homey and welcoming place. If you need comfort food, whether you are Greek or not, give this place a try. It’s an easy ride on the Q train from Manhattan and very gentle on the pocketbook, if not the ears.

Stamatis heard my stomach’s call for an authentic Greek meal that would bring me back to my time wandering the streets of Athens, petting stray dogs.
Started off with tzatziki and spanakopita to share, dunked the yummy garlic bread they give you fo free in the tzatziki and washed it all down with glasses of Mythos.
I realized this was a seafood place but still ordered the chicken souvlaki platter, and I was not disappointed. Three skewers full of juicy, charred meat, a plate of fluffy rice, a lake of tzatziki, a side salad and a huge warm pita for $ 13??? Thanks, Stamatis.
Even though I was terribly full by the end of this meal, I was still able to enjoy the complimentary dessert: rice pudding in pastry topped with syrup. So good, so Greek…

Some of the best Greek food in Astoria! Very authentic place with amazing seafood dishes. My favorite dish is the stuffed peppers with rice, which actually comes as one stuffed pepper & one stuffed tomato. I’ve tried multiple different dishes here and have always been impressed. It is a little more expensive than some of the other Greek places in the area, but the atmosphere there is definitely a little more upscale. The free dessert is my favorite part of the Stamatis experience. It’s free and delicious!

Came here on a date and I loved every minute of it. Dude I was dating was Greek and I am sure this worked to our advantage but either way, the service was excellent.
Very home-​ish feel and everyone was so friendly. This is also the restaurant where I got over my fear and tasted grilled Octopus for the first time ever. I loved it! The shrimp saganaki was absolutely delish. The lemon potatoes were to dieeeeee for. Also, I loved the grapeleaves very much. I think I could have ate a litte bit of everything on the menu and I would have been happy. (Ok, I dont think I’d ever do that… but you get the point).
Had some good Retsina here too and this one dessert which the name sadly escapes me yet the taste is still in my memory as being flavorful, light and truly Greek in nature.
For a Latina like me, this place definetly served its purpose in introducing me to authentic Greek cuisine. Although it never worked out with Greek-​boy (wahhh) I will definetly come back some day soon… thanks, guy!

Standard but good Greek food in Astoria, decent service, decent prices, nothing outstanding, but nothing at all bad, recommended for sure. It is quite big and bright, and I believe they pool their tips, because they service is spotty.
The meal starts with nice toasted bread with a few herbs and olive oil. There is also a huge jar of opened olive oil and one of vinegar on the table, to use as your liking. They also drop off a small plate of lemons, you can douse just about anything they serve with lemon, and you should. For appetizers we had the Avgolemono which was thicker then usual, very good version after I squeezed a few more lemon wedges into it. Great soup. We also had the fried eggplant with Skorthalia, which I usually find too bitter from way to much raw garlic, thankfully this one was seasoned just right. Well fried, lightly battered eggplant, nice portion and well matched with the just garlicky enough Skorthalia. Another good dish.
For entrees we ordered the Seabass and the Sole. Both were good, although the seabass was overcooked and the Sole took an extra 5 minutes to arrive, albeit with multiple apologies from the server. My seabass was grilled as I asked for, but it was overcooked to the point that the entire head was burnt, hard to pick at the crevices for tender pieces. I like the skin crispy so I still enjoyed this dish, especially served with the oil and garlic sauce, but it was a bit dry. The Sole was fine, standard, a bit boring, but that is on the fish, not the restaurant. The lemon potatoes were not so good, not enough lemon and since they cook everything (aside from the fish/​meat) in advance it sat around and started to break up, not very appetizing. The rice and peas were passable.
The cherry on top is the free dessert that is so common in Astoria Greek restaurants, (which of course is a Greek tradition). The name eludes me, but it was phyllo stuffed with a type of custard, topped with honey and cinnamon, wonderful flavor although a bit sweet for one of the dinner guests. It was surprisingly light, and I personally loved it. The house wine by carafe was decent, nothing memorable, standard house red. Overall good meal, large portions, you will not leave hungry. Decent service, not overly friendly, but attentive to your needs. The octopus appetizer is $ 23 which is ridiculous considering how relatively inexpensive octopus is, I know the same dish served better is $ 12 a few avenues away, however the prices overall were moderate. Recommended for fish.

i have to admit, i am such a noob when it comes to greek food. i probably had authentic greek two other times, so even now, i don’t know what i’m eating or how it should taste. all i know was that the food was okay here.
one observation though, everything is doused in lemon juice. is that just how greek food is supposed to be like?
anyway, for the restaurant itself, the place is very accommodating for large groups and the service is excellent.

Just back from this Greek place in Astoria. My friend and I were actually looking for the place (right in front of our eyes) when our eventual server welcomed us in to look at the menu. We took 3 trains to get here and it came highly recommended.
We started with the Fried «Variety» appetizer dish. Lightly breaded eggplant, zuchinni, and peppers with a garlic/​potato like dip. This was very tasty and not too heavy. My friend also ordered a small greek salad which was not bad.
For the main course she had the meatballs special with rice, and I had the Lamb with red sauce and this noodle-​like pasta I can’t spell. The lamb was tender and delicious, but the pasta side was very bland. Wasn’t bad but not what I was expecting. The custard like dessert that came after our main course was fabulous.
The service here was fantastic and the wait staff very helpful. I might pass by here again when in the neighborhood. Apparently I should have gone with the Grilled Octopus and/​or the Fish.

I came here for lunch one weekday with a friend. It was ok.
I need to start by saying that the place is HUGE. It is very spacious, clean, and had what seemed to be new, clean, décor. I think they also have a back room.
So, we came for lunch on a weekday and were seated immediately. It was not very busy. I ordered an Iced –tea (work lunch) and was a little surprised that I got a can of «Brisk Iced-​tea». I expected something fresh brewed, unsweetened. oh well
To start we shared a saganaki. It was good. We followed it with pork souvlaki. It was good, not fabulous. (Not so good 5 hours later at kettlebell class, haha).
It was slow to get the check (had to go back to work) and it cost $ 56 total for 2 canned beverages, 1 saganaki, and 2 pork souvlaki. I thought that was pricy for lunch.
Maybe I would go back again.

Food — Great
Décor — Good
Service — Good
The name has changed, place is goo with friendly staff and good food.

Just had dinner here tonight for about the fiftieth time, once again never disappointed. We ordered a spinach pie which is pretty big so it’s good to split. We also split the mixed vegetables which are amazing, they’re a combination of potatoes, eggplant and zucchini. I had the roasted lamb for the first time actually and it was soooo tender it almost melted in my mouth (comes with lemon potatoes). Their fish is also very fresh and delicious which I’ve had numerous times. Great greek salads, shrimp saganaki and moussaka. Portions are extremely generous, I usually have lunch for the next day.
The servers are really nice, especially the gentleman we had tonight. We said we were splitting the spinach pie and he cut it in quarters for us at the table, while most servers just let you take care of that on your own. They have an outdoors as well which is really pretty that I never noticed before which I tried for the first time in the late summer. The place is usually pretty crowded and sometimes you see a line waiting to be seated, but don’t freak out! It’s a huge place, there are two rooms on the first floor and also an upstairs, so you get seated very quickly.
My favorite restaurants in Astoria are of course this, Elias and Telly’s Taverna. They’re all equally as good but Stamatis has the largest menu. So if you have some picky eaters among you or you just want to choose from a lot of Greek specialties I’d probably recommend this one.

We came here ravenous and ordered a large assortment of dishes — too much to eat, really, given that the portions are huge and come with very generous sides! The best dishes: chicken kebab, lemon potatoes and fava beans sides, and of course, saganaki to start.
Service was excellent, and the owner checked in with us several times during our meal. To top it all off, they gave us free coffee and 2 desserts each afterward! I’ll definitely be back!

My boyfriend and I tried Stamatis after being told by numerous people in the neighborhood that it was excellent Greek food. We are actually fans of Taverna Cyclades, another Greek restaurant close by, but decided to mix it up a little.
The service was alright and the prices were affordable. The food however, paled in comparison to Taverna. The greek salad did not seem as generous in quantity or as fresh and the portions of the chicken and fish were small as well.
It was disappointing because I definitely wanted to like this place. Guess we will just have to power through the 1 hour wait for Taverna Cyclades.

I am def. a fan!
I come here with my parents all the time when we crave delicious, authentic greek. This restaurant is very casual and affordable. I believe pretty much anything you order will be delcious and even if it isn’t the «best» version of a greek you’ve tasted you cant be pissed because of the prices.
DO GO — for the delcious authentic greek food
–artichoke salad
–greek salad
–lima bean salad
–lemon potatoes
–stuffed peppers
DONT GO– if your looking for an upsacale fancy eatery
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As we all get older in life, birthdays for our selves seem a little less important as we focus on the birthdays of our new borns, attending weddings, celebrating anniversaries, and simply enjoying the company when we actually have the opportunity to get together without any cancellations.
For this particular event, we were celebrating the birthday of one of my oldest friends — although clearly all the attention was on Sheldon’s new baby boy Benjamin who is ridiculously adorable and seemed to enjoy just hanging out with us.
So now, onto the the food and location. It doesn’t look like much from outside, rather small to be honest with you, that’s only the entrance where you can see some of the guys working on the grill. As soon as you walk in, you are cordially greeted by the hostesses, might I add with what seemed like really sincere smiles. Too often this touch of class is missed by many places of businesses. We got seated in the back since we had a large party but the aromatics that attacked our senses as we walked past the tables of patrons were intoxicating. There were several tables that were already enjoying their food and boy did I want to partake — … would they notice if I swiped a little taste or simply dug my nose deep into their dish for a few deep inhales? I managed to control myself but the tease was a bit unbearable.
We got there early since we managed to find a parking spot immediately and close by — something we were not planning on happening on a Saturday evening — WIN! As we looked at their extensive menu, my stomache literally growled with no shame and the watering of my mouth would compete valiantly against any drooling bulldog or pug at a summer BBQ.
We ordered some appetizers — maybe too many since we ordered with our eyes and not necessarily with our appetites which only means the menu achieved it’s goal. Greek salads, eggplant, grilled squid, zucchinni/​eggplant fritters, bread, dandelions, and more. The spread was equivalent to a feast for royalty and we were just on the appetizers/​starters.
I ended up getting the Greek Meatballs which were the most tender meatballs I have ever gorged on. They were literally fall apart in your mouth which was kind of strange but pleasantly different. My wife got the eggplant which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy — I know this cause there was not even a smidgen of sauce left on her plate for me to partake in. Other guests in our parties ordered several different options of lamb — which all looked cooked to perfection.
All in all — the service was great, the food was amazing, and getting together with old friends to celebrate the now overlooked birthdays as a reminder of our grey hairs and sagging bodies over a shared meal was more than one could ask for. But make no mistake, I will ask for it again and this was the first but certainly not the last time we will be dining at this location. And in this economy, a great deal is always an added bonus and for the quality of service and mouth watering food, the prices at Stamatis are exceptionally reasonable so much so that when the bill came, it was as if we won the biggest prize at the county fair and our tip was a good reflection of it. They definitely earned it.
We ended the night with a cake that we brought in and there were no plating charges and the after dinner coffee was on the house. I truly believe that it’s the little things that a restaurant does that makes you come back for more and this place definitely had all their ‘little things’ wrapped up nicely for their patrons. The ambiance is fair and extremely clean but I always believe that if you have great food in good company with sincere conversation, we could all be able to spend hours eating in an alley.
Happy Birthday Sheldon — you are one year wiser than the last and we all had a great time.