Skara Estiatorio

Food is delicious. Short ribs over orzo– delicious! staff was friendly. Would have given more stars except the bus boy dumped an entire pitcher of ice cold water on two of us. Our waitress didn’t apologize, the maitre d didn’t even acknowledge it. I think he thought we knocked it over!!! Either way I find it odd they weren’t more apologetic. It took the poor bus boy a while to soak up all the water on the floor. Not a single other person helped him (other than us! And it was a slow night).We were also celebrating a 30^th birthday and they didn’t even offer us a scoop of ice cream on the house to sing happy birthday. With so many dining options out there, the little things go a long way. Food was very good. Just felt service wasn’t as equivalent.

Full disclosure, I have never written a review for anything before and yet I thought my experience was worth the time to write this one. Go, just go. I have a couple of old school buddies and we catch up by trying a new place every couple of months. We started by purchasing a bottle of Greek wine across the street in anticipation of authenticity and were not disappointed. We were greeted by John and Danielle, and realized they were welcoming us not only to their restaurant but their second home. They were both cordial and welcoming, making us feel instantly at ease with an unfamiliar menu. The biggest problem we had was we couldn’t try everything, so we mixed up the appys with Tarama, feta meatballs, and grilled octupus. We were thrilled, palate teasers. The entrée was a slow braised lamb shank, falling off the bone. Great place, great staff, great food. I am now committing to go back 5 more times to get through the rest of the epicurean delights and will report back down the road. To anyone reading this, you will leave with a smile. Thanks John and Danielle for a memorable and enjoyable dining adventure.

The food at Skara is tremendous. I have eaten at most Greek restaurants in New Jersey and they are better than the rest. The food is extremely flavorful and authentic. The ownership is onsite and friendly, ensuring every meal is served to perfection.
It is beautifully decorated… put it on you must visit list !!!

Awesome restaurant! Great food, wonderfully friendly owner and staff-​came in as friends, they make you feel like family. John, Daniella, Angelika and complete staff welcome you so warmly, you can’t wait to go back. We’ve even given gift certificates to friends and tell them it is a great place and then in turn tell friends. We wish them the best of luck. Shirley A. and Fred

The Attentiveness , the staff and the Food are excellent, highly recommend the Grilled Calamari as appetizer and followed with the Lamb Shank Lemonata.

This is our favorite restaurant! It has taken me too long to write a review. My husband and I eat out more than we eat at home and this is undoubtedly the best restaurant we go to. The food is superior as is the service. BYOB works for us. I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN A REVIEW BEFORE — but Skara Estiatorio deserves special attention. (My fav is the horiatiki salad and the whole branzini.)

The food is very authentic. The a-​hole avgolemono soup is to die for. It is a Greek lemon-​chicken-​rice soup. Their Mousaka is also prepared exactly as it should. Sheer perfection. The owner is very friendly, as is the staff. A must if you appreciate great Greek food.

From start to finish this place is top notch. Décor, service, bathrooms, bread, olives, food… Are you kidding me? Amazing. BYOB and convenient liquor store location. This place is so legit. And I’m Greek, so my opinion matters big time. Will be back SOON.

Outstanding. We were in the area and seeking out a good Greek meal, nothing fancy and were fortunate enough to find Skara Estitorio. The restaurant was lovely, nicely appointed with a comfortable layout. It’s BYOB, so we were able to pick up a nice wine a block away at a nearby wine shop. The friendly waitress brought an ice bucket for our wines as well as the most delicious fresh bread (made on site) and assortment of Greek olives. The co-​owner we spoke to was extremely gracious and knowledgeable of the methods utilized in the restaurant. No microwaves used, items are made to order, cooking oil (from Greece) is not reused, and many of their ingredients are imported from Greece.
There were so many items that looked fantastic to try on the menu, we ended up getting an assortment of mezze: saganaki, melitzanosalata, horiatiki salad, keftedes stuffed with feta and zucchini keftedes. Seriously, EVERYTHING was superb, I’m not even kidding here. We were so impressed that we were really looking forward to our entrees and were not disappointed. I ordered the Moussaka and absolutely loved it. It was not the ubiquitous diner standby. This was a savory stack of deliciously mingled and baked tender eggplant, thin layer of potatoes, lightly spiced beef and creamy béchamel topping it all off. You can usually only find a Moussaka like this from a Greek relative. My husband opted for the Short Rib Kokinisto. Delicious, fork-​tender and all too quickly finished by the both of us, as well as the Lemon potatoes
As we waited for our entries, I couldn’t help but notice the attention to small details like the warm lighting, pretty mosaic tiling in different areas, down to the rosy Himalayan salt on the tables.
It really gave us the impression that the proprietors of this establishment truly want to get everything right, not just the food or the service. It’s the full package here, folks.
We finished off our meal with Ekmek, which we enjoyed, though I wish I had ordered the Baklava, since I like something a little sweeter due to my sweet tooth, but it was good & light for the three of us to share.
We truly enjoyed our visit and are looking forward to returning soon. Top notch and a wonderful alternative to driving to Astoria for great Greek cuisine!

The restaurant looks and smells like a pool at YMCA. We came to the empty restaurant on Saturday evening. The manager told us all tables are reserved (mind you only three tables taken). It didn’t look that they would cater a party that evening either. Lots attitude for tiny hole in a wall.

Went here last Friday on a second date, so I wanted to get it right! We both tried the octopus which was incredibly tender, my beautiful date had the dorado and I had the Bronzino. Omg! So good! All the fish is flown in from the Aegean and is less than 48 hrs out of the water. It was perfectly grilled and Huge! Kudos to the owner and our awesome waitress — perfection! No wonder they get 5 Unilocal stars!

This food is amazing! Being used to authentic Greek food and my spouse being Greek, we know good Greek food when we eat it. This is completely authentic and amazingly great Greek cuisine!
We started with the saganaki and the octopus appetizer, which both were cooked to perfection. The saganaki was soooo good!
For entrée, I had the pork souvlaki and my husband had the Lavraki, which both were cooked the right way. The fish was not dry at all and my pork was very tender Ana juicy.
We finished dinner with Greek coffee and the most amazing elmek cooked with angel hair. So sweet and delicious.
This place is perfectly decorated. You feel like you are on Greece when you enter.
The owner was very helpful and you can tell they all work hard to keep this restaurant at its best!
A must try if u love Greek food.

Service was excellent!
Hummus Calamari for appetizer and Rib eye steak for man course. Food was pretty good.

Never really tried Greek food before. I didn’t know what I was missing! It tastes amazing. Courteous staff and the bus boy amazed me with his cool scraper thingy to pick up the bread crumbs. Thumbs up!
Oh, and make sure to bring a bottle of wine. They will gladly uncork it for you!

This place is DELICIOUS. One of my favorite cuisines is Greek, and I’ve had my fair share of Greek food in the US and in Greece… so I’d say that I am relatively well-​versed in Greek cuisine :)
For appetizers, we ordered the saganaki and grilled octopus. The saganaki was pan-​fried to a nice crispness on the outside, and the cheese itself was perfectly salty with a rich aroma. The grilled octopus was tender, juicy, and you could taste the char-​grilled aspect of it. It came with a mildly tangy slaw which complemented it well.
For entrées, we ordered the royal dorado with a side of roasted potatoes, and the moussaka. The fish was tender and the seasoned char-​grilled flavor on the skin was tasty! As for the moussaka, it was definitely delicious. I’ve had moussaka countless times, and theirs definitely compares to what I had in Greece. It was so flavorful and each bite pretty much melted in your mouth.
We finished our meal off with Greek coffee– bold and just enough sweetness.
Would absolutely come back again to try their other items!

We got the zucchini cakes, gyro platter and lamb platter. Everything was excellent. Way too much food for 2. The yoghurt sauce was very authentic. Best gyro I’ve had in the U.S. I travel overseas often. Was pricey is my only complaint. These are simple products so dunno why they charge so much.
$$$

The BEST Greek food I’ve ever had. We got the zucchini patty hot appetizer. The dill feta sauce that came with it was perfection.
We also tried the gyro. It was the most flavorful gyro I’ve ever tasted.
Support this local business! Can’t wait to try more

We made a reservation for a Friday night right after they re-​opened from their vacation. We had heard great things from friends and from online reviews but we were still surprised with how good everything was.
We ordered the Garden Pikilia to start — my favorite was the Kolokithokeftedes. The Skara Eggplant was also great. The grilled veggies were dressed simply and charred nicely. For dinner we got the Souzoukakia and the Clams Skara. I never had Greek style meatballs and I will definitely order them again. We shared the orange spice cake for dessert which was also very tasty.
The service was good — the owner was very nice and explained how they prepare everything since it was our first visit.
It’s BYO and there are two nearby liquor stores — one across the street and one on the same side in Jack’s Foodtown.

We had dinner there last Friday evening and enjoyed everything from the complimentary olives and bread (could have eaten more) to the main courses. We split the Greek Salad which had one of the best feta cheeses I have ever eaten. Smooth and not too salty. My friend ordered the whole Bronzini and it was delicious. Simply prepared with Olive Oil, Lemon, Salt & Pepper, they asked if he wanted it fileted… which he declined. Why take all the fun out of it! Others who ordered the fish fileted, they did tableside and it appeared to be expertly done by the wait staff. My entrée was the Land Pikilia Platter which came with outstanding grilled pita and fresh tzatziki. All the meats were delicious. I especially enjoyed the Loukaniki (Greek Sausage) and Beefteki (Angus Beef patty). Everything on the platter was expertly seasoned.
Our waitress was very knowledgeable on all the dishes and was very attentive. The owner came over several times to ensure our food and service was top notch. We are looking forward to going back again and trying some other items. I highly recommend this gem!!!

First visit was last Saturday night. My wife and I went with another couple spontaneously. (The place seats about 30 people, so make reservations if going Fri/​Sat). The food is excellent, straight forward, fresh and not cheap (either in quality or price). We returned 3 days later with my teenaged boys (as a testament to our Sat experience) and as promised by the owner Jonny, mid-​week was much less crowded and intimate.
As a marketing person I find this so refreshing when everyone knows what their restaurant stands for. Our waitress was well versed in what made the food unique and shared it as part of her introduction:
«Everything we serve is fresh»
«All our recipes are 100 years old or older»
«We cook all our food over a 1000 degree chemical-​free wood charcoal grill»
For appetizers we’ve ordered:
— a $ 39 assortment of grilled seafood– calamari, octopus and shrimp
— a sampler of the dips (hummus, tzadiki, taramousalada, and eggplant)
— meatballs
These appetizers were excellent and were served with perfectly charred pita warmed in the grill. Olives and bread were complimentary. Calamaris were served whole vs slided, which I liked (a bit more than my wife). We ordered the meatballs without the option of feta inside, which may make them a bit more interesting.
For entrees we’ve had:
–whole bronzini. Perfect. Like what this place was meant to serve. Somehow charred in the skin and perfectly moist inside.
— whole dorado. Same as the bronzini it was perfect. Slightly different shape and flavor from the bronzini, but both similarly perfect.
— lamb shank — very moist, fall off the bone delicious
Side dishes of beets or lemon potatoes are a matter of taste. I will say that when we asked the owner about whether a seafood dish over orzo could be replaced by basmati rice (to avoid gluten), he recommended against it and suggested another dish. This is a man who would rather you have an excellent experience than make compromises. Gotta respect that.
For dessert the options of baklava and another dish with angel hair covered in honey and whipped cream were fantastic (!), and so rich that each was perfect for sharing. These were like what honey, butter, filo, and a touch of clove and nutmeg were born to do. We were treated to a fruit dessert of cantaloupe, watermelon, feta and basil, tossed fresh together. So refreshing and bright.
The prices are steep for midweek dining and for feeding teenagers. Plan on $ 50+ per person for this fresh, authentic Greek food, served by an owner you want to support. If you go in with that expectation, you will allow yourself to focus on the food and have a great night out.
Since its a BYOB, I recommend you bring a Sauvignon Blanc for the seafood and dip appetizers and a lighter body Burgundy/​Pinot red for the main courses to allow the flavor of the food to come through — from the fresh beets to the fish to the lamb and some of the spicier fare on the menu