Thalassa

I could eat Mediterranean/Greek food any night of the week so I was really looking forward to eating at Thalassa.

We went with a few other couples. One of the couples had been to Thalassa a few times already. They also live 6 blocks away.

There is a nice vibe in the restaurant. The decor is simple and chic. White and cool. They have a variety of fancy drinks. Our friend ordered the mango martini which looked beautiful. They also have a wine list chocked with Greek wines. We had a recent “sommelier” grad in our group and she ordered 2 delicious wines.

The waiter could not have been more helpful. He helped us order, made recommendations and even put one fish in the middle that we could all split.

I started out with the grilled octopus and plum tomatoes and also the greek salad. Split that with my husband. The salad was really good. Big juicy yellow and red tomatoes, slices of red onions and hunks of feta cheese made on the premises. The octopus salad was also good. The octopus was sliced, grilled and served with pieces of tomato. Someone else had the scallops that were wrapped in kataifi which looked like small fried potatoes and served with a balsamic reduction. The plate was really beautiful although I did not taste.

For a main course, I had 2 different types of shrimp grilled with tastes of the grilled red fish served in the middle of the table. I did not find the shrimp that good. They longer shrimps were small and had literally no meat on them. I would not recommend them to anyone for dinner. Too much work for such little food. The larger shrimp were good but I would have preferred to see large headed shrimp. They must not have had them but should have not had them for the offerings then. The red fish was good and simple. We also had some side vegetable dishes because all of the fish is served by itself. I had some sauteed broccoli rabe which was just your basic veggie. Could have been more flavorful. My entire take on the fish was that everything was good not great and not that different. There is something about the places in Queens that serve fantastic simple greek food for about 1/4 of the price and it tastes so much better. The prices here are high and although it was solid, it wasn’t “wow”.

We also ordered 3 desserts to share. The toasted almond baklava with rose petal ice cream. It had a good consistency but I would have liked more flavor. We also had the chocolate crepes which were heavy in chocolate and another dessert that was like a custard. None of them drop dead have to have. I would have liked to see a layered phyllo dough with custard in between each layer which is one of my all time favorite Greek desserts.

They gave us each a little box of something sweet on the way out. Inside there was a hunk of gooey lemon candy dipped in confectioners sugar. Not that good. I left it.

The last 2 restaurants that I have been to in Tribeca have been disappointing. It is too bad because there is a community growing down there at leaps and bounds. I would guess that over the next few years, we will see some really top notch chef’s open a lasting restaurant such as Grammercy Tavern or Babbo which will keep the customers coming down. Although, Chanterelle actually stands in that category and has been there forever. As we left Thalassa last night, we said that we must go back to Chanterelle soon. It has been too long since our last meal there.