Evvia Estiatorio

We really enjoyed this place for dinner. We came on a Tuesday night at 8 o'clock with reservations. The service was so personable! Our waiter was great.

The food:

Must try's:
The sea bass was buttery, soft and perfectly charred. The lemon added a perfect tangy flavor and the flavors were balanced so well.

The dessert was the BEST thing. We were full from dinner but up for dessert so the waiter offered to do a half order. The fried exterior was PERFECT and the ice cream with sprinkled nuts on top was heavenly. Best way to wrap up the night!!

Octopus was recommended as an appetizer. I would definitely get this one, the octopus was flavored really well and they give you a good portion.

Don't know if I need to reorder.
Lamb chops were solid, the meat was tender and flavors were there. But it didn't feel extraordinary.

The fried cheese appetizer was a slight miss-- it was too salty and greasy.

Overall, immaculate dining experience and had a great time with spectacular food and service!

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING CUISINE. This is literally the BEST lamb chops (aka) I've ever had in my life. Highly recommend!

My bf and I randomly stumbled upon Elvia Estiatorio while doing a video shoot in Palo Alto. We researched highly rated restaurants nearby and found this gem! We called ahead to confirm if casual attire is acceptable or not. We were very politely invited to come dressed anyway we like and the man on the phone informed us that this restaurant is "reservation only" but he said he could fit us in just let him know when we arrive. What a nice man!

We were pleasantly surprised with how beautiful and romantic the inside of the restaurant is. It is very elegantly designed in a classic yet elevated way. Sadly we were seated outside since we had no prior reservation. Highly recommend getting a reservation! (for inside the atmosphere is beautiful inside.) I wouldn't recommend the seating outdoor as it has a slightly dusty covering and is split between the sidewalk so people casually walk past regularly. (Really hated that btw, for the price you pay it should really be a private patio.) but that's neither here nor there.

The restaurant is a bit on the pricey side but the food here is ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL. We started with the appetizer of Garides tou Fournou which features wood oven roasted prawns, Calabrian chili butter, tomatoes & scallions. It was beautifully put together and the swirl of flavors was impeccable! I noticed the sauce had a lovely tomato flavor and my bf noticed a buttery hint to it all. Lovely. My bf ordered the Kokinisto me Manestra which features lamb shank braised in "aromatic spices" with orzo & myzithra cheese. HE LOVED IT. The lamb shank was beautifully marinated, smooth, and falls right off the bone. I especially appreciated the beautifully seasoned rice pasta (orzo) it was a great combination! The star of the show was the . I kid you not, this is the absolute BEST lamb chops I've ever had in my life! &I get lamb quite often when we eat out. The Arnisia Paidakia features rib-cut, mesquite-grilled lamb chops with olive oil lemon roasted potatoes and OMG! It was packed with so much DELICIOUS, DELECTABLE FLAVORS. &The portion size was very plentiful! My bf and I were sooo IMPRESSED. Absolutely LOVE IT. (Some places like the Versace Mansion have quite tiny lamb chops but this place doesn't!).

The one food item I would say was a bit awful was the bread and oil they serve at the start of the meal. Our bread was cold, chewy, and bit stale on the edges. We both expected fresh, hot or even warm bread but sadly it was not. The oil pairs well but butter would've been nice as well.

Another thing that wasn't great is our waiter was soooo serious and he would make random weird jokes with a straight face and we weren't sure if we should laugh or not (because honestly they were WEIRD and not funny at all.) For example when we wanted dessert we waited quite a long time for him to come back, when he checked back I looked at the menu and knew right away that I wanted the Baklava because I love Baklava! We told him we would like the Baklava and he said, "NO. You can come back and get baklava another day, choose something else." "Order a different dessert with me" he said with a serious straight face. UMM WEIRD BRO. Anyways I'm Latina so that wasn't going to work for me! lol. I said insistently, "No I want the Baklava. We're getting Baklava." and he insisted one more time to which I said, "No we're getting the baklava." So he agreed disappointedly and left.. It was super weird!! LOL.

I think he realized we were weirded out because we only ordered one but it came with two (YET we were only charged for one Baklava) So that's cool I guess unless it's two for one price? Not sure. Anyway I strongly dislike his jokes because they were SUPER WEIRD and made us uncomfortable. I can see a more calm, passive person accepting this behavior but I wasn't having it and for the money you pay (it is quite expensive honestly) we would have liked to have a polite waiter or at least someone who smiles and doesn't make awful/strange jokes for goodness sake! lol

Overall this restaurant has AMAZING FOOD for sure, but the service and outside seating needs major improvements. Still highly recommend! I took one star off because of the weird waiter and the patio that needs cleaning. Will definitely come back for an inside reservation next time. :)

I cannot even put into words how much I enjoy my dining experience I come to this restaurant. The food, service, and dinning setting are all cohesive and make for a great restaurant. My family loves this restaurant but it is so hard to get a reservation yet alone a walking- but we got lucky coming in on a weekday. Even at 5PM, most of the tables were filled already showing just how popular this place is.

The food is absolutely incredible. We started with the lamb riblets which were beyond my expectations. I don't know how they cook the lamb here but it was crispy on the outside and so smooth on the inside. I highly recommend trying it! My go to entree is the moussaka but I am sure all the other dishes taste just as good (maybe even better). We ended our night with baklava and a special greek yogurt cheesecake they had as a special for the night.

I can't wait to return soon!!

I haven't been here for ages but I remembered it being excellent. I wanted my fiancé to experience this.

Octopus appetizer -- oh so tender ! Nicely grilled with an awesome lemon oregano sauce. My fiancée whole normally does not eat seafood loved it!

Prawns in a tomato and olive sauce -- prawns were fresh served either the head but the tail is completely shelled .

Special arugula salad with creamy feta cheese , strawberries, and toasted pistachios. Very refreshing and the cheese was sooo creamy!

Grilled rib eye -- oh my god, so juicy and grilled to perfection. Normally I order medium rare but here medium is perfectly pink throughout.

Grilled lamb chops -- just as I remembered. Perfectly seasoned with herbs and olive oil.

Both meat entrees came with crispy thick potato fries. Normally I don't like think fries but these were exceptional!

Our server suggested we try their famous dessert Galaktoboureko which is a traditional phyllo wrapped vanilla bean semolina custard with pistachio ice cream. So delicious! He even put a candle on to celebrate that life is good!

Overall an amazing meal!

The service was absolutely 10/10 thank you to our server Jay for taking care of us! The food was amazing, fresh, and great to share! I loved the drinks here as the bartenders were open to making just about anything! We came for the food and left feeling very relaxed and full!

Haiku: Evvia Estiatorio

Craving crispy smelts
We ordered family-style plates
Top, superb service.
---

Evvia checks all the boxes in terms of phenomenal food, superb service, and a casual, warm ambiance. It seems that every dish we ordered were crowd pleasers and satiated our bellies.

Fabulous dishes we ordered:
- Pikilia: all three Greek spreads with grilled pita and pickled vegetables.
- Marithes Tiganites: Bite-size crispy smelts were tasty and easy to pop into our mouths. The garlic and potato dip sauce was crack. It's as if I had the garlic sauce with the little fried smelts.
- Octapodaki tou Yiogou: traditional grilled octopus was tender and perfectly cooked. The lemon juice on the thick cuts of octopus made it fresh and light to eat.
- Arnisia Paidakia: Rib-cut, mesquite-grilled lamb chops were tender and juicy. The taste of the lamb wasn't overpowering.

Evvia sets the bar for supreme service. Their inviting hospitality and warm conversations made us feel at home. They spent the time to explain the menu and specials and even folded the napkins whenever we left the table. They're like mind readers--consistently checked up on us and topped off our drinks, cleared the tables when we finished dishes, and gave us new plates when they noticed ours were dirty.

Love this place! Nice sit-down restaurant with an upscale and inviting interior. Food is on point.

Loved their Octapodaki appetizer. Perfectly soft and not overdone. It was beautiful in its simplicity; marinated lightly yet so tasty.

Their Mediterranean sea bass was perfectly seasoned. Amazing texture; skin slightly crisp yet hiding its scrumptious meat inside. Eating a whole fish is a delicate process if you want to avoid accidental swallowing of fish bones, but this dish was incredibly delicious so take your time. They even offered to debone the fish and remove the main skeleton running through the middle...now that's service!

The waiter, who should win a trophy for his world class customer service, was very attentive towards all guests. He even offered to have the bar craft a special cocktail for me and it was delicious! I may have drank it too quickly, not realizing the alcohol content, but it was definitely one of the tastiest cocktails I've had.

Eating here was a very nice experience and I would love to return for special occasions. Although a little pricier than most restaurants, the service and ambiance reflects that and this restaurant deserves its high ratings on Yelp.

Amazing food, service and ambiance. The wait staff kept the glasses full and checked on us several times during the course of our meal.

There's a fireplace and open kitchen. It is very cozy. There is also outdoor seating for the full sidewalk cafe feel.

We ordered grilled fish, wood fired oven baked mushrooms. Everything was spectacular. Flavorful and cook just right.

I took my friend for a Valentine dinner. It did not disappoint.

Reservations are needed.

Came by for dinner the other night and it was a world class experience. Evvia is a Palo Alto staple known for their lamb chops, octopus, and galaktoboureko dessert. The restaurant is featured in the Michelin guide.

Dining is available indoors with a view of the open kitchen or outdoors in the covered and heated patio. Checked in with the host upon arrival and our reserved table was ready for seating at our specified slot.

Staff are cordial wearing their own white dress shirt and an Evvia vest for warmth.

Started off with the Manitaria tou Fournou featuring field mushrooms,
Kefalograviera, thyme & Evvia dressing and they were world class. These came out of the oven hot and the server even helped served some of these on our plate. Flavoring and textures were excellent!

Moved on to the spanakotiropita featuring phyllo stuffed with spinach, leeks, feta, dill & herbs and these were super light and fluffy! Excellent! These also came out hot out of the oven super fresh!

The saghanaki with pan fried Kefalograviera with oregano & lemon was great as it was a sharp cheese on a hot grill plate.

The kolokithokeftethes with crispy zucchini cakes with cucumber & mint yogurt were lightly fried and filled with tasty zucchini!

The Arnisia Plevrakia were also tasty! The grilled lamb riblets with lemon & oregano were perfectly grilled and they were super soft and tender topped with Evvia sauce.

Ended the meal with their famous galaktoboureko featuring traditional phyllo wrapped vanilla bean semolina custard with pistachio ice cream and it was a light and fluffy way to finish off dinner.

~$60/head after tax and gratuity for dinner.

Very fun, fancier, Palo Alto restaurant. We came here for our anniversary and were very pleased.

I may be biased but felt like we ordered perfectly - we started with the Classic Greek Salad, got the Crispy Zucchini Cakes, Prawns, Braised Lamb and finished with the Baklava. Every item was perfectly cooked, plated to perfection and had delicious flavor. If I had to choose one to not order again it would be the Greek salad - very good but not the most special. The yogurt dip that comes with it is unique and delicious. The lamb is a classic and very well done. The prawns did have a little bit of a kick to them but we loved it. Delicious with the roasted tomatoes. Whatever you do don't leave without getting the baklava. Fantastic and the perfect way to finish off the meal!

Smaller portions than most places so I would recommend ordering multiple items. We liked ordering 1 main entree with the two "mezethes" (small plates style) for the two of us. Can't go wrong, everything looked fantastic. Don't let yourself fill up on too much of the yummy bread.