Friday, August 8, 2008

New Stamford Greek Restaurant: Eos

I was disappointed I didn't get to try the new Greek restaurant on Summer St. before I left for vacation today. A college friend who recently moved to Stamford raves about it, so I begged her to write a review. Please enjoy her guest post. Thanks J!

Simply put, Eos is a gem. This locally owned and operated Greek restaurant succeeds in every aspect. The decor is understated, sleek and modern, the service is friendly and prompt without being overbearing, and the owners are on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly. But let's face it, that's not what brings us out for dinner: the food is so good, I would eat here if the service were surly and the food served on plastic placemats decorated with the Parthenon. Hearty moussaka, flaky spanakopita, mouth-watering tzatziki, the dishes make me hungry just writing about them. And don't miss the saganaki--a cheese dish brought to the table wreathed in flames.

I'm not the only one singing the praises of this newcomer. At my last visit I overheard the couple next to us request a visit from the owner. When he appeared, they told him the food was the best in Stamford. I personally can't vouch for that, being new to the area (I still haven't tried Napa & Co, and the steak frites at that French place on Bedford are awfully good), but if there is a place in town that offers food this good or better for the price, I'd like to know about it.

Disclaimer: in the interest of full disclosure and journalistic integrity, I should mention that it turns out the owners of Eos live in my building. This could be better than sharing a street address with a celebrity if it means having an edge at getting a table. Eos has yet to be discovered by the rest of Stamford, but when it is, expect long waits.

Eos is located at 490 Summer Street, next door to the Dragonfly Lounge.

4 comments:

meg said...

my neighbor who is a hard core, homecookin' 81 year old greek woman went to EOS and liked it so it's gotta be good. her one complaint? not enough stuff on the walls (?)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post! Didn't realize this was open yet, but after checking your blog we stopped by for lunch today. I had lamb souvlaki with the braised green beans on the side, husband had lamb gyro with seasoned french fries on the side, and we started with the spicy feta spread. Though the lamb in my souvlaki was rather unevenly cooked and a little tough in spots, overall the flavors were good. Gyro was excellent - best we've found in Stamford. Fries were undercooked, but we saw a plate go to another table that looked like they were cooked perfectly. Again, seasoning on the fries was excellent. Spicy feta spread was milder than we were expecting but it was delicious and incredibly addictive. We're planning on trying it again for dinner, but it was a good lunch and will be a welcome addition to our downtown restaurant rotation.

Service was excellent. We sat outside, but I did go inside to use the restroom. I understand the comment about not enough stuff on the walls. It is rather oddly stark inside. The wall on the right as you walk in is completely blank, just painted a flat white. The opposite wall is also plain white, but it's textured so it seems fine like that. I would imagine they will be putting something on the righthand wall.

As far as best in Stamford goes, Napa is still far and away above everything else. While this was quite good, and the menu had enough on it to make us want to come back again, it's not really in the same league as Napa. I put it on par with our other regular dinner destinations - Emme of Capri for Italian, and Republic Grill for Asian. Solid food at reasonable prices with good ambiance and good service. My only concern is with the unevenness of the cooking (undercooked fries, some of my lamb chunks were almost raw, others were well done and chewy), but I'm cutting some slack since they've only been open 3 weeks. I'm being optimistic since the overall flavors and balance of the meals were quite good.

(by the way, long time reader, first time poster. I usually check your blog while I'm at work and our firewall won't let me post!)

Anonymous said...

The hostess reminds me of Jessica Biel :)

Anonymous said...

I think you should take your teacher friends there so you can taste it for yourself, Ms. NYT star. :)