Last night we had what may prove to be one of the more memorable meals in this journey of trying out restaurants recommended by diplomats. We ate at the place a senior consular official from Cyprus recommended to Murray as the most authentic Cypriot restaurant in New York City. It’s in Queens, Astoria to be precise. The name? Zenon Taverna.
A bit of background may be helpful in understanding Cypriot cuisine: Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean, south of Turkey and east of Greece, with an unfortunate history of strife and division between two ethnic communities – the “Greek Cypriots” and the “Turkish Cypriots.” The cuisine has much in common with Greek and Turkish food, but from our conversations with our waitress, we learned that Zenon Taverna is proudly Cypriot.
The Zenon menu is lengthy, with many items that are hard to resist. We dealt with this by including our son, Ben, and friends Carole and Wayne in this adventure and then by focusing on the Mezedes, which are collections of appetizers to share. We chose the Cyprus Meze (ordered for two people), the Fish Meze (also ordered for two people), and then one “Daily Cooking” dish, Roasted Leg of Spring Lamb. We also drank plenty of Retsina, a dry white wine with a very light pine resin flavor.
The Mezedes on their own would have been plenty for the five of us. Below a picture of my plate with a bit of many of the different dishes – but this is less than half of what was included overall. Our favorites were the Tarama (Red Caviar Dip), the Octapodaki Salada (Octopus Salad), Octapodaki (Grilled Octopus), Ortikia (Quails), and Loukaniko Spitisio (Cyprus Sausage). The pita bread was also out of this world.
We chose Mezedes that featured meat and fish, but some delicious vegetarian appetizers (including Tahini, Tzantziki, and an eggplant dip) were also included, as was a very nice Cyprus salad of lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese. The rest of the menu is also quite comprehensive, with a good selection of vegetarian entrees.
Although we were stuffed after the Mezedes and our roasted lamb plate, we did want to try the desserts. Our very wonderful and friendly waitress (who we learned is one of the daughters of the owner) brought us a tray with a sample of each type of dessert.
We selected Glyko Karidaki (a soft-shelled walnut preserved in sugar syrup with cinnamon, at left in photo), Shamali (a semolina cake with almonds, rosewater and cinnamon, top left in photo), and the Lady Fingers (handmade by our waitress’ mother, center in photo). A couple of us topped this off with authentic Greek coffee.
The restaurant has about 20 tables downstairs, and there’s evidently a banquet room upstairs that can be used for events. Last night was not a busy night, but our waitress told us that this was unusual for a Saturday, and that reservations are highly recommended.
Our bill, including plenty of delicious food for five of us, some to carry home for lunch today, our Retsina, three desserts, and a generous tip for our exceptional waitress, was $225. Important to know: Zenon accepts cash only; no credit cards. But there is evidently an ATM close by, to which the menu graciously provides directions.
Family owned and operated, Zenon is a good reason all by itself to head for Astoria.
Where and When
Zenon Taverna
34-10 31st Avenue
Astoria, NY 11106
Subway: R to Steinway Street, or N to 30th Avenue
(718) 956-0133
7 Days a Week
11:00am – 11:00 pm
Full liquor license
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