Athens Tavern

How can someone write a negative review of a Richmond institution on its closing night? I wish I didn’t feel the need to do it, but it was just so… disappointing.
We didn’t know it was their last night yesterday but had heard 1) it was closing soon and 2) great things about it, so we decided to get our butts down there to try it for the first time to see if we could add it to the Greek places we love to visit (i.e., Stella’s) — in their new location when they move. We walked in as the staff was singing a fiery happy birthday to a large group taking up most of the dining room. There were diners at about 5 of the booths on the first floor, and one upstairs. We sat down and waited quite a while for our server (bless her heart, those three stairs she must have traversed a million times a night for twenty years). We ordered and then waited another very long time — watching many diners leave and others arrive.
We were trying to overlook the drabness of the décor that hadn’t been updated in twenty (?) years, the rusty and grimy seat backs of the booths upstairs. We were looking forward to a fabulous meal in a dive location — one of my favorite things.
We received our meals before our appetizer. It was awful. Afterwards I heard another server tell another guest that they were out of Kalamaria and I really wished that was the case before we ordered. Our meager portion was freezer-​burned and/​or broiled to the point it was the texture of a bike tire — I can’t believe they served it to us looking as it did.
They must have also run out of flavor — I could not taste any garlic (or other good tastes). The gray mound of Lamb Guvetsi and the accompanying mound of overcooked orzo with seasoning that tasted like it came from a box were both lukewarm. My boyfriend gave the dish a 5 of 10 in flavor as he likes lamb. It did not come with the green beans we ordered (and just remembered today). The saganaki was okay — broiled cheese.
My boyfriend (bless his heart) has a condition in which he will eat anything that we’re «paying good money for» despite its terrible disposition, so he finished most of the meals against my requests.
We would have loved to have loved it.

It’s Greek! Anchovies on the salad, great dressing, Kalamata olives with pits, good Feta. Lamb shank with orzo and the waiter didn’t flinch when I asked him to bring a lemon. Lemon was not sliced, or diced but delivered whole!

Always check the specials. Lots and lots of specials… always; they’re all good. Trust me, I’ve tried them all at one point or another
This is my go to spot for Greek food. I used to live around the corner many years ago. While the address changed, the hankering for Greek food never did. We typically order the Pikelia Platter for two when we go. It’s got a sample of everthing including dolmades, spanikopita, tiropita, moussaka, and tzaiki (spelling –5). Don’t make the mistake of NOT trying the greek green beans. Best I’ve ever eaten, and I am not a small man with small appetite.
On other occasions I’ve tried the lamb guvetski, and the stuff is just tender as can be. Forgot to mention the Platter includes lamb kebob and rice as well. The Alfa greek beer is pretty good too.
The place is run by Stella, or at least used to be. You know «Stella» of «Stella’s» now on Lafayette Ave. fame. As I understand it, she’s the mother of the Stella’s owner, Johnny. These folks can cook, and you the now educated public should take full advantage. Eat here, and at Kitchen 64, Sidewalk, Stella’s and at whatever other spot this guy runs. Worth every penny.

I loved it! We started with hummus and tabouli (my favorite of the night) and calamari. The calamari was good, but I thought a small size for the price. My boyfriend decided on the pasta which he enjoyed and had a large portion to take home. I tried the gyro, and I am a gyro snob… I enjoyed it very much. We were the only patrons in the restaurant, but enjoyed the food and service. I will definitely go back!

As someone who used to waitress here during my college years and moved back to the DC area, this is the place I miss the most in regards to RVA food. (Living above Comfort is a close second). I may be biased, but have had the pleasure to be able to try almost everything on the menu, and know the amount of care and attention to detail Abdul puts into his food. The food here is straightforward, unpretentious, generous, and simply delicious. It is Greek comfort food at it’s finest.
The specials are literally an extensive menu of its own, so always make sure you ask to hear about them. There was a small board with the specials listed above the window where the food comes out, but got lost behind the bar structure.
Things I miss the most (not in any particular order):
— Pastichio (I miss his spices and bechamel)
— Athens Chicken (special — chicken breast topped with spinach, proscuitto, roasted red peppers, and fresh mozzarella in a lemon cream sauce with some yummy spinach ricotta raviolis!)
— Greek Potatoes (always had the right amount of herbs, lemon and garlic)
— Tzakiki (went with everything!)
— Saganaki (salty with a mild nuttiness)
— Calamari (literally the biggest, meatiest sized calamari you can find; portions were generous. This dish has become my point of reference for every order of calamari thereafter)
— Chicken Souvlaki (always tender and well seasoned)
— Rack of Lamb (special)
— Rockfish with lumpcrab in a lobster sauce (special and my husbands fave)
— Baked spaghetti
— Roasted Red Peppers and Mozzarella app
Seafood (which made up about half of the specials) was always fresh. They also have a pretty decent sized wine list (only Greek wines of course), including retsina if you are feeling adventurous.
I don’t understand why it doesn’t get as much traffic — maybe because it’s on a side street (Robinson), doesn’t look particularly exciting, and with the plentiful options in the area, new and old, it’s easy to overlook.
If you are in the area, a must try!

My visit to Athens Tavern was long in the works — when my friend from college took a job at the company that had just hired me, I became eligible to receive a referral bonus six months later. The least I could do was buy him dinner to thank him for taking the job, so we started thinking about places to go.
Six months passed, and my friend picked Athens Tavern for our celebration dinner. We went in no holds barred — we ordered a bottle of wine to share, an appetizer each, entrees, and there were plans for dessert (our stomachs didn’t make it). Between the two of us, we sampled the spanikopita, hummus and tabouli platter, lamb guvetsi, and seafood pasta. All were DELICIOUS and portions were quite generous. I loved the spanikopita, and it turned out to be my downfall as eating all of it made finishing the rest of the meal a struggle. My friend was in love with the hummus (as a picky but not snobby hummus eater, I was impressed as well). He polished off his lamb guvetsi (olive oil, garlic, spinach, orzo, and lamb sliced thinly), but I only made it through half of my fantastic seafood (scallops, shrimp, and mussels) pasta with spicy marinara. It made for wonderful leftovers the next day!
I can’t remember the name of the wine we had, but it was alright. They didn’t have the one we originally wanted to try.
A note about the menu — they gave us a list of special menu appetizers, entrees, and desserts that was longer than the regular menu! So definitely look at that thoroughly before making a choice.
Moving on from the deliciousness…
The restaurant looks TINY from the outside, but it is spacious inside. The service was pretty average but our waitress was knowledgeable, and prices were reasonable for the portions. All in all (tip included), we spent $ 120. Not bad for a celebratory dinner complete with a bottle of wine! I’ll definitely be headed back for other special occasions and maybe just for those delicious appetizers one day.

I’ve been going to Athens for years. The food is always good. I’d recommend the arnaki, the pastitsio and the avgo lemono soup. I also love their greek spiced potatoes, braised octopus and sweet but tangy salad dressing. The avgo lemono is my favorite comfort food in Richmond. It’s a quiet and relaxing place to get dinner: warmly lit and seldom crowded or loud. Highly recommend dropping by this winter for some hearty Greek comfort food.

Meh. Food okay, but definitely overpriced for the quality. Service was nice, but on the slower side. Tried an entrée special with chicken and ravioli, maybe we just got the wrong thing.

Nice little place to have Greek food. Like many others have commented on a weekday night we were the only costumers. I hope they do ok!
Tried the flaming cheese and marides (ok I just had the garlic sauce, not a fish fan) both of which were good. I think we all liked our entrees which included Pastichio (the greek lasagna), spaghetti a la greek, and canneloni (stuffed pasta with ground pork and beef). Service was great, but food came out a little slow as I think the waiter also cooked up our food.
Appetizers were on slightly pricey side but I think the entrees were fair. Also I wish they noted that «greeking up» the salad costs more. It was very tasty.
Not as great as Stella’s but more intimate and you will get a seat here.

YUM! If you love Greek food, I definitely recommend this restaurant. It’s pricey, but the service is impeccable, and the food is seriously delish! TOTALLY worth it!

My wife and I decided to go to Athens Tavern for our two year and we really enjoyed it! It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but it is quite intimate once you go inside. It wasn’t very busy (as we went on a Tuesday night at 8), so that was nice. The food was fantastic — we got the flaming saganaki and the Pikelia platter with spanakopita, tiropita, mousaka, souvlaki, tzatziki and dolmades. Ever since our honeymoon in Greece we’ve been going to local, authentic Greek restaurants and we will definitely be going back to Athens Tavern.

The food here is great, on par with the best Greek food in town. I love their country spaghetti (a ton of tasty food, and one of the less expensive items on the menu). Their specials are also always great. Service is also very friendly.
This place has always seems to have open tables, which is great as a patron, but I don’t understand why. My guess is the ambiance/​décor — it’s nothing fancy or special at all, and why I am only giving 4 stars.
Whenever I have new friends or family in town and want to show them the Fan, and a great local dinner spot, I almost always take them here.

It’s almost like we ate at completely different restaurant from the other reviewers. The service was pleasant and attentive but could not compensate for the terrible food.
We ordered a bottle of wine, which was drinkable but certainly not $ 24 worth of drinkable. Bread was standard shelf-​stable, grocery store, squishy white bread with butter in little packets.
The mussels were dry, overcooked, and salty. There was practically no broth and what broth there was was not even worth sopping up with bread.
The one highlight was the roasted red peppers with mozzarella dish. The balsamic vinegar was good-​quality balsamic vinegar. The salads were also good, although nothing any better than what you would find at Olive Garden. The half dolmades we got with the salads may have been the exact kind that I buy in tins in the international section of Kroger.
We ordered the specials in hopes that our changes of hitting on an edible dish would improve. Nope. The entrees were the worst. I had «thinly sliced lamb served with layers of spinach and feta.» The lamb was tough and gray with tendons and tasted like it had been reheated. The spinach was the kind you buy in frozen bricks at Martin’s. «Greek green beans» were from a can with tomato sauce. Everything was too salty to even eat. He had lobster ravioli which tasted like it had been bought, frozen, and reheated.
To add to everythinge else, this is not a cheap place. Entrees were $ 20. We were disappointed and will not be back.

In a perfect world Athens would be packed every night. Everything is good, but the extensive specials menu is the place from which to order. All the Greek staples are great too — the sauce is the best I’ve had to go with calamari.

A winner of a Greek restaurant. My friend introduced this place to me a while back for a birthday celebration. Quaint, cute, really at home local vibe.
Get an appetizer. The hummus is probably some of the best I have had. Not bland at all. If its not your thing, there are many more to choose from. My friends who don’t even really eat hummus gobble it up with whatever vessel they can find. Pita, spoon, you name it.
Wait to make your dinner selection after the specials have been read. They cost a little more, but are well worth the price. Mind you there are way more specials than items on the actual menu. Best of luck trying to pick only 1 and remembering it when its time to order. Mad props for the waitress.
Great place to go if friends are in town and you want to fill up on fresh wholesome food before a night out in the Fan.
Only real downside is if there is a crowd, expect longer waiter service.

My favorite ’round-​the-​corner Greek restaurant anywhere. Authentic Greek food, not dumbed-​down for the local paletes.
The fried kalamari comes with a luxuriously-​rich garlic sauce you have to try… in fact, everyone you’ll be anywhere near for the rest of the night will have to try. It’s rare to find and critical for the dish.
The marinated lamb dish, arnaki, is just as rich in its own way… just flakes off the fork, oozing dense orange oil and flavor. Excellent.
The flaming saginaki cheese is an exciting way to start and the cheese, kesari I think, is especially sharp and tasty here.
They have dozens and dozens of specials each week, but you can’t go wrong with just the «normal» fare at this local Grecian gem.

My favorite Greek restaurant, one of my favorite restaurants in the area. Very fine staff. More specials than the entire printed menu and the menu is 100 percent wonderful. So, maybe this is my favorite restaurant. Wish I could do 5 stars, oh I just did… this may be the most under rated restaurant in town… I mean this is great food!

This is my husband’s favorite restaurant and I have enjoyed it every time we’ve gone over the years.
Good food, good wine, low-​key neighborhood atmosphere.
I never would have tried the Marides if my husband didn’t order it, but now I get it every time (don’t be put off that it’s fried smelts– yummy! unless you hate garlic or fish in general). The salads are good– definitely «greek it up» with feta, olives, anchovies, and dolmades.
It’s never overly-​packed, though service can get slow when it’s close to full.

I live around the corner from Athens Tavern, so I’m disappointed it took me over a year to discover this cozy, yummy spot!
There aren’t that many vegetarian entrée choices (though pescatarians would do well). I usually get the Spanikopita platter which is really yummy and comes with their refreshing tzatziki over olives, feta, and veg. They’ll replace the meatball with additional dolmades. I’m not a Greek food connoisseur (most of my experience has been at Greek Orthodox festivals), but I think these dishes are great! The Greek green beans are really yummy.
They have Greek wine, beer, and coffee — all of which are novel and tasty.
The service is good — it’s usually not crowded — and a couple of waitresses in particular love to give very detailed and helpful descriptions of the huge number of daily specials. My only issue with the specials are that the prices are quite high compared to the regular menu. I’ve had two of the seafood specials and was always taken aback by the final bill. I should learn to ask the price before ordering! They always get me at «lobster cream sauce.»

My boyfriend is a crazy person and likes retsina so we go here fairly often. There are rarely any other people there when we go. I always remark, «Are they closed? Where is everyone?» and he always tells me that we’re just early and everyone will be along shortly. I trust him because apparently he used to eat at Athens so often that he had a seat reserved but… there’s never anyone there at 8 pm on a weeknight!
I don’t understand why nobody is there, the food is really good and the servers are very nice and very helpful. I’m not a big fan of their calamari, but the boyfriend loves it. They have plenty of very capable, very tasty Greek dishes. If you like Greek wine Athens is the place for you! They have a great selection and the servers have all been very knowledgeable about it every time I’ve come in. Their desserts are great and the specials are at least worth listening to.