FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 5, 2018 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 71
Astoria’s Akrotiri offers Greek
cuisine unlike any other in town
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Though Astoria has an abundance
of Greek restaurants, Chef Nicholas
Poulmentis of newly opened Akrotiri, is
hoping to serve dishes not found in other
neighborhood eateries.
Akrotiri officially opened on March 15 at
29-20 30th Ave. The restaurant, which
is owned by Chris Kouvaros,
is named after an ancient
Greek city on the island of
Santorini that was buried
in volcanic ash.
The city is also believed
to be the inspiration
behind Plato’s Atlantis
— and to honor this, the
menu features a large variety
of fish dishes.
Poulmentis, who is from the
island of Kythira, grew up working in
restaurants and received a degree in culinary
arts. To round out his culinary education,
he spent 15 years traveling through France,
England and Italy learning different cooking
and pastry techniques.
After his travels, he came back to Greece,
where he operated a restaurant in Kythira.
But in 2012, he moved his family to Astoria
after the country began experiencing economic
difficulties.
“I started working and went back to being
a line cook until I proved myself,” he said.
He certainly proved himself when, in
2012, he was chosen to cook a meal at the
White House for Greek Independence Day.
“It was a crazy experience,” Poulmentis
said. “It was cool, I have photos with the dog
Bo. Former Vice President Joe Biden
was coming in the kitchen. I had a very nice
time.”
Poulmentis worked at restaurants in the
city, including Kellari Taverna and Theo’s
before meeting Kouvaros through a mutual
friend, who happened to be the chef’s fish
provider.
“I spoke with Chris and explained this
is what I’m trying to do with food and I
wanted to it to be natural, new recipes, new
items,” he said.
dokeftedes, fried octopus with lemon dill
aioli (the aioli is made with Greek yogurt
instead of mayo) and htenia, scallops in a
squid ink linguini pasta with a white saffron
emulsion. The pasta for his dishes is made
in-house.
“I took recipes from all over Greece and
I made them smaller and infused them
together to marry the south and the north
of Greece,” he said.
Poulmentis takes pride in his ingredients,
which he says are “selected
daily” and “high quality.”
“What I want diners to
know is that the food they
are eating is super fresh
and unique,” he said.
For diners who would
rather their entrees have
lived on land, Akrotiri
offers dishes such as souvlaki
anihto with organic chicken,
pita, tzatziki and roasted potatoes,
a lamb chops dish, a strip steak
or a Greek burger which includes tomato,
marouli slaw, crispy shallots, smoked
metsovone cheese, tzatziki and fresh-cut
fries.
The menu also includes a raw bar with a
choice of a daily selection of seasonal oysters,
a seafood tower and shrimp cocktail.
Desserts include karidopita, a walnut
cake with a sweet syrup and portokalopita,
a “very unique” yogurt cake with syrup
infused with orange zest.
According to Poulmentis, Akrotiri’s wine
menu is also one-of-a-kind and also includes
a variety of Greek wines, many which are
not carried in Greek restaurants around
Astoria. Options include Terra Ambera, an
orange wine made on the island of Lemnos,
Assyrtiko Karamolegos, a wine made on the
island of Santorini, and Melanthia (meaning
black flower), which is a dessert wine made
with grapes grown near Mount Olympus.
Though the menu isn’t expansive like
other Greek restaurants, Poulmentis said he
wants to emphasize the quality of his food.
“It’s completely different from all the
restaurants in Astoria because of the quality,
this I can tell you 100 percent, even though
the prices are the same as other places,” he
said. “I want people to know the uniqueness
of the ingredients what we use here.”
dining out
Photos courtesy of Akrotiri
Chef Nicholas Poulmentis runs Akrotiri, a Greek restaurant in Astoria.
• In-House Catering
up to 100 People
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starting at $6.95
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