Estia Restaurant 1405-07 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

"Authentic Greek Mediterranean Spot in Philadelphia. Estia! This restaurant is beautiful and always has been. Its exquisitely decorated with white washed wood and exposed beams and stone. The open bar and kitchen create an inviting vibe to watch all the action. The staff is attentive, helpful and experts on the gigantic menu. There is some exhilarating feeling I get when my food is delivered and it’s smoking or on fire. The Saganaki! You know what I’m talking about! It’s visually appealing, the food gets a nice char and flavor, kind of like dinner and a show. The crab cake was pure crab devoid of any nonsense embellishments per usual. For entree, we ordered the branzino and halibut both impeccably prepared. The branzino's lemon butter flavors were excellent and served with Horta, wilted greens. The halibut was delicate and melted in your mouth. Excellent Philadelphia spot! Loved it!"

"Not impressed, especially for the price. Below are what we ordered and our opinions. Most dishes lacked flavor. Nothing was bad, but we all spent around $50-$70 per person so our expectations were higher than just "eh it's fine." Appetizers -Pita and hummus were great! The hummus has a wonderful flavor and the pita was soft and warm. -Octopodi was delicious. It was tender and had a great citrus and caper flavor. -Calamari was tender, but could have been a bit crunchier. Main Dishes -Chicken: one dimensional. Several members of my party got it and we were disappointed. It was bland, a bit dry, and was not worth the price. Was not worth it at all! -Salmon: overall good, could have been a larger portion. Nothing special but it was good. -Moussaka: delicious. It has a good flavor but was a bit too salty for me. The texture and taste was similar to lasagna. I enjoyed it. -Lobster Rigatoni: there was high praise for this dish. A lot of lobsters and the dish seemed to have more depth than the other dishes we ordered."

"This was our seventh or eighth time at Estia and it’s become our favorite place in the city for dinner out. We’re always able to get a reservation a couple days out as it’s a very large place. Service is always excellent. And the food is amazing! Moussaka, octopus, and baclava theater meme is my go to. My wife chooses the lamb, Greek salad, and walnut cake, which is always also great. We’ve brought people here for business dinners and brought family from out of town - everyone always loves it. I don’t think my photos do this place or its food justice - it was all excellent."

"The food, the service, atmosphere, five stars! One of the best also for pre-concert meals. Had the grilled octopus and jumbo shrimp for appetizer. Both cooked to perfection. Four large shrimp. Main course was the fish special, grilled branzino and grilled salmon. Salmon was cooked perfectly, slightly crunchy on the outside. Dessert was of course, baklava! Soo good!"

"I have not dined at many Greek/Mediterranean restaurants, but what I do know is that I will be comparing them all to Estia. I have dined here on several occasions (3x), all during Restaurant Week. I can say without a doubt that I highly recommend the dishes in the following pics. Go, enjoy the ambiance, the incredible wait staff (shout out to Javier from my visit on 9/22), and the amazing food."