ABOUT US
The story of Avra starts in the coastal Greek village of Nafpaktos where our cofounder Nick Tsoulos was born and brought up. Nick, his father and uncles would regularly fish for local seafood such as fagri, dorado, octopus and red mullet. They feasted on what they caught over long and relaxed family dinners. “We would either grill the fish over charcoals or slice it thin and drizzle it with olive oil from our family farm, lemon and salt,” recalls Tsoulos. “Along with the fish, we ate salads made with produce from our garden, spinach pies and other hot dishes that my grandmother cooked. The adults also drank plenty of great local wine.” Tsoulos never forgot these beloved culinary traditions when his family immigrated to Astoria, in Queens, New York. After opening several restaurants including a Greek taverna on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 1990 called Trata, he was inspired to create a spot where he could bring a taste of Nafpaktos to New York. “There was nothing like it out here- simple Greek dishes made with the best ingredients and incredibly fresh seafood,” he says. Avra brings that vision to fruition. In collaboration with Marc Packer and Nick Pashalis, the first location opened in 2000 on East 48th Street in Midtown East. After 16 years of continued success and a loyal following, a second Avra debuted on East 60th Street and instantly became a go-to for titans of industry and celebrities. Today, the Avra footprint continues to grow with locations in Beverly Hills, Miami and Rockefeller Center and is a place—some might say the place—to enjoy beautifully prepared Greek food as well as a great time.
OUR CUISINE
Avra is inspired by the seaside tavernas dotted all over Greece’s coast and its more than 200 islands. Our chic restaurants serve unadulterated cuisine where olive oil and sea salt, pristine seafood and vegetables are the stars. Many of our recipes hail from our cofounder Nick Tsoulos and have been passed down in his family over generations. The menu offers endless iterations of fresh fish- familiar favorites such as branzino and black sea bass as well rarer Mediterranean gems like fagri, lithrini and wild branzino. Picking your seafood from our ice display that features in-season catch is a signature part of the Avra experience. Imagine carpaccios garnished with nothing more than micro-herbs and olive oil, ceviche with gigante beans and whole fish grilled over charcoal or baked in salt. Vegetables and cheeses play a big role: in salads such as the classic horiatiki with plump tomatoes, crisp cucumbers and creamy feta and in cooked dishes like spinach rice and baked saganaki cheese. Traditional Greek and Mediterranean desserts– olive oil and walnut cakes, baklava and custard –are baked in-house daily. And our French vanilla ice cream flecked with Tahitian vanilla beans is a bestseller in all our locations.
OUR INGREDIENTS
The cuisine at Avra is only as good as our ingredients. Our sourcing is everything. Most of the items in our kitchens are from artisanal producers in Greece and throughout the Mediterranean. We also rely on local purveyors. Our network of fishermen in Southern Europe brings us the best seafood they can get their hands on—most of it wild-caught and flown into us throughout the week. Our branzino is from Southern Spain, fagri is from the Aegean Sea and Dover sole from the waters of the North Sea. The lamb for our chops is from Australia and the cuts of beef from small ranches around the United States. We travel to family farms in the Peloponnese for our wild-grown oregano and fruity olive oil that’s a staple in almost every dish and rely on cheese producers in the mountains of Greece for our saganaki, halloumi and feta. The search for quality never stops: our founders are always scouting the world to find the highest caliber
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1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
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(212) 430-8888
TodayOpen Now~- Sunday11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
- Monday11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
- Tuesday11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
- Wednesday11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
- Friday11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
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