Effie's Restaurant

Great meal. The food was very fresh and tasty. We had the fixed price 3-course meal. My husband had the Effie's Chicken, while I had the Keftedes with Orzo. They were out of soup, so we both had salad. For dessert, I had the baklava, while my husband had the rice pudding. We enjoyed our meal.

My friend and I had dinner there and it was my first time in Effie’s Restaurant. We ordered appetizers dolmades and saganaki cheese. Dolmades was dry but not bad at all. Saganaki cheese was really good. My main course Mousaka was good but the portion wasn’t big for me. My friend got Keftedes with Orzo and he loved it. They have indoor also outdoor seating and the atmosphere was great. Our waitress Angie was very friendly and kind. It’s BYOB restaurant and their spot is just great.

Really good food and excellent service. Indoor dinning is back! I like that they were so many vegetarian options for one of my daughters who doesn’t eat meat or seafood. It is a lot of food! All very tasty. I had the lamb chops which were a bit pricey but so worth it. The vegetables were fresh and delicious.

First time at Effie’s! This place is BYOB so definitely bring wine if you enjoy that. They have several different seating areas. Indoor, garden, and back room are pictured below. There is also upstairs seating and sidewalk seating. We sat in the garden, which was very cozy and cute. I’d enjoy coming here with a small group. We started with a side of tirokafteri, so yum and super spicy! The appetizer meatballs were next, we LOVED those. I got the feta pasticcio and my friend got the lamb souvlaki. Both were wonderful. Service was good, very prompt. They do charge a fee of 4% for card transactions, but we had cash so it was no problem. Not sure if they have an ATM. The ambience was lovely.

It was ok. The food was alright but overpriced for what it was. The baklava seemed frozen and reheated. I booked a reservation for the courtyard but they insisted I booked it for the sidewalk which is untrue because I don't like eating on the sidewalk and would never have. I think they gave away our table and made a mistake. The waiter did find us a table inside and gave us some free baklava to try to smooth it over, which was nice, however we were there for a special occasion and the inside was dingy while the courtyard was beautiful. The bathroom looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time and the ceiling fans had a thick layer of dust which grossed me out. It's a shame because we were hoping to make this a regular place to eat since my mothers name is Effie and we were there to celebrate her memory.

Effie’s Restaurant is a wonderful place to get Greek food. We mostly order takeout, but it is also BYOB, which is nice. We recently ordered from Effie’s while my wife was getting ready to deliver our daughter at Penn and the proprietor gave wonderful and encouraging words to us before the birth. Thanks so much for the kind service. My wife loved her last meal she was allowed to eat before the delivery!

The waiters were very kind and friendly. Funny too. The food was delicious and amazing. I used to live close to Greece before and I still think that this place was better than basically every other Greek place I’ve been to. They made my baby sister laugh, smile, and even dance with the music playing in the back. Really reminded me of where I used to live. And again, amazing food, 100% would try again.

Unfortunately Effie's is officially closed. It was a great run close to 30 years in the same location. Everyone in the neighborhood and Beyond knew how great Effie's was and she really took care of her customers for many years. Many will agree that she will be sorely missed. Thank you Effie for the wonderful meals.

If there's anywhere you should go to eat with a big group - it's this place. Amazing Greek food, BYOB, a short walk to the bars, what more could you want? A lot of reviews talk about service. Effie's has been around for over 20 years and I can understand why. I felt like we were walking into a home and the food they were cooking is what they put their heart into. And it certainly does infact feel like a home - from the narrow staircase, to the wooden dining tables with mismatched chairs and the collection of different glasses we drank out of since they ran out of wine glasses. Did I mention it's great for groups on a night out? It was Thursday and I needed to a group reservation for 6 on Saturday night. The first places I had considered were booked and I found Effie's on opentable! I was at first iffy because of the reviews but I decided to just book it. We brought 3 extra large bottles of yellowtail for BYOB. For food, the 6 of us girls ordered a Large Greek salad, spanakopita, 3 entrees (Effie's Chicken, Keftedes with Orzo, and a Lamb Soulvaki plate) and then rice pudding for dessert. We did SO much drinking and chatting and laughing, it was a great time. Our reservation was at 8, stayed until close and then walked to tattooed mom to keep drinking.

This lively local eatery with a friendly vibe is offering a special 3 course $25 meal early in the week. Chef-Effie (a stripped down Lainie Kazan) works the room, shmoozing with diners. The chicken lemon soup was just the ticket for the weather, with hot pita and dipping oil, and the two chicken entrees (shish kebab or Effie's special) were tasty and filling. Dessert choices included orange cake (a riff on cheese cake), rice pudding or baklava. It's BYOB and more convenient than a flight to Athens.

Restaurant cancelled our online order with no explanation, right when it was supposed to be delivered. We were really looking forward to the meal.

Effie's is fine. It's not changing the culinary landscape of Philadelphia. The menu is okay - we were notified of 4/5 things unavailable upon ordering. It's slightly dingy in a run down historic house (which does make for cute vibes). we were seated in the structure out back with a space heater / were cold the entire dinner in the dead of winter. It's byob which is nice . The price is very affordable. There's one chef and one waiter which gives a homey vibe, but you'll end up waiting to be served. My moussaka and apps were okay - nothing I'll remember but not bad. I've had better Greek food and better service at both kostas and kanella, so I'll probably avoid returning to this establishment unfortunately!

If you like cold, bland food, cramped quarters and poor service then you'll love everything about this down in the mouth Greek joint. There was no discernible lemon in our Avgolemono soup. The moussaka was ice cold. My lamp chops were not cooked to order and the sad looking pile of spinach on my plate was ice cold. This was our first and last visit to Effie's.

Wow- TERRIBLE. 1) waited 15mins to be even served/ approached 2) ordered lamb souvlaki only to be told another 30mins later that they didn't have it (after serving us the saganaki) 3) added both gyro and lamb onto bill 4) MICE WERE SEEN IN THE GARDEN Point made, nuff said.

I wish i could give a higher rating as you want to support a local independent restaurant, but it's just not that good. The food is ok and hits the spot for Greek food but it's average food. Our moussaka was hot on the outside and lukewarm on the inside -- was it microwaved? -- and the two greek meatballs were average (seemed meager for a $20 dish). Service is friendly but very slow. One would think the restaurant was new given all the issues that came up. The restaurants near the kimmel center are much better for a similar price point. I hope Effie's can up their game.

I had the pleasure of having take out three days in a row while staying at a neighborhood hotel. The Gyro sandwich was delicious and packed with meat and came with some of the best steak type fries ever. Next I ordered Spanakopita for my meal. I truly never knew this could be prepared with so much flavor and filling. Night 3... delicious creamy Greek lemon rice chicken soup. I don't send review often but this Greek food is terrific and traditional. The restaurant is in an Old Philadelphia neighborhood with a rustic atmosphere. The wait staff super friendly and attentive.

Dined here on a beautiful September Saturday night. Effie's was doing a brisk business and had outdoor tables both in their courtyard and on the sidewalk on Quince street. Tables were a good distance apart. There was hand sanitizer on each table. Servers wore masks and used gloves. I ordered the Chicken Souvlaki Plate with Tzatziki, rice and vegetable of the day. It was very good and the chicken was grilled nicely. My dining partners had the Octopus and the Grilled Lamb Chops. I had some of the lamb and it was quite good, with very tasty seasoning. Service was friendly and attentive all night.

A little slice of paradise! I've been on the search for authentic Greek food for some time. Was recommend Effie's and it simply knocked my socks off. The grilled pita is EVERYTHING and the rice is cooked to perfection with whatever entree you get. We sat in the courtyard and it was simply picturesque. Our waiter could not have been nicer and made sure we were taken care of. He even brought out a water dish for our pup who joined us for dinner. I am absolutely bringing family and friends back here asap!

Had a great dinner in the patio / courtyard area on Saturday. It was four friends just catching up. The waitstaff was friendly and the meals were DELICIOUS. Amazing dishes. And all was super affordable. I love Philly's tradition of BYOBs. This place ranks high in that category. I can't recommend this restaurant enough!

Came here Thursday night for a wedding rehearsal. We sat in a private room past the outdoor patio. I'm guessing it was a garage or shed at one point and they transformed it into a private banquet space. We were all pretty snug in the room. I think there was 20 of us. It became really loud once we were all settled, so the only way to converse was to yell or talk directly into someone's ear. Definitely had that authentic Greek family restaurant vibe. The food was marvelous. We had a private dinner menu so the waitstaff just kept bringing us food. The waitstaff were very friendly. Caran was our main server and his service exceeded expectations. He went above and beyond to make sure the party received all their dishes and everything went perfectly. I had the most delicious Greek salad. I don't normally eat feta cheese, but this just gave me a new reason to eat Greek salads. The calamari was fried perfectly. The pita was freshly cooked and the hummus was homemade. Everything was homemade. There was also some kind of feta cheese dip that was really tasty. For the main course I had the Lamb Souvlaki. The tzatziki sauce mixed into the rice blended perfectly. For dessert we had the baklava; the flaky layers of crust and molasses was spot on. Never having tried most of these foods before I was overall impressed. I realize I need more Greek food in my life. Thank you for the wonderful food and service.

I wanted to like this place unfortunately we left after waiting an hour and a half for our food. The waitress I forget her name was very nice and apologized numerous times for how long it was taking for our food to come out. Mind you two of our meals were menu items that didn't need to be cooked which were the Thessaloniki plate and Greek salad, no meat. During our 90 minute wait we ended up getting full off of pita bread. We offered to pay for what we ordered and told out waitress we couldn't wait any longer our food was magically done. We took it to go and the food was lackluster to say the least. I chalk our experience up to the place being short staffed. Not a bad restaurant just was a bad night I guess. I would definitely like to give this place another shot when they get more staff.

A strange experience all around. Off the beaten path and family run, the seating is essentially every space in the house and out back they could find. A little crowded room as you walk in with the kitchen directly ahead. An upstairs area that must be pretty big, as a large group came down as we were leaving and then with a reservation, we were shown outside and then into a little house (converted garage?). It was a small space that had the power go out several times, a sink off to the side the server was getting water from and tables that were too close together and wobbly. They don't have a liquor license, so its BYOB (odd, never seen that before). It took them forever to do basic black coffee on a cold night and all would have been forgiven, but the food wasn't very good at all. My lasagna was dry and tasteless. The best thing on the menu was the warm bread for dipping in oil, but other than that it was disappointing at best.

First time at Effie's! This place is BYOB so definitely bring wine if you enjoy that. They have several different seating areas. Indoor, garden, and back room are pictured below. There is also upstairs seating and sidewalk seating. We sat in the garden, which was very cozy and cute. I'd enjoy coming here with a small group. We started with a side of tirokafteri, so yum and super spicy! The appetizer meatballs were next, we LOVED those. I got the feta pasticcio and my friend got the lamb souvlaki. Both were wonderful. Service was good, very prompt. They do charge a fee of 4% for card transactions, but we had cash so it was no problem. Not sure if they have an ATM. The ambience was lovely. I don't know if I would come back since I didn't personally love the menu options but I'm a very picky eater so don't let that deter you. Definitely worth trying at least once

Don't go to this place! Horrible food and service! We had an 8:30 pm reservation for 2 People; we ordered 2 entrees and an appetizer. At 9:30 pm, they told me they didn't have my plate, which was ridiculous. So I ordered the plate with the orzo. At 9:45 pm, they brought me a disgusting pasta with two burned meatballs because they didn't have orzo anymore. On top of that, my husband's food was cold--the worst place to eat in Philadelphia. Such of waste of time and money.

Effie's is an adorable gem that should absolutely not be skipped!! If you're craving Greek food, this is the place to go. Now that the weather is getting nice, I stopped in with my partner since I knew this place had outdoor seating (in the form of a super cute courtyard with ivy brick walls). Our server was incredibly attentive, really kind and prompt with making sure we were taken care of. We ordered the Dolmades (rice stuffed grape leaves) Saganaki (kasseri cheese in a fried batter) and the Moussaka (eggplant, potatoes, and beef in a lasagna like structure with a bechamel tomato sauce). We were incredibly impressed. We've had stuffed grape leaves before, but these grape leaves were incredibly soft, and very tender - there was a nice briny taste to them, and they were so good with the pita bread we were given. The Saganaki was savory and delicious - it tastes like when you crisp up some cheese and it gets really crunchy, that kind of extremely salty cheesy flavor. It was crisp on the outside and yet still so gooey on the inside. The Moussaka was also amazing - we were both really impressed with how delicious it was. There's a hint of cinnamon in the taste, and the combination in this dish is really something special and executed flawlessly. We for sure wanted dessert after how our meal went, and to our surprise, we were given complimentary desserts! (Not pictured unfortunately, I was so excited I dug right in). It was a light dough pastry filled with a vanilla / egg custard, and the perfect sweet ending to our dinner. We will 100% be back - I'm already craving the Moussaka again! Effie's is also BYO - the gentleman sitting next to our table actually gave us the rest of his wine, and we happily finished the bottle after asking for wine glasses. It was really a perfect dinner, don't miss out on this neighborhood treasure!

Effie's was so amazing- for sure the highlight of my trip to Philly. The best food, staff and owner. Cannot recommend Effie's any more.

I arrived at Effie's on a Monday around 5pm with my wife and kiddo. The place was empty so we got cozy in the back by the window. We ordered quickly since we already knew what we wanted, we were really hungry and we had to hurry up since the kiddo had to go to bed soon. We all shared the soup, Greek salad, spanakopita and gyro plate. Most everything was really really yummy and tasted super fresh. The only 2 small things that weren't perfect were the dressing on the salad, which was very very very very vinegary. I mean so much so that we choked a bit since half of the salad was swimming in it. The other thing was the single potato that was on the gyro plate. It was black in a few spots and crunched when I bit into it-so basically still a bit raw. Other than that, the food really was delicious. The gyro, which often at other places tastes overcooked and dry was exactly the opposite. The rice was fluffy and buttery. The soup was creamy and full of chicken and the spanakopita was creamy on the inside and flaky on the outside. I wanted to order some dessert, but we just did not have enough time! Next time friends, next time! We will definitely be back.

A friend and I came in for dinner around 8:40 pm - they're open until 11 so we figured it was no big deal. We were seated and had to wait way longer than usual for menus, water, etc. Our waitress was extremely rude. Never introduced herself, basically threw down our plates and walked away, never checked on us, etc. The food itself was okay, really middle of the road. 3 appetizers ran us about $50, and then we decided we wanted some dessert. We had most of our bottle of wine left so we thought a little something sweet would be great. Once the waitress saw we were done with our food, she walked by and threw the check on our table. She came back about 10 minutes later and exclaimed "is this done?" We responded that we'd like some dessert to which she started yelling "they're done. It's done, all done" - what's done? She told us the kitchen was closed. It wasn't even 10 pm, and the restaurant closes at 11. We were confused, but accepted and paid our bill. We sat there finishing our wine and watched as the waitress let the table next to us (who sat down 30 minutes later than we did) order and enjoy dessert. Not sure why we were discriminated against, but I would absolutely not recommend this place, nor will I be back. Oh, also, we ate outside and a mouse was literally burrowing next to us. No thanks.

Cute little spot. Appetizers were good especially the pita and hummus. But my main course had cold spots.i.e. It was reheated or microwaved. If I wanted a Stouffers TV dinner, I would have stayed home. Service was friendly but very slow.

Effie's has seriously gone downhill. I used to come here a lot but my experience last night was probably the worst I've had so far. The environment is destitute, dirty, and totally off-putting. While I'm someone who always LOVES a great hole-in-the wall and appreciates any and all home-cooked, complex and well-seasoned food, the caliber and quality of food at Effie's has sincerely plummeted. The portions for the salads and appetizers are incredibly small, the baked feta has completely changed, wasn't served with any sides/bread and was just cubes of hot feta in a small bowl, and our main dishes that all were over $26, were abysmal. My dish was supposed to come with potatoes per the menu, and apparently there were none in stock, so it came with bland, underseasoned, rice instead + the flounder (which was no more than 2.5oz of fish), was soaked in oil and not seasoned. The menu is just not reflective of what they are putting out and how it's prepared. After spending close to $160 on dinner, I don't think we'll be back any time soon.

Been here three times now (unfortunately). It's a convenient option for a BYOB that you can reserve on OpenTable and that can seat a larger group in the courtyard - I get it. But the food is just not good, especially since it isn't particularly cheap. The braised lamb was too dry. Portions are also not particularly big. Appetizers and dips taste good, but are nothing special. Baklava was not good - the walnut filling was bitter.

Stopped in for dinner with a friend. Was seated in a separate section as the outside courtyard was full but it worked out as there was air conditioning and it was hot and humid. No one else was sat in there while we were there. Ordered the calamari as the appetizer. Really good fry but the flour didn't have any seasoning, had there been a little bit of salt mixed in it would have been perfect with the lemon juice. I ordered the braised lam which was tender and the green beans had a great flavor. The rice was a tad too wet for my liking, My friend ordered the keftedes with orzo, there were no complaints made. Love that it is a BYOB and the pita was delish. Would go again.

Food was good. It came out 1 plate at a time. We had six people in our party. The time between the 1st entree plate and the 6th one was 30 minutes. If you are looking for a dining experience, this is not it.

Three and one half stars seems right. Just as impressive as the food was the $140 check for five (including appetizers). Friendly staff, ambiance, a clean restroom, absolutely worth a visit. Skewered chicken was noteworthy moist. It's BYO which tonight included nonalcoholic drinks. Cheers!

This is not a review about their food as we never got it. We ordered on March 22nd at 7pm from Grubhub with a wait time of 20-30mins. Then it said delivery would be at 7:40pm. Then it said it would be delivered soon. At 8pm we called and the recorded message said they were open til 9pm on Monday. Yelp says they are open on Monday. Guess what, they aren't. We called Grubhub and they said the restaurant uses their own driver so all they could do was cancel our order. If Grubhub messed up, fine. But why does their own recorded voice-mail say they are open? We have eaten their food before, it isn't bad. But this was a really bad experience.

Although I had a fight with my partner throughout the entire dinner... This place is really awesome. Ambiance - We sat in the outdoor garden, small, but it reminds me so much of Europe. Food - Mussaka was really tasty. good balance of veggie, protein and starch. Service - Super friendly staff. Again, we love that family style cozy feeling they brought. I highly recommend it!!

0 stars. I hate to give this review because I have worked in the service industry for years. My dinner experience with 3 other friends was the worst I have had. There was 1 waiter who vaped in front of customers. We had to keep reminding the waiter what we needed. Waited 40 mins to just get water cups and wine glasses for the wine we brought. Our appetizer came an hour after sitting down, with missing pita. Had to wait another 20 mins to get the pita to even be able to start eating the hummus we ordered. We started eating our entrees after being there 2 hrs. One entrée was cold. We went to talk to the chef/owner about the poor service and the owner just said "what do you want" in a pissed off way. We asked for an appetizer to be comped. She responded with "but you ate it, right?" The owner accused us of leaving without paying the bill, which is wild because we came down with the check trying to pay for it. She commented on how we were standing and said we were being rude and said we were yelling, which we were not. The owner failed to come up with a simple solution. She told us to "just not put tip" as a way to accommodate us. I left confused and shocked. I was embarrassed for the owner. This conversation went on in front of other customers, where people stopped and listened. Never did she apologize for the poor service or to treat us as respectful customers.

I was craving tzatziki so off to Effie's we went. My boyfriend and I arrived a few minutes early for our 6pm reservation on a Friday. They were happy to seat us right away. Our waiter brought an ice bucket for our wine and some fresh hot pita. The pita was amazing and started us off on a high note. We started with the tomato and cucumber salad with added feta. The salad was a generous portion and more than enough for two. My one complaint here is that the amount of added feta was not worth $6. (The feta was very good, but minimal in portion). After the feta, we each had a chicken souvlaki platter. The chicken was tender and well seasoned. The rice was flavorful but a little over cooked so was a little sauce. The vegetables were fine, but bland. We were treated to a compliment dessert (galaktoboureko) that was very good and very sweet. My major complaint is that we chose to sit inside and there were a large number of flies flying around. It was less than appealing as we ate. Even as I write my review, I am still on the fence about Effie's. BUT I am willing to give it another chance to confirm my feelings.

Effie's is a very lovely Greek BYOB. After coming back recently from a trip to Greece, I was looking forward to authentic home-cooked Greek food, and I was pleasantly surprised by Effie's! You get a complimentary basket of warm pita with olive oil/balsamic vinegar. The hummus trio was very good, but my favorite appetizer was the saganaki, flaming greek cheese, which was perfectly fried and flavorful. For my entree, I got the lamb gyro sandwich, which sadly was a little bit of a disappointment. There was plenty of meat, which was fantastic, but the gyro meat was a bit overdone and too crispy. I've also had the Mousaka and the Thessaloniki before, which were very good. While the food is pretty good, my favorite thing about this place is it's ambience. It is small, cozy, and homey, and it feels like you are being served out of someone's home kitchen! I would recommend making a reservation during peak dinner hours on the weekend, especially if you have a large party, as the seating is quite limited.

Yummy! Don't sit outside if it's cold out though unless you wanna be bundled up. Heaters aren't saving the day

Came here for dinner on Friday night. We had dinner reservations and were seated right away. The restaurant has many different small dining areas. To start they serve pita and olive oil/ balsamic; great way to start the meal. I ordered the vegetable stuffed peppers ($16). Everything was very fresh but lacked seasoning and flavor. There was a lot of rice and not a lot of veggies and feta cheese. We were served a complimentary dessert which was good. The waitstaff was very nice and attentive. However, I will likely not return. I was really excited about coming here but the food fell flat with the flavors and seasoning.

We absolutely love it here. They are the friendliest, hardworking staff we know. The food is delicious, classic Greek cuisine. They have an adorable outdoor courtyard that, just for a moment, makes you think you're actually in a taverna is Greece. If you're looking for quick, friendly service, delicious huge portioned food, and a cozy atmosphere, this is your place!!

What happens when you put a moving company and all of their significant others in a really great Greek restaurant? They enjoy themselves!!! Highly recommend the Spanicopetah!!!! Love me some of them stuff grape leafs too!!! 5 STARS!

We were staying at an apartment around the corner, and we decided to go. I actually remembered it from when I used to live in Philly. Effie was amazing and welcoming. She told us that she makes the best avgolemono and she was 100% correct! Everything we ate was a joy to chew. Please! Please! Go eat there. Maybe Effie will have time to chat if you're lucky.

I came here on a Friday night for dinner. The atmosphere is very homey feeling and it feels as if you're sitting in someone's apartment eating. It is pretty tight quarters inside. We sat just inside the door in the first room, so I am not sure if other rooms/seating areas are bigger. I ordered the Greek sausage dish and my girlfriend ordered the veggie stuffed peppers. Overall the meal was good. It was nothing extravagant or special however. It did taste homemade which was nice and authentic. Both of our meals came with a lot of rice, which is good, but for the price I would have liked a little more substance. The Greek sausage dish consists of sliced sausages in a marinara sauce with sautéed peppers over rice. It was tasty, but for $19 is a bit overpriced in my opinion. Overall the meals were good, but nothing special. It is very Greek and tasted authentic which was nice. The meals were a bit overpriced for what they consisted of.

Very cute spot! I've sat at both their outdoor patio (during covid) and a private room they have off the patio. They accommodated a group of 10 with great service and good food. Love the option of a private room at a byo spot - makes for an extra fun gathering! The food is solid but not my favorite, I have been more than once mostly because I enjoy the atmosphere and homey feel.

I love this place. Effie's Chicken is fantastic. It's one of those dishes that's delicious and just the right amount of food. Usually get this and the Greek Salad. My wife loves the Stuffed Peppers. Always leave stuffed & happy. Been awhile since we've eaten indoors here, but it was the first restaurant we did outdoor dining at once we started doing that again. And the food travels surprisingly well for takeout / delivery. Highly recommend it!

If it wasn't for the service, I would've happily rated 5 stars. Came here for a friend's 22nd birthday and right when we sat down were suspected of having fake Id's because we brought our own bottle of wine ( the place is BYOB). The food though was spectacular. The beet salad and friend calamari are PHENOMENAL!!! I chowed down like I hadn't eaten in months and the waitress was surprised that we were ready for our entrees in about 5 minutes. The entrees- you can't go wrong. Highly recommend the chicken sandwich Or honey glazed salmon!!!! So flavorful and delicate at the same time- they both melt in your mouth. Oh and the bread they serve you in the beginning- I really couldn't tell you what they put in that bread, but if I had that bread at home, I'd definitely be 300 pounds overweight. I definitely had about 30 pitas total because we kept ordering more!!! To top it off, a surprise desert at the end from the waitress was spectacular. It had this coffee and Carmel flavoring and looked too good to eat. I skipped the fork and knife and used my fingers - best decision ever! Will definitely go back with an older crowd to skip the interrogation about age lol

The pastichio was very dried out and not appetizing. Setting was okay. BYOB is a plus

We had a large party (11) and our experience was truly an atrocity. Effie overbooked, so we waited over half an hour in the cold bc to be seated. when we finally got our table, we didn't get silverware or water -- a nearby table brought us water. when we finally got our food, it was undercooked and vile. Effie herself came upstairs and feigned apologies and tried to blame her staff, who were nothing but helpful and kind. Avoid this place at all costs.

Our experience was nothing short of absurd, unprofessional, and uncomfortable. We were seated immediately but then not addressed for another 35 minutes -- staring at our wine bottle, unable to open or drink it, no water. The server did address being short staffed when he finally came over. Once we ordered, it took a bizarrely long time to receive a cold appetizer, and then we had to stare at it as we didn't get the pita to dip into it for another 15+ minutes after reminder to the server. One of our entrees was cold, and not served to us until after 9pm (we sat down at our reservation time of 7:30), and our second appetizer arrived at the same time, again, without pita so we couldn't eat it (and by the time the pita came, the feta dip congealed to the shape of the bowl). No one came to ask how anything was and whether we wanted or needed the check for another uncomfortably long period of time. We eventually spoke to Effie about the experience after being given a bill without any apologies or acknowledgement and without anything comped. She was defensive, accusatory ("stop giving me attitude" "don't talk to me like that" "don't yell at me" "don't cross your arms" "you ate the food, didn't you?" "so you had bad service, what do you want me to do about it") and we started to feel very uncomfortable for the other guests downstairs after we had initially attempted to have this conversation succinctly and quietly. I felt incredibly uncomfortable during our meal and during this interaction, and left after a 2.5 hour dining experience with a really terrible taste in my mouth. I would have felt very differently about this if the staff were apologetic and understanding, or even just honest about the restaurant not being able to afford to comp anything if that were the case. I am not comfortable with writing negative reviews, but after seeing that this is a pattern (per the other reviews) and not an outlier of a night, I felt compelled to warn others. I've never written a negative review before or even considered asking for something to be comped, but this was a really truly terrible experience.

Good service, good food. Glad to eat outside due to covid. Yummy greek fare like spinach pie.

Becca: Spring finally showed up in Philly which made it the perfect setting to enjoy some authentic Greek food with my work colleagues outdoors. We first noticed how incredibly charming the decor was on the outside. Vine climbs up the brick walls and there are little lights strung across the back patio. SUPER cute. Our waiter was friendly and attentive. "Bread service" consisted of simple grilled pita and olive oil which was a perfect start to a great evening. We ordered the calamari and grilled octopus salad for appetizers. Both were fresh and seriously divine. The calamari was perfectly breaded to give enough crunch and the flavors of the octopus salad blended together excellently. I would say both were decently portioned for 3 hungry girls. For dinner, my friend ordered the Branzino special which looked and tasted amazing. It was served aside a simple, yet delicious combo of asparagus and potatoes. My other friend got the Shrimp Santorini which honestly looked forgettable but apparently tasted great. Carrying the seafood theme, I got the Armonia which was a trio of mussels, calamari, and shrimp over a spicy orzo and W O W! Seafood was fresh and abundant. Honestly would get this meal 10/10 times. All of the entrees are decently priced (~$20-25) and well-portioned. Our meals were rounded off with a free Greek custard pie (so sorry I don't know the traditional name!) that was light, flaky, and just the right amount of sweetness. Though they were not super busy, we never felt rushed during the meal. We enjoyed our wine, each other's company, and the fabulous ambience for probably around 30-40 minutes after our meal. Perfect for intimate get togethers (either with friends or a significant other) and there is a separate indoor area in the back which looks great for private parties/events. OH and did I mention its BYO?! Overall, wonderful experience!

Great food, cute outdoor garden. Servers were great and very friendly. 1000% going back.

Great for a big group! Came here for a friend's birthday. We were seated outside in an outdoor patio space with cute lighting and lots of greenery. The table was super wobbly, though which made me nervous for our (several) bottles of wine. We ended up storing bottles on the ground. I ordered the braised lamb. They were very accommodating in that they let me sub out the side for something else. While the meat was really tender, it was heavy on the cinnamon. But what ruined it were the million whole peppercorns (or maybe cloves? I can't recall). I ended up picking around them. Everyone else loved their meals (most people got a chicken special). They also let us bring in a bday cake which was nice! Overall, solid place for a group but I'd order something different next time.

Effies is amazing I went with my girlfriend and my mom and the servers r so polite and the customer service is out of the world it's byob so go stocked up and you have a great time. It is a little pricey so if u aren't trying to ball out on a 20 dollar meal for everyone and have some appetizers then go eat at McDonald's cause this place has class and very authentic meals that are compacted with flavors!!!! All in all a great experience I will be returning!!!!

I can't believe I forgot to write this review! I came to Effie's about a month ago (see my uploaded pictures) and had a great first experience. Really 3.5 stars, so I will round up. The place is tiny, like someone's living room of their house, but it's cute that way and certainly keeps the prices reasonable. It's BYOB so we brought several bottles of beer. (No wine that night!) the server brought us several buckets of ice to keep the beers cold. Service was good, she was attentive until the very end when it took a long while for her to run our credit cards. But the food came out quick, so no complaints there. We did ask our server a few questions about the menu and she seemed a little confused, like she didn't know the menu very well. But overall could answer us and make a recommendation. The food was delicious, which is why this review gets 4 stars. We had: - Sampler appetizer: tzatziki, hummus, meletzanosalata, olives, feta, dolmades. Hummus was delicious and so were the grape leaves. - A fish from the specials menu, forgot the name, but similar to Branzino, served as a whole fish, head and all! I peeled back the skin and went to town, the fish meat was cooked perfectly and very delicious. - Grilled Salmon- this was really good, but the best part was the crispy crunchy bottom layer, added a nice texture to the dish. - Lamb shank (specials menu again): Probably the best lamb I've ever had. it was attached to the bone, but fell right off it was so tender. Absolutely delicious, and large portion size! - Effie's Chicken, I didn't try this, but my friend said it was very good. - Green Beans side dish was amazing. I don't know how they cook them this good but they were yummy. Overall great experience. I would come back. Its nice you don't have to wait for a table since they aren't crowded. However, I do like D'mitris better for the atmosphere and prices. But the BYOB here is nice!