Kyma
Greek restaurant · Chelsea ·
Greek restaurant serving traditional Hellenic favorites and creative dishes
Greek restaurant serving traditional Hellenic favorites and creative dishes
"A massive new three-story Greek spot in Soho, this project aims to bridge the gap between Kyma’s loud, celebratory energy and the white-tablecloth formality of places like Milos or Avra, delivering a social dining room where weekend DJs won’t drown out conversation. Set at 23 Grand Street at Thompson in the former Twenty-Three Grand space, it spans a ground floor, a second level crowned by a dramatic skylight, and a rooftop, and stylistically is meant to speak to the neighborhood’s art-haven vibe. The experience leans into contemporary Greek theatrics with interactive tableside touches—salt-baked fish carved in the room, Mediterranean spreads whipped fresh before you, flambeed desserts, and cocktails mixed from a roaming cart. The menu covers traditional favorites such as zucchini chips, tomato salad, grilled octopus, and dry-aged lamb chops; adds charcoal-grilled whole fish not sold by the pound; and branches into seafood pasta like spaghetti with crab, bottarga, brown butter, and chile, plus short rib with orzo, caviar service, wagyu carpaccio, and crudo. Earth-tone and blush, loosely Hellenic decor is crafted in Greece, from oak tables to terracotta pendant lighting and handmade pottery. With renovations underway, it’s due to open in March." - Beth Landman
"Around the time Kyma opened, we heard that Billy Joel had dinner there. And that makes perfect sense for several reasons. First off, the original Kyma is on Long Island, which happens to be the longtime home of Billy Joel. This Greek restaurant in Flatiron is also a little more expensive than we’d like it to be (much like a Billy Joel concert), but has a few greatest hits that make it worthwhile. Kyma specializes in seafood, so that’s mostly what you should order here. There are oysters, crab cakes, and a couple of good crudos, but for an appetizer, we especially like the more-filling grilled octopus. At $24, it’s certainly not cheap, but we’d gladly eat several servings of these little charred octopus medallions. Whatever else you choose, be sure to A) avoid the disappointing pasta and B) get a whole roasted fish. There are a few basic varieties like branzino and red snapper, and they come out perfectly cooked, filleted, and large enough to split with one other person. photo credit: Teddy Wolff Due in part to the quality of the fish, Kyma is the sort of place where you’ll pretty much always find a crowd - and that’s half of the appeal. The bar up front is usually packed, the space is lively without being irritatingly loud, and it’s a great night-out option for anyone who no longer has Advil and Gatorade for breakfast on weekend mornings. It’s also pretty spacious, with high ceilings and big white walls decorated with what appear to be Greek artifacts, and overall it feels like something you’d find at a nice but slightly cheesy Mediterranean-themed resort. If you need a kind of sceney, semi-upscale spot for a last-minute dinner, Kyma will work well. Yes, the non-seafood items are hit-or-miss, and everything costs a little more than it should - but reservations aren’t tough, you don’t have to keep your voice down, and you can have some great food if you order correctly. In other words, it has the potential to be a crowd pleaser, much like that Billy Joel tape you found under your seat on your last road trip. RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE Food Rundown Pikilia If you want to go the (relatively) cost-effective route, start with a trio of dips. The pita itself isn’t anything remarkable, but the hummus, spicy feta, and skordalia are fresh, creamy, and good enough to eat by themselves. Spanakopita Throughout your typical day, you might space out and start thinking about handheld pies. Even if that doesn’t happen to you, you should still probably get an order of these crispy little spanakopita. Octopus For $24, we expect a slightly larger portion. That said, this is a good plate of food, and it’s hard to complain once you start eating. Zucchini Fritters Other than the dips and spanakopita, non-seafood items at Kyma tend to be skippable - and these fritters are the perfect example. They’re so thick that they can be undercooked in the middle, and there isn’t enough sauce on the plate to hide that fact. Halloumi Salad For the most part, this is a very standard (and slightly boring) salad. But grilled halloumi improves pretty much everything, so if you need a bowl of lettuce at some point during your meal, go with this one. Whole Fish Get a whole fish here. They’re big enough to split between two people, and this is part of the reason why you’re at Kyma in the first place. Clams and Sea Urchin Linguine We like clams, we like sea urchin, and we like linguine. But somehow, we don’t like this pasta. It’s dry and relatively flavorless, and there’s only one small piece of uni on top." - Bryan Kim
"Your entire family’s visiting, and you need a spot that’s accessible from both your mom’s hotel on Canal and your aunt’s hotel in Midtown. Ideally, it would also have a long menu, and a noisy enough atmosphere that you won’t have to apologize to nearby tables once your cousins move on to their second martinis. Head to Kyma, a big Greek restaurant near Union Square. It gets busy, but you should still be able to change your reservation from five to eight people when you find out that significant others were invited as well." - willa moore, bryan kim, matt tervooren
"Kyma is where you should go with friends to be loud, spend money, and eat tender calamari. There’s live music, great Greek food, and waiters who act as your personal hype men—they’ll try and get you to order everything on the menu, and you should listen. Go with the octopus dumplings, a lamb gyro, and the Bahamian lobster if you’re here when it's in season (which is between August through March). Kyma does the best version in Nassau, as theirs is paired with a sweet sojazu, butter sojazu, and spicy mayo. They have a great open dining area with a second level and a small outdoor patio that might be our favorite place to eat lobster on the island." - ashleigh sean rolle
"As its name in Greek suggests, this stunner is making “waves” in town by way of Roslyn, New York. The space transports diners to the Ionian Sea but it’s not just beauty that bewitches here. All Hellenic meals begin with a panoply of spreads, so using a warm pita, scoop up the pikilia trio with feta, hummus, and taramasalata. Calamari stuffed with four cheeses and served over a Nafpaktos tomato sauce is a winner. Then, a basket full of golden-brown halloumi fries served with two dipping sauces is nothing short of satisfying. The menu also lists a series of freshly caught fish such as lavraki, a beautiful sea bass served whole, and meat dishes like the short rib youvetsi. Ekmek kataifi, featuring shredded phyllo and semolina custard, is a fine way to end this Greek feast." - Michelin Inspector
