09.25.09
Review of Kefi, Saturday August 2009
505 Columbus Ave. & 84/85 Sts., 212-873-0200
Great for: really, not much
I love Anthos and it seems like everyone is always raving about Kefi, so I was super excited to try it out at long last with the obliging Ex. And was immediately disappointed. I really don’t know what all those people are talking about. Or what Michael Psilakis is thinking! It made me very sad.
I thought, after having such a lovely experience with them at Apiary, that sweetbreads with spinach, crispy shallots and garlic would be a good idea. Here the sauce was too vinegary or lemony though the sweetbreads themselves were nice. The dish was quite large and could be better. It was very clear that I was eating organs, which I really did not want to be reminded of. The Ex’s Greek salad was just ok too. We deemed it “not a good melding of flavors.”
For a main I had the special lamb chops. I am sorry to say the accompanying rice with vegetables was the nicest part of the whole meal. The lamb chops were very greasy, though better than my app. I felt compelled to finish them anyway because I was so hungry and the four of them were so small. His burger was good but big and soggy. The feta spread is too strong-tasting after a few bites. Overall the sandwich was too heavy. Ironically, his decent glass of red wine wasn’t quite heavy enough.
Shockingly, the restaurant did not have fresh pepper. I don’t know how this is possible. At least our waiter was very nice about it and everything else. I also did not enjoy the trashy, loud, b&t table next to us. The Ex and I had some mean-spirited fun making outrageous guesses about them so we wouldn’t stab them with our cutlery. Or gag them, which would have been more helpful I suppose. I feel terrible for restaurants when people are louts. The staff can’t do much unless others complain, and even then they’ll definitely be abused by both sides and nothing will actually improve. When’s the last time you asked a stranger to shush and they said “Oh, I’m sorry, I certainly will!” Anyway. Somewhat tolerable yet expensive food means I won’t be back.
Rating: 5.5 / 10
Our cost: $80 (1 glass of red wine, 1 bottle sparkling water)
Noise level: kind of loud
Chance of walking in: not great. But then, why would you want to after reading this.
