Just Say N-Opa! to Kouzzina.....

[bop28]

I love to cook and eat Greek food. Good Greek food that is. What a disappointment Kouzzina was. My first impression was "wow, looks blah." Nothing interesting about the decor, except for the open kitchen which I do like. The food is very bland and we thought there wasn't enough to choose from on the menu. Out came the bread which was soft, squishy grocery store whole grain, with Hawaiian black sea salt sprinkled on the butter. I was excited to taste that, but it was simply salt that looked cool. I had the whole yellow snapper, [menu says red snapper I think] very salty on the skin and served over a platter full of wilted escarole which was unseasoned. Not bad, but blah for the price. My better half had the seafood stew which tasted pretty good, but I thought it was too thick and tomato pasty. Son had the flank steak and potatoes which tasted good but was a very small 6oz. serving of steak. Have I mentioned all the loud "Opa's!"? They shout Opa! for every person celebrating something, and since Celebrating is Disney's theme this year, everyone is celebrating something, so the average diner should expect approximately 8 - 10 Opa's! shouted throughout the dinning room per visit. The desserts were the worst part. Baklava is good but gelato is storebought and gritty. Chocolate Budino cake is really a round brownie and the semolina custard with phyllo and gelato is tasteless and mushy. We won't go back and can't help but wonder if Cat Cora is satisfied with this. Her food looks so much better on Iron Chef. Just say N-Opa!

 

[Belle5]

Thanks! Just another confirmation that canceling was the right thing to do!

 

[KatMark]

Wow...I've ready two really bad reviews of Kouzzina and two really good reviews. I'm sorry you ahd a disappointing visit.

 

[pixie08]

Yeah I wasn't a fan. I am a hard judge because I am half greek and eat greek food all the time in NY but still I would say this is just mediocre. I was really hoping it would be great. Cat Cora kick it up.

 

[DJNOWICK]

I was raised outside NYC on greek and italian food and love well-prepared dishes of almost all ethnic cuisines. We went to Kouzzina last week...some of the dishes were spectacular and some were mediocre. Seafood stew stole the show - well-seasoned, well-balanced, had a nice bite from the cayenne but wasn't overpowering. The veal shank was falling-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth tender. The pastitso was *huge* but just ok; the filet was small and on the dry side. The bread was absolutely not store-bought multigrain...it was crusty artisan bread. Several dishes were saltier than I typically prefer, but not horribly so.

I'd definitely go back and give it another try or two.

 

[bop28]

I was raised outside NYC on greek and italian food and love well-prepared dishes of almost all ethnic cuisines. We went to Kouzzina last week...some of the dishes were spectacular and some were mediocre. Seafood stew stole the show - well-seasoned, well-balanced, had a nice bite from the cayenne but wasn't overpowering. The veal shank was falling-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth tender. The pastitso was *huge* but just ok; the filet was small and on the dry side. The bread was absolutely not store-bought multigrain...it was crusty artisan bread. Several dishes were saltier than I typically prefer, but not horribly so.

I'd definitely go back and give it another try or two.

I think part of what makes a restaurant good, is their consistancy. I wish we had the crusty bread you had, but ours was very light textured and wonder bread soft. As for the Filet you had, we only saw a flank steak on the menu, and as for the veal shank, we only were offered a lamb shank. Was this actually a review for Kouzzina on the Boardwalk?