2014, Coffee, Dessert, Dining, Food, Foodie, Gluttony, Gluttony Files, New York living, NYC, NYC Dining, Queens, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Uncategorized, Yelp

OPA! Some Greek pastry delights in Astoria, NYC!

43 Comments

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Big Fat Greek Wedding in Astoria style Jersey Shore fist pumping music dessert cafe.

OPA!

Holy diabetes they have a ridiculous amount of desserts on display here! As we walked by Omonia Cafe after leaving a nearby event we were craving some coffee and were lured in by the never ending amount of pastries and sugar laden confections in the glass display cases. As the evening finally brought with it some comfortable and better weather we decided to take a seat in the outdoor cafe part. I was ready for some sort of sugary sweet treat and this was a good find.

This place is a trip! Booming freestyle dance and clubby house music playing, colored lights change on the side of the building, flickering white lights cascade down the trees lining the sidewalk, our waitress had a thick Greek accent, and we were surrounded by Russian girls conversing over dinner while nearby a young guy in a stylish fedora had the staff sing happy birthday to his main squeeze. Pitbull was blasting over the speakers and on the flat screens they had on the Speed Channel and ESPN. It’s designed like an outdoor open air European cafe with no walls that is open 24 hours a day.

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Photo credit – Yelp

I gotta say this place has atmosphere!

All we wanted were a couple of iced coffees and some desserts to make us happy. Our waitress was super cool and explained a bunch of desserts to us as we had no clue about a few of them. She even offered to take me over to the display case to look over the wide selection as I was undecided and offer suggestions. We went with one of the Greek specialty desserts – Ekmek Kataifi – and some sort of Blueberry Mousse layer cake. Damn, the Ekmek was delicious. It’s custard cream topped with chantilly cream with sliced almonds on top of shredded wheat pastry in a light honey syrup. The Blueberry Mousse was flavorful and light in between layers of sponge type cake. Not too heavy and just right for a dessert not meant to be a gut buster. Decent flavor too as I am a blueberry fanatic.

l (2)Prices were fair and their menu is loaded with all types of diner fare from sandwiches and wraps, appetizers, pizza, cheeses, salads, burgers, paninis, crepes, breakfast, pastries, smoothies, coffees, cocktails and more. Full bar on hand too so it’s also sort of a lounge at night. I also hear they are an afternoon brunch spot too.

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I don’t get all the hating on from people I have read in other reviews. It’s not all that bad a place. We had great service in a fun casual setting, and our drinks and desserts were solid. Will gladly drop back in the next time we are in the area to try out something else, or just to relax with a drink and jam to the funky beats. Hey, they made the wedding cake featured in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” which is a pretty cool trivia fact in itself!

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Omonia Cafe – http://omoniacafe.com/astoria/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/omonia-cafe-astoria-3

Omonia Café on Urbanspoon

43 thoughts on “OPA! Some Greek pastry delights in Astoria, NYC!”

  2. That was one funny movie! Winded for everything. The bakery looks and sounds good – you’re review is adding adding pounds to frame! Have a great day and I can feel the sugar rush.

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  8. That dessert case looks amazing and that blueberry mousse layer cake looks like something I need to work on making. The atmosphere sounds really fun, but like the kind of place I’d have to be in the mood for.

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  9. Wow, lots of stuff going on here. Love the wedding cake history and My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of my favorite movies. Love the broad selection of pastries and the international feel. Looks like a fun place, thanks for sharing!

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  13. Holy cow every one of those look amazing! I love love love baklava and can thank the greeks for that. I love that movie and thats cool they have a little claim to fame.

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    1. Hey Brickhouse!

      I guess you just can’t please some people. I enjoyed it and thought it was a decent place to grab some desserts and coffee. Wish I was there now!

      Reply

  19. Phil! Phil!! You’re killing me. Blueberry mousse layer cake OMG. And who said creamy cake was bad? Who? Let me at them. How dare they? We live for cake!

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    1. Hey Shika!

      Thanks so much for dropping by my blog and commenting!

      I have a few Greek restaurants I still need to review. This is just one of the few and more of a nice spot to have a tasty dessert and some coffee. Glad you liked my post.

      Reply

  22. Wow… I was there for my 40th right after we all pigged out at Uncle George’s (is that place CLOSED now!??). Actually, the Omonia Cafe in Bay Ridge is pretty ‘wow’, too. They got me hooked on their frozen frappes once upon a time…

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