I think the most common word said at this restaurant was, “phenomenal.” The second most popular was probably, “this is the best *insert food here* i’ve ever had.” Not bad comments for a restaurant, huh?

I was in Philadelphia this weekend, and it happened to be the start of Restaurant Week in the city. They do it a couple times a year, restaurants in the Center City area release special menus, 25$ for lunch and 35$ for dinner. This becomes a prime opportunity to eat at some of the finest (and most expensive) restaurants in the city and enjoy their food for a lot cheaper than any other day.

Estia was packed on a Friday night, much like every other restaurant. We had a group of 10, and the best reservation we could get was for 9:00. We were seated at a big beautiful wood table and an older waiter enthusiastically checked up on us, gave us recommendations for the menu (eat this, not that!). The restaurant week menu was three courses, appetizer, main, and dessert, with 2-5 choices in each category. To be fair, their normal menu features a “theater-style” menu, three courses for 33$. However, the Restaurant Week menu decidedly had a better selection.

Seeing as it was past 9:00 and we were all hungry, we were overjoyed to have an abundance of bread and hummus at the table. The bread was fresh and chewy, and the hummus was unique, a little more sour and acidic, topped with olives and radishes. Its unusual to paid bread and hummus as opposed to hummus and pita or bread and butter – but we weren’t complaining. It was gone in five minutes.

First Course

I have this thing at restaurants, where I can’t stand to get the same thing everyone else is getting. Its stupid, I know. So while most friends at the table went the seafood/meat route for the evening, I decided to go vegetarian (and sneak some bites of others’ food too).

For the first course, I had the Saganaki. This is a pan seared cheese called “kefalograviera,” which is a hard cheese made from a blend of goat and sheep milk. It was cooked in a lemon sauce. When it came out, the cast iron skillet was literally on fire! As the waiter brought the dishes to the table, another waiter lit the pan so it arrived to the table with a large flame. How’s that for presentation?

The dish itself was really interesting, the cheese became chewy and flavorful, and the lemon sauce was a great compliment. I would have liked to have some greens with it, or something lighter to cut the heavy cheese and strong lemon, but it was good nonetheless.

Most of my friends had the Octopodi, grilled octopus served over onions. This was really good. The octopus was tender and chewy and paired great with the vegetables. I didn’t have too much, but everyone was raving about it. Always a good sign!

Second Course

For the second course, I got the Papoutsakia, a roasted eggplant with a large vegetable skewer, served with tomato sauce and feta cheese. This dish was so much better than I expected it to be! The roasted eggplant was soft, the vegetable skewer was grilled really well, and the tomato sauce was yummy and flavorful. This was my favorite part of the meal for sure.

Most of my friends got the lamb chops, which were apparently divine, and some of the best meat they’d ever had. I didn’t take a picture, because, you know, bloody red meat. But that probably would have gotten 5 stars from them.

Third Course

Lastly, dessert! I decided to try the Ravani cake, a semolina based lemon cake served with gelato. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors, but unfortunately, I didn’t get much of it in this cake. We use semolina a lot in Indian cooking (called Rava), and this just reminded me of savory foods using the ingredient. It was cake form, but it was really grainy. It was unique but the dish didn’t impress me too much.

I did try the Baklava, which was your typical baklava – dripping in syrup and nuts, and generally a great uber-sweet dessert. No complains there.

This was a really amazing deal for restaurant week. This meal would probably be around $40 for the vegetarian selections or $70 for the meat selections if you ordered individually. Especially if you’re a meat eater, you’re saving a lot of money. If you’re filthy rich, come here whenever you want!

Other than the price, this was really great Mediterranean food. It was upscale and creative, but the atmosphere was still down to earth and homey. The service was great, they really cared about giving you a great experience no matter how crowded it got!

The Bottom Line

Unique, high-quality, Mediterranean food: great for a night out!

Cone Rating: 4.5 cones 

Price Range: $$$$ ($30 and up)

Location: Near City Center in Philadelphia, PA

On the Internet: Estia Website and Yelp Page