Elias Corner

This is the sort of place that feels good…
Families come here, long time Astoria residents come here…
The food is always fresh and every visit is a memorable one…
Highlights:
1. As fresh as it gets — All the seafood! They have specialties for the day, on any given time, you can go in there and ask for a particular dish and they’ll tell you, «sorry, we don’t have anymore…» a good sign that you won’t get getting some frozen, put away fish that has been sitting around
2. The grilled octopus rivals any in the neighborhood. Always charred nicely and tender inside. No frills either… no toppings, sauces or any garnishes.
3. Fried calamari: never gummy, the dusting of breading doesnt overpower the subtle flavor of the calamari. Great starter and main dish if that’s all you are going to eat.
4. Grilled Flounder: AMAZING!!! Perfect entrée.
Lowlights:
1. None really. Cash only which can be an issue if you don’t know about it in advance… the pricing can be a lil’ shady. It’s all «market» so who the heck knows what you are getting billed for on any given day. All good I guess… HA.
Great for a crew and friends to sit around, partake in seafood and have some cold beers.

The owner is very rude, and it is almost impossible to communicate with him because of his attitude. There is no menu, you can’t see the prices and it is CASH only. However, the food is amazing that’s why I am giving it 3 stars.

Bar none the BEST spot in Astoria. Consistently delicious, reliable service, and great tabs. There are other spots around but all in all they don’t compare.

I came here for a late dinner on a weekday and the place was crowded. The servers seemed over worked and bit annoyed.
Our waitress came up to our table and was like what are you having? I was very confused since this was my first visit and hadn’t read all the reviews on how this place doesn’t have a menu.
After I told the waitress I didn’t know what they offer since this was my first time she sort of brush us off and told us to have the Greek salad. I said sure but what else do you have since I like to know all my options before I make up my mind. We ended up getting the Greek salad and grilled octopus. I have to say both were delicious and I’m so glad she was pushing the Greek salad since it was amazing.
Now it was time to order our entrees and the same deal had to pulled teeth to get a list of what they had. FYI they only sell fish and most come whole unless you ask for it to be filet which I did.
I got the branzino and asked them to filet it which they did and still brought me the head which I guess I could have deal without but since the fish was so delicious I didn’t mind. Part of joy of going to a Greek restaurant is having some lemon potatoes since I adore them but she told us they had run out so we just got some grilled mix veggies. I missed the potatoes but the veggies were done to perfection.
Not sure if they had dessert because she never offered us any.
Overall the food here its amazing if you are a fish lover but doesn’t expect great service.

The food was excellent and very tasty. The only thing I didn’t like was there was no menus and no prices. And they only except cash

Not bad. Not bad at all. When your favorite Greek restaurant (Bahari!) is hosting a private party and has an hour+ long wait, Elias is a good alternative, a very, very good alternative. My other half gets «particular» about the other «Greek» places in the neighborhood. What about Zenon Taverna? MP? Dionysius??? Greggs?! NO! They are all Cypriot! Uhhh… ok. In terms of quality and taste, Elias is certainly up there with Bahari (I will never EVER doubt you again, honey)! Too bad they don’t have as much variety but hey, it gives you that old school charm. Green salad here reminded me of one of the best I’ve had (which was at Avra): creamy feta dressing over greens with Kalamata olives and spicy peppers. Mmm! Fish was fresh. Octopus tender. Grilled shrimp perfectly charred and split in half. Squeeze a little bit of fresh lemon over these bad boys and… mmm. Don’t forget the side of lemon potatoes too. Lots of olive oil and lemon flavor but damn delicious. Only pet peeve here: cash only and NO physical menu! The wait staff will only recite like half the menu too so if you see pictures here you like, point and ask! Thank goodness for someone who could speak to them in their language at the table. We got a plate of honey dipped Greek donuts at the end too — score (you think an Asian girl can ask for this on her own?!)!

CASH ONLY! No menus! The food is good but I give it the 4 stars because there are some quirks one needs to know before going in — 1. Cash only, 2. There are no menus. When you walk in there is a chalkboard above the fish on ice that shows what they have for appetizers/​sides and entrees. There are no prices as seafood is usually market rates. That being said $ 20-​$ 26 is a fair estimate for most fish entrees. The place has an old school charm and is always busy as it is clearly a popular favorite.
We come here for the brozini! It is the best quality brozini we have had in the city! Their other fish are fresh and tasty but the brozini is the best. Another favorite is the grilled octopus as a starter as well as the greek salad. All the vegetable sides are grilled. This place is predominantly fish with a couple shellfish items or calamari. If you aren’t a fan of fish and want some Greek kitchen favorites this isn’t for you.

This has been a favorite seafood place for my Solomon side of families. Food is so so so fresh; everything is fresh fresh fresh on the menu. Simply cooked, and it could not be a better feast. Must get grilled whole fish, I promise you’ll finish it Other patrons are all neighbors; they do have big table to accommodate big groups. Everyone knows the boss and the staffs. Note: Cash only; and no reservation. I strongly recommend to get there early like 5 pm and enjoy dinner.

Great place, best Red Snapper, Oysters and Octopus in town. Everything is so fresh.

One of the best Greek restaurants in Astoria…
Get use to the no menus here.
This is old fashion boys and girls. Get use to it.
The food is fabulous …
You order from the displays at the front kitchen counter or you just check the pictures here on Unilocal and show them to the waiter staff.
OK. The choices of wine could need an improvement. But the housewives white or red is drinkable.
Hugs
Enjoy.
OtHelia Jackson.

I crave this food! This is the spot to eat seafood in the summer! Their soft shell crab is to die for Greek salad fried calamari! I wish I could give Regis place more stars only negative is that it’s cash only but this place has been around for a very long time! Either way food is amazing try this place

My girl friend left the below review. I was with her here. I copied what she wrote because she was dead on… See Below…
The only reason I’m giving this place 2 stars is because the food is phenomenal. Let’s start off with the waitress. She was very cold and rude and did not tell us it was CASH ONLY. When I asked for a menu she said there’s no menu but in a very rude manner. She left out half of the menu when telling us the menu. We know this now because we saw other entrée’s coming out to other tables. She only told us what seafood they had. After we placed our order we assumed that sides were coming with our entrée’s. I asked her, you forgot to ask me what side order I wanted? She replied sides were not included. This is another thing that she never told us in the beginning. When the food came out she basically slammed the plates on the table and walked right away. Surprisingly, the food was excellent. She did not check up on us once. When we were finished she cleared our table, she did not ask us if we would like coffee or dessert. We waited 15 minutes for our check. When we received our check, the bill was $ 81 for two shrimp entrée’s. She didn’t give us prices on anything which was a little shady and overpriced to me. We didn’t know how much it was going to be until we received our check. The overall experience was not pleasant. If it wasn’t for the food being so good I would give a rating of 0 stars. Its a shame because the food was so good but due to the service and the restaurant operation I will never ever go back. Would stick to other seafood restaurants in Astoria.

That was great food. The sword fish is great. Efharistw!

We had a great experience here and the back patio was awesome. We had a bunch of apps instead of a big entrée. The tzatziki is probably the best I have had. The octopus was wonderful and you get a big portion, the sausage was also great. We also had the shrimp and a Greek salad. The salad was just OK, the shrimp was very good. Overall this was great and will be coming back. Bring cash.

Lived across the street for 11 years. My first attempt at this place was about 4 years ago. The service was terribly slow and I was turned off by the no menu and cash only aspect but the fish was fresh, I just didn’t know how to order it. With taverna Klykades up the street this just wasn’t my first place to come.
Tonight I gave this place a 2^nd shot simply because it was so close. My husband and I came to sit outside, it was about 9:30 on a Sunday night and the back yard had plenty of tables. My husband and I sat at a larger table in the back so we could sit side by side. We were seated for about 15 minutes and no one came to our table at all. Finally the owner came to our table, I thought to apologize for the delayed service but instead he barked very rudely that we needed to move to a smaller table. After trying to reason with him to no avail we moved to a new smaller table but felt very offended we decided to just get up and leave. This time, we definitely will not be back!

Probably my favorite seafood spot in Astoria! Came with a fairly large group, and many of my friends dream of coming back here! Everything ordered, from the salads, to the lemon potatoes, to the kebabs were to die for. The number one thing I RAVE about, to just about anyone I meet… is the SHRIMP! Possibly the freshest I have ever had. My description cannot do it enough justice. There were literally no spices, no seasonings on the shrimp… but so fresh that the freshness gave it all the flavor it needed. Literally, drooling as I right this. (Don’t worry, I have tissues near by) A few friends who ordered the shrimp, highly concur about this. The bronzino fish was very good as well. GET THE LEMON POTATOES!
I’m deducting one star because the place is a little…“sketch” in some regards. No menus and no prices isn’t «cool, trendy» or «traditional and cultured.» It’s actually quite suspicious and there is no need to not have a menu or pricing. Anyone who cannot immediately see the issue in this must not care about their hard earned money. We were not told it was cash only until the bill came, where several of us had to run to the nearest ATM. As long as you know this information before hand, you will enjoy your experience!

best greek seafood and very affordable too if you game the system, pick your own fish a must!
best fish i had in years, better than «kiclades» without the wait and loud crowd.
Diner for 4 under $ 100 and super fresh and cook to perfection, nothing beats that…
we had:
1; green salad
1; 3 to 4 Lb black sea-​bass
1; lemon potatoes
1; tzatziki
1; carafe house wine and free desert

On my last visit to Elia’s Corner (EC) earlier this week experienced a rebirth of this former Astoria staple that has been going strong for decades. Grilled whole fish is the way to go at EC. Have salmon or swordfish elsewhere if you must. Not that it isn’t good at EC its that the whole St Peters or bass or red snapper are better, which incidentally our party ordered all three. Grilled to Greek perfection (A bit overcooked) and topped with ladolemono (an olive oil and lemon juice sauce that you must ask for). The combination makes is for an ideal mediterranean diet feast.
What annoys me at EC is that they are cash only and no sides are served with the fish; it’s ala carte all the way baby. The prices for the fresh fish are reasonable. My partner (business) and I laughed when the waiter returned to warn us that the close to two pound whole bass would be $ 40. We’re accustomed to being rapped in the city. For example Milos charges $ 40 a pound for the same fish. So if you don’t care about rubbing elbows with so-​and-​so but instead want fresh fish and a great meal, trek to Astoria and amongst all the great choices make sure to add EC to your repertoire.

Fresh, fresh, fresh!
Was it worth the trek all the way out there? Maybe not, but was the food good? Yes, yes it was!
This is my sister in law’s favorite spot in the city, so whenever she comes to town she brings us here. Don’t expect a menu or price tags, you have to know what you want. Traditional meditteranean dining that brings me back to my summer days in Turkey when the adults at the table just scream out items and the food comes out hot, steamy and good.
If you’re skiddish about the prices, be prepared to ask the waitress how much something costs before you say yes.
CASH ONLY

Service was terrible!
Food — 3 stars. A-​ok in taste but extremely pricey for what you get.
Service — 0 stars. All the waitresses had facial seizure and looked like they were angry ALL the time. They were also throwing plates onto our table when our food came out. Drinks were not filled, and plates not cleared. Of the few times we saw them, it looked like they wanted to kill us. I also overheard one of the waitresses yelling at a customer in the next room. wow!
Definitely NEVER coming back!