Telly’s Taverna

best place ever, love the grilled octopus, staff is very friendly, never disappointed !!
definitely a place for great seafood!

We happened to be walking by and we decided to give this restaurant a shot, the restaurant looked very pretty and modern and instantly caught my eye. As soon as we walked in our waitress was very nice and attentive, she accommodate us accordingly, when it comes to the food we order the grilled octopus, it was well seasoned, soft and tasty, literally it melted in your mouth, we ordered the Greek salad is good nothing out of the ordinary but good, the amazing part comes in the combination seafood for two which consisted of grilled salmon, flounder, and shrimp, they were all awesome but the one that stood out the Most was the salmon, i can proudly say this is one of the best salmon I have tried, the skin was crispy Perfectly grilled, the salmon was cooked very well, no words just amazing, when we were done with our food the waitress offered us dessert we were already full but she still brought it and we were informed that it was on the house, yes we were full, but those little balls were covered with cinnamon and honey, and they were gone within minutes Lolo! Overall I will Def come back here anytime, reasonable prices, fresh food amazing service, what else can I possibly ask. thank you much tellys taverna.

I just finished eating here. So sorry I didn’t get my waitresses name, she was great.
My girlfriend & I sat outside. We order the grilled octopus, greek salad, seafood gill combo for 2 with a side of beets.
1^st the octopus was the best I’ve ever had. Perfectly cooked!
2^nd the salmon in our combo was perfectly cooked. The skin was crispy and delicious.
Everthing tasted great. Their customer service is also great.

Very good Greek restaurant. I am giving them 4 star just because the snapper is dry and the French fries is not crispy. The rest of our orders are delicious and perfect.

Got an amazing Greek salad here for lunch… It was huge for a small, included bread and real feta, and was absolutely delicious. Had great conversation with each of the very sweet employees. Definitely want to come back for dinner soon!

Came for lunch around 2. The restaurant itself is very pretty. The waitress was great and the lunch menu was very affordable and a great selection. I really enjoyed the grilled octopus and keftedea I would definitely come again. Great for families

I wish I could give 10 stars at Telly’s Taverna !!!
A very special THANK YOU at Telly’s Taverna Family (Diana and stuff) everything was absolutely amazing! the Food was DELICIOUSSSSSSSSSSSS the Environment and vibe was SPECTACULAR everyone had a great time thanks to Telly’s Taverna they were so professional and helpfull and understanding what an amazing thing! I couldnt be more happier for my choice to host my sister’s Baby Shower at Telly’s Taverna! A great place for your parties gatherings and every special moment you can think of!!!
And of course the greatest most elegant and delicious Desserts and the Beeeeeeeeeeautiful Cake (OMG that cake!!!) made by the amazing Anna Perdios Psyllakis !!! Thank you so much Anna Perdios Psyllakis nothing would be so great everyone loved the desserts! we didn’t have enough time to get pictures by the dessert table while it was full!!! everyone went for a second and third round for the cupcakes and the oreos and the cakepops and every dessert you made!!! Anna Perdios Psyllakis thank you so so so much you are the greatest Pastry Chef there is!!!

First time here and it was a perfect place for real Greek dining experience. Food was good (everything)
As a group of 4 we had:
Apt:
Fried zucchini
Tzatziki dip
Nona salad
Saganaki (fried cheese– Yum!)
Main:
Octopus (it belongs to appetizers but I ordered it as the main course — it was superbly done!)
Grilled flounder filet — I tasted it from friend’s plate– it was excellent
Sardines– the best I had since childhood
Spinach pie– (I didn’t taste it but looked yummy)
We all shared Greek-​style fried potatoes which my friends praised.
Sweet honey donuts came as a complimentary desert = delicious as well.
Our server lady was very pleasant and helpful, and overall the entire staff seemed nice and warm.
I recommend this restaurant, and I would like to return.

A nice little Greek restaurant with an impressive entrance exposing both the selection of seafood as well as their grill. The great thing about Telly’s is the size. They can easily accommodate both large and small groups (and they take reservations). This isn’t an easy thing to find in Astoria.
The food is good but service takes awhile so order a bottle and prepare for a bit of a wait. The portions are a bit on the smaller side especially for the price. I wasn’t blown away by their fried potatoes like people were saying. They definitely know how to grill seafood. The seasoning was on target and delicious. Possibly a bit rushed being put together but I guess that comes with a restaurant who serves big groups. We weren’t a big group so maybe that was a disadvantage on our part.
But the staff was very warm and welcoming. Overall a nice option for large groups in Astoria in the mood for Greek.

I had heard great things about this family friendly Greek restaurant in Astoria, and everything I heard was true
All their seafood and meat is super fresh– that day– and prepared to order. That includes the vegetables and the other sides– so be prepared to wait 20 – 30 minutes for the food to be cooked– but it is well worth the wait. We ordered a spinach pie as an appetizer and our waitress said «it is made to order so it will take 20 minutes». It did but it was the best I’ve ever had and I eat Greek food 2 or 3 times per month.
The portions are huge and delicious., My wife commented it is the best flounder she had ever had– outside of mine at home.
The wait staff is friendly and efficient and the entire experience was wonderful– we will back again.
Highly recommended.

The best fish restaurant in queens area
The waiters are nice and kind and the service is great
The food is delicious and clean
And we have always a good time here !!!
Highly recommended !!!

I have a soft spot for Telly’s because my boyfriend and I had our first date here. I had just gotten back from Greece and was totally charmed by everything Greek, and was on a quest to find a Greek boyfriend. So when he suggested I come to Astoria for dinner at Telly’s, I didn’t need any convincing.
First off, the staff is lovely. I was just starting to learn Greek at the time and was making attempts at saying hello. The waitress was super nice and engaging and told me to come back any time and practice.
Second off, the atmosphere is awesome. The inside feels like an authentic taverna, and the front patio and back garden are open in the warmer months for outside dining. I particularly love the garden in the back, as it’s very bright and welcoming.
As for the food, it is delicious. My favorites are the gigandes (giant lima beans), grilled octopus (crazy flavorful and tender), fried zucchini and Greek salad. Typical Greek fare, most of which is spot on.
They also have tsipouro (like a stronger ouzo), which I highly recommend for calming first date jitters.
I’ve been back a few times since and will being seeing Telly’s again shortly when we celebrate our 1 year anniversary.

It took us almost an hour to be seated because they had «lost» our reservation on a busy Saturday night. We were teased throughout our whole wait as plates of giant shrimp and grilled fish kept passing us by from the kitchen up front. When we finally got a table, we hastily put in two orders of the octopus appetizer.
The free small karafe of wine with a Unilocal check-​in was a nice little freebie. Split among our party of eight, it came to about a gulpful a piece but normally fills up three full glasses. The waitress mentioned we can use it at each visit, nice. We decided to share everything and got the green salad, Greek salad, the seafood and meat platter, and ordered two white sangria pitchers. Being a cheese lover, I was ecstatic about the green salad that was abundant with little clumps of feta. The sangria was delicious! It was sweet and was full of fresh cut apples and oranges. The octopus was really tender and had a nice acidity to it– the best I’ve had in a long time. Our meal was accompanied with pita bread and tzatziki sauce that was addicting, but the pita was too burnt. Nothing else really stood out during the rest of our meal. Again, everything was a little too charred for my taste and seemed like it was simply grilled with some lemon juice, while the shrimp did not disappoint in size.

Finally tried another place in Astoria. As usual had grilled octopus. Good portion size and NO head, just tentacles so definite points for that! A bit overcharred but still tasty enough.
Though to be honest I’d rather walk a couple more blocks to Gregory’s — theirs is better and as I recall less expensive.
Other dinners had salads and grilled fish all of which looked fantastic and they seemed to enjoy…
Very friendly service, though a little odd that the server cut up my octopus for me at the table. Evidently they do that with everyone.
Overall I like the place and would return.

Whenever my husband and I are craving Greek seafood we come here. Sure, there’s Kyclades right around the corner, as well as a half hour wait to be seated and eat. We don’t have that problem at Telly’s. We can always get a seat (this place is so roomy, there are usually large parties taking place here) and the quality of the dishes are comparable. We also come here after we got some attitude from the waitstaff at Elias’ Corner. We’ve never had that problem at Telly’s.
Food here is mostly grilled with minimal seasoning, so the ingredients have to be fresh. We love the grilled octopus appetizer ($ 18), plenty of octopus tendrils, cooked just well enough to be sliced with a butter knife. We’re fans of Nana’s Green Salad, not just lettuce and feta, this salad is spiced with dill and scallion, and is usually topped with a pair of peperoncini. Even a small ($ 10) comes in a small boat. We wish they had something between a Greek salad and a Nana’s so we could have some cucumbers and tomatoes with our greens, but we like both. My husband usually orders a half carafe of house red wine and the fried potatoes ($ 8). These rounds of potatoes are fried until they’re crisp on the outside, but with some give on the inside. You won’t be sorry you ordered these. We ordered the grilled sausage appetizer ($ 9) recently and fell upon it like a pack of hungry dogs. If you like the swordfish kebab at Kyclades, we recommend them here. The swordfish kebabs ($ 20) are cooked to tender perfection, with the consistency of pudding. If you’re craving a whole grilled fish we recommend the Porgy, Dorado or Branzini. These are all tasty, white fishes. We don’t recommend the St. Peter’s or the fried cod (overcooked to the point of dryness). And if they’re busy enough that they’re frying up their loukoumades fresh (these come free on the house) and you’re too full to eat them on the premises, at least take them home. Telly’s will wrap them up for you if you ask. I admit, I’ve consumed a whole plate of these honey smoothered fried dough balls– even after a full meal.

We were here on a mid-​week for lunch. We were the only customers in the big restaurant. It didn’t bother me since I like to have a quiet and hassle-​free lunch with my company.
The ambience of the restaurant was inviting and serene, Mediterranean-​inspired. We ordered just a dip, grilled octopus for appetiser and grilled chicken as entrée. The food was good. The grilled chicken was good but can be better, lacking in presentation and a little on the dry side.
If they could introduce a set lunch or dinner menu whereby we can try a little of everything, that would be great!
Overall, I would recommend this place.

After Taverna Kyclades cited a 1.5 hour wait, we decided to find another local Greek place where I could have grilled octopus. Telly’s Taverna ended up being an excellent choice.
We dined on imported branzini, grilled octopus, tomato-​cucumber salad, and horta. Checking in via Unilocal resulted in a free carafe of wine.
The service and attention to the food preparation were top notch. The grilled octopus was the best part of our meal. I wish Boston had authentic Greek fare like Telly’s Taverna.

We’ve been to Telly’s a few times so we decided to go back and have dinner with the family last night.
When we walked in we were greeted by the waitresses and hostesses who. We were seated when all of us arrived. It didn’t take long for us to decide what to order. For apps, we went with a large Greek salad and the fried calamari. Both were good.
For entrees, we ordered fried sardines with fried potatoes, 2 ordered of the chicken kebab with lemon potatoes, spinach pie, and the seafood platter for two with lemon potatoes. My husband and I shared the seafood platter which was 4 grilled shrimp, salmon, and flounder. I’m not much of a salmon fan so the salmon was nothing special to me. The shrimp was OK, and the flounder was a little bland. I have had their flounder before and loved it last time. Yesterday’s flounder wasn’t as good. Need some more flavor to it.
Telly’s also gice s you complimentary loukimades. Fried balls of dough with a sweet honey syrup drizzled on top. So good!
All in all the food was good but I’ve had better food from them before.

If this was solely based on the quality and taste of the food I would rate it 5 stars. However, the customer service was so poor. To add on, we were the only occupied table — shouldn’t the service be impeccable? Rather it was the opposite.
I recommend the octopus and the jumbo shrimp if your a seafood lover. The salad was just okay.

The food was amazing! My favorite was the octopus and the cheese. Customer service was good except that as soon as we order they brought everything at once. My friend felt rushed and got into a bad mood.
next time I would ask to bring the apetizers spontaneously or wait a bit.