Enoteca Athena

Enoteca has the heart and soul I love to see in a restaurant. Take your time have a bottle of wine and enjoy your company. They are not the fastest, but it is worth the wait.
Greek sampler platter was delicious as well as the winter squash. If you like spicy, try the cauliflower! One of my favorite things was watching the kitchen do their thing.

I had the pleasure of eating here the other night with a somewhat large group of people. We were seated in the side room at a very large table and had the space to ourselves. Our server was attentive, patient with our questions, and made good recommendations. As a group we split several of the spreads to start. I tried the hummus (pretty standard), the htipiti (really flavorful), Skorthalia (I really liked this, but you have to be a garlic lover for this one), and the ricotta spread with honey and walnuts (?) and this was awesome!
A friend and I split the Greek platter which was huge and certainly would have been sufficient for a meal… but I also tried the tempura cardoons (which was a special that night) and a Greek salad. Everything I had was really good. I probably wouldn’t get the cardoons again… it was the novelty of them that grabbed my attention, but they really were not my favorite. But the platter, the spreads, and the salad were delicious. I like to try a bunch of things when I go out and this is that kind of place. Honestly, I don’t know that I would ever order an entrée because there are so many appetizers, platters, and small plates to choose from!
I’m so happy that I finally checked this place out and look forward to adding it to the Friday night (stick close to home) rotation.

Enoteca Athena. Just say it. Let the words roll out of your mouth. It’s so pleasurable to say. It feels fancy, it feels worldly. E-​no-​tec-​ahhhhhh-​the-​na. Yum.
You know what else is delicious about this place?
Everything.
Making a reservation for a large party? Effortless.
Having them split our bills into many (many) individual checks? Seamless.
Our private room with the large, wooden square table (which, by the way, is such a refreshing change from the standard long rectangle ones — you can’t see the people at the other end of them!), the fairy and globe lights, the bottles of wine tucked here and there on appropriate surfaces throughout the restaurant (which I found incredibly charming)? Just lovely. Think indie coffee shop meets romantic European café.
Our server? Perfect. We’ve gone to restaurants all over the state as a group of twelve, and usually have three or four people waiting on us. I’m nearly positive that there was only one woman doing it all — and she was on point all night, never missing a beat. Everything from ordering to drinks to food recommendations to serving us… it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Our drinks? So satisfying. I had a refreshing — and very healthy pour of the — lambrusco that came in a poco grande glass. Friends around me had cocktails and the general remark was that «they were strong», but I’d rather pay $ 10 for a strong drink than $ 14 for a weak one any day.
The food? Abundant and delicious. We had the:
— Peloponnese Hummus ($ 5): Made from chickpeas, evoo, spices. This was good, but very as expected. So if you like hummus, you can’t go wrong with this. Unfortunately, it’s sister spreads were SO delicious, that it just didn’t stand up as well against them.
+ Skorthalia spread ($ 5): Made from potato, garlic, olive oil, apple cider vinegar. Like a mashed potato spread with a tremendous amount of roasted garlic… which I loved and couldn’t get enough of. Could easily eat this as a Thanksgiving side.
+ Htipiti spread ($ 5): Made with whipped feta, grilled hot pepper. If you like htipiti spread, you’ll love this one. Not too hot, just cheesy enough, and delicious as a cold thick spread on a crusty piece of bread. Kind of reminded me a of a fiery pimento cream cheese.
+ Ricotta spread with honey and walnuts ($ 5): Where did you come from, manna from Heaven? We had to order more of this because it was just so delicious. It tasted like Italian ricotta pie and was an amazing addition with the other flavors we got.
Digression:
You ever eat something at a restaurant and think: «I so wish I could share this _​_​_​_​ (fill-​in-​the-​blank)»? Throughout the spreads, I just kept wanting my loved ones to be with me, because I know they would have just loved them! The sign of a really good restaurant must be when you’re preparing to come back and are still on the pre-​app apps.
— Tempura Fried Cardoons ($ 10ish): think vegetarian calamari. No, it wasn’t seafoody, but the texture, the preparation, and the way in which it was served reminded me of calamari. Cardoons are a thistle-​like plant (think: swiss chard stem, but the flavor of an artichoke). They weren’t my favorite thing of the night, but I liked the opportunity to try something new.
+ Arancino ($ 4.25): A fried risotto ball with a mozzarella center (daily preparation). Ours was with pumpkin and cheese… and it couldn’t have been more perfectly prepared or more seasonally appropriate. It was meaty, it was dense, it was hearty, it was flavorful. This is vegetarian? This is only $ 4.25? I could get two… and be blissfully, painfully full. Change nothing about this, Enoteca Athena (except — please keep it veg-​friendly!).
+ Squash Blossom ($ 10ish): I believe it was phyllo dough wrapped around a squash blossom filled with cheese and butternut squash, then fried. No complaints here!
Finally…The price? It was just right. This was one of those moments when I realized just how painfully expensive living in Portland is. The quality and quantity of food we got for the price we paid was mind-​boggling (in a good way).
I’ll finish with this thought: I don’t love going out to dinner. So when people ask me «Where’s your favorite restaurant?» I just never really have an answer.
I think I do now.

I liked the relaxing atmosphere with the wine racks and pottery as décor. I enjoyed the extensive wine bar, most of which I am unfamiliar with. They have mostly greek and italian wines and the waitrress had vast knowledge of all the selections and was able to make recommendations based on personal preference descriptions. They also offer some original cocktails as well. Although the liquor selction and mixers are limited. The prosecco was nice, not too dry and will nice citrus notes. I also tried a wonderful red wine but I unfortunatelty forgot the name of. It has just the right amount of dryness with wonderul berry flavor and light bodied.
The spreads with the crotini bread were delicious. The hipiti was my favorite with whipped feta.
The greek platter was declious with roasted artichokes, flavorful creamy hummus, spanakopita with a wonderful flakey crust. I loved the pita bread with the platter, warm well spiced and soft. I didn’t care for the orange tomatoe slice that were served with it or that the olives had pits. The BBQ filo pie was not what i expected but still delicous. The shredded pork was tender and the BBQ was more of a red sauce. It is shaped like a piece of lasagna and topped with feta. The gyro was another new food I tried. The pressed lamb had a nice spice, the bread was soft and warm. It had more tzatziki than I would have prefered, but it was smooth and added to the overall flavor. The potatoes served with it were wedges topped with cheese and cooked with a nice crispy exterior. It was suprisingly served with a marinara style dipping sauce.
This is place was a unique dining experience with what I assume is the closest to greek food as one can get in maine. The food is not something that I would choose to eat all the time but definately delicious. They offer specials every night, so there is oppurtunity to try something new. They try to use mostly locally sources meats and veggies, which does cause an increase in cost, but far from obscene. The food diid come with delays between courses, but there was a group of us. They did make sure we were well accomated and have plenty of space and gave us all the attention we needed so no one was akwardly waiting for a refill or condiments.

Highly recommend making a reservation which we did and were seated on time. The waitress took a little time getting our drink order but that was the only hiccup in our evening. The beer was great the wine was great and the food… Delicious! We had the Greek platter and it was perfect and we split the robilleta yummy comfort food. We left with a pallet full of amazing flavors. It is a college town so the atmosphere was a tad young for such a sophisticated place.

We were in Brunswick for a week and had dinner here twice. The food and service were exceptional.
I was a little skeptical when I viewed the menu online, but was happily surprised. Everything was delicious and well prepared. The wine selection was excellent.
We are planning to come back to Maine in December — although we will be in Freeport we will most certainly take the drive up for dinner at least once.

Went here tonight with a group of 8. We were seated alone in the room to the left, which was perfect, as we might have been a bit loud.
We started with both of the platters (mezze and antipasto I think). To me, those were the highlight of the meal. Most of what I had was off the greek platter and it was all delicious. The feta was great quality, the spinach pie was tasty, the hummus and the olives were both good as well.
We also ordered the buffalo cauliflower which I really liked.
For my main course I had the chicken parm. I thought it was just OK. In hindsight I’d probably stick with the Greek side of the menu, and maybe even order a couple of appetizers as my main course.
Service was nice, although a bit slow, but overall it was a pleasant experience with good food. I will definitely return the next time i’m in the area.

We stayed in Brunswick for a night at a bed and breakfast off Maine Street. After searching on Unilocal for a tasty place with a possible happy hour or wine menu, this was the place! With a casual feel and market lighting and the open kitchen area, I knew this place wouldn’t be your typical Maine restaurant, which was great.
They had many different wines on the menu to choose from, as well as beers. We ordered the antipasto platter of sliced meats & cheeses, crostini, which paired great with our wines.
Overall the atmosphere was great and the staff was knowledgable about everything. Our waiter was a little slow coming back with our bill, but I wouldn’t mind coming here again.

Delicious. It has a bit of a limited menu for dinner, but understandable since it is maily a wine bar. Everything on the menu looked great and seems as it’s a seaonal menu that rotates. I got the chicken parm dish and the chicken was cooked very nicely, crisp, over a tasty red sauce. The inside decorations are beautiful and they have couches if you just want to grab a drink and relax. The chef’s are on the younger side and create great dishes.

This was a refreshing place to find after being in Bar Harbor for the week. Great atmosphere and delicious food! Love the local atmosphere and the fresh ingredients used. I had a pasta and vegetable dish that was so good! Great place to go to if you are tired of the touristy places, and looking for more interesting dishes to try.

Excellent choice on Main Street. My wife and I were seated immediately and got an excellent recommendation on wine choice. We got the antipasti platter, which was pretty standard, but very well done.
Personally, I got the stuffed red peppers and they were excellent! The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. Glad we stumbled into this little gem!

This is a great place. Interesting menu offering unusual items as well as accessible favorites. Great monkfish dish. Greek wines were excellent. «Local lager» essentially flavorless, but probably my fault for ordering it. Great service from a smart young woman (the bar manager). Will happily return.

Yum! Great food and wine. Reasonably priced. Good service. We had the spanakopita dip, BBQ filo pie and one of the specials «spaghetti o’s.» So good!!!

Three of us enjoyed dinner here on a Friday night. We had the Greek sampler platter, Greek nachos (house pita chips, kima (spiced Eastern River Cattle Co. beef & tomato), bechamel, scallions, olives, Greek yogurt) aarancinis to start. For our mains, we shared the Greek Salad and Caesar Salad. We had the cannoli for dessert. I would rate this 3.5* with the following to gain 2 more stars:
1. More variety of an authentic Greek Meze in a smörgåsbord style. The traditional Greek restaurants have more platters with a variety of samples and these are often preferred over main courses. Our sampler had, feta, olives, hummus, pita bread, spanakopita roll, grilled & marinated spicy artichokes for $ 17.
2. Cocktails at $ 10 each– they were small enough and for a small Maine town, these were Boston or Ny prices
3. Connoli shell was overdone and too crunchy. Nearly fell off the cream filling

Please do NOT serve my entrée when I am only halfway thru my app! … while the food was enjoyable, our server did only a mediocre job of explaining our dishes and seemed imposed upon when we asked. I might try this place again but hope to have more attentive & personable service.

Had a lovely meal here just before Valentine’s Day. Hubby had a fabulous greek style meatloaf. I had acorn squash roasted and stuffed with feta cheese, sausage and fennel. It was fabulous. l The coffee is god too.
Each of us also had a cocktail. I had one called «What the Halva?» And if anyone knows what halva is… I do, I love it and this was halva in a glass!
Good service and nice atmosphere.

Overpriced and entrees were small. $ 5 for one rice ball the size of an anemic tennis ball. $ 3 for a tiny bit of olive oil. $ 9 for a Greek salad that was too salty to be edible and too small to be satiating. Most of what our party of 4 ordered was good but nothing truly exceptional came out of that kitchen. Perhaps we came on an «off» night… We found the wine too heavily marked-​up for the quality, as well.
Disappointed and hungry, with noticeably lighter wallets, after this meal.

Yet another restaurant we knew nothing about, but tried based on Unilocal.Everything is excellent! Hummus is perfectly (lightly) lemony. The whipped feta spread has a nice kick. They serve Dodonis feta, which is light & almost bubbly-​flavored. One daughter had spaghetti & meatballs, & another had a gyro, which had delicious tzatziki sauce (& she said the gyro meat was cooked perfectly). My husband had Chitarra and Garlicky Clams, which was excellent. I had the Greek salad & Squash in a Toga, which was an excellent pairing of roasted squash & Fontina in filo with creamy goat cheese. We splurged on 3 desserts; not-​overly chocolatey triangulos which were delicious, cannolis (not my favorite), & a yummy bread pudding special. The atmosphere is fun & the kitchen is open. We will definitely be back.

I went with a large group — we all enjoyed our meal. We shared a bunch of appetizers, which seemed principally to be Greek. Some of the main courses were more on the Italian side. I ordered the «off the boat» special and got a big bunch of super-​fresh scallops with some succotash and other veggie components. I loved everything on my plate, especially the scallops! We ordered a red and a white wine. I had a little of each and liked the red (an Italian wine) especially. I’ll come back readily the next time I’m in town.

5 Stars because the staff is so fantastic. Don’t know what kind of Negroni you’d like? Ask the bartender. Need a recommendation for a main dish? Ask your server, who will give you a thoughtful recommendation instead of just reading the menu back to you.