Nemea Greek Taverna

Very very good greek food with a great décor. We had the spanakopita for appetizer, salmon and lamb souvlaki for entrée. They were all excellent. Kudos to the chef
The dessert was on point as well. We had a flourless dark chocolate brownie with coffee ice cream, just FANTASTIC
Definitely recommend!

If you are looking for an upscale greek experience in downtown San Jose this is the place for you! Our party ordered a variety of dishes and all ended up sharing because everything looked so good. We often have issues because some of our friends have dining restrictions (allergies, vegetarians) but everyone was able to find fabulous food here.
It is on the pricey side for Mediterranean food, but well worth it when you are in the mood. Just note that this is more of a suit type of place than a shirt and shorts venue.

Coming from someone who doesn’t really like lamb, this place has pretty good lamb! Not gamey at all. We had a large party of girls celebrating a birthday and everything was great. The atmosphere and décor is really pretty, we got sat in a semi private back room that looked like a wine library. Our waitress was amazing. We ordered appetizers and really everything tasted great. The flaming cheese was yum and fun to watch! Also recommend the lamb riblets. They have a variety of salads with different flavors, I had the watermelon salad and it was delicious and unique. We shared beignets for dessert, came with bomb Nutella sauce. It was Sooo good! Highly recommend you try this place, you won’t be disappointed. You can order a variety of appetizers or entrees and share. The entrée portions are big. Definitely filling.

Really happy with this place.
Was downtown with a friend to see a production of «MAMMA MIA!» and thought it would be fun to find a «Greek Taverna» to visit prior to the show.
Beautiful place. A lot more «up scale» than I was expecting. The place has a bar area and dining room which are both pretty huge. I was there for dinner. I had to study the menu for a while. The dishes and the names were all new to me. I ended up choosing the Pastitsio, and it was delicious!
What really put this place ahead is the service. (Seeing my other reviews, I’m very picky on this). Not knowing the place, I did put in a reservation the day of. Upon arrival, we were seated right away and taken care of throughout the meal. My dish was great. My friend ordered the Mousaka and discovered shortly into the meal that it was still pretty cold in the middle. It was easy to flag down our waiter, who profusely apologized and made it right immediately. Without missing a beat, he offered complimentary desserts for the inconvenience.
This is a great place for special occasions. I felt so under dressed when I went. I definitely recommend a trip to this place. Have a nice night out!

I had a wonderful experience here! There are restaurants and then there are places you just feel like part of the family!
The menus is in Greek but they have the English translation, the staff was completely awesome! And the food was delicious!
I was searching for a place to eat late at night and nobody seemed to be open or they were packed to where we were not going to get a seat before they closed, and then this place literally fell out of no where! And I am so glad it did! I would and will recommend this place to everyone looking for a great place to eat!

5 stars just for the lamb shank alone. It wasn’t huge but it was enough to partially fill
Me up and I eat a lot. Super tender fell off the bone literally. It comes with rice but i substituted it for the mashed potatoes and they were mixed with something green not sure what that was but they were slamming too. Also had a side of grilled zucchini and asparagus. I actually sat at the bar so I can’t speak about the service/​servers other than the lightening quick bar tender and he was, well, a bartender. The restaurant has a nice vibe and décor. very clean as well!

We have been here twice! We absolutely loved our experiences. It’s pricy but everything is really delicious. Get the warm saganaki cheese with fresh lemon juice.
I love their fish dishes and their hummus app is a great way to start.
This is an awesome addition to downtown San Jose.
Check it out!

Horrible experience! We were from out of town for a conference and stopped by this place because of good reviews and because the place is within a short working distance from the hotel. The place was lively on a Thursday night around 9:30pm that we stopped by.
There was a bar and a restaurant section. We stood there waiting for service for 5 – 10 minutes without any acknowledgement from the staff. The wait service staff saw us and kept his head down to avoid having to ask us what we were there for.
After about 10 minutes, we got fed up and left since we were just standing there without any host/​any staff acknowledging us. It looks like it’d have been a good place to try but… until service gets better, i can never recommend this place to anyone.

Great ambiance. Calamari is very good. My lamb chops were a bit greasy and fatty. Wouldn’t get them again.

This restaurant was pretty nice. The service was a little slow, but the staff was very friendly.
I got the gnocchi and portobello mushroom dish, which was fantastic! Absolutely delicious!
However, my boyfriend got the roasted chicken and didn’t like it. It was very dry.
I would recommend going again, but maybe order something other than the roasted chicken.

It’s not usual for me to write something after I have try this place about two years ago. I tend to slack off on my reviews… A LOT!
Recently I came back here for a dinner party so I was fortunate to taste everything again. As far as I could remember, this place is one of the classier and more intimate dinning experience you can get in downtown San Jose.
Food:
— You must try their Pikilia samplers, which included warm house made pita bread and four types of delicious spread.
— Mahi Mahi entrée was well prepared with Israeli couscous, roasted eggplant, and sun-​dried tomato.
— Arni Souvlaki: lamb tenderloins, bell peppers, onions, wild rice orzo, and lemon vinaigrette. The lamb meat was tender and well prepared. Clearly they know how to cook their meat.
— Coffee was prepared in their unique traditional way and it was super strong. I like!
Beyond the food, the service and friendly staff was helpful. I suggest you give this place a try. Cheers!

This place is one of the very few fine dine places in SJ downtown that is really good. Can get in easily with very little to no wait time. Small tasting appetizers menu is really good. Quite a few good vegetarian options. Zucchini cakes are must have. Here’s my rating:
Ambience — ⁸⁄₁₀
Food (Vegetarian) — ⁸⁄₁₀
Service — ⁹⁄₁₀
Desserts: ⁵⁄₁₀
Drinks/​cocktails: ⁸⁄₁₀
Will go back: Yes

It’s so beautiful here! The ambiance is great, the service is pretty good, and overall good food experience.
I had the octopus salad and spinach salad for an appetizer which was AMAZING. I had very high expectations for the food and was very excited for my risotto.
We got the lamb chops and they were so tasty And tender. I tend to love scallops and risotto, but was not the biggest fan of this one. I found it more on the bland side and not as flavorful as the lamb chops or the appetizers.
Overall the food was good, the décor was gorgeous. I would come certainly come back!

The food is very tasty. The food has fresh ingredients. I had the scallops and they were cooked to perfection and paired with an amazing mushroom rice.
My husband had the beef medallions. Delicious as well.
We shared the calamari salad, Greek salad, and flaming cheese.
Park at the corner lot across the street not the building. They validate for the lot.

I’ve been wanting to check this place out, so when some friends came in town and we were all done over at San Pedro, they suggested dessert here.
I was super hungry because I joined late, so I actually ended up getting the lamb meatballs and their octopus. First — the octopus is AMAZING. Definitely recommended as a standard order and will be ordering it again anytime I come back. The grill, the lemon, the sauce, it was just perfect. So well done.
The lamb meatballs were also equally delicious, but if I had to put them both up, I’d get the octopus!
They have great turkish /​greek coffee here, and a pretty good variety of desserts. Great place to stop for a beer, a wine, or something sweet or savory!

My best friend and I have gone here about almost 4 years ago and it was superb service and delicious food. We went back just yesterday and though the food was very delicious something with the check pretty much surprised me.
So my friend and I decided to split some dishes: the flatbread, the riblets, and the calamari. The flatbread had a crunchy but not too crunchy texture and delicious flavor with pesto, olives, caramelized onions and tomatoes. The riblets which is a lamb appetizer was probably the reason why we came back to this restaurant. The lamb falls of the bone perfectly and taste divine. And the calamari though not the best I had. It was still pretty good.
Riblets ⁶⁄₅ stars! — Can’t get enough!
Flatbread ⁵⁄₅ stars — Full flavor, love it
Calamari 3.5÷5 stars
So the reason why I’m giving ³⁄₅ stars is because of the service. No, the service wasn’t horrible the water was on filled very quickly, our waiter could have come back a little more often but nothing I wouldn’t necessarily complain about. The issue my friend had was with the check. My friend and I split the bill with her card and my cash. I had wrote on the receipt to split the cash and card in a particular way which would require my change back. When we got the bill back after my friend’s card was swiped, correctly, we looked for the cash change. But it was no where to be found. Which made my friend livid and me a wee bit confused. My friend was upset because our waiter assumed that the cash was his and didn’t even bring it back in the envelope.
Before that whole ordeal the service was at least a ⁴⁄₅.

Our waiter was fantastic! It was our first time dining at this restaurant so we weren’t too sure what to order. He kindly offered tons of suggestions for what to try in terms of appetizers/​entrees and gave us a few minutes to think about our order. Came back to check on us and made sure to let us know that he was more than happy to explain or describe anything on the menu. He even put in some recommendations with the wine list just in case we were interested and if we wanted to try a sample of any, he would bring it out for us.
We were ready to order. With each dish we chose, he gave us a brief explanation of how each was cooked! He was VERY knowledgable about all the dishes which was great! Definitely shows how hard he works to deliver that A+ customer service! We ended up getting everything he recommended (some of these aren’t the exact names so you’ll have to check the menu):
— paidakia (lamb chops): These were HUGE. It’s basically like two lamb chops per piece. They tasted so good, especially cooked w the recommended medium rare!
— saganaki: Pretty much ordered this just to see a show! The goat cheese is given a shot of brandy to light the flame and tada its on fiyaaaahhhhh! Served with bread and mmm, tasted and smelled amazing!
— scallops: They were pan seared w/​risotto! The scallops were cooked perfectly, it just melted in my mouth!
— tiger prawns (appetizer): In some sort of marinara/​pesto sauce. These were okay… tasted like regular shrimp in pasta sauce, but definitely HUGE!
They served you bread and oil w/​vinegar right when they sit you down. Love thisssss! Might be one of my favorite bread dips. You also had the choice between tap water and bottled water. Not sure if you had to pay for the bottled water.
The ambiance was very nice and romantic. Perfect for a date night right in downtown SJ. If you’re looking for dessert, there’s CREAM right around the corner :)
P.S This isn’t your typical Mediterranean spot. or at least to me. If you love Mediterranean/​Greek food and want somethin a little fancier than usual, this place is for you!

Date night on that late night. Came here on reservation but certainly not required as it seemed like it was just ¹⁄₃ full at the time. We were quickly seated to a table and introduced to our server…(forgot his name. sorry). He was superb in his introduction to the restaurant and recommendations. Very professional, knowledgeable and constantly came back to check back to see if everything was up to par. Offered samples of free wine and beverages. Bread and olive oil/​vinegar was served as well.
After browsing for several minutes… we ordered saganaki which is a special greek cheese i believe that was lit with brandy and flamed in front of us. It was finished with a fine touch of lemon juice and served with bread. It smelled like pizza but the cheese… you can tell for sure… was Super Fine cheese. Tiger prawns were HUGE. It tasted like some sort of strong pasta pesto sauce. Nothing TOO special about it. My lady ordered the scallops in which was fabulous. King sized scallops served with rice and veggies. I ordered the Paidakia lamb chops that i hands down believe… were the best lamb chops i’ve eaten in a while. Very juicey and tender topped off with spinach and potato wedges. Came out to be $ 112 post tip and tax for 2 people.
Dimly lit, romantic vibe, great experience!

I brought my husband to Nemea for his birthday. I had made advance reservations, so we got seated immediately. The waiter greeted us courteously, explained the menu and recommended a few dishes and cocktails.
For appetizers, I wanted to get the much raved octopathi. However, my husband wasn’t in a mood for octopus, so we ended up ordering the lamb meatballs. The plate comes with three delicious lamb meatballs served on a bed of chopped tomatoes. Very delicious.
For entrée, after oscillating between lamb shanks and pork chops, we settled on the pork chops. It was a one big pork chop topped with some kind of sauce, dry fruits, and a side of greens and mashed potatoes with bacon bits.
From the looks of the dish, I was a bit skeptical and thought the dish would be sweet. However, it turned out to be the hit of the night. Just with a slight tinge of sweetness and the meat flavor, we relished it!
Although we wanted to eat a dessert, there was no room in the stomach for anything else. Fabulous dinner, very nice ambiance and friendly service. This restaurant deserves a 5 stars!

Came back for the Dine Downtown week prix fixe! Our waitress for the evening was Amelia and she was amazing, just like all of the other staff I’ve encountered :)
Everything is still awesome.
Appetizers: Kalamarakia & Biftekia — Both incredibly flavorful! I enjoyed the calamari much more than the lamb meatball, but my friend really enjoyed the meatball more than the calamari. No matter, they were both delicious
Salad: Nemea Salata — nothing too spectacular but the pears and walnuts were really good. I personally thought the salad was a little too oily
Entrée: Paidakia — still amazing, please order.