I read the mixed reviews on Athena so I was a little leary about going there, especially on a show night at the nearby Keswick theater. All I can say is that the people who gave this restaurant poor reviews must have eaten at a different place.
First, the service was absolutely excellent. Our waiter, Salvatore, greeted us within 2 minutes of our sitting down and I had grilled octopus appetizer in front of me less than 10 minutes later. It was almost too fast! Incidentally, that grilled octo was superb. That's one of my favorite apps and I had been looking forward to trying it - it was delicate on the inside, nicely grilled on the outside. This was a better preparation than I had of the same dish at Babbo in New York.
The rest of the meal was just excellent Greek food presented very nicely. My wife had the veal rack special and I had the sampler plate which they call Pikelia. Everything was perfect and tasted exactly as I would expect home-made Greek food to taste my favorite item was the Mousaka. I don't care for stuffed grape leaves and I didn't care for them here either. Go figure.
Next time you are going to the Keswick, make a 6 or 6:15 reservation and bring along a bottle of Pinot or other light to medium Italian wine. I doubt that you will be disappointed.
more