{"id":199603,"date":"2026-04-16T17:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/199603\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:18:13","slug":"avra-estiatorio-new-york-based-restaurant-expands-to-boston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/199603\/","title":{"rendered":"Avra Estiatorio, New York-Based Restaurant, Expands to Boston"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNews<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Simply prepared Mediterranean fish stars in special-occasion-worthy Back Bay digs.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tDevoted foodies and restaurant newbies love The Feed. Sign-up now for our twice weekly newsletter.\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio is betting on Boston\u2019s appetite for fish. The upscale mini-chain of Greek-inspired seafood spots\u2014with glamorous locations in Beverly Hills, Miami, New York City, and beyond\u2014is now open in Back Bay, featuring simply garnished, charcoal-grilled fish, including Mediterranean imports like tsipoura and lavraki. Plus: towers of crispy zucchini and eggplant chips, pretty platters of sashimi, and hilariously large slices of chocolate cake and coconut pie.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio\u2019s sashimi platter. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio\u2019s spicy tuna crispy rice. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

The sprawling second-floor location at the Lyrik development<\/a>, atop just-opened Peruvian restaurant Rosa y Marigold<\/a>, feels primed for special occasions, from the white tablecloths to the copious faux olive trees. Elegant, wing-like structures dangle above the marble bar, and several private dining rooms are event-ready. In the warmer seasons, terrace seating will be available on Lyrik\u2019s upper level, an unlikely oasis perched above the Pike.<\/p>\n

\"Upscale<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

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The bar at Avra Estiatorio. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

Diners are encouraged to swing by the fish \u201cmarket,\u201d a display brimming with whole specimens on ice, to choose their seafood and peer through the large window into the kitchen. \u201cEverybody wants to experience the fish market,\u201d says Avra cofounder Nick Tsoulous\u2014but for those who want to stay at the table, staff will present options on a tray. Many of the selections are from the Mediterranean, but Boston, of course, has plenty of its own great seafood, and \u201cwe love [sourcing] locally, if available,\u201d says Tsoulous. Next, the fish is grilled, deboned, and finished with ladolemono sauce, a Greek mix of olive oil and lemon. (The Avra team seems particularly proud of the restaurant\u2019s olive oil; there\u2019s a bottle on each table. It\u2019s from a small family farm in the Peloponnese and is a first-harvest oil, which has a bolder taste than oils from later harvests.)<\/p>\n

\"Stack<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio\u2019s chips (crispy zucchini and eggplant with tzatziki) and lobster pasta. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

\"Grilled<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio\u2019s whole fish, grilled and served with ladolemono. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

While the fish is the star of the 26-year-old restaurant group\u2014more precisely, \u201cGreek seafood with Mediterranean influence,\u201d says Tsoulous\u2014there\u2019s also \u201ca great selection of meats\u201d and other dishes, all meant to be shared. Start with a Greek salad, says Tsoulous, featuring Kalamata olives, feta, tomatoes, peppers, and onions, and then an appetizer such as grilled octopus with caper and red wine vinaigrette. Next, raw fish of some kind, whether a sashimi platter of Faroe Island salmon, big eye tuna, and hamachi or lavraki ceviche with a bit of heat from jalape\u00f1o. Grilled fish-market selections and other entrees come next\u2014lobster pasta, for instance, or Colorado lamb chops\u2014followed by celebratory, somewhat over-the-top desserts.<\/p>\n

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Avra Estiatorio\u2019s lavraki ceviche. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio\u2019s lamb chops. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

This is the eighth location for Avra, which Tsoulous founded in 2000<\/a> in New York City\u2019s Midtown East with Nick Pashalis, his longtime business partner in other food endeavors, and Marc Packer, cofounder of Tao Group Hospitality<\/a> (which is behind major restaurant and nightlife destinations in New York, Las Vegas, and elsewhere). The Avra founders waited 16 years before opening a massive second location elsewhere in the city<\/a>, and expansion continued from there. Avra tends to attract A-listers and power players wherever it opens, but its roots are humble: The restaurants are inspired by Tsoulous\u2019 coastal Greek hometown of Nafpaktos, where he grew up fishing with his father and uncles and feasting on their catch with family.<\/p>\n

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Avra Estiatorio. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

\"Modern<\/p>\n

Avra Estiatorio. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like Boston, and we think it\u2019s a big fish town,\u201d says Tsoulous, and it felt like the time was right to open here. \u201cWe think there\u2019s not enough food here the way we do it, and not a lot of Greek seafood restaurants.\u201d Besides, says Tsoulous, Boston has a big Greek population: \u201cI think they\u2019re very anxious to come in and try our menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fresh<\/p>\n

The fish \u201cmarket\u201d at Avra Estiatorio, where diners can choose fish to be prepared. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Cocktails at Avra Estiatorio. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

400 Newbury St. (at the upper level of the Lyrik), Back Bay, Boston, 617-592-8888, theavragroup.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Avra Estiatorio\u2019s coconut pie. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Chocolate cake and ice cream at Avra Estiatorio. \/ Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News Simply prepared Mediterranean fish stars in special-occasion-worthy Back Bay digs. Devoted foodies and restaurant newbies love The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199604,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,56],"class_list":{"0":"post-199603","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-city-news","12":"tag-ny"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}