Psari, Astoria

Borrowing its name from the Greek word for "fish," Psari Restaurant bedecks dishes with the ocean-fresh bounties of the sea, serving up seafood broiled, grilled, or fried whole along with traditional Mediterranean eats and raw shellfish delicacies. To begin meals, guests pick out their favored catches of the day from their chilly iced display, or mull over choices of juicy steak, lamb chops, and subtly seasoned Greek appetizers. The café bottles its savory aroma within an elegant space decked in dark wood, a gleaming stone bar top, and soft accents of blue and white to match the colors of the Greek flag, as well as the chromatic scheme of Poseidon's underwater bungalow. In addition to preparing tantalizing meals of fish, crab, octopus, and lobster, Psari's helpful staffers pair meals with selections from an ample wine list as well as a complimentary phyllo-and-egg-custard dessert with each dinner.