It's too bad that Almyra's culinary ambitions don't transport as convincingly as the decor.
The spanakopita manti at Almyra in Philadelphia, Pa. on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Almyra is located at 1636 Chancellor Street.A sizzle platter of saganaki cheese bursts into flames at our table. In every corner, sparklers spray like Roman candles from birthday cakes, the effervescent glow illuminating diners, and giant white urns shooting pink and white bougainvillea vines into the rafters.
As a fan of the original Estia and its consistent low-key excellence with the Greek classics, I’d hoped for more interesting food from this ambitious new addition to the dining scene. The kitchen at Alymra has struggled on many levels during my visits: That includes a failure to replicate even some of the standards that Estia does so well, such as the signature zucchini and eggplant chips — fried too thick and were stiff as boards .
No doubt there’s wide appeal for a Nobu copycat starter like the crispy rice topped with spicy tuna, which segues from its Japanese base to a Greek topping of olive tapenade. Another starter, of spanakopita wrapped in fried wonton squares like spinach pie Rangoon, has hors d’oeuvres appeal, even if it lacks the delicacy of a layered phyllo crunch.
The signature Almyra zucchini chips were as stale on my second visit as they were on the first. This kitchen even had a hard time properly cooking a side of grilled vegetables, marking thick rounds of eggplant, carrots and zucchini so lightly, they were essentially still raw. The saganaki went up with plenty of tableside flames, but the ouzo sauce over the kefalogravieraWhen it came time for the actual dessert, Almyra returned to the classics, but without much finesse.
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