NJ Eats: Stamna Greek Taverna...Amazing Greek in Bloomfield!

So for my birthday this year I went to Stamna Greek Taverna, which is right near me in Bloomfield.  I enjoy Greek food for the fresh and simply prepared grilled seafood dishes often just accented with a little lemon.   At Stamna, the food is very rustic and the seafood is always very fresh and cooked to perfection.  I love Stamna so much that I actually prefer this restaurant over the storied Taverna Kyclades in Astoria, NY.

We were given some grilled bread with olive oil and some olives to start...

For apps...I HAD to order the saganaki, a delicious pan fried cheese that's sprinkled with lemon.  Crispy on

the outside and ooey and gooey on the inside...it's as delicious as it looks!

The tzatziki here was also great...not watery but full of cucumbers and onions.  For $6, this could be the best 

I've had.  It's served here with some toasted pita.

The one surprisingly disappointing (very much so) was the large Greek salad.  The only thing large about this is the amount of cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions.  There were only literally five chunks of feta and barely any olives in there...I've seen Greek salads where it's literally topped with a whole BLOCK of feta.

For entrees, I got the whole grilled Lavraki...(a Mediterranean sea bass....a Wiki search yielded that it's the same as Branzino, which is an Italian term for it)  It was a big portion and definitely worth the $27 price tag.  The fish was delicious and grilled to perfection, and again, just served with a wedge of lemon.

Horrible photo, but the seafood mixed grill platter, which includes grilled calamari, perfectly grilled octopus, and three jumbo shrimp (with heads!).  Unlike Taverna Kyclades, the grilled calamari actually came with the tentacles...the best part!  Again with grilled seafood this good you only need a wedge of lemon.  It's $27 but is seriously enough for two to share.

Both of the above entrees came with a side, and we chose the traditional lemon potatoes (theirs are amazing here), as well as a side of simply blanched dandelion greens.

As far as the non seafood specials, one was an order of roasted lamb shank, with lemon potatoes and served in a casserole.  The taste was very good, but that the lamb shank was just a little dry.

On the other hand, compared to the lamb shank the rabbit stew was suprisingly juicy.  Rabbit can be difficult to cook properly to keep the meat moist, but Stamna does a great job with theirs...cooked in a simple tomato base (and yes it DOES taste like chicken).

For dessert we got the galaktoboureko, a phyllo dough with a custard filling, topped with some honey.  Simple and delicious!

All in all, I was treated to an amazing and memorable meal!  Three apps, four entrees, and a dessert and the bill was only $120!  As with many restaurants near me, Stamna is BYOB, so you save on drinks as well!  There is actually a liquor store conveniently located two stores down :)

Stamna Greek Taverna

1045 Broad St
Bloomfield, NJ 07003

(973) 338-5151