A bargain lunch but no surprises at a Greek temple to fresh seafood

An entree of Shrimp Saganaki, above, and a Mediterranean Meze Plate appetizer, below, were among the choices on the $29 price-fixed lunch menu at Estiatorio Milos, an expensive Greek fish house in midtown Manhattan.

The Meze Plate: Hummus, Tzatziki, Taramosalata, Spinach Pie, Greek Olives, Radish and Cucumber

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The New York City Restaurant Week lunch menu at Estiatorio Milos hasn't varied much since my first visit to the expensive Greek fish house in August 2011.

Then, a three-course lunch cost only $24.07, and one of the entrees you could choose on the limited menu was a thick lamb chop.

By August 2013, the same fixed-price lunch, featuring pretty much the same appetizers and entrees, went up to $25.

At the end of July, the price had jumped again -- to $29, plus tax and tip.

Last Thursday at Milos, the lamb chop was a $10 supplement, and you could even get Lobster Pasta in a light garlic tomato sauce for an extra $15.

All-year lunch menu

The Summer Restaurant Week promotion ended last Friday, but Milos serves this $29 three-course lunch year-round.

You might find other Manhattan restaurants extending the promotion until Labor Day. Restaurant Week returns in January.

The New York City Restaurant Week promotion began in 1992 at lunch only (3 courses for $19.92, plus tax and tip).

Each year, the price jumped 1 cent, but in 2010, the lunch went up to $24.07; in 2013, three courses cost $25. 

Last week, lunch for two at Milos cost $74.75, including tax and a 20% tip, but I paid with a registered American Express card and will be getting a $5 statement credit. 

My appetizer at Milos last week: Two perfectly grilled Canadian Scallops served with orange and mint salad. They were smaller than the scallops I was served in 2011.

The open kitchen at Milos boned, butterflied and grilled a whole Dorade Royale or Mediterranean Sea Bream, serving the wild-caught fish with steamed broccoli crown, and extra-virgin olive oil and capers.

My wife chose the Shrimp Saganaki with couscous, Mediterranean Meze Plate and Karidopita or Walnut Cake with ice cream for dessert.

My dessert was Fresh Fruit of the Season, including a wonderfully sweet slice of cantaloupe. Below, the fresh-fruit I was served in August 2013.

On Thursday, deep-sea Cardinal Prawns or Carabineros at $95 a pound were one of the choices from what Milos refers to as the restaurant's fish market, below.

If you love seafood, the display is a feast for the eyes. But who are the customers willing to pay $50, $60 and more for a pound of fresh fish or shellfish, if they aren't on an expense account? The a la carte menu says Milos will grill or fry fish, or serve it as sashimi or tartare.

Small Red Mullet were $61 a pound on Thursday.

We were seated in the dimly lit bar area of Milos, a cavernous space with plenty of exposed concrete, ceiling beams and electrical lines that do little to muffle noise. The wine cellar is on the second level, above right.

After you are seated, a server pours extra-virgin olive oil into a small bowl, snips leaves from an oregano plant on the table and takes both away. But this bottle of My Sister's Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the next table was easily within reach, and I used it once or twice.

A large basket of toasted bread disappeared quickly. We were offered more, but declined.

Estiatorio Milos at 125 W. 55th St. in Manhattan (between 6th and 7th avenues) occupies the first two or three floors of an office building. Milos has branches around the world, including a luxurious yacht called Milos at Sea. Website: The freshest fish on ice

An affordable lunch for cheese lovers

Pan Roasted Sea Bream at DB Bistro Moderne in Manhattan.

An appetizer of Beet Cured Salmon.

For my fourth and final Restaurant Week lunch in Manhattan on Thursday, I fell hook, line and sinker for the menu at DB Bistro Moderne, one of Chef Daniel Boulud's seven Manhattan dining spots.

As part of a $24.07 lunch promotion, the fine-dining restaurant offered a seafood appetizer and entree, and cheese in two other courses, one of them dessert.

When you're not eating meat, those choices are music to your ears.

Mesclun Salad with Manchego Cheese.

I wanted to start with Price Edward Island Mussels, but our waiter informed us they were all gone and that Beet-Cured Salmon was being substituted.

It's the height of the wild-salmon season, so I expected wild-caught fish. But when I asked, the waiter said it was farmed salmon, meaning artificial color and possibly antibiotics.

I quickly chose the Mesclun Salad with fava beans, English peas, cherry tomato and Manchego cheese in a balsamic reduction.

The front room at DB Bistro Moderne.

For an entree, I wanted to have the Pan Roasted Sea Bream with olive-oil crushed potatoes, arugula, Trumpet Royale mushrooms and Sauce Grenobloise.

The waiter said sea bream is similar to sea bass. I asked about the sauce, and he said it is a brown-butter sauce, so I told him I that I didn't want to have any butter or cream.

The fish came without sauce, but I expected the kitchen to add a wedge of lemon to the plate. It didn't.

For dessert, I chose Assiette de Fromages -- a cheese plate. DB Bistro Moderne had one of the few $24.07 menus offering fruit and cheese for dessert.

My dessert of cheese, bread, fruit, fig compote and candied walnuts.

The plate held hard and soft cheeses, and house-baked bread, but I ignored the sliced bread and indulged in the hard, delicious crust of a small roll that was included in the bread service, spreading the soft cheese on it.

Another lunch entree was Chicken Fricassee Forestiere with spetzle pasta.

A dessert of Berry Tartelette with lemon-white Verjus sorbet.

I had made a reservation for four at 2 p.m., but two of my companions thought it was at 1, and started eating.

When I arrived just before 2, the hostess graciously seated all of us at a table for four in the front room, and had servers move the food and water glasses there.

The Restaurant Week promotion ended on Friday, but starting on Monday, many restaurants are taking part in NYC Go Prix Fixe through Sept. 3, offering the same three-course meals for $24.07 at lunch and $35 at dinner.

Here is the Web site: NYC Go Prix Fixe

DB Bistro Moderne, 55 W. 44th St., Manhattan; 212-391-2400.

Web site: Chef Boulud's Empire

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