Despite the wealth of Mediterranean food in this paradise of NorCal, there are few specifically Greek restaurants around. California’s coast and vast farmland are North America’s closest sibling to the Mediterranean climate, terrain, and soil, similar to Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Despite CA holding the largest U.S. Greek population after New York, it’s spread across our massive state, not concentrated like in NY and NJ where I partly grew up, blessed with Greek friends and favorite Greek restaurants like Queens’ Taverna Kyclades.
In SF, the Greek dining list is short: Orexi in West Portal is a neighborhood standout, Palo Alto’s Evvia is the best outside SF, while its sister, Kokkari, is SF’s Greek queen since 1998. Kokkari remains one of the best Greek restaurants in the nation, but there’s a newcomer from none other than locally-based but international restaurateur/chef Michael Mina: Estiatorio Ornos a Michael Mina Restaurant.
Ornos debuted in September 2021 at 252 California Street, formerly housing the flagship Michael Mina and prior, legendary Aqua, where Mina grew to prominence as a chef. Where Kokkari is rustic and warm, Ornos — named after a village in the enchanting Greek island of Mykonos — is pristine white marked by coral pink velvet booths and soothing blues. It’s sunny and bold, complete with a fish sommelier (you heard right), ready to share details of his cart holding fresh fish on ice, flown in daily from the Mediterranean, alongside local Pacific and global seafood.
The restaurant is helmed by a chef quartet: Chefs Michael Mina, Daniela Vergara, Nikolaos Georgousis, and Girair “Jerry” Goumroian. The food reflects Niko and Jerry’s heritage and Mina’s youth, his family immigrants from the Mediterranean seaport of Alexandria, Egypt, with its history of Greek influence.
The bar was packed on the weeknight I dined, buzzy to a house playlist of Mykonos-inspired music, while the dining room was high energy yet relaxed as the Greek isles. Mina was there himself, greeting tables, confirming continued commitment to SF. At Ornos’ opening, Mina said, “San Francisco is always going to be one of the best food cities in the world and I’m 100% committed to continually evolving our concepts to support its growth and really honor a place I would be nowhere without.”
Hear, hear. Yes, Mina and the team opened a Estiatorio Ornos a Michael Mina Restaurant in Miami in 2020, making this a bi-coastal venture. But restaurant design is completely different and the menus have only a partial crossover.
MINA Group’s wine director, master sommelier Jeremy Shanker, compiled a deep wine list dominant on Greek and Mediterranean wines. My wine pairings were on point, featuring rarities anywhere in the States, beyond the more common Assyrtiko or Xinomavro Greek wines. When they poured an Assyrtiko, it was 2017 Koutsoyannopoulos, tasting older than its years, with petrol notes one gets on some aged Riesling, Portuguese Arinto, or White Burgundy.
While leaning like a typical Assyrtiko, it was richer, running between salinity, citrus, herbs, and ripe pear notes. Another “wow” moment? Domaine de Kalathas ‘Kaloriziko’ Rosé from the Cyclades. Served with fish and octopus, it shone in its biodynamic, unfiltered earthiness, from grapes grown in soil rich with granite and sand, vivid with notes of herbs, berries, even tomato water. There’s much to geek out on in this wine list, especially Greek bottles not available by the glass — but plenty for those who don’t care to “geek.”
As a dip lover, I thought pita and spreads would be a favorite (available individually, as a trio, or all five). They weren’t, though out of five, I leaned towards melitzanosalata: charred eggplant, lemon, parsley. My partner Dan and I felt the Mediterranean breezes surrounding Ora King salmon tartare dotted with Fresno chilies and coriander, as we did with sea bass crudo, delicately marked by slivers of kalamata olives and radishes in a blood orange citronette. Likewise breezy was a melon salad accented with barrel-aged feta cheese, mint, and toasted almond.
It got even breezier partnered with a low-proof cocktail, the Achladi, packed with Thai basil, mint, rosemary, and fennel blossom. The drink combined white port, lemon, cardamom, fermented pear, and jujube, going down easy, if difficult to drink without a straw given the garden protruding from the glass.
Lead bartender Anthony Attanasio (who ran the previous Michael Mina beverage program) worked with MINA Group’s assistant director of bars Mike Lay on cocktails featuring Greek gins, vermouths, tsipouras, mastihas, and ouzo. Queen of Ithaca cocktail showcases the nuttiness of sherry and herbaceousness of dill aquavit, refreshing on the rocks with ouzo, lime, and cucumber. Sgroppino Agapi Mia is an ideal pre-dinner drink of piney-sweet mastiha infused with lemon, a scoop of limoncello sorbet, bubbly with a splash of prosecco.
On the rich side, it was hard to top cheese delights: tiropita, a traditional Greek pastry layered with buttered phyllo and a cheese-egg mixture, here filled with barrel-aged feta, contrasted by sesame and back truffle honey. The other killer was oozing, warm saganaki, or pan-fried kefalograviera cheese — on our visit topped with mushrooms and seasonal black truffles from Italy.
We veer back to light again with an unexpected hit of spanakopita salad: spinach leaves and silky goat cheese give a crispy, dissolving texture from sheets of phyllo. Though simple, it feels like a fresh take on salad and classic spanakopita, one I found unexpectedly addictive.
Among the generous entrees, there’s vegetarian moussaka, proteins like roasted lemon chicken, prime filet medallions, and lamb chops “paidakia” with taverna fries that taste thrice-fried to crispy perfection. A side of broccoli rabe redolent with toasted garlic and preserved lemon helped me pretend I was being healthy.
But it’s all about that seafood cart: shareable, whole fish in the $40–60-ish range, each cooked on natural oak, finished with oregano, lemon, and Santorini capers. The fish changes with availability, but tsipoura, a classic Greek presentation of Mediterranean sea bream was thick, meaty, yet flaky and light. Wrapped in leaves, it’s cooked under a thick crust of salt to maintain its tenderness, accompanied by shaved ribbons of zucchini vivid with lemon. Next time, I want to try glossa, or phyllo-crusted petrale sole, surrounded by skordalia (potato puree, garlic, olive oil), brussels sprouts, and caviar sauce.
“The Lemon” is tart lemon curd, shaped like a lemon, in vanilla bean crumble with candied citrus peel, a finish in keeping with the sunny Mediterranean spirit, though I also found comfort in Yia Yia’s rice pudding covered in a web-like cinnamon crisp.
A nearby diner was rocked with laughter throughout our meal. Her boisterous mirth was loud enough to be heard halfway across the room, but not shrill enough to be annoying. A few wines and courses in, we started to parallel her mood, if not her decibels. We weren’t struck with laughter, but we did catch the gaiety and goodwill of the tight, hard-working team, the welcoming spirit of the space, and the light-yet-decadent nature of our Greek island feast.
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