As if I didn't already get enough quality time with my kid on our Morocco trip. Instead of heading home to NY after we landed in Boston, I tagged along with her in Cambridge for one more night. That also meant squeezing in one more new restaurant together. Tucked in the corner of a cozy residential neighborhood, Desfina has that laid-back vibe. There's indoor seating if you want to escape the heat and outdoor seating. It was hot as hell- but we picked a table outside anyway. The service is exactly how I like it. Warm, friendly and attentive without someone checking on you every 10 seconds. Everyone was just full of smiles and it made our dinner that much special. Instead of going for big main plates, my daughter and I went for starters. The fried calamari is a must and tasty. The batter is light and crisp and actually stays on the calamari instead of sliding off. The grilled octopus is silky- the kind that melts the second you bite into it. None of that chewiness you get from places that don't know how to make a grilled octopus. This one in Desfina, is how it's supposed to be done! A Greek salad was a given. And the grilled shrimp with lemon potatoes hit the spot too. I'll admit, I was hoping for bigger shrimp(?), but these were juicy and tasty though. read more

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Great spot near my new apartment. Big portion, good ingredients and perfectly cooked. Had: Chicken kebab plate read more

Desfina Restaurant - Ken - Greek Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Service was excellent, food was not. We came here for dinner, but I was disappointed to see that there wasn't a very limited non-meat selection on the menu. Given that Mediterranean cuisine is generally pretty accommodating to that, not having even a falafel option for protein certainly came as a surprise! My first time here, we ended up with the fish and chips and baklava - both were edible but not great, and the best item on the table ended up being the complimentary bread (lots of end pieces, which I'm personally a fan of, but others may feel differently). The fish was uninspired and didn't taste like much, and the chips were steak fries, which lived up to the reputation of being less crunchy and seasoned. I was really excited for the baklava, but it also ended up disappointing. The texture was hardened, like it wasn't fresh, and it was so overpoweringly sweet that we couldn't finish it. On my second visit, the bread was just as good, and we ordered a nice spread: fried zucchini, spanakopita, beef dolmades, rice pilaf, and gyro (without meat). The gyro was sad without falafel or any protein option, but the veggies inside were pretty good. On the other hand, I wasn't a huge fan of any of the appetizers/sides. The fried zucchini was incredibly oily and wet, without much flavor; the rice pilaf did have some sauce on top but wasn't particularly tasty. The spanakopita was decent but I wouldn't go out of my way to order it again. I will note, however, that the staff was excellent, attentive and accommodating. The outdoor patio was also quite nice and a beautiful spot to sit on the street and people-watch. read more

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While many of the entrees are around $22, they also have gyro plates as low as $14 for those looking for a cheaper meal. We were in the mood for seafood so two of us shared the grilled octopus ($22), grilled sardines ($19), bakalao ($22), and saganaki opa! ($13). I enjoyed everything and especially liked the charred and smoky outer layers on the octopus and grilled sardines! After we ordered, they provided us with complementary bread, butter, and dressing. The grilled dishes arrived shortly after. We probably could have been satisfied with just the two grilled dishes alone but we were super hungry and interested in trying other things on their menu! The octopus had a nice char while staying tender and was not rubbery at all. While the octopus had a light flavor, the sardines were on the saltier side but not in a bad way. I would highly recommend both dishes, but will mention that the sardines are whole (with heads and bones) if that is not your thing. I've never had salted cod before but I really enjoyed the bakalao. The fried surface was so crispy and the crisp, flaky fish paired perfectly with the creamy skordalia. The saganaki opa! was tasty and it was fun when they lit it on fire, but the other dishes were more memorable for me. I had a great time dining here (the wine is also pretty cheap for a Boston area restaurant). I look forward to coming back! read more

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What can I add to my previous reviews? How about an amazing white wine option for summer outdoor dining. Enjoyed the Kyklos Moschofilero 2023 white wine with lunch special Chicken Souvlaki and the always-amazing house Greek Salad. Wine was light and fruity, perfect for a hot day on the patio for lunch. Service was prompt and courteous as always, and appreciated the wine recommendation. read more

Desfina Restaurant - Kyklos Moschofilero 2023 - Greek Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Great vibe during dinner hours. I enjoyed my wine and food. I got the shrimp designs and hummus. Nice portion. Flavor was okay but I appreciate that the seasoning is in general on the lighter side read more

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Horrible service, mediocre food. Not really sure how this place is rated this high. The gyros are not gyros. The sardines and the saganaki were ok. read more

Very nice staff. Super friendly Comfortable restaurant. Food is fine. Tzatziki was very sour-cream heavy, at least it tasted very much of sour cream. That was not ideal for us but you may enjoy it. Taramasalata was chunky and not flavored in a way we are used to. Did not enjoy it. Chicken dish good. Dessert pretty good too. read more

Although we came in their rush hours, the staff member were attentive and welcoming. I like the small cozy ambiance here. The portions were generous, fresh, and well-made. Look for their off-menu delicacy of you can. Otherwise, what's on the menu is already good enough. read more

I ordered two gyro sandwiches for takeout, and when we got home, we couldn't even take a bite. The sandwiches had a horrible spoiled fish smell that was so strong it made me feel sick just from the smell. We called the restaurant right away, and they said the manager would get back to us--but no one ever called or followed up. Terrible experience, both in terms of food quality and customer service. read more

Small restaurant with a Greek flair. The food options ok but I was disappointed with the Greek options. The appetizers were far superior than the main dishes. The staff were very friendly and welcoming. Prices were very reasonable. Make sure you ask for the fish options as they are not part of the menu and probably some of the better main dishes. read more

We were in the Cambridge area and wanted to try a new place. The place was pretty busy for a Thursday night with all of the outdoor seats occupied and half the inside was full. We decided to sit at the bar because wifey wanted a few drinks and the bartender makes a mean mojito. They had a small beer selection, nothing too interesting. Onto the food, the grilled octopus was good, maybe slightly over cooked but I had an issue with it seeming a bit salty. They were very generous with the lemon, so maybe it was confusing my palate. Wifey got the whole sea bass which was deboned, and it was delicious! Moist, and tasted fresh. Something to come back for. The baked lamb was very good but the fish was easily the best dish. I think it could've used more potato or some veggie to round out the dish. Overall, next time we are in the area we will definitely stop by for a mojito and fish! read more

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I went with a close friends who were born in Greece and came to this country when they were just young kids , they were almost in tears eating the Greek food here exclaiming it was like their grandmothers cooking . This is a family run restaurant with old country roots . Both the food and service were outstanding. It is a family run neighborhood restaurant so if you want a fancy see and be seen glitzy atmosphere this isn't for you but if you truly want authenticity then this is a place you will love . read more

I ordered delivery from this place and was pleased with the food. I ordered spanakopita, pork gyro plate, and chicken souvlaki. Food was great. My Greek colleagues approved of the food. I'm looking forward to dine in their restaurant. read more

Excellent Greek food and really attentive staff. The gyro and mussels were fantastic and big enough for a hungry appetite! We would definitely come here again when we're in Boston. And the baklava!!! read more

I am a huge fan of Greek food and have heard great things about Desfina so decided to check it out! Overall, we had a good experience. The location was great with some parking and it was nice inside. The service was excellent and we got our food very quickly. The greek dressing they give with the bread is amazing, I want to buy a bottle for myself! Our food was just ok. Wish the fried zucchini was a little less greasy and the gyro had more flavor. But overall, a good Greek option. read more

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Amazing food with excellent service! The staff is super friendly. There is always parking available near by. Their grilled octopus and calamari are the must-try. The ambience could be a bit better, if you care about it more than food :) read more

Super fresh and tasty. I had the side salad and the saganaki. The saganaki is not served as I anticipated -- they must do the flame part in the back. I am used to this dish being served steaming hot with gooey cheese that you can scoop with pita. The dish here was served with fork and knife -- no goo to be had. Granted, this place is probably more authentic than the coney islands I'm used to back in Michigan. My meal was delicious and hit the spot, but I will continue my quest for flaming saganaki elsewhere. read more

We were looking for Greek and really wanted to love this place, but the food fell short. The staff were warm and welcoming. However, the restaurant seem short staffed on a Friday night and once our food was served, no one came back to refill water, etc. It seems like a small mom and pop type place and was bustling on a Friday evening with local clientele. A reservation is probably needed on busy nights. Though I couldn't figure out why it's so popular - perhaps we ordered the wrong items. Of what we ordered: hummus, grilled octopus, sea bass, zucchini, side French fries... deep fried zucchini and the grilled octopus were the only enjoyable items. The sea bass was dry and over cooked, fries were undercooked, and the pita that came with the hummus were thin and dry and difficult to eat. Perhaps the other dishes are better. read more

My favorite of all time! Everything here is amazing! My go to "base meal" which I got at least twice a week is: Horiatiki (Village Salad), Scordalia (mashed potatoes / fresh garlic purée), and Avgolemono (lemon chicken and rice soup) You always feel good after eating here never bloated or unwell like so many places these days. Ive since moved but once in a while will make the drive just to have these. No place is equivalent. The ingredients are also all top quality which is SO hard to find (I used to also get the grilled octopus- but I won't eat octopus anymore since seeing the documentary my octopus teacher ) read more

Quick three: Food: great, service:great, ambiance: great! They use fresh ingredients and are nice and friendly. They have a cozy bar you can sit at to have your meal. I've had multiple dishes and you can mix and match a dinner or share dishes with friends and family. I've also had cocktails and nice wine. I suggest getting a couple of dishes and sharing to get the full experience! The dishes are pretty generous and filling. They take reservations but usually you can get right in if it's not too late. read more

Nice casual spot for lunch. Got the lunch plate with lamb and fries but was a little dry and anticipated having more ingredients on the plate. read more

Desfina Restaurant - Greek Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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It was clearly a busy Friday night and we were walk in customers. So I have a lot of understanding due to that. They got us seated pretty quickly and staff was super friendly. We sat in a patio outside -- no heat lamps so don't forget a sweater for the night chill. Super enjoyed our food, though I will say, my moussaka was not particularly warm. It's a casserole and it was delicious so it's forgiven. We started with and shared the saganaki. Absolutely scrumptious. Hubs had the gyro and liked it! They were out of a custardy dessert so we got the orange cake and I was so glad. Mouth melting, rich and just the right amount of sweet. read more

I get excited every time we need to go to East Cambridge because it's an excuse to go to Desfina. This is a hidden gem that always satisfies. I usually get a gyro of some sort, the Mrs gets a bean ragu type dish and fried saganaki. One time we went, there was a man playing Greek songs on his guitar, he was a shredder (see: was good at guitar), which was cool, but it really added to the ambiance. Made me feel like I was in someone's house. They have a few ouzo options and some great desserts. Love this spot. read more

During our time in Massachusetts we stopped here for dinner. At first glance I didn't think much of this place but my friend made the reservations so we decided to give it a shot. I was very wrong the food here was really good. The portions are huge and not expensive. The service was a bit off they were nice but cold at the same time. It might be a cultural thing. If you enjoy Greek food then check this place out you won't be disappointed. read more

Desfina Restaurant - Grilled chicken Greek salad - Greek Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Super authentic and delicious Greek cuisine! Complete with Greek beers such as Fix and Mythos! Grilled octopus was incredible! Shrimp Desfina was also great! I will be back! read more

Desfina Restaurant - Greek Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Very standard Greek fare, perhaps with more options than you're typical. Ambiance is probably classier than your generic Greek spot, but thankfully prices still are reasonable. I had a great wrap. Others in my party tried the dips player, which was highly variable: half the dips were highly enjoyed the other half pretty bad. Fast service. Not a standout but not a bad choice. read more

Had a pick up order Terrible food lamb was old chicken lemon soup had a hair in it the rice was hard. The desert I was recommended tasted terrible as well. Very low quality food and unhygienic called for a refund and never received my refund for 80 dollars worth of terrible food that I threw away and ordered take out. Worst Greek food I've ever tasted very rude workers when confronted about the situation they did not do anything to rectify the situation for me. Very unhappy if I could leave 0 stars I would. read more

Review update: this place has been fantastic, during this whole "new normal." We order from here, with work, at least once a week. The favorite seems to be kebabs. Comes with crusty bread and a side. I like it with salad (ask for feta). My favorite kebab so far is the beef. It's deliciously charred, and I really like the green pepper with it. Also, THANK YOU for knowing that I need one little pack of butter/ bread slab. Amazing! Just tried pastitsio from here... YUM! Perfect comfort food for these times. From the bottom up- tube shaped pasta, ground meat, bechamel sauce on top. Comes with a side and salad. The salad comes with Greek dressing and fresh feta. Also comes with awesome crusty bread, and butter for spreading on it. read more

We were looking for dinner in the area and love Greek food so stopped in. The space is modest and staff created a welcoming environment. Everyone was very kind and attentive. Parking was easily found just across the street and we had no problem getting a table on a weeknight dinner time. We ordered wine which we enjoyed, and decided to try a sampling of foods for dinner. The saganaki presentation was fine, but it held a strong taste of alcohol and never really softened so was still a pretty solid block unlike we'd experienced at other Greek restaurants. I love avgolemano soup for it's strong lemon and garlic flavors I'm used to, so ordered a whole bowl to share, but this was more like a Campbell's chicken and rice in flavor with little to no lemon or garlic and while you could tell there was some egg in it, the consistency was still very thin unlike what I'm used to. The fried zucchini had a good breading consistency and thickness of cut, but while that allowed some zucchini flavor to come through, the lack of flavor in the breading muted it out quite a bit leaving just a fried taste. My friend did not finish her gyro as the meat didn't have the flavoring she expected either. The skordalia that came with the fried zucchini had great flavor and texture, and along with the wine and bread starter, were the best parts of the meal. Overall, we were disappointed with the lack of flavor for the price we paid, but appreciated the welcoming environment from the staff and a few aspects of the meal. read more

Desfina Restaurant - Fried zucchini and avgolemano soup - Greek Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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My sisters and I ate twice at Desfina's in Cambridge, MA last January, and it was an absolute delight. I love Greek food in general, but I was especially impressed by the freshness and quality of the meats we ordered. We had the meat platter, octopus, salad--and for dessert, we enjoyed baklava, galaktobouriko, and the famous Ouzo Plomari. I wasn't too crazy about the rice, but everything else more than made up for it. The service was excellent, and I'm already looking forward to going back next time I'm in town. read more

It's a little expensive but it's a local establishment that has survived the test of time which is probably worth the price. I want to try their octopus, but I just stopped by for an $12 take out order of feta and olives. I was in the mood for it! read more

Food is excellent however WATCH your credit card charges we were charged 411.00 between three of us, when the whole bill $159.00 two parties were charged twice AND this is going on three weeks ago minus 3 days and NO REFUND yet! We had two martinis, two beers, Tzatziki and eggplant app, 2 baked lamb dinner, 1 gyro dinner and a Greek chicken salad. $159.00 Friend A was charged $159.64 and another charge for $29.40 Friend B charged: $104.00 then $64.40 I was charged $54.40 $411.84 First my friends spoke to Stathis he said he would take care of it and refund week goes by and now my friends have two charges on their cards vs 1 mistaken charge but now two. Then I called this past Saturday, asked for Stathis he's now conveniently in Greece! First my friend calls and is told by Veronica no manager is on till Monday and she'd get a call back. So I call and literally threaten to complain to the better business bureau if Massachusetts if this isn't corrected! So Tommy is all of a sudden available, he rudely gets on the phone, hurries me tells me "the system mistake and he has given us all refunds" no apology, pretty rude no trying to make it ok! You think after all this they give us a refund and a gift card! Nothing!!!! Clearly they don't care about their customers at all. We still haven't seen a refund which past two weeks is coming! Be aware!! I'm really sad to post this because their food is exquisite but I refuse to give my money to a business that gives no f$cks about their patrons and is rude read more

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Love this place! The vibe is so charming and old school. We enjoyed the spanakopita, village salad, dips etc. Service was good too. We will be back! read more

In town with family and my son was craving Greek food. Went here merely based on a Google search. We're from out of town and we're trying to figure out where to park. Just happened to ask two gentlemen standing outside the restaurant and they guided us to a small unmarked parking lot across the street. Once inside, the place was cozy and clean. We were obviously surrounded by regulars, but didn't feel like outsiders. I really have no idea how many tourists this area sees. The food was amazing. They brought out some bread for the table and a bottle of dressing for our complimentary salad. We started off with saganaki, which was delicious. My entire crew had lamb gyros. I had the pastichio. Since I'm a sucker for a good baklava, I had to order some. Had I not been so full I would've ordered a second slice. The only thing my boys' mom did not like was the cabernet. I don't know anything about wine, so I can't expand much on this. Overall, it was a good family experience. read more

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This is a great local restaurant for Greek food. The service is really good and the portions are huge! I love getting the gyro; it comes with a side salad that has a fantastic dressing. The one comment that I have to make it even better is more tomatoes/veggies in the gyro. Of course I'm sure there will be those who like the lack of vegetation, but I think the addition would add to the overall mouthfeel. Also more tzatziki sauce. Otherwise, it is really solid place and reasonably priced. read more

We went to eat at Desfina for the first time last Saturday eve. Food wS pretty good other than stale, crumbling pita served with the tzaziki -service was a bit disappointing. I ordered stuffed grape leaves which are meat with rice.So when I learned the side was also rice I asked if I could have a vegetable side instead and the response from the waitress was "there are no substitutions"...what? I didn't ask for a side of lobster and wouldn't even have minded paying for the vegetables but it wasn't an option which is ridiculous. So I got a dinner that I paid full price for without anyside other than salad which came to the table with no dressing which we had to wait 15 minutes to get her attention to get. Water glasses empty until another server noticed and nicely filled for us. Easy fixes....please do better. Quite the turn off for our first visit and we liked the food and atmosphere read more

Great Greek establishment. The food was of great quality, and the service fast and to the point. Reasonably priced as well. Strongly recommend read more

What a great place to get authentic Greek food! The grilled octopus was simple but delicious. Service was attentive and the price was on point. A casual atmosphere that is inviting. Points to note: only one side with your entree and bottled water was delivered for a fee without asking. Simply asking bottled or tap would eliminate this one downfall. The Captain will return. read more

Good food, but "Don't drink the water" We put in a reservation the other night for four people for an outside table at 8:00 on a Saturday night. It was not that busy. We ordered an appetizer and several entrees and no beverages, we just asked for water. The water came in some sort of decorative bottle with a label. We're pretty big water drinkers, so we ended up getting approx. 2.5 liters total for the table. When we received the bill, we were charged $12.50 for the waters. I have eaten out in all kinds of restaurants and I used to travel quite a bit, and when dining in a fairly decent restaurant, we were always asked (when tap water wasn't the only option) "do you want tap, still, or sparkling water", and then we can make our choice. We were never given an option. When I asked the server about the water charges on the bill, she said that for large parties, (since when is a party of four considered a large group?) we don't ask, because we would be refilling waters throughout the meal" I mean really? Did you ever think of putting a water pitcher on the table and then you wouldn't have to keep refilling waters? I didn't want to make a scene in front of my guests, so I just paid for it, and oh, by the way, they messed up the checking out of my bill pretty badly. It took them 15-20 minutes to fix it after charging me for someone else's bill on my credit card. The food was good, not cheap (Boston prices?) They probably should have offered us a free dessert or comp-ed us for the waters, but (again), I didn't push because I didn't want to make a scene read more