The menu at Zante, the fine-dining Greek restaurant that opened in Guilderland last month, replacing the 17-year-old Athos, says its octapothi (no translation needed) is grilled. It is, but that’s only the final step, to add char to the edges and crispness to the small ends of tentacles.
According to the head chef, Chris Euripidou, the process starts with a long braise of the octopus, followed by a several-hour marination in Greek balsamic vinegar. Only then does it hit the grill, before landing on the plate atop frisee, finished with a drizzle of olive oil. The tender result is how you want octopus to be, though anyone who has ordered it at enough places knows the rubbery fork-bounce that prompted our hostess to confess a pre-Zante aversion to octapothi. She’s now a convert. The octopus and lamb shank, the latter braised in red wine, honey and tomato, have so far received the most compliments from guests, Euripidou said.
Boasting a handsome interior remodel with neutral tones offset by darker woven backs on comfortable dining chairs and attentive service overseen by general manager Chris Cropsey, Zante is owned by Bob and Alaina Pilarinos. They also own the nearby Capital City Diner and previously owned Ambrosia Diner in Queensbury, which they sold earlier this year to focus attention on their two Western Avenue restaurants. The restaurant is named after the Greek island of Zakynthos, nicknamed Zante, where Bob Pilarinos’ parents were born.
The menu offers traditional Greek fare that was the focus of Athos under its original owners but expanded to pan-Mediterranean after the restaurant was sold in 2022 to the partnership from whom the Pilarinoses bought the building. Five Greek spreads, including tzatziki, skordalia and irresistibly tangy-spicy tirokafteri (whipped feta and peppers), make for a shareable start. We mulled entrees, perhaps bronzino deboned tableside or lamb (rack or shank), but opted for a variety of small plates.
Don’t miss scallop crudo, bathed in citrus and crowned with a tangle of thin chile slices that prickle with heat. The horiatiki salad, a bowlful of summer freshness with tomato, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, pepperoncini and feta planks, serves two, or a hungry solo diner, and the side we chose, a version of rice pilaf with spinach called spanacorizo, proved warming and toothsome, especially after being perked up with a mound of tirokafteri.
Cropsey — a service pro comfortable in his role from a decade at Athos and as front-of-house manager at the Fort Orange Club in Albany, where he worked with former longtime Athos head chef Lou Agostinello — talked us into a light, sweet finish with a dessert we didn’t know we wanted: loukoumathes, or little spheres of fried dough glazed with honey and dusted with cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar. Cropsey also put together the 35-label, all-Greek wine list, with about a third available by the glass. The restaurant has between 25 and 30 employees, according to Pilarinos, who said about half of his current customers dined at Athos and are returning to try its successor.
Euripidou, the head chef, previously ran his family’s Farmer Boy Diner in Colonie until it closed during the pandemic after about 45 years. He also was co-owner of Across the Street Pub in Albany, although that relationship is winding down, he said. While a fine-dining Greek restaurant of his own had always been among his goals, he said, the opportunity at Zante — to run such a kitchen without the headaches of ownership — became more and more appealing.
Located at 1814 Western Ave., Zante serves from 4 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Saturday and from 2 p.m. Sunday, closed Tuesday. Call 518-213-7322 or reserve online.
Dining and Cooking