Bites Nearby: Go Greek at Andrea's on Thayer Street

I've been a fan of Andreas for a long time. It is right in the middle of Thayer Street in Providence, which is a great place in general and is always a fantastic place to get a bite to eat

I especially love when Memorial Day comes around and Thayer Street clicks into summer mode. The demographic on the street changes with the college students leaving for the summer, and things are a little quieter. The outdoor tables at a variety of restaurants make their appearance on the sidewalks. They’re great to enjoy the warm weather, and participate in one of my favorite pastimes, people watching.

Thayer Street never lets down, providing a great mix of people, cars and motorcycles to watch. The outdoor seating at Andreas is some of the best in the area. They have a few tables on Meeting Street that stay sunny until the last minutes before sunset, and the ones along Thayer Street comfortably fit four people and leave plenty of space for pedestrians. The staff has always been friendly and attentive, and whether indoors or out, Andrea's hits the mark. 

And the food is good, too! Andreas specializes in Greek-American cuisine, and there's something there for everyone, whether you like Greek food or not.

Andrea's recently made some changes to their menu. There are a lot of traditional Greek specialty dishes with long traditional Greek names, but enough American classic items to keep everyone in your party happy. The changes in the menu seem to have coincided with some changes in the kitchen, too. The last time I was at Andrea's about a year ago, it lacked a little luster in the food department, but the kitchen seems to have gotten its fire back. During this most recent visit to Andrea's, we ordered some favorites and tried a couple new things, too.  

Staying true to form, Amy and I got a table outside with little wait on the Sunday of the holiday weekend. We're lucky we did not have to wait. We were waiting for a friend from out of town to join us and we weren't expecting him soon. It felt good not being in a rush. We ordered some baked feta and looked over the new menu. The baked feta has been a favorite of Amy's for a while. It comes with capers, sun dried tomatoes and slices of pita. They deliver it bubbly and hot, and it remains tasty even after its cooled and been sitting for a bit.

We also ordered the French onion soup. It is probably my favorite soup to order, when clam chowder is not on the menu. The most important observation about the soup was noting the amount of time between order and delivery. I appreciate fast service, but I also appreciate properly baked French onion soup. I took another look at their menu online just now to ensure that they promise baked French onion, and they do. This soup came out way too fast, and the methodology behind the “baked” is suspect. 

From here Amy and I ordered a Marouli salad. It consisted of Boston bib lettuce, feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, fire grilled leeks, and Bermuda onion. I cannot recall if I’ve seen this salad on the menu before, but it was fantastic. We added some grilled chicken to it, and it was totally unnecessary and actually took away from the salad as a whole. There is a lot of variation of salads out there, and it’s refreshing to see something that stands out on the menu AND delivers. The Boston bib lettuce was a great touch, and the execution of the rest was creative and authentic to the theme of the restaurant. I highly recommend it. 

This is where our order ended on this specific day, but I wouldn’t leave you without some entrée recommendations. The Gyro sandwich and Gyro plate are pretty much the same, but accommodate different hunger levels (regardless of pronunciation). I do not think there is a dish more representative of Greek cuisine than the Gyro. Andrea’s has produced a delicious Gyro every time I’ve ordered it, and it is probably my most frequently ordered item from the menu.

The Greek burger is also great. It is feta and bacon on top of a burger. Plain. Simple. Delicious. If I’m feeling a little adventurous, next time I may try the lamb burger. The thin-sliced roast beef au jus sandwich is also one of my favorite things from the menu, but if my memory serves, it was this item that caused me to call into question the consistency and quality of Andrea’s a while ago. Although people frequently swap out French fries for something else, I recommend you stick with them here.  Andrea’s always has awesome fries. 

If you’ve never been to Andrea’s or just have not been there in a while, the summertime is a great time to go. Whether you sit inside or out, you’ll be well taken care of.

I forgot to mention the wine list! Browse the wine list for some excellent and unexpected Greek wines. We ordered one with a typical difficult to pronounce Greek name. It was a dry white wine (I think bin #204). It was tasted great and was surprising at only $25 per bottle. Andrea’s is of average price for the experience. I think I would give them a 2.5 of 4 on the $ scale.

They offer a genuine experience that lies outside the mold of the typical restaurant who wants to be authentic, and they do not lose their edge by filling the menu with the same options as everywhere else.