Irvington’s MP Taverna is Worth The Trip

Irvington’s MP Taverna is Worth The Trip: It took us six years but we finally made it to MP Taverna. It’s hard travelling below 287 once you’ve settled in one of the ABC towns, I guess. It’s not just south of 287 but it’s south and west all the way to the river – like a knights move in chess. Shamelessly we write about it now. Because if you have never been to celebrity Chef Michael Psilakis’ Greek tavern, it is worth the trip. And we plan on returning!

Michael Psilakis may be Westchester’s highest profile chef. Esquire magazine named him Chef of the Year in 2006 for his work on the haute Greek restaurant Anthos in Manhattan. Two years later he received a Michelin Star (one of only two Greek chefs in the world ever to have received the honor) and was dubbed Chef of the Year from Bon Appétit. Since then he has appeared on The Food Network’s Iron Chef America, BBC America’s No Kitchen Required, The Today Show, Good Morning America, in People magazine, and has published two cook books.

The Greek Brasserie without the photos of Santorini

In 2012, Emily DeNitto of The New York Times gave MP Taverna Irvington (there’s also one in Roslyn, NY) a Don’t Miss rating in her article Comfort Food à la Grecque. She called it “Greek food at it’s best.” And lauded the dining room’s brasserie aesthetic and Psilakis’ design that avoids “Mediterranean blue anywhere, no fish on ice, no photos of Santorini or any of the other classic symbols of a Greek restaurant.”

MP Taverna is housed in a turn of the century warehouse by the Hudson River with high ceilings and original rough-hewn wood beams. Whitewashed brick walls and large mirrors serve as a light counterpoint to the rich walnut woodwork prevalent in the main dining room. In our experience the room was lively but the acoustics were muted allowing for a comfortable dining experience. And our server was great.

After he went over the nightly specials we asked him for his recommendations from the regular menu. After some back and forth, and as good as the specials sounded, we went, with his approval, with four dishes from the regular menu. He enthusiastically blessed our order, offering that they were all signature dishes of the chef.

What We Liked

We started with the Grilled Octopus with Mediterranean chickpea salad. Go to almost any upscale Westchester restaurant these days and the waiter will recommend the octopus appetizer as the specialty of the house. Compare with MP Taverna and you will immediately recognize the three-quarter inch discs are just a little thicker, a little juicier and more flavorful than any octopus you’ve had in Westchester County. (And there’s good octopus in Westchester!)

We also had the Roasted Lemon Chicken with dill and garlic roasted fingerling potatoes; the Grilled Branzino with fingerlings, cherry tomato, garlic and olives; and the Dumplings with spicy lamb sausage, sundried tomato, pine nut, spinach, tomato, feta. No sense mincing words, we liked every dish and that’s rare for us.

The Roasted Lemon Chicken was one to write home about. You can find the recipe online. It’s no secret and it’s so simple it’s almost embarrassing that this is the recipe for a Michelin chef’s signature dish. But in it, every ingredient was a star. It was tangy, it hit the palette hard with the lemon taste and then it finished so smoothly with the wine, oil and dill. With each forkful, I thought, “This is too lemony… no, it’s not!” It was, as the saying goes, a party in my mouth! The Fingerlings on the chicken and the Branzino were amazing, still crispy despite being covered in their respective sauces. And don’t be frightened by the spicy lamb sausage in the dumplings. As our waiter said, “They’re a five out of ten” on the spicy scale.

For dessert we didn’t even have to ask our waiter for recommendations. The signature dishes jumped off the page at us. We had the Apple “Baklava” Napoleon and the Chocolate Halva Brownie. “Nailed it,” he said. We fought for the rest of the night over which was better. Of the three of us, there was one vote for the Apple “Baklava” Napoleon and one vote for the Chocolate Halva Brownie. The third vote liked them both equally.

When we return

When we go back it’s going to be hard to order anything different. But some dishes that caught our eye include the Greek Paella, shellfish, spicy lamb sausage and orzo; the Bulghar Salad, date, almond, peppers, cucumber, olive, red onions, pistachio; and the Greek Meatballs (another waiter recommendation) with olives, onion, garlic and tomato sauce. Sometime we’ll have to try the trio of Greek Dips – yogurt, chickpea, and eggplant with pita. Did we mention the Braised Lamb Shank with orzo and root vegetables.

With five days notice, MP Taverna will also grill up a whole suckling pig, baby lamb, kid goat or whole fish for larger parties. There’s really not much else to say here. Michael Psilakis is a highly acclaimed chef and MP Taverna delivers great food and a comfortable dining experience. Check it out.

More to do on Bridge Street

Once you discover the Bridge Street complex on the waterfront in Irvington you will want to check out MP Taverna’s neighbor Red Hat on the Hudson, which we added to our Bucket List for it’s waterfront dining last year. See our review. There is also an Eileen Fisher store in the same warehouse that houses both restaurants. FYI!

(MP Taverna, 1 Bridge St. Irvington, 914. 231.7854; www.michaelpsilakis.com)