Restaurant in New York City, United States
Serious Greek food, easy on the wallet.
BZ Grill in Astoria is New York City's most consistently OAD-ranked Greek grill at the cheap-eats tier, with back-to-back Opinionated About Dining placements in 2023 and 2024 and a 4.4 Google rating across 1,281 reviews. Chef Serafin Ferdeklis runs a smoke-and-char kitchen that rewards eating in over delivery. Easy to book, hard to fault at the price.
If you're looking for serious Greek food at a price point that won't register as a splurge, BZ Grill in Astoria is the clearest answer in New York City. Chef Serafin Ferdeklis runs a kitchen that has earned back-to-back placement on the Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America list — ranked #111 in 2023 and #166 in 2024 , which in the OAD world is a meaningful credential for a neighbourhood grill. This is not a destination restaurant by Manhattan's definition, but it is exactly the kind of place that food-focused explorers should have on their map. Book it, especially if you're curious about the depth of Greek cooking outside the polished mid-Manhattan options.
BZ Grill sits on Astoria Boulevard in a neighbourhood that has been a Greek-American culinary corridor for decades. The kitchen's identity is grounded in the grill , the kind of cooking where smoke and char carry as much flavour information as seasoning does. The scent profile you'd expect here is woodsmoke, rendered fat, and the faint char of grilled protein meeting open heat: the sensory signature of a serious Greek grill kitchen. That's not incidental to the experience; it's the point. If you're arriving from Manhattan, treat this as a purposeful food trip rather than a convenience stop.
The OAD Cheap Eats ranking , twice over , signals that the kitchen maintains a level of consistency that critics and serious eaters track. OAD's cheap eats lists are assembled from votes by well-travelled diners, not press releases, which makes the placement a reliable indicator of cooking quality relative to price. The slight drop from #111 to #166 between 2023 and 2024 is worth noting: not a red flag, but worth watching for a third-year data point. A 4.4 rating across 1,281 Google reviews reinforces that this isn't a flash-in-the-pan operation.
Given BZ Grill's format as a grill-focused operation, the takeout question matters. Greek grill food , whole fish, skewered meats, charred vegetables , travels better than most cuisines at this price tier, provided you're eating within 20 minutes of pickup. The core flavours are strong enough that a short transit window doesn't destroy them, but anything with crispy skin or textural contrast will suffer on a longer journey. If you're ordering for delivery to a Manhattan address, factor in the Queens-to-Manhattan transit time: the food is likely to arrive compromised. For the full experience, eat in or pick up and eat close to the source. The grill-smoke aromatics that define the kitchen don't survive a sealed container well. For comparison, Greek spots like Taverna Kyclades , also in Astoria , face the same delivery limitations with seafood-heavy menus. The format rewards proximity.
Astoria remains the most serious borough for Greek food in New York, and BZ Grill is one of its better representatives. If you're building a Greek dining itinerary across the city, pair this with Eléa for a higher-price-point Greek experience in Manhattan, or Pylos in the East Village for a different register of the cuisine. Kyma offers a more polished, expense-account version of the same culinary tradition. BZ Grill is the cheap-eats anchor of that comparison set , the place you go when you want cooking quality without the overhead of a Manhattan dining room. For Greek dining outside the US, OMA in London and Mavrommatis in Paris represent the European end of the spectrum.
Hours: Monday through Sunday, 11 am–10 pm. Reservations: Easy , booking difficulty is low, and walk-ins are likely manageable outside peak weekend hours. Budget: Cheap eats tier; expect to spend comfortably below $30 per person. Getting there: Astoria by subway (N/W train to Astoria Blvd) puts you steps from the door. Dress: No dress code , come as you are. Booking method: Not specified in available data; calling ahead for groups is advisable.
Lunch is the sharper call. BZ Grill opens at 11 am daily, and a midday visit at a cheap-eats grill typically means fresher prep and a quieter room. For a neighbourhood grill of this type, the cooking doesn't change between services the way it might at a tasting-menu restaurant, but arriving at lunch avoids any weekend dinner crowding and keeps your options open for the rest of the day in Queens.
Bar seating details aren't confirmed in available data. Greek grill restaurants in Astoria at this price tier typically have counter or informal seating rather than a dedicated bar program. If solo bar dining is your goal, Taverna Kyclades nearby is worth checking as a comparable option with a more documented layout.
No specific dietary restriction information is confirmed for BZ Grill. Greek grill menus typically centre on meat and seafood, so vegetarians should call ahead. Contact details aren't available in current data , check Google Maps for a current phone number before visiting if restrictions are a concern.
Booking difficulty is rated easy. For a weekday lunch or dinner, same-day or next-day should be fine. For weekend dinner, a few days ahead is sensible given that OAD recognition tends to drive consistent traffic to smaller neighbourhood spots. This is not a venue where you need a three-week lead time the way you would at Le Bernardin.
No dress code. This is a neighbourhood grill in Astoria at a cheap-eats price point , casual is correct. Anything you'd wear to a relaxed lunch in Queens works here. Save the deliberate outfit planning for Eléa or Kyma if you want a more dressed environment.
No confirmed group booking policy is available. For groups of four or more, calling ahead is advisable , the phone number isn't in current data, so check Google Maps for a current listing. Greek grill formats generally handle groups well given family-style serving traditions, but confirm capacity before arriving with a large party.
Come knowing this is a grill-first kitchen with OAD Cheap Eats credentials , that's the frame. It's not trying to be a Manhattan Greek restaurant; it's a neighbourhood institution in Astoria's Greek corridor. Order according to what comes off the grill. If you want context on where BZ Grill sits in the broader NYC Greek picture, read our comparisons with Pylos and Taverna Kyclades before deciding.
Yes , a cheap-eats grill with easy booking and a casual format is one of the more comfortable solo dining formats in the city. You're not committing to a multi-hour tasting menu or navigating a formal room alone. Come at lunch, order what appeals from the grill, and treat it as a purposeful food stop on a wider Queens exploration.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| BZ Grill | — | |
| Le Bernardin | $$$$ | — |
| Atomix | $$$$ | — |
| Per Se | $$$$ | — |
| Masa | $$$$ | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | $$$$ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between BZ Grill and alternatives.
Lunch is the lower-friction option — the room is less crowded and the kitchen runs the same hours from 11am daily. For a grill-focused Greek menu, dinner has no particular advantage here. If you want to avoid any wait, a weekday lunch is your clearest path in.
Bar seating availability is not confirmed in available venue details for BZ Grill. Given its format as a neighbourhood Greek grill on Astoria Boulevard, counter or casual seating is plausible, but call ahead if bar-side dining is a priority for your visit.
Greek grill menus typically include grilled fish, vegetables, and meat-forward dishes that give pescatarians and meat-eaters solid options. Specific dietary accommodation policies are not documented for BZ Grill, so flag any restrictions when you book or arrive — the kitchen's grill-focused format may limit substitution flexibility.
Booking difficulty here is low. Walk-ins should be manageable most of the week, with peak weekend evenings being the only time advance planning matters. A same-day or next-day reservation is likely sufficient outside Friday and Saturday nights.
This is a neighbourhood Greek grill in Astoria — no dress code applies. Come as you would for a casual weekday lunch or a low-key dinner out. Leave the blazer at home.
For smaller groups of two to four, BZ Grill should be straightforward. Larger parties should call ahead — the venue's format as a neighbourhood grill suggests limited private dining infrastructure, and showing up as a group of six or more without notice is a risk.
BZ Grill has ranked on the Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America list in both 2023 (#111) and 2024 (#166) — that's a meaningful signal for a neighbourhood spot. Chef Serafin Ferdeklis runs a grill-focused Greek kitchen, so come expecting charred meats and fish rather than a broad mezze spread. It's open daily 11am–10pm with no complicated booking process.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
