The celebrated MP Taverna, named after and owned by Greek restaurateur Michael Psilakis, has closed its doors in the Village of Roslyn.
It opened in 2011 on Old Northern Boulevard and was one of four MP Tavernas that Psilakis has owned. The last existing location is in Irvington. Previously there were restaurants in Astoria and Williamsburg.
In addition to MP Taverna, Psilakis’ restaurant group owns Kefi, a Greek restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Psilakis was unavailable to comment.
The chef got his start in restaurant management on Long Island after purchasing Garden City Park’s Café Angelica, which he renamed Ecco.
From there, his portfolio moved to New York City. He opened Onera in Manhattan in 2004, according to Time Out. Dona in Midtown and Kefi followed.
The gastropub Gus & Gabriel opened in 2009 and the wine bar and seafood joint Fishtag followed in 2011.
Just a couple months after MP Taverna opened in Roslyn, The New York Times restaurant reviewer Joanne Starkey said she considered it among her favorite restaurants on Long Island.
“We liked the bitter and spicy greens salad with red onion and smoked metsovone cheese; the tomato salad highlighted with crunchy string beans, grilled onions, red peppers and feta; and, best of all, the MP salad, a chopped Greek salad liberally laced with creamy feta and olives,” Starkey wrote in her review. “It is the best Greek salad I’ve ever had, including in Greece.”
Large parties had the opportunity to order a whole animal for a meal, provided that it was reserved in advance.
The restaurant garnered 3 ½ stars on Yelp, with reviewers raving about everything from brunches to desserts.
Psilakis has appeared on cooking-oriented television shows such as “Iron Chef” and even made an appearance in the White House to prepare a meal for former President Barack Obama’s Greek Independence Day celebration.
