Plaka

Plaka is a family-run Greek restaurant on 31st Avenue, where Jackson Heights shades into East Elmhurst, and it has the easy warmth of a place that has fed the same blocks for years. According to the Greek-American newspaper The National Herald, it was opened in 2006 by Alex and Anna Theodoropoulos, a couple from Nafpaktos, and their children and relatives still help run it. The menu leans toward the Mediterranean grill: generous, straightforward plates built on lemon, olive oil and good char rather than fuss. In a part of Queens better known for South Asian and Latin American cooking, Plaka is a reminder of the borough's long Greek thread, the kind of taverna people find by word of mouth.

Featured by the YouTuber New York Turk in 2026, Plaka rewards a classic Greek order. Regulars single out the grilled octopus and the grilled chicken with lemon potatoes, and those two plates are a fair test of any taverna kitchen; both pass here, by most accounts. Build around them with a salad for the table, and linger over coffee if the room is calm. Reviewers also point to something unusual for this part of Queens, plentiful free parking nearby, which makes it an easy dinner if you are driving in from elsewhere in the borough or coming off a flight at LaGuardia, a short drive away. It suits a relaxed family meal or a quiet solo dinner equally well.