Perfect Pairing:
Nerai Unites Refined Greek cuisine with Exquisite Wine Collection

English text by Eva Pomice

Since opening in 2013, Nerai has carved out an enviable space in New York’s fiercely competitive restaurant scene. The Midtown restaurant offers Hellenic food with an interpretive twist, catering to a luxury clientele of business people, travelers, and neighborhood devotees. It has consistently landed near the top of TripAdvisor’s list of favorites, without losing its insider feel.

For owner Spiro Menegatos, Nerai conveys a specific vision of his ancestral home. The multilevel restaurant’s main floor has a lively bar and nautical theme. Its upper floor’s high, canopied ceilings, spacious, cushioned banquettes, and shuttered long windows radiate calm and luxury, suggesting an idea of Greece that departs from decor clichés. With a recently remodeled cellar and a vastly expanded wine list, Nerai now offers wine dinners and tastings in its clubby private dining rooms.

 

 

”Contrary to popular belief, not every house in Greece is white with blue shutters,” says Menegatos. “There is a lot of beautiful, traditional Greek architecture that doesn’t make it onto postcards. We want to give you the experience that you are in a chic restaurant in today’s Greece.”

A graduate of NYU’s elite Stern School of Business, Menegatos started out as a derivatives trader and initially launched Nerai as a passive investor. He soon realized the enterprise needed his full attention. Growing up in a Greek family passionate about food made it a natural fit. “We always had 60 people at Thanksgiving dinner,” says Menegatos. “My mother was a truly amazing cook, and she passed that love of food on to me.” Nerai’s cuisine has evolved since its opening to arrive at a sweet spot: elevated cuisine that stays true to its roots, retaining its essential “Greekness.” “Our driving inspiration is to take Greek flavors and present them in a modern way,” says Menegatos. “We struggle internally with each dish to answer the question ‘How is this Greek?’ We have to keep all the Greek flavors present in every dish. It’s the hardest thing we do, and our customers see this and feel this.”

Israel-born executive chef Moshe Grundman, who was formerly the sous chef at Michelin-starred Oceana, delivers on that culinary promise. His Greek salad retains key traditional ingredients like feta cheese, but it sits on a base of tomato butter (a velvety mixture of shallots, butter, and tomatoes) and is topped with samphire, sea beans with a pickled caper flavor. With signature dishes, the emphasis is on simplicity and meticulous preparation. “We source the best ingredients we can, take time cooking them, and plate them in a modern way,” says Menegatos. Octopus from Spain, Nerai’s most popular dish, is charred and crispy on the outside but tender within, and garnished with Santorini fava (yellow split peas) and caramelized onions. Simply grilled lamb chops, sourced from Australia, are served with a parsnip purée, honey-glazed carrots, and a fresh twist on lamb dolma, rice and lamb wrapped in Swiss chard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dessert offerings, created by in-house pastry chef Choya Hodge, include a sumptuous saragli, which is hand-rolled baklava, served with tahini mousse and sesame brittle.

Nerai’s 600-bottle wine list is one of its biggest draws. Expertly curated by veteran sommelier Michael Coll, who owned his own Manhattan wine store and restaurant and served as wine director at Town and also at Estiatorio Milos, it includes bottles from nearly every wine-producing region in the world. Price points range from $50 to $2,000, with a focus on organic and biodynamic wines. Nerai’s cellar includes a rare Syrah-Grenache from the producer Peyre Rose that has not been on the market for 17 years and a Silex from the winemaker Didier Dagueneau.

“There are many people who pick a restaurant based on its wine list,” says Coll. “People have questions and definitions, but ultimately you are just trying to find the bottle of wine that will satisfy them.”

Procuring such wines is easier said than done, requiring not only buying power but also depth of expertise, research, and connections. “The New York market is very aggressive for wine,” says Coll. “Wine barely hits the streets before it’s gone, because there are so many restaurants and large retailers vying for the same product. Most of it is young.” Coll frequently buys at auctions to find wine at its peak. Nerai also invests in wines with a long-term view. “We are trying to build the best wine list bottle for bottle in New York,” says Menegatos. “If we find a wine that we think will be great within the next two to five years, we buy as much of it as we can.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Greek wines account for only 20 percent of the restaurant’s list, they constitute 30 percent of what is sold. “Greek wines have increased vastly in quality and consistency,” says Coll. “Young winemakers study under the great masters of the world and bring that knowledge back to their homes and villages.”

Given Nerai’s seafood offerings, whites are a particularly popular choice for diners. “There’s a lot of pressure on Greek wines as Greek restaurants all compete for the same products,” says Coll. “Many Greek winemakers make a minuscule amount of wine.” Take wine made from Assyrtiko, the white grape indigenous to Santorini. The island has a unique type of volcanic soil, but high winds make for brutal growing conditions. Its vineyards have developed a unique trellising system, with vines woven into baskets placed low to the ground. Roots on the vines date back several centuries, and the island’s painstakingly produced vintages are highly sought after.

Nerai’s list includes a 2015 Assyrtiko de Louros from the Santorini vineyards of the late master winemaker Haridimos Hatzidakis and a 2015 Kavalieros from the renowned winemaker Paris Sigalas.

The Edinburgh, Scotland-born Coll is devoted to offering diners exceptional choices. “The whole thing is about honesty,” says Coll. “A lot of places try to nudge and maneuver people into what they want them to buy. But wine is about what people like. They might not have the vocabulary to actually express it. That’s where we come in. We listen very carefully to the words diners use to describe the experience they want with wine, and we provide that experience.”