In 1977, John Gianaras purchased the L and F Corner Market and turned it into a casual dining restaurant named Panos’ (after his father.) In 1988, newlyweds John and Vi expanded and remodeled the space into a fine-dining Greek restaurant. They operated the ever-popular Panos for a total of 20 years. Flash-forward 17 years and the Gianaras family has reclaimed the space, with daughters Kristen and Kathryn running the show. This time around, NOVY offers Greek food and California classics in a more relaxed atmosphere. All of our beer and wine is on tap to do our part in eliminating waste. NOVY strives to provide a personal and delicious dining experience in a polished setting.
Love Novy!
NOVY is always great. I especially like the chicken wrap but their salads and pastas are also excellent.
Both of our main course dishes tasted very bland and unexciting. Too bad, because everything else was fine.
Our neighborhood go to.
This time we enjoyed the chicken wrap and the souvlaki plate. Really great flavor and freshness.
Thank you Rita! So glad you enjoyed the chicken wrap and lamb souvlaki. We'll see you again soon! Kristen Gianaras Owner
Always consistent great food and service! Love the Friday night cioppino!
Thank you Randy!
Always a great lunch!
Thank you!
Most of the food was delicious and acceptably priced for the value. However, polenta/mushroom dish with balsamic reduction was ruined by the acrid and sweet sauce. Table was fine after a kerfuffle (we’d made reservations and were not late but it took staff a while to understand that). Service was overly familiar and still falling short of what we’d asked. I’d probably recommend but with the previous reservations.
Expectations need to be better set overall.
Food took a long time. One item should not have had bacon! I don’t care if it is listed on the menu!
Excellent Greek food. Lamb gyro sandwich was lovely, light, and flavorful. The moussaka was also great.
Thank you Rita! We're thrilled you enjoyed the lamb gyro and moussaka. Hope to have you back soon! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
Wonderful dinner with friends. Thanks for a great meal.
Thank you!
We have been to NOVY several times and always enjoy it. The entree menu is somewhat limited but it has a definite Mediterranean flavor. We had Kolokithokeftedes (Greek zucchini fritters) for a started and a nice salmon with mango and a Moussaka for our entrees. The only negative was that, while the menu clearly called out just the salmon and rainbow chard, it would have been nice to have the plate augmented with a starch of some variety. The appetizer and entrees were delicious. The Brioche Bread Pudding and Baklava for desserts were nice with a fairly large portions. We took half of each home to enjoy another evening.
Thanks for the detailed review Hank! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
We love calling NOVY our go-to neighborhood spot and Saturday night was no exception!
Great service, really good food, nice space and great value.
Thanks for being in our neighborhood NOVY!!!
Thanks for the kind review ElGourmand. You just made our day! And we're happy to be in the neighborhood as well :) Kindly, Kristen & Kathryn Owners
The Moussaka was absolutely delicious!
Thanks Randy! So glad you enjoyed the moussaka.
The lamb gyros are great here and huge. Order the Greek fries (garlic and feta cheese).
Thanks PJDiva! So glad you enjoyed the Lamb Gyro with Greek fries.
very average food. The spanakopita & calamari were not great. The meatballs were tasty, but not hot enough. The greek salad was good, the kale salad was OK. Not as good as I remember from my last visit
Nice neighborhood feel. Very nice staff.
Thanks Lonzo! So happy that you enjoyed our warm neighborhood service & ambiance! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
My wife and I visited the restaurant on Sunday the 18th of August and enjoyed the food and ambience. Everything was reasonably priced and the portions were good. Our waitress recommended wines and provided samples to taste. The overall experience was great and we’ll be returning again soon.
Thanks for the nice & helpful review! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
Service was rushed and impolite.
What delicious food and great staff to take care of us! Can't wait to come back for some more octopus, halloumi, and other food and wine.
Thanks DinerSF! We're so glad that you enjoyed your meal and service! Hope to see you back soon. -Kristen Gianaras Owner
Food was not good, but they did refund one item that was awful. Waitress never came to check on us. We had to flag someone down every time we needed something. We weren’t even sure who our server was.
while we missed the trio of mezes that used to be on the menu we found other things that were delicious. the dolmas were excellent but the star of the meal was the octopus salad. It is large enough to share or to serve as a main course and the octopus is perfectly cooked. The gyro is always good. the souvlaki was well cooked but could have used more seasoning. The total bill was a tad more than previous dinners so I think prices have increased.
Thank you for the review! I'm glad that you enjoyed the dolmas, octopus and gyro. Yes, we had to adjust our prices slightly this July to be in-line with rising minimum wage costs. We hope you still find value in our overall package of food, service and ambiance. Kindly, Kristen Gianaras Owner
I brought some friends from LA for the first time. They absolutely loved it! The service was phenomenal and the whole dinning experience delightful!
We had great wines, lamb, calamari and sciopino! The food was delicious with a fun busy vibe. It’s fun to watch all the people go by on the sidewalk for a great experience as well.
Always great food and cozy atmosphere
Thanks! Happy to hear that you enjoy the food & ambiance. We'll see you again soon! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
Food was tasty - ambience was good. The portions for entrees were on the smaller side. The vegetarian options could be improved to be more substantial and filling.
Hi seekingsimplicity, Thank you for this honest and constructive feedback! We will revisit our portion sizes and also our vegetarian dishes. Kindly, Kristen Gianaras Owner
Absolutely delicious with great service!
Thanks Randy! I'm so thrilled you enjoyed your meal & had great service! Hope to have you back soon. -Kristen Gianaras owner
Great cozy neighborhood restaurant with quick service and great appetizers
Thank you Charlieo! I love making a meal out of the share plates offerings too :) -Kristen Gianaras Owner
No dining points awarded?
Good food. Nice dining experience.
Thanks for the review KittyKat! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
The lamb gyro is excellent but the Greek fries were out of this world. Seasoned with garlic, cheese, and herbs, these fries were finger-licking good.
Thanks PJDiva! We're thrilled to hear that you loved our Greek fries :) Hope to have you back soon! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
I love NOVY ---I am so sad however that they dropped the Brussel sprouts from the menu - they were fabulous! Bring them back!!!! Pretty please. ;-)
Hi Regina- We love the brussels sprouts too!! As soon as they come back in season we promise they will be back on stat! :) -Kristen Gianaras Owner
I have been to Novy a few times and will not only return again but will recommend it. The service and food are very good and priced well.
Thanks so much for the review! I'm thrilled that you find value in our food and service and we're glad you will recommend us to others. Kindly, Kristen Gianaras Owner
The food and service was impeccable. Highly recommend!
So glad to hear this! Thank you! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
Had a great experience, food, service everything was great....
Thank you Matthew! I'm thrilled that you had such a great experience. Hope to have you back soon! Kristen Gianaras Owner
Good greek food!!
Thank you! -Kristen Gianaras Owner
great experience
excellent staff
delicious food
...strongly recommended
Thank you pedrom! Much appreciated :) -Kristen Gianaras Owner
Delicious small plates - able to find great choices for a friend who is a vegetarian, too. Attentive service and excellent food!
Thank you! I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed our food & service and that there were adequate vegetarian options as well! Hope to have you back soon. -Kristen Gianaras Owner
We celebrated Greek Easetrr while visiting San Fran from Toronto. The food was fabulous and we had a great time!!
Thanks Claudia! I'm so thrilled to hear you enjoyed your Easter Brunch! Efharisto :) -Kristen Gianaras Owner
Food and wine was excellent, and service was very good. Only downside was that the restaurant was so small, the waitress had to ask us to vacate our table to make room for the next reservation.
We had about 5 appetizers which were all very good, fresh and tasty, but not great. The service was great. I would go back to try some other items. The price was moderate for SF now.
Thanks Richard. We are sorry nothing hit the 'great' mark but we will keep striving to improve! Kindly, Kristen Gianaras Owner