Athena by the Sea

Critic's Review

It's getting hot and the tourists are mostly gone, so the likelihood of getting parking in Lauderdale By the Sea has increased substantially. I actually got a spot right in front of the place; they have brand new meters that don't eat your money without registering like the ones in the rest of the city.

They've added a big bar to the place, but I didnt want to sit at the bar.

Athena Bar

They have a lot of outside seating now with the wider sidewalks, but it's too hot to eat outside during the day now. The inside is sort of open-air, but its closed enough to hold the air conditioning. it was pretty comfortable inside.

Not many people at 2pm. Season is clearly over.

Athena by the Sea Interior

I ordered an iced tea with extra lemon and it was delivered with a little slice. "EXTRA" lemon, I emphasized, and I got a bunch more.

Athena by the Sea Iced Tea

The "Char Grilled" Wings sounded good; I went with the Olive Oil and Lemon version, and I also ordered the Octopus. While I was waiting, my server dropped off pita and hummus.

Athena by the Sea Hummus

The hummus was very loose and pretty garlicky; the pita was particularly good. Most places put out supermarket pita but this was freshly made.

Music was occasionally acceptable; Sting mixed in with Marvin Gaye and Erykah Badu. The 2 appetizers came out together.

Athena By The Sea Octopus

The first thing that I thought was "This is $13?". A smallish portion, it didn't look as "tender" as advertised. Some of it was overdone; I have a suspicion that this was reheated. It should be sliced after char-grilling, so I don't see why it was cooked after being cut up. The sauce was fine and most of the octopus was "ok", but it wasn't as fresh as I would have liked.

The wings gave me the exact same impression.

Athena By the Sea Wings

6 wings and just 1 drum for $9? I had to add lemon, but I had enough stuff on the table to make them be pretty good. They weren't marinated very well as the lemon and spices weren't cooked in. And I expect "char grilled" wings to be charred. These were "grilled" on a flattop.

Service was fine; the place is one big room so there's no privacy and servers and constantly zipping by. There was only 1 other table, so they were pretty much watching me the entire time.

Athena By the Sea Finished

The verdict on this is that this would have been good for about $16, but $30 with tip is just too much for what I got here. Nothing outstanding and portions that were inadequate for the price charged.