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Celebrity Chef Boosts Astoria's Greek Revival With Haute Hellenic Cuisine

DITMARS — It's back to the future for Greek cuisine in Astoria.

Celebrity chef and restaurateur Michael Psilakis is getting ready to open his latest culinary venture in Queens this month, bringing his modern take on Greek cuisine to Astoria.

MP Taverna — the second Hellenic eatery to set up shop in the historically Greek neighborhood in recent months — will open its doors soon at 31-29 Ditmars Blvd., according to a rep for Psilakis. It will offer a menu similar to its sister locations in Long Island and Westchester, with a focus on upscale Greek food.

Signature dishes will include octopus with a Mediterranean chickpea salad, and grilled branzino with fingerling potatoes, cherry tomatoes and olives, according to a website for the restaurant.

His Astoria location — in the space formerly occupied by Mediterranean eatery Mezzo Mezzo — will have two levels, according to a spokeswoman.

The first floor will have a more casual dining room, complete with accordion-style doors that open onto an outdoor patio for al fresco dining during the summer. The upstairs will have leather chairs, a chandelier over each table and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Psilakis, who owns Manhattan restaurants Kefi and Fish Tag on the Upper West Side, is one of the stars on the BBC America cooking show "No Kitchen Required."

He's known for putting Greek cooking on the culinary map, and was awarded Food & Wine’s Best New Chef and Bon Appetit’s Chef of the Year distinctions in 2008, among other honors.