ASTORIA — At Brothers Taverna, it's all about fire and meat.
The Mediterranean eatery, which opened earlier this month on Steinway Street and 23rd Avenue, features a display case filled with steaks, pork chops, kabobs and homemade sausages, while a rotisserie spit behind the counter roasts whole lambs and pigs.
The restaurant is the "American dream" for owner Zhuljeta Buja and her three brothers Marash, Ben and Mir Buja, who said they opened the space inspired by their upbringing in Albania, where hospitality and sharing food were an essential part of life.
"You always had to have food — once you walked into our house, you were served something," she explained. "You can't just come to my house and not take something to eat. It's impossible. So we grew up with that atmosphere."
Buja described the menu as predominantly Balkan cuisine, with a mix of Albanian, Greek and Italian influences and an emphasis on fresh ingredients.
Before emigrating to New York 17 years ago, her brothers ran a restaurant in Athens for several years, where they honed their cooking skills.
"They're very passionate about it, and not just the food — it's homemade everything, fresh-made here — but it's the idea of getting together," she said.
Dishes include pork and chicken souvlaki and gyros in a pita, served with a special house sauce made with feta cheese and sweet and spicy red peppers, with sides like lemon potatoes or okra cooked in tomato sauce,
Diners can choose from entrees like roast lamb, lamb chops, steaks and kotosufli — a dish of spit-roasted pork shoulder and neck marinated in white wine, garlic, herbs and feta.
"The most important part of it is the marinating and the seasoning," Buja said.
On Fridays and Saturdays, the restaurant roasts a whole pig, with platters of the roast pork available for $24, and weekends also include specials like roasted lamb head.
Brothers Taverna is currently open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
