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Hearty stews, lots of lamb, savory pies, and cheese dominate the traditional Northern Greek menu at Metsovo, a romantic neighborhood restaurant named after a small mountain town. There's the standard spanakopita, and traditional dips like tzatziki, skordalia, and taramosalata, but overall this is a richer style of Greek than you may be accustomed to—there isn't much seafood and even some commonly vegetarian-style mezedes, like grape leaves, come hot and stuffed with rice and ground lamb. There are four kinds of saganakia, or fried cheese, to choose from; the traditional version with kefalotini cheese is flambéed at the table with brandy and lots of lemon. Starters outshine main courses. Lamb Yiannina, a house specialty in which the meat is stuffed in a bread bowl, lacks the big flavors common to the appetizers. And the chicken in the Epirus Mountain Pie (which comes, alternatively, with lamb, octopus, or vegetables) tastes weirdly bitter. Still, the furnishings alone—a wood-burning fireplace and wood-beamed ceilings with candlelit chandeliers hanging overhead, plus stucco and exposed-brick walls adorned with Greek artifacts—are enough to attract plenty of older couples and double-daters. Underneath the restaurant is a second venue, a Morrocan bar called Shalel. It's a dark sexy, cavern-like hideaway drawing a younger crowd. — Yael Kohen

Tzatziki, $6; saganakia, $7