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After Kellari Owner Stavros Aktipis purchased Parea, the short-lived modern Greek venture by Cleveland chef Michael Symon, he remodeled the restaurant after his more traditional rustic taverna in midtown. The large space is now bathed in yellow light—though the décor is still upscale, with spacious booths, high ceilings, and wine barrel accents. Deliciously spongey, glistening blocks of kaseri cheese—stacked on a divided plate next to nicely grassy olive oil—and warm triangles of pita start every meal. The kitchen is best at simple fare: Mix-and-match souvlaki sticks hold chunks of salty, daintily charred cubes of chicken, nubs of swordfish, or tips of steak; an appetizer of plump shrimp, scallops, and mussels dabbed with feta comes in the same light tomato base as plaki, Chilean sea bass in a soupy sauce with firm fingerlings. On the impressively Greek wine list, Moschofilero and Savatiano varietals share space with that Pine-Solesque stalwart, restina. — Alexandra Vallis

Souvlaki, $2.95-$4.95; plaki, $25.95