The Oil That Opens Every Table
Before you order anything, a shallow plate of Iliada extra virgin olive oil — PDO-certified Kalamata arrives with warm housemade pita, torn. That is the welcome — poured without fanfare, the way the Mediterranean has always started a meal.
Iliada is PDO-certified from Kalamata, Greece. PDO — Protected Designation of Origin — means the olives, the press, and the standard are legally tied to a specific place and method. Koroneiki olives. Cold-pressed. Under 0.4% acidity. This oil goes into every dish in the kitchen, from first bite to finish. No other oil comes through the door.
The pita is made with Arma Greek thyme honey — brought directly from a family farm in Greece belonging to one of our team members. Thyme honey from the Greek highlands has a specific character: herbaceous, faintly medicinal, warm in a way that straight sugar is not. You'll taste it in the crust.
Named from the Source
CAPUTO "00" FLOUR - ITALY
SPANISH OCTOPUS - GALICIA
AUSTRALIAN LAMB OR MAINE LOBSTER PLACEHOLDER
The sourcing rule is simple: if the kitchen cannot tell you where it came from, it does not go on the menu.
Verlasso Salmon — Patagonia, Chile. Farmed at low density in Patagonian waters on an algae-based feed that keeps the fish-in/fish-out ratio below 1:1. A specific, verifiable standard — not a marketing phrase. It shows in the fish: clean flavor, bright flesh, nothing murky underneath.
Spanish Octopus — Galicia, Spain. The Galician coast produces some of the finest octopus in the world. Charred over the Mibrasa at Brooklyn at around 700°F until the outside develops a real crust and the center stays yielding. The provenance is not incidental to the technique — the quality of the ingredient is why the technique works.
Maine Lobster — flown in direct, never frozen. It arrived this week. Never previously frozen, never processed before arrival. That is the difference between sweet, delicate meat and whatever else you've been served as lobster.
Royal Osetra Caviar — 8 to 16 years of maturation. A single product on the menu that carries more time in it than most restaurants carry in their entire sourcing operation.
Australian Lamb — off hardwood charcoal, through a crust that only forms at coal-fire temperatures. The Mibrasa at Brooklyn does this. The Earthstone wood-fired oven finishes whole-roasted preparations at both locations.
Caputo "00" Flour — Naples, Italy. The pizza dough starts here. Italian-milled, cold-fermented for 24 hours. The crust blisters without tearing, bends without cracking.
Arma Greek Thyme Honey — a family farm in Greece. Imported direct. On the pita. In the kitchen. In the bar program. One source for everything it touches.
— poured without fanfare, the way the Mediterranean has always started a meal.
The Kitchen's One Rule on Fat
Two fats go into everything made here. That is the entire list.
Iliada EVOO — the same oil poured at your table — goes into every dish, every preparation, every finish.
Beef tallow runs the fryer. No canola. No soybean. No vegetable oil.
This is not a health position. It is a kitchen practice rooted in a tradition that understood fat before industrial processing changed the options. The Mediterranean pantry has worked this way for a very long time: olive oil and animal fat. When a kitchen puts those back, the flavor comes back with them.
Most guests notice by the first or second bite — without being told why. Order the fries. The kitchen will let them speak for it.
The Sourcing Is Already in the Kitchen. Come Taste It.
The fire is already lit. The olive oil is already on its way to your table.
No reservation? Walk up to Zorbas — no reservation, ever. Planning something private? Private dining at both locations. Bringing the kitchen to your venue? Full-service catering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Alder & Oak source its salmon?
Verlasso Salmon from Patagonia, Chile. Farmed at low density on algae-based feed with a fish-in / fish-out ratio below 1:1 — a specific, verifiable standard. The result: clean flavor, bright flesh, nothing murky underneath.
Where does the octopus come from?
Galicia, Spain. The Galician coast produces some of the finest octopus in the world. At Brooklyn, it is charred over the Mibrasa coal-fired grill at around 700°F until the outside develops a real crust and the center stays yielding.
What is Iliada olive oil?
Iliada is PDO-certified extra virgin olive oil from Kalamata, Greece. Koroneiki olives, cold-pressed, under 0.4% acidity. It goes into every dish in the kitchen — from the welcome pour at your table to every finish — and nothing else comes through the door. PDO means the olives, the press, and the standard are legally tied to a specific place and method.
What is Royal Osetra caviar?
A high-grade osetra caviar with 8 to 16 years of maturation. A single product on the menu that carries more time in it than most restaurants carry in their entire sourcing operation. Served simply — the time the caviar took to become itself is the work.
What does PDO-certified mean?
PDO stands for Protected Designation of Origin — a European Union legal certification. It means a food's origin, ingredients, and production method are tied by law to a specific place and tradition. For Iliada PDO Kalamata olive oil, that means Koroneiki olives grown in the Kalamata region, pressed and bottled to the standards established for that area. The certification is not a marketing label — it's a legal one.