Family tradition: Dorothea Fine Greek continues legacy of Mediterranean cuisine in ABQ

The Kapnison family’s tradition of serving up fine Greek food did not end with the closure of popular spots, Yanni’s and Mykonos.

Nicole Kapnison is continuing the family legacy with a modern concept at Dorothea Fine Greek.

Family tradition: Dorothea Fine Greek continues legacy of Mediterranean cuisine in ABQ

“My mother (Chris Komis) and father (Nick Kapnison) started Yanni’s about 30 years ago — it is where I grew up and spent most of my time,” said Nicole Kapnison. “My father, who is now retired, has had a number of restaurants in his lifetime: The Coney Island, The Soda Straw, Milton’s, Kap’s, the original El Patron, Nick & Jimmy’s, Mykonos, to name a few. My mother decided to retire last December and closed Yanni’s, which is where the inspiration for Dorothea came. I wasn’t ready to let go of Greek fine dining. Yanni’s was my father’s favorite restaurant he ever had — so in honor of him, I named the restaurant for him.”

Dorothea, was the name of Nick Kapnison’s mother.

“My father, who is now retired, has taught me so much about the restaurant industry and this is a nod to him and his legacy,” Nicole Kapnison said.

Nick Kapnison, purchased Mykonos several years ago and Nicole Kapnison later took over the space. Phase one of the transformation of the property began with Meraki Coffee + Market.

“(I) initially developed Meraki Coffee + Market, which was phase one,” Nicole Kapnison said. “COVID stretched the plans out a bit longer than expected, but Dorothea has been a way for me to redefine the space with my own personal touch and my menu creation.”

Dorothea quietly opened in early August. Word traveled fast and the restaurant had patrons from near and far seeking it out to find out what the buzz was all about.

“I wanted the space to feel warm, inviting and completely different than Mykonos,” Nicole Kapnison said of the redesign. “I wanted the space to feel cohesive with Meraki — in an upscale evening sense.”

Dorothea serves traditional and nontraditional Greek cuisine.

“There are some family recipes I’ve learned along the way that I’ve incorporated as well as my own recipes,” Nicole Kapnison explained. “All of my establishments or projects follow a similar ethos in that we do not use chemicals, processed ingredients, seed oils, etc. Think Mediterranean diet (with) lots of fresh fish, grass fed beef, fresh vegetables, olive oil, etc. We care greatly about the food we feed ourselves and our customers. The way we cook at Dorothea is how you will find Greeks cooking in Greece — quality ingredients, extra virgin olive oil, butter and lots of lemon and fresh herbs.”

She added the whole fish branzino is a popular patron request. The delicate and flaky fish is commonly served in Greece.

“(It) is a Mediterranean sea bass coming fresh, directly from Greece,” she said. “The fish is butterflied, (with the) head taken off and deboned, and pan seared.”

Another people pleaser is the Greek platter, which Nicole Kapnison said is a “crowd favorite.” The platter features three Greek dips of hummus, spicy feta and tzatziki, with fresh cut vegetables, pita, spanakopita (spinach pie), sheep’s milk feta and lavash.

“The Greek platter has a little bit of everything and a lot of time (it is) all you need, especially if you’re just coming for appetizers,” she said. “It’s very large and very shareable.”

The Lamb Lollipop appetizer is another frequently ordered menu item.

“(It is) served with a serrano mint yogurt and grilled lemon,” she said. “And, if you love lamb and want more than three chops that come on the appetizer, we have a full rack on the grill section of the menu.”

Patrons will find a couple of throwbacks from the Mykonos and Yanni’s menus.

“The only items that made the cut were the saganaki and the 12-hour braised lamb shank,” Nicole Kapnison said. “The lamb shank was a family recipe from Yanni’s.”

Other than the saganaki and the lamb shank, the Dorothea menu has completely new offerings.

“Everything else was changed, even the ingredients and preparation,” Nicole Kapnison said. “For example, the tzatziki is now made with 100% Greek yogurt, all dressings are made with pure Greek olive oil, our butter is grass fed, the lemon juice we use is (from) real lemons, our chicken is organic, our feta is (made from) sheep milk, our seasoning is done with fresh herbs.”

During the soft opening phase of the restaurant, Nicole Kapnison, who developed Dorothea’s menu, worked with the kitchen team on executing each item. Frank Rivas, serves as the head cook and worked several years at the now defunct, Nob Hill Bar & Grill, which Nicole Kapnison once owned. The rest of the kitchen staff has been with Kapnison family owned restaurants for many years as well.

“I was in my kitchen for the first three weeks of our soft opening phase, showing our amazing team exactly how to prepare and cook everything,” she said. “Like Meraki Coffee + Market, I was specific on what I wanted and how I wanted it prepared and presented.”

Dorothea offers an extensive wine list, with some higher end by the glass options. Signature cocktails also are part of the intriguing libations list, including some featuring Nikle Vodka, which is a distilled spirit line owned by Nicole Kapnison.

“We will be adding more wines and ports to our new list in December,” she said. “We have some great champagne by the glass as well. Our craft cocktails were designed by our mixologist, Aliya Harrison, who has won best bartender and several other bartending accolades outside of New Mexico. The crowd favorite so far is the Dorothea Dirty Martini, which includes Nikle Vodka and a homemade garlic and herb brine with feta stuffed olives.”

Happy hour is held from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday with $6 wines, $6 cocktails and a $10 espresso martini made with espresso from local roaster Cutbow Coffee.

“The favorite item on the bar menu is the ‘Girl Dinner,’ which is our Caesar salad, truffle fries and dirty martini for $15. This is all night in the bar, not just happy hour, men are allowed to partake too. We also have oysters on the weekend and caviar. We’re doing caviar fries, caviar bumps and caviar oysters.”

Reservations are required for the dining room. There is open seating at the bar top and lounge, no reservations are required. The whole Dorothea space is also available for private lunch events and can accommodate 150 people. One private room holds up to 40 people, and another private section can host 20 guests.

“Dorothea is a place where you can come celebrate a special occasion or have a relaxed healthy dinner,” Nicole Kapnison said. “It’s different than your traditional Greek restaurant. We are traditional in how we prepare our food, but we don’t claim to be authentically Greek with everything we do. We’ve modernized the typical Greek menu. We have fun, we make it healthy and our food is made to make you feel good — the Mediterranean Greek way.”