You’d typically expect a well-known Greek restaurant, especially in New York City, to have a Greek chef to put those special touches on Greek food but Nerai – shorted from ‘Neraida’ (fairy) – put the menu in the hands of one who isn’t.

But it’s worked. Aaron Fitterman has more than 20 years’ experience at top restaurants in the city and is curating sophisticated Greek cuisine for Nerai.

Forbes magazine critic John Mariani poured on the praise like Greek wine overflowing a glass, saying that while Nerai was always refined, Fitterman “has elevated the cuisine even further without moving away from its roots.”

The two-story restaurant at 55 East 54^th Street is high-end indeed and you’ll pay a premium ($44 for duck moussaka) for a twist on traditional Greek fare. Owners Spiro Menegatos and Dinos Gourmos, has given him free rein.

The review lauded the wine list of sommelier Dimitrios Karagiannis, Items from around the world, and from Greece – vastly underrated – are available, and for such a spot it was said that the reds and whites under $100 a bottle were a bargain.