Every summer, after spending months in Greece, I come back to Chicago and go through the same thing.
I miss Greece.
Not just the things people typically associate with Greece, like the sea or the islands. I miss the little things that become part of everyday life while I’m there. Wandering through the farmers’ market a few blocks from my apartment in Athens. Deciding on a whim to drive into the mountains for lunch in a village or catch a ferry to Hydra or Aegina to meet friends. Sitting in a village square over a freddo espresso. Or dinner that somehow begins at sunset and doesn’t end until the stars are out.
Most of all, I miss the feeling.
This summer, without really planning it, I found myself on a bit of a mission. Chicago has seen several new Greek restaurants open over the past few years, and before I knew it, I had visited several of them in just a few months. Somewhere around restaurant number five, I realized I wasn’t simply going out for dinner.
I was searching for the restaurant that, for a few hours, could make me feel like I was back in Greece.
Because I spend so much time in Greece, people always ask me where to get the best Greek food in Chicago. The truth is, that’s not really what I was looking for.
I wasn’t searching for the “best.”
I was searching for the restaurant that, for a few hours, could make me feel like I was back in Greece.
My Longtime Benchmark
For years, if someone asked me where to eat Greek food in Chicago, my answer was always simple.
Greek Islands.
It’s been my benchmark for decades.
Yes, I know Stefanos, and yes, I’m always greeted with hugs and proper left & right Greek kisses when I walk through the door. But over the years I’ve watched him welcome complete strangers with exactly the same warmth. That’s part of what has always made the restaurant feel so authentically Greek to me.
In Greece, hospitality —philoxenia— isn’t something you put in a mission statement. It’s simply the way guests are treated.
The dining rooms at Greek Islands remind me of countless tavernas I’ve visited over the years. The smallest room especially feels intimate and familiar, while in the winter the larger dining room, with its fireplace glowing, somehow manages to make you forget you’re in downtown Chicago.
It isn’t trying to recreate one particular place in Greece.
It simply feels Greek.
Rediscovering Avli
For years my second recommendation had always been Avli.
Ironically, I rarely went. The Winnetka location was simply too far for a casual dinner, parking at the River North location was always a challenge, and the Lincoln Park location had earned a reputation for being so popular, and so loud, that I usually chose somewhere else.
This summer I finally gave the Lincoln Park location another chance and discovered I had been completely wrong.
Our table was tucked along the quieter side street, and something unexpected happened.
I relaxed.
There was no loud music competing with conversation. Nobody seemed to be rushing through dinner. People lingered over another glass of wine, another meze, another conversation.
For a couple of hours, it felt remarkably like dining outdoors in Greece on a warm summer evening.
One of my favorite moments had nothing to do with the food. Our server, Jesus, greeted us in Greek. As we talked, I learned he had worked for years at one of Chicago’s now-closed Greektown restaurants, where he had learned the language and many of the customs. It was such an unexpected surprise, and somehow it made the whole evening feel even more authentic.
Sometimes the feeling of Greece has nothing to do with what’s on the plate.
Sometimes it’s simply the pace of the evening… and the people around you.
Not Every Stop Felt Like Greece
Of course, not every restaurant brought me back to Greece.
That’s not because they were bad restaurants. In fact, all three are popular and clearly have plenty of loyal customers. They simply weren’t the experience I had been hoping to find.
Andros Taverna was probably the first one that made me realize what I was really searching for.
The room was so incredibly loud that carrying on a conversation became difficult. Our server was enthusiastic, but didn’t seem particularly knowledgeable about Greek food or Greek wine, and confidently shared information that I knew wasn’t quite accurate. To be fair, with the noise level it’s entirely possible I misunderstood parts of our conversation.
Regardless, I never settled into the relaxed rhythm that I associate with dining in Greece.
Kouklas gave me a different impression. It felt like a wildly successful suburban restaurant, bustling with energy and doing exactly what a popular restaurant has to do: serve lots of guests efficiently. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But at this price point, I wasn’t looking for efficiency. I was looking for a leisurely relaxed meal.
In Greece, when you choose a restaurant like this, you’re expecting the meal itself to become the event. At Kouklas, I felt more like the goal was to enjoy dinner and make room for the next reservation.
Ithaki may have been the biggest disappointment for me personally because I walked in with such high expectations. One of the owners is the son of the family behind Costas, one of Greektown’s longtime institutions and a restaurant which was, back in the heyday of Greektown, known for being a little more “refined” than the streets more traditional Americanized Greek “tavernas“. I expected Ithaki to build on that legacy in an exciting new way. Instead, I found a restaurant that, for me, was simply too loud. The food was pleasant enough, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression, and I struggled to connect with the atmosphere.
At that point I wondered if maybe I had been chasing something that simply couldn’t be recreated in Chicago.
Then I went to Lyra.
When One Bite Changes Everything
To be honest, my first impression of Lyra wasn’t especially Greek. The restaurant feels very much at home in Fulton Market: stylish, energetic, and louder than the restaurants and Greek tavernas I usually seek out.
Then our “Gyros” arrived.
Greek foodophiles expecting the familiar pork or chicken gyros found throughout Greece today might be surprised by the name. And when I say “throughout Greece,” I mean the traditional stacked meat turning on a vertical spit—not the ground meat packed around a skewer that most Americans know as gyros.
But back to Lyra’s “Gyros,” because this was something else entirely.
Slow-roasted lamb.
Perfectly seasoned.
So tender it practically fell apart with a fork.
It wasn’t elaborate.
It wasn’t trying to reinvent Greek food.
One bite, and I wasn’t in Fulton Market anymore. I was sitting in a tiny mountain village in Arcadia, where my husband’s family is from. Arcadia has become my escape from Athens, a place I retreat to for the cool mountain air in the summer and, in winter, evenings beside the crackling fireplace at the little guesthouse where we always stay.
I could close my eyes and picture Kyria Toula bringing the slow-roasted lamb to the table, with nothing fancy about it except that it was cooked perfectly.
Those are the meals I remember long after I’ve forgotten what the restaurant looked like.
That’s what Lyra gave me.
That’s when I realized something.
Everything about the restaurant doesn’t have to remind me of Greece.
Sometimes one unforgettable dish is enough.
Greece Isn’t Frozen in Time
One of the biggest misconceptions Americans have about Greek restaurants is that everything should look like Santorini.
Blue chairs.
White walls.
Fishing nets.
The reality is that Greece has changed dramatically over the past twenty years.
Walk into a boutique hotel or contemporary restaurant in Crete, Naxos or Thessaloniki today and you’ll find warm earth tones, natural woods, soft textures and understated design that still feels unmistakably Greek.
That’s exactly what I found at Noema.
An Authentically Modern Greek Taverna
From the moment we walked through the door and were greeted with a warm “Kalispera,” it felt different. The setting immediately reminded me of some of the stylish restaurants attached to boutique hotels that have become so popular throughout Greece. The colors, the textures, the lighting — it all felt contemporary, yet comfortably Greek.
Our waiter had only recently arrived from Greece, and I have to admit, that immediately made me smile. It brought back memories of an earlier time in Chicago’s Greektown, when hearing Greek spoken between tables was simply part of going out for dinner.
As he talked us through the menu, recommending dishes with the easy enthusiasm of someone who actually knew and loved the food, it felt wonderfully familiar. There’s something I love about seeing Chicago’s Greek restaurant scene evolve from one generation to the next without completely losing that connection.
Greece wasn’t just represented on the menu that evening. It was standing beside our table.
Rather than recreating postcard Greece, Noema reminded me of the Greece I know today.
Modern.
Confident.
Sophisticated.
Still unmistakably Greek.
Greece Has Never Had Just One Cuisine
Although I haven’t been back in a couple of years, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Taxim.
Its menu draws heavily from Politiki Kouzina, the culinary traditions brought to Greece by Greeks who left Constantinople & other parts of Asia Minor. Those flavors remain an important part of Greek cuisine today, particularly in Northern Greece.
It reminded me that there isn’t one Greek cuisine.
There are many.
The islands.
The mountains.
The villages.
The cities.
Every region tells a different story.
What I Learned
I set out looking for a taste of Greece.
What I discovered was that isn’t just whether the food is tasty and authentic.
Greece is a feeling
Sometimes it’s the warm embrace of a restaurant owner who genuinely seems happy you’ve walked through the door.
Sometimes it’s a waiter who slips effortlessly into Greek.
Sometimes it’s lingering over dinner on a summer evening without feeling rushed.
Sometimes it’s one unforgettable bite that instantly transports you back across the Atlantic.
And sometimes it’s simply being reminded that Greece isn’t a postcard.
It’s a country that continues to evolve, and thankfully, so do some of the restaurants bringing its flavors to Chicago.
So if you ask me today where to find the best Greek restaurant in Chicago…
I’ll probably just smile.
Because I think the better question is:
Which restaurant gives you the taste of Greece you're searching for?
