Icarus Greek Restaurant — Restaurant in Brisbane City

We thought we would try this Greek restaurant on our way home passing through the area and we were very hungry. From the outside it looks good, when we sat down and were given menus we then questioned our decision. The menus are dirty, sticky and falling apart. We sat there looking at each other thinking hmm do we stay or go. The table was so sticky things stuck to it. Whatever they clean with it is not working, we were both uncomfortable with the unclean feeling so I went to the car and got some hand sanitiser after touching the disgusting menus. I asked the waitress do they have a license for alcohol and she said no. Which seemed odd as we could see alcohol at the wait station. We got water and soft drink, but saw another table getting drinks etc so I went to the wait station and asked another waitress who said yes we serve alcohol. All very odd and not professional at all. Items on the menu appeared good so we ordered entrees and mains. We were very pleased to get rid of the menus and commented to the waitress that they need new ones. Food arrived and dolmades were average and I felt they were thawed out and not a consistent temperature. Bland tasting. Moussakas were also bland and missing something and I wonder if they are mass produced and frozen till needed, that's what they tasted like and inconsistent heat inside, very disappointing. Salad was the best thing on the plate. Greek chips were frozen chips with some seasoning, how hard is it to make chips??? Both of us disappointed in the food and as we sat there and looked around the room it was apparent the venue is dire need or a thorough deep clean from top to bottom. Dirty floors and walls and air conditioner. When we went to pay and could see out the back to kitchen you could see it also was filthy. Once outside we both thought the same, that was a food regret moment and won't be back.We love Greek food and have dined in many and this venue could be compared to a cheap average pub meal taste. I asked my husband what did he think overall after the dinner and his simple reply summed it up, THE BEER WAS COLD! No good points for food. If Chef Gordon Ramsey walked in there he would tear it and the owner apart for sure. Clean the place up from ceiling to floor, take some pride in your restaurant and train the wait staff better. Sitting looking at cobwebs off ceilings and filthy floors under tables etc...

Editing my review because I’m a bit disappointed with our experience today, first time dining at the Icarus new location after dining at their original location since they first opened. We have been fans of Icarus for a while but today was a real let down in terms of service.

With the new location being significantly larger than the old one, of course meaning there would be more customers, unfortunately it did not mean more staff. So although it was moderately busy, there were only two staff members on the floor, one of whom was a very young waitress working only her second shift and still learning. By the time we got our drinks (which we ordered soon as we sat down) 40 minutes had passed. It honestly made me feel bad and stressed how understaffed they were that I had to resist the urge to get up and volunteer as a waitress in a bid to help move things along…And because I felt bad for the waitress who was doing her best.

Eventually our food did come out…after two hours. I saw it sitting on the counter waiting to be served for quite some time. Unfortunately at that point some of our family members couldn’t wait any longer and had to leave, so we ended up grabbing their meals to go after we finished eating ours. Not the best experience for a family birthday meal.

Overall it was a really frustrating experience. I really hope that my review will be taken into consideration, and that more staff will be hired to balance out the large capacity of the new location. The food was delicious, as it always is, and the reason we have been going here and ordering takeout from here for years. I just hope that today was a one off and just some teething pains of settling into a new venue, because it’s not the experience we have been used to when...

Really great food. We had the share for 4 and it was a very generous amount of food, great flavours and excellent value for money. Only criticism is that asked for starters before mains but everything came out at once. I asked about it and was told that sometimes the kitchen just wants to get everything out at once. Meant that we didn't get to enjoy our dips because we didn't want the meat to get cold. The service is good but a bit cold and perfunctory. I don't expect a lot and definitely don't blame the servers, it just feels like maybe it's a tense workplace. I've gone in to pick up takeout a few times and everyone always seems a bit stressed. Still the food is amazing and it's well worth a visit.

Edit 14/04/2024 Mains still come out same time at starters, makes the meal a much less enjoyable and more stressful experience than we'd like. They brought out a wine with a cork and didn't open it for about 20 minutes despite asking a waitress about it twice. We also ordered and waited about 20 minutes for some ouzo before being told they were out. Service was still very tense and awkward. The food is so good here it's a shame the service doesn't match. If you're specifically looking for a Greek restaurant I'd consider elsewhere.

Edit 8/11/24 We keep coming back because the food was good enough to make up for the service but this is the last time. Dips were ok but the lamb was criminally dry. Servings are small for the price. Shame how far downhill this...