Yialos Grill & Souvlaki — Restaurant in Jakarta

Great greek restaurant doesn’t land often in J-town and Thank God we have Yialos.

Lets face it, Jakarta has too many Italian restaurants. But Yialos as a greek restaurant manage to make me want to forget about any other easy Italian joint as a lunch or dinner option. Their taste is outstanding.

Let’s start with their Watermelon Salad. The watermelon is bright red, filled with sweet juice and crunchy to the bite. Its contrasted by their Feta cheese and its hella salty taste. Its the perfect combination.

Then we move on to their Hallumi Saganaki. The chewy texture is the best vessel for the honey lemon sauce. And the fried bits from being pan cooked give it an extra “umph” to the mundane cheese.

Following it by the main attraction which is the Grilled Octopus. Its fresh, perfectly cooked, no chewiness and still taste the ocean. Even the tomato and the salad taste give compliments to the octopus. What stands out amongst the sides is the chimicurri sauce slathered on the octopus. It elevates the octopus texture and provides extra texture.

My main event was the Lamb Kleftiko. Its a new menu when we visit and its worth the wait. Its cooked inside a paper using a technique called en papillote. The result is a juicy, fall of the bone, perfectly cooked lamb. This way of cooking resulted in a sweet-savory lamb swimming in its own juices. Even the sides, tomato, onion and potato, which is being cooked inside along with the lamb share the same taste and have the same fragrant.

The last two was desserts. First is Loukumades which is greek donuts. Its hot, chewy and fluffy. Then eat it with a vanilla ice cream and you get a textural party on the mouth.

Second but definitely not last is Pagoto Giaourti Pistachio Kunafa. Its a greek yogurt top with honey and other topping of choice like kunafa, pistachio and walnut. This is the highlight of all dessert. Its simple but the tanginess of the yogurt perfectly pairs with the kunafa and pistachio. The honey drizzle gives the yogurt dimension other than cool and fresh, it gives an extra jolt in the palette as it dissolves on the mouth. Even though we’re full but this dessert is not gone to waste since we are determined to finished it.

Was it worth the detour from the occasion Italian restaurant, yes. Was it worth the event of setting up an agenda for every meal, yes. Was it worth being the go to restaurant every time you want a great meal with impeccable taste, true to its roots with high quality ingredients and service, 1000% yes.

Be sure to do a reservation first because this place is packed. Especially if you want to sit at the...

Very much needed to try this restaurant after seeing its 4.9⭐️ Google maps rating with over 2000 reviews, and it was well worth it! Overall food was great and the space and ambience is amazing! I love the menu design too, it makes me want to order everything. 😂 The complimentary breadsticks were the perfect starter, and everything was served really quickly— perfect because I was starving!

What I had

🌟 Watermelon Salad (Kapouzi Salata) I had my eyes set on this because it seemed really unique: Watermelon cubes with feta, mint leaves and a drizzle of Truffle Balsamic glaze. Think refreshing, juicy and fresh sweet watermelon cubes with that dense and savoury feta cheese AND the slightly sour fragrant truffle balsamic cutting through all that flavour. The mint leaves add a refreshing aftertaste and honestly I would 10/10 have this again.

🌟 Halloumi Saganaki Must try! Every table had this so I had to try it too. Pan fried halloumi cheese with a firm yet tender ‘squeaky’ interior and a crisped exterior, served in this spectacular honey lemon sauce. The mellow cheese flavour goes so well with the sweet and tangy honey lemon sauce. It is realllly that good!

🌟 Mushroom Soup Creamy mushroom soup with really strong truffle aroma. The truffle flavour really pulls through!

🌟 Coconut Lime Barramundi Pan seared crispy barramundi with baby potatoes and tomatoes in a refreshing and ever so slightly milky coconut like sauce. It was so tasty and the flavours were absolute bomb.

🌟 Lamb Chops (Piadakia Arnisia) Grilled, marinated juicy lamb chops with salad, tzatziki, mustard aioli served with either pita or their Yialos fragrant rice. I got the pita and they were really soft and chewy! The best way to eat this dish: Grab one pita , add some of the meat, tzatziki, salad and aioli— and there you have it, the perfect bite! 👌👏💯 It’s creamy, a little spicy, savoury.. a little party of amazing flavours in your mouth. Don’t leave the lamb chops out for too long, as the fats start to seep up and the meat gets less tender.

I had a really hearty, nourishing meal and would 100% be back. The experience feels like going to a friend’s home for a...

Tried this place out because alot of people hyped it up on IG. Definitely one of the better greek food options in Jakarta - actually don’t even know bisa makan greek food dimana lg di Jakarta.

House bread was so fluffy! Came with olive oil and balsamic dip but i suggest ordering an extra side of hummus to dip the bread in (Yum!!)

Then for starters, had the:

Halloumi: was well cooked, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Sauce could be a tad bit sweeter and sour tho.

Spanakopita: had so much high expectations for this but was disappointed. Bread was good but the topping was not great. Tasted like boiled spinach topped with fetta. The spinach could use some seasoning. I would rather have the bread on its own without the topping.

For mains, had the: Seafood platter - comes with one octopus leg (perfectly cooked not tough but sauce abit lacking of flavor), fried calamari (ok), 3 king prawns (also lacking in flavor), and barramundi (not fishy!). Overall this was okay sayangnya rasanya kurang medok sedikit

Lamb Gyro Plate - loved the rice! Very fragrant. Goes well with the lamb gyro that was cooked perfectly - ga ada bau lamb nya. Also comes with a side salad.

Chicken Souvlaki - again the pita bread was yum. Chicken was also flavorful. But i thought the sauce was a tad bit too much sampe overflowing and overpowered the taste of the chicken. Comes with a side of fries!

Spaghetti Vongole - Al dente pasta with clams. Very flavorful yet simple dish. Comforting to the stomach.

Then for dessert, had: Yogurt cheesecake: ordinary baked cheesecake with crust at the bottom yang di sirami dengan strawberry syrup and some fresh strawberries. Quite mediocre for me

Baklava: did not enjoy this as much. For me was a bit too dry and lacked the sticky texture from the sugar syrup when you bite into it. Tasted more like overcooked puff pastry stacked with nuts (pistachio i think) that broke apart into crumbles when bitten.

Overall a good well rounded greek/Mediterranean resto in town. Only 3/4 self parking spots in front of the resto but...