Apollon — Restaurant in Appleton

Based on on-line reviews, my wife and I were excited to eat at the Apollon prior to a PAC show. The location, just a few blocks from the PAC, was ideal.

The Good: The service was outstanding. The wait staff is knowledgable, helpful, and unobtrusive. Waitress at our table was able to recite ingredients and preparation method, and was prompt when we needed/wanted something, but stayed out of the way.

Note - the restaurant will tell you that this is a dining experience that will last two to 2 1/2 hours, so if you want fast dining, this is not the place. But who would want fast dining when you can share good food and good company.

The Bad. The food was very uneven.

For the appetizer, my I ordered the Spanakopitakia, and wife ordered the Saganaki. The Saganaki was flamed at the table (did I mention great service!) and was good (as anticipated. The Spanakopitakia (miniature spinich pies) was ok, but only ok. While traditionally (and in the description) the filling is spinich with feta cheese, the feta was either well hidden (to the point that it could not be tasted), or was missing. Either way, this was quite a disappointment.

The soup that came with the meal was salty to the point that it overpowered the soup. One taste was enough to know that someone was not tasting the soup before it came out.

The salad that came with the meal was simple and carelessly thrown together.

For the entre, my wife ordered the Moussaka. This was expected to be flavorful and we were excited to try it. The Moussaka was bland to the point of being unedible. We asked to have the chef check the flavor profile, and never heard back. It was truly a terrible approximation of Moussaka.

On the other hand, my Lamb Chateaubriand Forestiére was excellent. Cooked perfectly to order, the sauce was flavorful and delicious. There were only a few mushrooms (I prefer more, but this may be the intended style), but the meal was delicious. On the other hand, it is quite difficult to mess up a broiled loin of lamb.

The real disappointment is that it appears that the chef was too busy or could not be bothered to taste the food before it was sent out. There is no chef in a good restaurant who would have sent out a soup where all ingredients are hidden by overpowering salt taste, or a moussaka that was so bland that no flavors could be tasted at all. (Think - nursing home bland). Would that we could have magically moved some of the salt of the soup to the Moussaka, but it was not to be.

It was too bad that the food did not match the attentive and friendly service personnel. We...

Where to start? What to say? My fiancée and I were searching to make amends for not dining at Apollon on our 4th anniversary. 6 months later, that being tonight, we decided we were ready to experience the area's Greek temple of food. We were greeted as soon at walking through the entrance, and were sat at a table by the window, with downtown as a sunset outlook for a view. We were then approached by a server by the name of Dante. This man...this incredible man, he was beyond a server. I was earlier aided at an outlet store, and received the absolute greatest customer service possible, and I did not think I would receive another service on another level again, but this time, it was separate and different. We were given time to browse menu items, and were given the option to be served a deal of $65 for two people, involving 5 courses each. We settled on octopus for an appetizer. It had not lasted very long. Dante returned, and we placed our orders for an entrée. Next, a soup was brought. This soup had a lemon zest taste, and could be tasted as such, as it swum down the esophagus to the stomach. Then, we were given salads. These salads came with two dressings, one raspberry based, and one that was melted feta cheese. The salad with or without the dressing could very well stand the test of time. In a timely manner, Dante presented us our entrées. My fiancée chose to consume the Stuffed Shrimp, while I decided on the Château Briand. Her shrimp surpassed satisfying her craving for sea critters, and my lamb was easily the best lamb I have had in 26 years, and 11+ years of being a chef. I could only dream of making this lamb for myself. It was even tastier than my previous favorite dish, the Sofritos. Finally, time for dessert. My fiancée gingerly picked the Belgian Cake, and I fell upon the Banana Olympian dessert item. They filled us with pure completion to the meal. Dante agreed at a prior time to taking our photo. He did so after the meal, with no hesitation. This meant the end of our experience was upon us. We said our goodbyes, and Dante and I said farewell as men who respect each other to the highest degree whilst being strangers can. Absolutely the best compliments to Dante, the best to the chefs, and the best to the restaurant itself. Thank you all for this spiritual experience. It will not be forgotten, and we will return once again on our next anniversary. We love Apollon, and will never be dissatisfied with the food or service. As many Mediterraneans say in time of expressing...

We had a terrible experience at this restaurant on October 28, 2022. My parents were born in Appleton and moved back 12 years ago. My mom is 100% Greek American; my sister and I are half Greek. We have been dining at the Apollon for 12 years. They have a notice, in tiny print on the menu, that people can only order a full three-course meal. We have never done that in many dining experiences over the last 12 years. Never. My sister and I are in our sixties; my parents are in their nineties. We cannot eat three-course meals. There is no senior menu. We have, for 12 years, ordered wine and appetizers and the restaurant has accommodated us. We showed up for my birthday on October 28. We ordered wine and saganaki (flaming cheese). The wine was $30/bottle, and we planned to order a second one. We wanted to share the mezo platter for three ($30). So our ticket would have been, $30 for wine x 2 ($60); $10 for Saganaki; $30 for mezo. So a $100 ticket overall. But we were told we could not do that. Instead, we had to order three $20 entrees. But wait--our ticket would have exceeded that price. The waitress was very accommodating, and went to management twice. The shift manager was rude and seemed to be completely oblivious to the economics of the situation. Her first response: "It's our policy." Well, maybe your policy needs to evolve and be tailored to the precise situation presented. If your server is going to make a good tip, and if your establishment is going to get a good ticket price, maybe let it go through. The rude shift manager came to our table and pointed to the tiny print on the menu that says three-course meals are required. She then said that the restaurant was not willing to accommodate people who lounge through appetizers while the restaurant could be making bigger profits on dinner diners. But, not true. If dinner diners drink one glass of house wine, or no alcohol at all, the restaurant makes less than it would on our dinner. Do the math, Apollon! What you did on October 28 was this: (1) You alienated a ten-year loyal customer; I will never patronize your restaurant again; (2) My Greek family will never patronize your restaurant again; (3) I will post negative reviews on every social media platform available to me. This, so you could save $20 in dinner costs on October 28. Clearly, you need a better...