Avli River North — Restaurant in Chicago

BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE! I would like to bring this to the attention of the owner and the GM. My name is James, I'm Greek Canadian, I speak Greek but I don't look Greek. I've been to your River North location numerous times. I usually come on Mondays. Good food, good service and a wonderful host.

My problem has to do with the host on weekends and his unacceptable behavior. An angry middle-aged grey-haired host with no manners! I've been two times on a Saturday night and both times I've experienced the same thing. The way he approaches the tables and speaks to customers is unacceptable! Both times I've been seated on Wells St. I like it because it's more quiet and reminds me of a platia(town centre). The first time the host was yelling to our waitress and the second time to the customers. The last time there were three women sitting at a table beside us. The host told them in a loud tone of voice to finish their wines because he needed the table. Not even five minutes later he came back in a very angry mood and told the ladies that they needed to go even though they hadn't finished their wine and he stood there until they left. He even called a busser to clean their table and place new mats even though the table was occupied. The people from the surrounding tables were in shock. On his way back to his host stand he pointed at our table and literally screamed to the waitress "dioxtous"(kick them out). The young lady looked scared. What business in the world accepts and applauds such a behavior.

I have sent Avli 5 emails so far and they totally ignored me. The reason I'm posting this here is because I want to see if they will ignore my review. This past Saturday, my daughter and her friends were at Avli and they had a similar experience. The same guy told them that they needed to finish with their drinks and go. When my daughter told him that they've already ordered more drinks and needed more time, he looked upset and told her that he doesn't care and he wants the table. Who is this guy? Is he more than a host? Is he a part owner? On their website they're talking about philoxenia (an act of hospitableness and welcome). I'm sorry but this is not Philoxenia! This is bad customer service, unprofessionalism...

We did not feel welcomed AT ALL from beginning to end and this was possibly one of the worst dining experiences of my life. It was our first time dining at an Avli and we had always heard good things. I really wanted to like this place but this poor dining experience was truly shocking.

My friend and I arrived at 9:05pm and were continuously ignored by multiple servers as we were clearly standing at the front where the host stand is. Only a busser looked at us and acknowledged/nodded at us - it took 10-15 minutes for this to happen and we were in shock that employees were clearly and purposefully avoiding eye contact with us (they had tables fairly close to the host stand).

A manager finally arrives to the host stand and lets us know that the kitchen closes in 15 minutes (9:30pm) and that we would need to order fairly quickly which my friend and I said okay and were happy to do so. We get sat to our table, our server rudely and curtly tells us that we need to order in 5 minutes (when we were just told by the manager at the front that we had 15 minutes and maybe if someone acknowledged us and sat us earlier, employees would not have to tell us to rush our order). 5 minutes or 15 minutes? It was frustrating to hear this discrepancy and miscommunication.

Appetizers and entrees all arrived at once, not even coursed out so by the time we got to certain dishes, they were already at room temperature. We even placed our desserts order when we put in our app and entree orders only to find out when we finished our app+entrees that one of the desserts we ordered was not available. This should have been communicated to us from the very beginning and the whole reason as to why we even placed our dessert order from the beginning was to make it easier for the kitchen+staff. Continuous poor service throughout our dining experience.

I emailed Avli directly twice to make sure management would take my feedback seriously but alas - no response. I will...

I like Greek food for the reason that it is a good mixture of East and West, there's is a lot of Middle Eastern influences such as yogurt and rice in the cooking. While Italian food boasts richness and rustic homeliness, Greek food brings freshness and brightness, which is why it is perfect for the summer.

I have not been to any of the Avli locations until today, because I have never had any Greek food, traditional nor progressive, with any wow factors. Avli turns out to be the same.

Great decor, awesome services, perfect plating. But I could taste everything that went into the dishes with the first bite. The dishes overall are quite bland, simple thyme, oregano, rosemary seasoning, salt and pepper. The boldest taste came from the spicy mayo (I know right) on the Fried Shrimps (Garides Kataifi). The Pork Souvlaki that we had were actually a little dry, but the sauce helped a little. The Monastiraki Chicken Gyro had similar light seasoning as the Souvlaki, it is ok to consume by itself but once you put that on the thick Pita bread, the taste is completely gone. I thought I will never say this, but I was hoping for some spicy sauce, or garlic, something really, to wake up my taste buds a little. The lamb shoulder was on point, very tender, but again, bland. It is a big chunk of meat, but it really needs more seasoning, not saltiness, seasoning!

My favorite was actually the watermelon salad, the feta and the basil citronette were perfect compliments, but I didn't taste the cucumber and jalapenos relish at all.

The worst experience was with the almond pudding. It is actually very similar to the almond pudding from Asia, which has the hard jelly sleek texture, but there is no almond taste whatsoever, but you will find rose water, and a lot of it. If it wasn't for the fruits on the side, I would think I was eating Rose Water soap. I am sorry but that dessert...