màna — Restaurant in Lyons Township

We went to this fabulous new-to-us Greek restaurant for dinner recently with our good friends. Loved the decor of Mana greek restaurant. We had a very personable server, Kristin, who answered all our questions and guided us from cocktails to food. She was great! We started out with cocktails. Of course, the guys had old-fashioneds and the girls had martinis. My cocktail was so tasty with mezcal, prickly pear, thyme liquor and lemon. The four of us shared the fava dip, the saganaki and the grilled octopus appetizers. Olives, grilled bread and pita bread were brought to the table as well. The fava dip was flavorful, the octopus grilled to perfection and the saganaki a huge disappointment. This classic Greek cheese dish is usually flamed at the table so it’s melty gooey goodness. Unfortunately, there was no flaming and it was served in a wedge instead of a square or rectangular shape. It had a crust to it that was crispy and when you cut into it was dense and not soft and gooey. I can understand if the restaurant does not want to be flaming cheese at the tables, but it should be done in the kitchen and served immediately so it’s not hard and dense. It was a total miss for me. Next up salads. My friends had a traditional village salad and my husband and I shared the charred beets with almond ricotta. The village salad was as you would expect, and the beets were excellent although could have been cut into smaller pieces and served with more ricotta for the amount of beets on the plate. For dinner, I had the charred wagyu meatball appetizer, which I could only eat one. They were so good and huge! My husband had the wood fired branzino (delicious) with a side of vegetables. The fish was moist and flaky. Our friends ordered the Greek butcher board, which was huge and had all sorts of meats with crispy potatoes and accoutrements. The four of us could’ve split that board and there would still be leftovers. At the end of the meal, Kristin brought us shots of Greek Lightening, a cinnamon honey liquor, I believe she said the owners made. It tasted like a smooth Fireball shot. Nice touch! Please note that the restaurant adds a 3% service fee to their bills. Unfortunately, the restaurant charged us $20 on a $400 bill, which was an upcharge to a 5% service fee, not the 3% as stated. I did reach out to the restaurant after discovering it the next day, and they wanted to correct it asking for my charge card, but it wasn’t worth my time to try to correct this. I just wanted them to know that they need to be careful and they made an error. I’m sure that this service fee is not manually entered, so I wonder how many people are being charged more on their service fee not catching it like me until after the fact, if at all. More money in their pockets? with that said, I will definitely be back to Mana. I loved most...

My husband and I love coming here. It is always a great dining experience. The food is excellent, it’s also authentic, which I deeply appreciate as a Greek. The vibes, are giving Mediterranean moody, it’s so good. Omg and the plants on the patio, gorgeous!! Whoever did the Interior Design understood the assignment. I love the layout of the restaurant, the finishes were perfectly chosen, I love the lighting Installation, the chairs, it’s more than just about the food. I love coming to Mana, it just feels special. And it’s also one of the only places that I can get a real cocktail, one that actually follows a true recipe, no “free pour” nonsense. These are mixologists mixing cocktails one at a time. As for the service, I agree with the reviews on the pacing, it’s something to note. Each time we go for dinner we are asked to place our order in full and I always remind my waiter to please pace everything out, and I’m very clear about that because I don’t like being rushed when I eat. We are typically early diners so this isn’t as issue. But note, the timing isn’t on the kitchen. It’s your servers responsibility to fire the orders on time. This is a modern kitchen system. Everything comes in on a ticket so if your server puts everything in at once, that’s exactly how it’s gonna come out of the kitchen, so it is actually your responsibility as the diner to tell your server what your expectations are. Also note, the portions here are HUGE and everything can be shared. Many times my husband and I will only order maybe two or three plates to share - so pacing things out is never an issue. Frankly, they could do away with the table bread, but I do LOVE the house marinated olives, those are divine! And do not skip the pistachio ice cream, it’s life changing and you will dream about it. Overall, Mana is a excellent experience, and the food is a value, and service is consistently good. It is a...

This restaurant has adopted an experimental concept. It makes a point of not being authentic Greek but rather modernized Greek-inspired. Experiments are a risky thing, and so the inconsistent quality of food at this place is not surprising. The spread trio was very good. The bread was good. The salad was nice and fresh, but with too much vinegar and/or lemon juice. The braised lamb in tomato sauce with a side of pasta and cheese was a serious disappointment. The meat could have been from an animal mummified from 2000 BC. There was nothing in the sauce that tasted remotely like tomato or cheese, and the flavor was, let's just say, experimental. The dessert was eclectic as well, combining flavors that did not belong together: a "traditional" (?) Greek cookie, chocolate, gelato, and caramelized pecans. I would have much preferred just the cookie, which, by the way, was tough as, well, a cookie, and not meant to be eaten by a spoon that came with it. The wine had a great flavor but should have been chilled more.

The atmosphere was nice, I appreciated the clean, crisp, and elegant decor. The music was loud, and I can imagine that during busy hours people would have a hard time hearing each other. Lastly, the service was quick, professional, and attentive, the server checked on us several times, which may even be too often for some people, but something others may appreciate.

Recommendations: (1) this place is worth trying, in fact I plan to give it another try, but I suggest you order several appetizers instead of one or two main courses. It is a hit-or-miss kind of place, so don't put all your money in one basket; and (2) book early, like shortly after opening, to have a quieter atmosphere before the...