Avli Restaurant — Restaurant in New Trier Township

Food: Very good. We ordered the following, each nicely and never gargantuanly-portioned other than for one:

Sharable Octapodi was grilled and presented unchopped, making for a welcome break from very same-y offerings elsewhere. Its seasonings and sauce constantly allured, and its grilled textures were fabulous.

Lavraki (Branzino) was well received, as was the Linguine Clam Special, which came with a tempting pasta I wanted to try. It wasn't my order but very likely the best of the lot, because he ate every bit of it.

The Arni Burger was a bit of an oddball. The burger was definitely lamb but very, very dense. Its thickness and heft easily made it sharable. It came with "feta fries" which didn't include a bit of feta cheese. Our server was kind enough to bring some when asked.

Doughy table bread didn't have much chance to stand out. Olive oil was present but neither salt nor pepper nor cheese of any sort was until after being requested.

Ordered drinks were canned Coca-Cola products, just as one would receive if at a grill in Greece. But no Loux or Epsa -- each, a lightly carbonated lemonade brand -- was offered. I don't know if either was available.

Dessert: Portokalopita, or orange filo cake which, here, was served with pistachio ice cream, was (i) cold, (ii) deceptively soaking, since it didn't look it, and (iii) sweet. In other words, it was just the way Mom used to make and a wonderful treat! The ice cream was mild in comparison and had a smooth texture. Greek coffees, two "very sweet" (but based on competitors, not!), and one, unsweetened and rather bitter, hinted that the coffee brand was Nestlé-owned Loumidis/Papagalos. There's nothing wrong with that; Loumidis is the standard in Greece when its younger generations aren't guzzling frappes...which are also made with Nestlé coffee.

Service: We came at a slow time and so only one waiter handled the entire floor. While not fully attentive as a result, he was always pleasant and deserving of a decent tip, as was the busboy.

Atmosphere: It's located in The (adorable) Laundry. Parking was available in one lot but packed in another to which Maps led me. From what I saw, this delightful restaurant had a tiny bar area, a small party room, a large-ish dining area which wasn't in use, and a smaller dining area with a fireplace and wine cellar which was. That smaller dining area was charming, from its looks to its mix of upbeat bossa nova(?) and Greek instrumental...

Visiting Avli April 2023, we found much disappointment. The food has really gone down hill over the past two years. I ordered their gyros plate for the first time thinking Greek restaurant it should be great! It was dry and tasteless. There was only one tomato slice and a few slivers of red onion. My wife ordered her usual skewered chicken, and it was over cooked and hardened on the skewers and the rice was overcooked and bland. The best dish ordered was the pasta with shrimp 🍤. They serve cold bread and butter packs like a diner. We had to ask for olive oil, which is their own brand. We then had to ask for Parmesan cheese and pepper. After dinning here many times, it has become a disappointment to say the least. Prior review below. The second time visiting Avli turned out much better than the first back in 2019. Sitting out in the courtyard allowed us to be more comfortable with Covid and all. The service was much improved from the prior time, as our waiter was personable and attentive but not over bearing. Even the busboys seemed to be better trained. We started with a drink and dolmaldes while waiting for our guests. These dolmaldes were the best I’ve ever had. The plates was dressed with a slightly sweet amber sauce that contrasted the lemon tartness of the grape leaves, while the rice meat mixture was delicious. The menu has its basic Greek menu items and then the not so basic to chose from. I actually had the lamb chops with their Greek rice. The chops were ordered medium rare and very thin medium well came out. I didn’t send them back because they were well seasoned and tasty. Even the broccoli was well seasoned and grilled with just right amount for the grill browning and flavor. My mother-in-law is vegan, and there are plenty of items on the menu for her to order. The only desserts ordered were ice cream and the cheese cake. The cheese cake was ok but not great. Please before you leave, look below 👇 and tap on the...

We were looking forward to visiting this restaurant, but I’m sorry to say that it Fell short of expectations. The positive1st, absolutely five stars for excellent service. Our server was knowledgeable and helpful. The ambience was good nothing special, but very comfortable and welcoming. The location in downtown with Winnetka Excellent. We ordered the house Cabernet, which was Nothing remarkable, but it’s a house wine so I have no opinion on that. We had egg lemon soup, village salad, the braised lamb, and the moussaka. The entrees came with rice or potatoes and bread butter and olive oil are offered when you’re seated. The olive oil oil was excellent among the best that I’ve ever tasted the bread not so much. The Lemon soup was very good! The salad was completely unimaginative, the ingredients so so and the dressing totally uninspired. my date’s braised lamb was not all That good, stringy and kind of on the tough side. The most prevalent taste was that of salt. I had the moussaka and it was disappointing, a complete departure from the traditional dish. I think the chef struck out on this one. Way too much ground beef very little eggplant no other vegetables were detected and instead of olive oil it was baked in a cream sauce. Again, a lot of salt. I doubt the person in the kitchen has had any Greek cuisine training. Definitely they need to try harder. I will not...