Violí Oakbrook — Restaurant in Oak Brook

Save Your Receipt!! We got overcharged.

We made a reservation for our anniversary after seeing this place recommended from our Capital One credit card account benefits. We also noted on the reservation that this was our anniversary dinner and it was a special occasion.

We arrived and told the check-in staff we have a reservation. They tell us they don't have a table yet. We said we had a reservation, right. They responded saying, yes they have our reservation but they don't have a table. Which begs the question when I asked them, then why did you take my reservation without having a table reserved; the whole point of having a reservation is to have reserve the table ahead of time, especially noticing on the reservation it was for our anniversary. They again gave the same response and with an attitude. We waited almost 20 minutes; I was almost ready to leave when they finally said they have a table.

The Food

This is not your typical Greek food place. It's trendy and overpriced. Simple as that. If you want to get some real proper Greek food, you're better off going to Greek Islands. It is not to say it was not good. The appetizers we ordered were ok, but overpriced. The rock shrimp was $21 and it was ok. The grilled octopus was good, but way overpriced for two skinny tentacles at $28, not worth it.

For the main course, my wife ordered the lobster linguini ($45) and I ordered the short rib bucatini ($42). They were good, so there is nothing to complain there. However, they did not come with any sides because the sides are extra!. We paid $15 for the baked potatoes and they weren't that good honestly; too salty and the texture was meh. In any case, paying $15 for baked potatoes is ridiculous.

For the dessert we ordered the deconstructed baklava. It was ok, but there was no need to deconstruct baklava. I have eaten baklava all my life. There was no need to do anything to baklava. They "deconstructed it" just to make it trendy.

For drinks we had wine and cocktails. They were ok, but nothing special. They were $15 each. Not cheap for what they were.

The Atmosphere

Trendy. Plain and simple. That's what this place is. The whole atmosphere is designed to look trendy as possible. There was loud music blaring in the background and we could barely have a conversation. It felt like we were instead at a club, not a restaurant trying to have a romantic dinner. The decor was a mish-mash of trying to look fancy and avant garde. They clearly are trying to look as trendy as possible so they can charge you a higher price. Violi is owned by DineAmic Hospitality Partners, essentially a hedge fund for trendy restaurants. Overall, if you are looking for a romantic dinner place, especially for an anniversary, Violi is not it. If however, you are looking for something trendy, then Violi is it.

Save Your Receipt!

Finally, this brings me to closing remarks. After we paid, I was lucky enough to save my receipt. When I later looked at my credit card statement, I see we got overcharged $50. I called Violi but nobody answered. Nobody picks up the phone; everything is automated. I left a voicemail and nobody responded to me. I had to resort to making a claim with my credit card company.

Originally, I was planning to go back and give them another chance seeing as how our first time there was poor. And to their credit, they did comp two of our drinks because of reservation issue. However, after the fiasco with the check, I am not going back again. Terrible experience and overall a fail; this is not how you should treat your customers. I would NOT...

We LOVE Lyra. One of our top choices as a family. Gourmet Greek, and the preparations, ideas, and service are always amazing. It's an absolute great experience every time, and we've been many times as our children are adults and live out of state. It's a top request when they visit.

So, when our son was home visiting a few weeks ago, of course we wanted to try Violi... Some reviewers here in this section are used to "Greek Food" in the suburbs. If you want a standard Gyros, Souvlaki, Avgolemono, don't go here. That's not what they allegedly do. They are high end, gourmet Greek. It's definitely not a suburban or late night Greek pita sandwich stand, or even a "family" Greek food joint like Lombard... Not what it's supposed to be.

With that out of the way, we know what we like at Lyra, so we ordered most of the same. The appetizers were great. The special smoked old fashioned they make was great. My son loves their version of Mousaka, so we said up front that was a special item. My wife ordered the lamb gyros plate, and knew what to expect. I ordered the Souvlaki. The waiter was fine but very disconnected. They use food servers from the kitchen, and ours was a bumbling newbie, or so that was the impression. He delivered food to the wrong people, was awkward throughout, and always confused. When our entrees arrived, he brought a completely different dish to my son. Our waiter saw it happening, and rushed over to say - no, he ordered Mousaka. So, now my wife and I have food, but our son does not. We look at our plates and start to eat, but we look at each other with the same faces. The food is terrible. Nowhere near the quality or preparation of Lyra. My plate is 6 pieces of meat and some sauce. Nothing else, which was incredibly odd. Normally incredibly tender, delicious high quality tenderloin was... Average. My wife's gyros, normally juicy, tender and incredibly tasty, looked a bit like dog food.

My son's meal came, and it was inedible. It's his absolute fave entree at Lyra and he said it tasted like it wasn't cooked all the way.

My guess is that the kitchen or food newbie sent my son's dish to another table, and when the newbie ran back to tell them he needed a Mousaka, they did it in a hurry, and that's not a dish you can hurry. Instead of explaining the problem, I would guess the waiter just waited to see if we complained. My wife and I worked in restaurants for years and we have high patience for situational error. We rarely complain... We just don't go back.

This place clearly does not have the Lyra chef, or his staff in the kitchen, and the wait and serving staff are also clearly what's available in the burbs and not Fulton Market. That's fine, but what that means is that they can't perform like their sister restaurant that lives in the hottest and most competitive dining area in Chicagoland. This was beyond disappointing. We...

“Every Review I Have Ever Posted For A Restaurant, Please KNOW they are all toxic especially the vegan and so called organic ones due to them being unaware and not creating a positive change to serve the world better quality ingredients”.

One has to stay away from Canola and Vegetables Oils, GMO Products, Processed Sugars and Salts, White Potatoes, Soy, Wheat, Corn, Beans, Rice a lot of these items have toxic chemicals which is the direct cause of all medical problems in this country. A lot of items that’s can go in the food you eat here is banned in other countries.

Our fruits should have seeds in them. Stop getting fake clone products. And be honest with the people you are serving.

We are being hopeful that all Restaurants in the USA will become aware and do research on how to serve us products that will assist in us a living long healthy lives. Every Restaurant has some type of poison in their food. Consider using better food and ingredients and follow the lectin free list. Stand for all of us and stop feeding us toxic foods.

One should consider this if you want to live a long healthful AUTHENTIC life. Stay far away from LECTINS‼️ Do your own research. One always wants to know why am I anxious, depressed, moody, shameful, unforgiving, stressed, can’t lose weight…the foods you are eating is apart of that. Look at the list posted and if you feel it in your heart to share with others so you can save lives, that would be wonderful.

lectins as a major cause for obesity, chronic inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. They are found in all plants, but raw legumes (beans, lentils, peas, soybeans, peanuts) and whole grains like wheat contain the highest amounts of lectins.

lectin that can cause red blood cells to clump together. It can also produce nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, and diarrhea. Milder side effects is bloating and gas.

Animal and cell studies have found that active lectins can interfere with the absorption of minerals, especially calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. Legumes and cereals often contain these minerals, so the concurrent presence of lectins may prevent the absorption and use of these minerals in the body. Lectins can also bind to cells lining the digestive tract. This may disrupt the breakdown and absorption of nutrients, and affect the growth and action of intestinal flora. Because lectin proteins bind to cells for long periods of time, they can potentially cause an autoimmune response and are theorized to play a role in inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and...