Ariston Restaurant — Restaurant in Proviso Township

Classic Chicago street food joint with excellent food and a huge menu. All the grill standards and local staples done right (dogs, Italian beef, polish sausage, burgers, chicken, etc.) The Greek specialties are also fantastic. The Gyros are great, and the Greek chicken kebabs are phenomenal. You can get that in a dinner with a Greek salad, and either fries or you can complete the holy Trinity with Greek rice (recommended). All that for $13.99. Unbelievable value and everything I've had has either met or exceeded expectations. Can't recommend the Greek kebab dinner enough tho. It took a little extra time (The portions are very generous, and I'm guessing most people probably just get the fries), but between the chicken and rice, the flavor was so rich and balanced it was unreal. More than worth the wait. Try anything though, I have no doubt these guys will do it proper. Great staff, great food, incredible value, big portions. New go-to spot for me.

If you're from Chicago/know the local food, it's gonna taste exactly right. If you're new in town and unfamiliar with all of our artery clogging favorites, this place is as good as any to get yourself acquainted.

(Only thing you might need to worry about is it's a small place, but that's just about any good local joint around here. If you have a lot of people, I don't know take 2 tables or take it to go. Most people just carry out. Or, as the big sign out front suggests ("Ariston Drive-In"), take it back to your car and get the full retro experience in the parking lot. If you can do it at gene and judes you can do it here. Then all that's left is to hit the pinball arcade and cap it off with a keg party at the Moon Tower. But the first stop is the drive in. So if you're in or around the west burbs, or are willing to travel a little for a lot more options than most places, as well as to be sure that whatever you do get is done just right, you might as well make it this place. Sure, there are some more famous places in and around the city that are known for hot dogs or Italian beef or whatever. But if you and your friends cant agree, or just want to sample all the old standards in one spot, make it this place if you can. Good as any around, you will...

Found this place on the way back home from Oak Park after my first stop for an Italian beef (Poor Boy) had closed early for the night and I'm glad I did.

Ariston makes a decent beef sandwich with soft bread, a nice serving of sliced beef, excellent tasting au jus and good giardineira. The medium fries and beef combo that comes with a canned drink was just under $15 which is a bit pricey but still not bad for the quality. Their crinkle cut fries are delicious and we're served crispy and piping hot.

I luckily got in a little after 12:15am and was able to beat out the last minute rush as a good 5-6 cars pulled into the lot after I ordered. I don't think there would have been much of a wait even I had been a little later though as my order was ready in less than 5 mins. This made me a little worried but like I mentioned the food ended up being good.

The staff were not necessarily friendly but I wouldn't characterize them as rude either. They just seemed to be really dialed in to get through all the orders which I appreciated. The interior is pretty lived in but it's not overly dirty or anything.

They have an almost ridiculously extensive menu so I can't say much for the rest of the food but if a good beef and fries late at night is what you're looking for Ariston is a...

Well, big disappointment about sums it up. We chose this place to avoid all the fast food joints around. Its been around for decades, but i cant imagine why.

Its a confusing vibe—you think its a cute diner, and there are decorative elements that would suggest it—but really its a stuffy old restaurant with a very dated menu of mediocre offerings. Servers are dressed in oddly formal white shirts, and there are folded napkins on all the tables, but the sauces come in disposable paper cups.

We ordered the portobello mushroom fries appetizer—adequately cooked but nothing special. We also got a pork tenderloin sandwich to share, and the server suggested that rather than pay for an extra plate charge, we simply get the salad bar so that there would be enough food. The salad bar was a dismal iceberg lettuce with a few sides scenario. I’m sure the extra plate charge would have been better. We opted for the “house-made chips” side, which were essentially deep-fried-again wavy chips that didn’t seem homemade.

All in all, do yourself a favor and...