El Greco — Restaurant in Saint Charles

I love finding little gems like this in St. Charles that exceed expectations and make me glad to live in this darling town. I've passed it dozens of times while out and about, so when my partner said she wanted gyros for dinner it came to mind. I only wish I'd tried El Greco sooner!

I started with spanakopita because I'd never tried it before, and the savory, slightly bitter spinach paired well with the bright and tangy tzatziki sauce.

I got the gyro special with a small Greek salad, and started with the salad. I cannot remember the last time I have had such fresh produce in a salad from a restaurant. It was tossed in a light dressing with generous veggies, and I could easily see ordering the full size version as a meal. It was that delicious.

The lamb gyro was, without exception, the best I've ever had. It was absolutely LOADED with succulent lamb, and more fantastically fresh toppings. I was only able to eat half, and I'm eyeballing the other half now, just hoping I get hungry enough to finish it soon.

I will definitely be adding this charming eatery to my regular rotation. It's the kind of place where you want to leave a review and visit often because you want them to stay in business so you can eat there again and again. The couple that served us were very sweet and made us feel comfortable and...

I/we absolutely love this place! The owner gets to the shop around 4am to start slow roasting the lamb, beef, chicken and preparing and chopping all the fresh veggies, etc. before he even opens for the day. Personally, I never cared for Lamb. I don't know what seasoning he uses but his lamb is the bomb! It's very moist and tender and the flavor is out of this world! The menu is fairly simple and limited yet plenty of choices for everyone; including vegetarian options. There's a small dining room for about 30 people. All orders are served in styrofoam "to go" boxes which is actually a good thing because the portions are SO HUGE you will need that box! Years ago I tried a gyro at Arby's and hated it. It was smaller than a taco and I just thought it was gross. When my gyro from this place came out my eyes about popped out of my head! It was so big I couldn't pick it up. I had to cut it up with the plastic knife and fork provided. Obviously, this is not a 5 star restaurant, but for $11.99 and the amount of good quality fresh home cooked AUTHENTIC Greek food, I would visit El Greco any day before going to a fancy restaurant IN Greece! Oh, and check out the home made Baklava! You will NOT be disappointed. However, if you already have a cavity, you may want to chew on the...

I stopped in yesterday for a quick dinner. The staff was very friendly and excited for me to try. Mind you I skipped lunch so I was starving. Lol I decided to try the Hummus. It was probably some of the best I’ve had. They topped it with a generous helping of tomatoes, olives, Greek salad and a drizzle of Olive oil and served it with warm pita bread. Yum!!! I also ordered Spanakopita. I’ve never had this before and they severed it with a side of Tzatziki sauce. This was very flaky and was the perfect amount of cheese. It had a great flavor on its own or paired with the Tzatziki sauce. Definitely worth trying.

For my main I went with a traditional Gyro with all the traditional toppings. Yes I was starving but let me tell ya! A person can get 2-3 meals off of this one Gyro… The texture and flavors all made my mouth very HaPpY! It was delicious! And of course for dessert I had to try the Baklava. Umm if you like layers upon layers of thin, crispy dough, honey and nuts. This is a treat for you! It was a perfect ending to a great meal and crazy work week. Thank you El Greco for making my night. If you haven’t tried them out yet, I highly...