Greek Islands — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I was excited to try this restaurant after a coworker from Chicago highly recommended this spot. It’s in the heart of Greektown and a quick walk from the OTC station. We came for lunch on a Sunday with no reservations and got seated immediately. The waitress was very attentive but also was quick to ask us what we wanted to order. We’re indecisive so she came back a couple of times even before we were ready but at least the service was on top of it. Our waitress was bit pushy in trying to upsell and get us to get more food but it wasn’t that bad. The servers made sure we always had water and they also brought out bread with butter quickly. We got the spartan chicken, combination plate, and the seafood kebab. The spartan chicken comes with five pieces of chicken with rice or veggies in the side. The chicken was well seasoned and tender and the rice reminded me of a rice pilaf stew minus the broth given how moist it was ($14). The kebabs similarly well seasoned and comes with veggies or rice on the side ($22). The salmon was a touch dry but when you eat it with the bell peppers (which had a nice char on the outside) the moisture from the vegetables balances it out. I had the combination plate (~$19) which I liked best, although I would suggest splitting it between two people. The dolmade was my favorite part and came stuffed with meat and had a white sauce on the top. The moussaka reminded me of a Greek lasagna and the sauce spilled over to touching the other food items, so if you’re picky about mixing your flavors, just be aware of that. The lamb slices came in four and were my second favorite part. It was sliced thinly and flavorful. There were also vegetables and one meatball which I liked. The vegetables were very soft and marinated in a tomato based sauce. When we finished, we were all very full. I would recommend coming here for a lunch with a group and splitting dishes to share. There’s also a family style option for $25 where you can have a set menu although you best be hungry if you choose that option. There is free valet parking and there were a lot of tables. Overall a fun authentic Greek restaurant...

When in Chicago, I knew I had to try the Greek Islands. This is definitely one of the most famous Greek restaurants in the United States, and for good reason. The food is delicious, the atmosphere is nice, and so is the service. I tried a variety of their items: cold sampler with Taramosalata, Melitzanosalata, Tirokafteri, skordalia, create a combo with spanakopita and gyro, as well as all the sides that come with it.

Everything on the sampler was delicious. The skordalia is a tad creamy and they are very generous with the garlic! It might be a tad much for those who don’t like garlic.

The taramosalata was quite good, too. It had a somewhat unnatural look to it, though. Very bright pink. The flavor itself was quite salty and savory, and I did enjoy it with some pita, but thr color did throw me off.

The Tirokafteri was probably my favorite of the spreads. It wasn’t really spicy, had a great creamy and salty feta base, and nice touch of freshness from the peppers. Definitely had a lot of cheese in one sitting thanks to this dip.

My main meal was just as good as the appetizers we tried. The gyro was pretty perfect. Very generous portion, great savory flavor. The spanakopita was also near perfect. Great portion, perfect balance of feta to spinach, crispy on top. The tzatziki sauce they served it with was creamy and delicious. Lots of little cucumber chunks. And, the roast potatoes were a nice complimentary addition.

We were seated quickly and were attended to by the servers in a great manner. Water was refilled regularly. We saw some other people ordered saganaki, and they light the fire right near you. Next time I come, I’d like to try that. The entrance itself is also very nice, with the seafood display, awards they’ve won, and so on.

Overall, this is a very nice Greek place. I’d love to come back and try more of their delicious items and eat some more gyros....

I came just for homemade lamb/beef gyros which was great! Wife enjoyed lemon rice soup and saganaki and then we were both confused as no one checked on our drinks or food or lack of.

Review:

Were seated immediately! Amazing and serviced by a young woman. She whispered opa as she lit the cheese? Kinda weird as other servers were audible from across the restaurant..

I had asked waitress the difference between the Gyros full order that is $18(twice as big she said about the Gyro appetizer) this is either untrue or someone made a mistake and I was served the $10 gyro appetizer and half a plate of onions on a bigger plate?!

It was a great atmosphere til the waitress left(no name given) and said we had a new server... He came to us 30 minutes later to ask if we wanted the food we ordered... Never mentioned his name and didn't even bring the food out. He then signaled to another waiter after another 10 minutes of waiting who brought it out to us..Came out like it was sitting on warmer as he said do you want the food now(like it had sat there waiting on us, but never mentioned we wanted our food delayed on purpose)

When the bus boy took the plate he even laughed when I said not enough meat but 2x to much onions... another note on waitstaff... My wife had her drink taken away by the bus boy and was not offered another? The bus boy was the best employee we spoke with, be even offered coffee.

Then I had to walk to the bar for a refill on my sprite because waitstaff were all talking & completely ignored the whole time we are. All this after saying we're first timers and excited and were visiting from out of town! This while the restaurant was slow and overstaffed, which was even more frustrating!

Attached is a picture of my receipt for...