Paidakia Paidakia
Plateia Kitchen

Plateia Kitchen

9860 Milwaukee Ave Des Plaines, IL 60016, 60025-4508, Glenview, United States

Bars • Meat • Greek • American


"Parking goes all the way around three sides of the restaurant. And this is truly needed, because of the large square footage inside the restaurant. The parking lot was full on a Wednesday night! When I walked in, there was a bar area immediately to the right for you to grab your first cocktail, but I have never had to wait for a table. They have an equally sized outdoor patio as they have available seating area inside. If you sit on the patio where you're not staring at the parking lot, you will be fully transformed into a little Mediterranean vacation with twinkle lights above the pergola and vines on the wall. The place was fully packed outside with many people sipping on Lemontinis. First, we got the Spanakopita, which was basically a savory baklava but with diced feta and spinach inside with tomato sauce to accompany it. The Skewers were fabulous to split with a pal, as they come with a large portion of protein kebabs with rice, tomato onion, Taziki, and two slices of pita. The chicken was so tender and could convert anyone who doesn't like chicken to like chicken. These Plateia chefs are absolutely using a thermometer to cook, because nothing has been overdone, ever. Little loud at times for my 32-year-old ears to hear, but it was because of the bustling environment with people all around chatting and and having a grand old time. How could you blame them?"

Stamna Taverna

Stamna Taverna

Stamna Greek Taverna, 1055 Broad St, Bloomfield, NJ 07003, USA, United States

Cafés • Pizza • Salad • Seafood


"Stamna Greek Taverna is an absolute treasure in the heart of the Brookdale neighborhood of Bloomfield. Also located in several top Greek restaurants in North Jersey, including Lithos in Livingston, Oceanos in Fair Lawn and Varca Restaurant in Ramsey, it makes it especially that the best Greek restaurant is in my own neighborhood! Owner Alex Angela are experienced restaurant owners who also own the Nevada Diner for 30 years. Alex's vision for Stamna is the kind of comfortable, local tavern you are in every Greek neighborhood. The brand of this restaurant is high quality ingredients simply prepared in generous portions at a reasonable price. Your fish is excellent. Grilled or fried, the Tsipoura (Greek porgie) is my go-to entree and the Lavraki (important Greek bronzino). Traditional Patates Fournou (lax roasted potatoes) and Horta are not to be missed. Charcoal-grilled Paidakia (lamb chops) are juicy and delicate. On a personal note, last week I didn't think I had just missed the closing time for the kitchen. Alex randomly came to the restaurant and asked me if I wanted to eat something. Instead of keeping his kitchen staff there at the end, he insisted on preparing something for me personally. I expressed appreciation for the offer, but went back. He insisted that it was not a problem and since I was very hungry, I broke off and accepted his generous offer! He continued to come behind the stove and prepared Tsipoura and Horta for me personally! How refreshing and what a rare treat you want to find a restaurant owner to please a customer. One could imagine such an experience, perhaps in the past or in Greece today, but how rarely in today's often impersonal culture. Alex and Angela are very dedicated to creating this kind of neighborhood tavern experience in Stamna and really glare their efforts. Stamna is a restaurant experience not to miss!"

Uncle Nick's Greek Cuisine - Hell's Kitchen

Uncle Nick's Greek Cuisine - Hell's Kitchen

747 9th Avenue New York, NY 10019, 10019-6613, United States

Tea • Beer • Greek • Seafood


"Got together with another couple to catch up and have a good authentic Greek dinner. I used to eat lunch here about once a month when I worked in the area. After spending an afternoon in the City, we walked to Uncle Nick 's for a 7 pm reservation. We started with the Saganaki Tiri (flaming cheese appetizer a must have! , plus the Inopikilia for the table. My one friend wanted the grilled octopus appetizer, but when we saw that octopus came on the Inopikilia platter, we went for that instead. The platter contained octopus (tiny, tiny pieces maybe 8 small tidbits , sausage, keftedakia (meatballs , tzatziki, tarama, scordalia, pita bread, olives, feta, pepperoncini, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Every item on the platter was delicious, except we didn 't quite care for the scordalia. My friend who wanted octopus was very disappointed in the tiny scraps on the platter. For entrees we had spanakopita (very ordinary , pastitsio (delicious , roast lamb shank special (good, but mostly fat and not much meat , and the seafood combo (delicious which had shrimp, mussels, calamari and scallops tossed with orzo in a tomato, white wine, garlic, and scallion sauce. Again, as with the octopus on the Inopikilia, my scallops appeared to be about 3 scallops cut into quarters and scattered through the orzo. We ordered (and drank two carafes of the red house wine which was fine. For dessert we had two orders of baklava, and one order of the famous rice pudding. The rice pudding lived up to the hype, and the baklava is about 6 inches tall and very, very sweet. One portion is enough for 4 to share. Live and learn. I would say that only one in our party found the food okay , and we all agreed that some ingredients (octopus, scallops were barely present in our food. Our waitress (Evi? was exceptional, friendly, and attentive even though she was just finishing up two very large parties. I will continue to recommend Uncle Nick 's."