Athena Greek Restaurant

We both had combination platters for lunch (lamb, moussaka, pastichio, dolmades, potatoes, rice and peas). It was just ok. The peas tasted canned. (They should use petite frozen peas.) We also had saganaki before the meal – about average. Hubby had egg lemon soup – he said it was too salty and/​or too tart. I tasted it and agreed it was too tart, but it did not taste too «lemony” – don’t know why it was so tart. We also had salads – they were average Greektown. The service was just OK. They were not real busy for a Sunday afternoon, so we feel they could have been more attentive. We prefer other places in Greektown. Probably will not return.

This is my favorite restaurant of all time! I love love LOVE everything on the menu, from the egg lemon soup or saganaki to their famous dish that contains a little bit of everything on the menu. If you are looking for a delicious meal, Athena never lets you down!

Service was very friendly and attentive. His recommendation for a wine was spot on. He even stopped us from finishing our appetizers to make sure we had room for dinner. It was New Year’s eve, but he didn’t rush us.
And the food was wonderful!

I’m not the type to put a negative review but this was the worst Greek food I’ve ever had. Nowhere near authentic. I think if there is a good review on here, (not to offend anyone) it’s because you have no clue of what Greek food or anything other than Greek is supposed to taste like. Place is nice but food quality is horrible. I went to a different restaurant right after leaving this place.
I’m 100% sure it came out of the microwave since it took 3 minutes to make right after we ordered and wasnt even warm. Such a disappointment. I wouldn’t consider this if I was starving to death.

We had dinner here at Athena Restaurant with a friend and had a very tasty meal.
Décor: First off, this is a BIG place! They have tables everywhere! We sat in the «atrium/​patio» area (the roof was closed) and it was very nice. The rest of the place is all restaurant and there is even a small bar just inside the front door. It wasn’t too loud while we were there, just enjoyable with others having quiet/​average dinners.
Bathroom: It is nice and yet just a typical bathroom, nothing special but it is clean and well lit
Staff: Our waiter was very nice, he even gave a great wine recommendation, and our food was prepared and delivered rather rapidly.
Drinks/​Food: We started out with beers and wine and moved to a couple hot apps. We had: Kalamari (very tasty with delicious sauce) and Saganaki (opa! So delicious!). For dinner we had: Mousakas (very good), Braised Lamb (tasty) and Gyros (of course… they were very good). Everything came to the table together and was nice and hot — like I’ve already said, we toughly enjoyed everything.
Value: This is a nicer place but the prices are not out of the range you’d expect.
All in all, we had a very enjoyable meal and this is a place where we would return to in the future.

Not quite as godly as the name would have you believe.
Being a fancier of Mediterranean cuisine, I hold all Greek restaurants to a high standard and find myself rarely disappointed. Athena, sadly, was the exception to this rule.
First off, this isn’t your grand-daddy’s Greek joint. It’s tailored to a much younger, hipper crowd and the décor reflects that. The dining area is wide open and adorned with modern lighting fixtures, so it should come as no surprise that Athena is the new kid on the block. Even the drinks on their cocktail list had cool names like ‘Poseidon Punch’, ‘Zeus White Lightning’, ‘Hermes Highball’, etc. Fortunately the menu items are in the more traditional vein, like lamb kabobs, Grecian chicken, and stuffed grape leaves.
The saganaki was made with kefalograviera cheese and was flambéed tableside, although the obligatory «OPA!» was considerably subdued. Sad Eric. What followed was a cup of avgolemono (egg-​lemon) soup that passed muster, and an odd pairing of skordalia with beet salad. The loukaniko (Greek pork sausage with lemon) was almost inedible: being extremely coarse-​ground made for a lumpy, unpleasant time that doesn’t bear repeating. Had leftovers, didn’t eat em. The pastitsio (Greek lasagna) was the highlight of the meal, and it was agreed to be very good. I didn’t bother with dessert, although at this point their 3* fate was pretty much sealed regardless of a little baklava.
Bread = 3
Circuses = 2.5
I found the service to be pretty lacking. Our guy Stavros was curt and not the least bit engaging. To make matters worse, my companion and I noticed that our plates (and drinks) were getting repeatedly slammed down on the table, to the point where she even commented on it. When 75% of our meal came out at once, the servers played a hectic game of musical plates, which made me a teensy bit anxious to see my half-​eaten soup make its way from directly in front of me to the other side of the table, with my companion’s item now (incorrectly) placed under my nose.
Also – and this is more of an afterthought – Athena does away with the traditional complimentary bread/​olive oil/​cheese and opts for the simple bread+butter. So that’s kind of a let down, to be honest.
I MIGHT visit again during a summer day when the shutters are open, but I was far from wowed on this visit. To reiterate, it wasn’t an awful experience, but with an abundance of terrific Greek places to choose from – literally right next door – I can’t see myself recommending Athena.

Couple friends and I had stopped into Athena for a relaxing evening. Plus we were looking for a central location for all of us with an outdoor patio.
I was greeted by the hostess and since my friends had not arrived, she asked me to let her know when they have arrived. I was able to find a seat at the bar and had a glass of the house Pinot Grigio. It wasn’t to bad. Once everyone had arrived, we were seated on the patio.
We were greeted shortly after being seated. We were fine with drinks so the server had went over the menu and the specials. After a few minutes of reviewing the menu, we were ready.
For an appetizer, we had ordered the Saganaki, Feta Zesti and Hummus. For the main entrée, I had ordered the Pork Chop which was highly recommended by one of my friends. Sorry, I don’t remember what my friends had ordered.
The appetizers were delivered within a few minutes then shortly after that, the main entrees were delivered. All of the food and service were fantastic. We had opted to skip dessert. The service went MIA after dropping of the check but luckily we were not really in a rush.
Looking forward to go back to this fine restaurant.

It was 75 with low humidity, and I let my friend talk me into coming here again. After all, it’s still the best open air restaurant in Greektown. It had been about four months since my last meal at Athena, and I had low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to find the food had improved. My village salad was fresh and interesting, and my grilled salmon was super fresh and cooked perfectly. But the service was the same old, same old. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful when we asked for suggestions, but after we got our entrees, he had been assigned tables on the opposite side of the large room. So he was never around when we needed something, like another glass of wine. Not sure why this restaurant can’t get the service end right. I’m giving it one more star for the vast improvement in food.

Today Labor Day was my first time eating at Athena Restaurant and sadly will not return and I will tell you why.
I will start with the pros, the place itself has an impressive layout, beautiful to be fair. The food was good but not good enough to justify the mediocre service.
I had the stuffed chicken breast and the prep time was fine, the chicken was juicy and tender, flavor was good. My girlfriend can’t say the same for her Mousaka, though unless you like ‘mush’. She only had one bite and left it all.
Our server was not very courteous, welcoming, or friendly. No follow up asking us how our food was or even attempted to make eye contact despite seeing that we were done eating and just waiting for 20+ minutes for him. It was not a full house and he clearly had plenty if time to ask his other tables around us how everything was and even take them all soda refills.
So, while I don’t like to be unfair and judge a place based on ONE server, I decided to get up and ask for a manager which in turn was also a waste of time, not a single apology or even an attempt to fix the situation.
With that being said, I am extremely dissatisfied and will never return. What a waste of $ 38, I would have gotten better service at McDonalds. Only reason they don’t get a 1 star review is because the setting and food earned them the one star.
Don’t waste your time or money at this place.

Food here is just alright. I had the char grilled octopus and the seafood kebab. The best part of the kebab was the grilled shrimp. The salmon and swordfish were bland.
I do love the open air seating that they have here though, which is awesome on a summer evening. I wish we were seated closer to the water fountain/​waterfall though.
Service was pretty good, until the end of our meal when our server disappeared. Maybe he went on break or they swapped servers on us, but we waited a while to pay.

Have you ever really really wanted to like a restaurant but after you leave you end up being really disappointed? That is how I felt with Athena. After seeing the amazing looking outdoor patio when passing by on Halsted I wanted to give it a try. To be fair the patio is very impressive. Open air on a beautiful night with an ivy covered wall and views of the buildings in Greektown is definitely an experience. Unfortunately that’s the highlight.
This could possibly be unique to my table but the service left a lot to be desired. We didn’t order drinks for 15 minutes and once we ordered our maybe we weren’t checked on the rest of the meal. My party agreed we would have ordered at least another round of drinks if we had the opportunity. At least there were authentic Greek beers available. They tasted similar to polish and other European beers that many Chicagoans might be familiar with.
The food was standard Greek fare. Saganaki was a must, just a warning if you’re eating outside it doesn’t get flamed at your table to avoid embarrassing situations in which your hair might catch fire. The calamari was ok, here you get the large rings but no tentacles if that’s your thing. My party agreed the best dish was the lamb loin chops that were on special. They gave three nice sized chops grilled well. Everything else seemed kind of blah. The combo plate was just stuffed with food. I don’t think any of it was particularly great but it was a lot. My wife got the moussaka and it just seemed like there was a big tray of it in a warmer and a square just gets plopped onto the plate. The only thing I’d have to recommend is the saganaki. It was rich and lemony and amazing.
Athena was a bit of a let down for me. You get a great atmosphere but really average food. If bringing someone here to show off the city and wanting a cool ambiance is important to you, this is your place though. Just don’t expect to be blown away by the food.

The patio alone is enough to keep me coming back to this restaurant. Maybe the best patio I’ve experienced in Chicago.
My husband and I went for an early dinner (6:30) without a reservation got seated promptly to enjoy an alfresco meal.
The service was so friendly and attentive. Our meals were superb. We got a bottle of wine, the gyros plate and pork sausage for apps which were amazing and ended up being so much food.
Entrees we got a braised lamb shank and lamb with artichokes. I requested that my rice and potatoes be subbed out with green beans and I was pleasantly surprised that they not only obliged but they put together a veggie mix complete with green beans, peas, onions, peppers and tomatoes. Absolutely amazing. The lamb was so unbelievably tender it just fell off the bone.
The prices are so reasonable especially considering how much food you get!
And that patio. Yes please.

When my friend and I visited Chicago recently we ended up staying in Greektown. Each day on our walk to downtown we passed Athena and admired the big, beautiful patio we could see through the window. Eventually we conceded that we must pay the restaurant a visit before the end of our trip.
We made a reservation for Sunday night, and luckily so because the place was packed and we had to wait a little. Once we were seated our server was prompt in coming to introduce himself and bring water. We ended up ordering Greek wine wine upon his recommendation and dolmades to start. My friend then ordered the moussaka and I got the vegetarian moussaka. Everything was brought out very efficiently and was delicious. The moussaka itself was an extremely large portion and we each struggled to finish it.
Overall the service was very solid and the restaurant seemed authentic with a majority of Greek staff. Having been to Santorini before I’d have to say that it really did give off a similar vibe. The white décor and patio brick wall with overgrown ivy and flowers really added to the ambiance.

Came here for dinner with a friend because I live in the area and absolutely love seeing their patio. I was very impressed with food and service so I am not sure why all the negative reviews.
We came in on a busy Wednesday night but got lucky and were seated right away. The server came by fairly quickly and spoke to us about food and wine options. After looking through the large menu we decided on the combination plate and saganaki to share.
The food came out in good timing and the saganaki was spot on. Then the combination plate came out and we were almost shocked at the amount of food, it was a huge portion for the 2 of us. I am usually not a fan of the grape leaf rolls but they were absolutely delicious! What impressed me the most I think is the rice. So simple yet so delicious. There was a perfect balance of spices and moisture added with the peas, I could have some right now! The lamb was cooked to perfection, and the lasagna hit the spot.
Our server was very friendly, the patio is gorgeous, and the bathrooms were clean.
I can really see this place becoming our go to — «there is nothing in the fridge lets go out» place :)

Six of us made 7:30pm reservations for Friday night. We promptly arrived but only to wait 40 minutes for our table. The host was apologetic whenever I asked how much longer it would take. To my frustration, he could not give an exact answer. First, he said our table will be ready once it is cleaned. But when I asked a second time, he stated there were four tables ahead of us. I was not pleased. The point in making a reservation is to skip a long wait. If they cannot handle the capacity, they should regulate the number of reservations to accept.
We were eventually seated and we had no time to waste. For appetizers, we shared the saganaki and char-​broiled octopus with lemon and olive oil. The octopus was light with a generous portion. Each piece was tender and succulent. The saganaki is the flaming cheese so do expect it to be a bit oily. It goes well with the complimentary bread or by itself. For us, one order was enough to go around. I think our waiter should have given us a heads up when it was brought out. Nobody in their right mind would want a flaming surprise within a few feet of their head full of hair.
For entrees, we ordered six entrees: dolmades, mousakas, loukaniko, paidakia, vegetarian mousaka, and veggie kabob. The paidakia was the highlight of the meal. A plate came with five thin slabs of butterfly lamb chops. It was perfectly grilled with a heavy usage of Rosemary but it did not overpower the lamb’s natural flavors. The meat was particularly tender and juicy. Along with the lamb chops were a side of rice and potatoes.
The rest of the meal was average. The dolmades are rice and ground beef wrapped in grape vine leaves and drenched in an egg-​lemon sauce. It comes with a side of green peas. If you are unfamiliar with the cuisine, the grape vine leaves are edible. We had the mousakas in two versions and their appearance is similar to lasagna. The ground beef mousaka came with eggplant, zucchini, potato, cheese, and bechamel sauce. The vegetarian version is the same but without the ground beef. Both came with a side of rice. The loukaniko is homemade Greek sausage served with a rice and potatoes. It has a slice spice and is great for sharing. The veggie kabob can be skipped. One plate came with two skewers of tomato, onion, eggplant, green pepper, and zucchini. The items were drenched in olive oil and flavors were extremely light.
To end the meal, we shared three desserts. The baklava and galaktobouriko were delightful. The latter is a light vanilla flavored custard in honey dipped filo dough. Both were served in square pieces so it was rather easy to cut and divide among ourselves. The Greek yogurt was served with dried fruits and honey. It was highly recommended by our waiter but it fell short of our liking. The yogurt was very creamy and the fruits were exceptionally sour.
For approximately $ 30 per person, we had more than enough food and we brought four boxes of leftovers home. It is a good deal for that price and the grilled lamb chops deserve a return. But I do not see us returning in the near future. We would not mind taking our exploratory cravings elsewhere with better management.

Great place, great food and nice bar.
I visit this place every time I’m in town. Everything from the Gyro to the Lamb leg and octopus is very good. And prices are very reasonable.

I love Athena!
By far my fav Greek restaurant in greektown.
The servers crack me up here. Always cracking jokes.
I love their new atrium area. It’s beautiful & all seasons!
Gyro platter is where it’s at! The tzatziki sauce is yummy as well. You’ll only smell like garlic for the next two days.

After reviewing reviews on Unilocal I saw this place and photos and thought we would try it out.
Looks like they just did a makeover, the decorations and ambience were very updated and very nice.
FOOD: we started with the fried cheese, and it did not disappoint. The waiter came out and place the cheese on fire and it was quite a scene, in a good way.
The gyro plate was a plenty. So much food!!! And the tZiki sauce was one of the best I’ve had.
Dessert was great, we had a custard-​like plate that was made w orange and cinnamon and flaky pastries on top.
SERVICE: from the minute you walked in, you felt welcomed in the restaurant. The host was very friendly and the wait staff was extremely fun and friendly and you could tell that they enjoyed working there.

Alright so i am Greek. No honestly a real Greek raised and born in Athens and i hate going to Greek restaurants abroad simply because most of the times they offer food thats not even greek or reminds you of something Greek. Well not this time
Since this is my first time in Chicago my friends asked me to check out this restaurant to see how Greek is their food. I can tell you that its as Greek as it gets. Most of the dishes taste exactly as the ones you would have in a greek restaurant in Greece. Very good ingredients and a hige variety to choose from.
Topping that is their wine list which surprised me with the variety of Greek wines they had. Keep in mid that Greece produces very good wine but in small batches which makes it very difficult to get wines outside the county.
Add the amazing patio and the good service and there you have it

When the sun finally shines and the weather hits 70, the best place to enjoy dinner is outside. And when you’re craving greek food and also want to dine al fresco– go no where else but Athena. We headed here last night and enjoyed another amazing dinner.
Located in the heart of Greektown, Athena boast the largest and most beautiful outdoor dining area, complete with a gorgeous fountain. A retractable ceiling allows for dining in this part of the restaurant even if an the weather doesn’t want to cooperate.
For dinner we had the grilled octopus app, swordfish kebobs, roasted lamb, and a side of the greek vegetables. All delicious. Server recommended a great red wine, I believe it was called St. George. And for dessert, you can’t beat their baklava. It’s one of my favorite desserts and theirs is one of the best I’ve ever had.