Greek Food in Chicago: Gyros, Meze and Where to Find Them

Greek food in Chicago is not only a Greektown story. Athenian Room in Lincoln Park, Andros Taverna in Logan Square and Taxim in Wicker Park each cook Greek dishes in a different style, from kalamata chicken and cheese pie to Aegean sea bass. Greek Islands on Halsted Street remains the classic starting point for flaming cheese and grilled octopus.

What counts as Greek food in Chicago today?

The city has three layers of Greek cooking. The first is the old Halsted Street tradition: big rooms, shared plates, flaming cheese and family-style dinners. The second is the neighborhood diner or taverna, where gyros, salads and fries are the point. The third is a newer, more modern kitchen that treats Greek ingredients the way a contemporary restaurant would.

You can eat well in any of them, and the dishes overlap. What changes is the setting: a counter, a long table or a dining room with a wine list. This guide goes by the dish first and the room second, so you can pick the style you want tonight.

Where do you find Greek restaurants outside Greektown Chicago?

Three places show up again and again in recent guides. Athenian Room, on the Lincoln Park side of town, is a long-running neighborhood Greek diner known for chicken kalamata-style on Greek fries. Andros Taverna in Logan Square is a modern taverna with a big patio and dishes such as kataifi cheese pie, prawn saganaki and spanakopita. Taxim, in Wicker Park, serves Aegean sea bass, lamb shank with orzo and duck gyros upstairs with a rooftop view.

The Infatuation and Tasting Table both include all three in their Greek restaurant lists. For the Halsted Street classics, start with the Greektown restaurant guide instead.

Where do you eat Chicago gyros?

A gyros plate is the dish that most people mean when they say Greek food, and Chicago does it at every price. At Athenian Room it comes as a salad or a platter with the vinegary fries the room is known for. At Taxim the gyros is a duck version, a dressed-up cousin of the street food.

For a classic carved-from-the-cone sandwich, the counters on Halsted Street in Greektown are the place to start, and some stay open late. Ask for the sauce on the side if you want to taste the meat first. The idea is the same everywhere: warm pita, seasoned meat, tomato, onion and tzatziki.

What should you order for Chicago spanakopita and pastitsio?

Spinach pie, spanakopita, is the safest vegetarian choice on a Greek table, and Andros Taverna is one of the places named for it in recent lists. Look for a crisp, flaky pastry with plenty of feta and dill inside, served warm.

Pastitsio is a baked pasta dish with a meat sauce and a thick béchamel on top, closer to lasagna than to anything else. It is a comfort dish for cold evenings and turns up on traditional Greek menus, so ask whether the kitchen makes it today. Pair either with a Greek salad and a plate of dips and you have a full meal for two.

Is there a Greek bakery in Chicago worth a detour?

Yes, if you like sweets. Honey pastries, phyllo pies and custard desserts such as galaktoboureko are the Greek bakery staples, and Athena in Greektown serves galaktoboureko on its dessert menu. Bakery counters on and near Halsted come and go, so check that one is open before you make the trip.

Look for baklava that is crisp rather than soggy, and for savory pies you can eat warm. A Greek bakery visit is also the easiest way to taste a few things for the price of one meal. If you are building a list, add a bakery stop to your Greek crawl.

How should you order a Greek meal when you do not know the menu?

Order in waves. Start with two or three cold dishes, such as dips with pita and a Greek salad, and one hot starter like saganaki or a cheese pie. Then ask the server which main dish the kitchen does best and share it, rather than giving every person a plate of their own.

If you are eating with a group, ask whether the kitchen offers a family-style option. Several Chicago Greek restaurants have long served set dinners for two or more, and it is the easiest way to taste widely. Finish with a pastry and strong coffee, the usual Greek ending.

How do you keep track of the Greek dishes you try?

Greek menus repeat dish names across places, so ratings by the dish are useful. In Mosey you can rate a place with just stars, then add the dishes you had, so that "gyros" at one counter and "gyros" at another are compared in your own history rather than from memory. Tag a place Greek, Vegetarian or Group Dining when it fits.

Make a list called Greek Chicago and add why each place belongs, such as "kalamata chicken" or "the cheese pie". Share the list with friends who follow you, and add their picks when they send them. How this works in the app: Rate by the dish.

What else should you try nearby?

Greek cooking shares a table with other cuisines across the city. Logan Square and Wicker Park, where Andros Taverna and Taxim sit, are covered in the Logan Square and Wicker Park food guide. Hyde Park has its own Greek diner tradition, outlined in the Hyde Park restaurant guide. See the Chicago food guides for the rest, and the US food guides for other cities.

Get the Mosey app, rate your next gyros or spinach pie by the dish, and start a Greek list that your friends can add to.