Love the patio. Very friendly and authentic servers and an overall great date spot. I'd recommend checking out any of the lamb dishes.
I always loved eating at Athena in the summer because of their awesome patio. Only just this weekend did I discover they've covered the patio so it can be awesome in the winter too! The covered patio gets tons of natural light so you feel warm and summery even when it's 20 degrees out. They splurged on some really comfy tables and chairs too. Good food, good service, but the patio is the year-round reason to choose Athena over other options on Halsted.
Review Source:I need to start off by saying that I am a great fan of Greek food -- street food, high end, Greek Church festival food, the whole ball of wax. Â Although I have had good and bad Greek food, I really have never left a Greek restaurant hungry.
My first trip to Athena was this week and I was with a group of friends that I really enjoy. Â Over all our evening was great, and a considerable part of that was the location. Â This restaurant is a step above the over-crowded elbow to elbow environment that can happen in the neighborhood, and their glass walled atrium/patio is a wonderful feature. Â The server was efficient, if a little askance at some of my friends' questions, ie., Q: Do you have a cabernet? Â A: You will like the Greek wine - it is just the same; Q: Are there any pasta side dishes? A: Everyone gets rice with a potato; Â Q: Can I have the broiled lamb chops medium to rare? A: Â They are better medium . . . you get the idea.
The thing that surprised me about the food, though, was that the specials of the day were very tasty but most of the traditional Greek dishes (which we shared as appetizers) left a lot to be desired. Â We had a selection of dips and spreads, and to my surprise the taramosalata, tzatziki. hummus and the skordalia all tasted very much the same! Â The dolmades were hard and dry and vaguely sour tasting and the saganaki was hard and somehow dry -- how can flamed cheese not be at least a little soft?
But the fried zucchini was outstanding, and the Kalamari was good. Â The entrees really saved the day -- juicy broiled loin pork chops, baked fish, chicken riganati, kebobs -- every plate was empty. Â And, as I said, overall a good time was had by all.
Would I go there for traditional Greek comfort food . . . maybe not, but I think I will be drawn back to that beautiful patio in good weather.
My wife planned my surprise bday dinner at this restaurant. We have been in this area to eat many times and never did we have a bad experience...yet. So knowing that we both enjoy Greek food, she booked this restaurant.
I walked in and was surprised at the set-up of this restaurant, first off. This restaurant is not like other ones that are crowded and you have to walk through chairs to get to your table. Even though it was packed and there was a wedding party going on in the private room, the set up is in such a way that you don't feel suffocated walking through tables and bumping people. Secondly, their service was great! Our server was friendly and so helpful. Whatever questions our guests asked, he answered promptly and with a smile. Sometimes the servers get annoyed or aren't very helpful, but this was different.
The food was delicious! Again, another Greek restaurant in this area and another great experience. The taste, the texture, the portions were amazing. All of our guests loved the food and were satisfied to the fullest. One of our guests did not like the amount of oil on her entree (we all thought was normal) so she sent it back. The server did not ask a single question, with a smile picked up her plate and took it away while offering other choices. I mean, how many restaurants do that? She was picky with her food which is her personal choice, but the fact that the server did not even make any face or ask any question or put up an argument was what really showed me the quality of this restaurant. That probably put me over the top of liking this restaurant even more than I already did.
DEFINITELY a great place for your next occasion!! A must try!!
I like Athena.  The setting - especially in the newish glass room - is lovely and the service is very good, very attentive.  The food is pretty good but not amazing.  I had the  grilled tilapia and mixed vegetables.  Previously I had a Greek salad which was - again - pretty good but not rocking my world.
Review Source:I love Athena. Â It's a beautiful Greek restaurant where one can get a choice of street food or higher-end cuisine.
The patio though is king. Â They recently renovated it with a sliding roof, so even in the dead of winter you could dine al fresco...in a way.
I've gone on numerous occasions and tried many dishes, and haven't had a complaint on any of them. Â Most memorable was when we had Ekmek Kataifi for dessert.
I enjoyed the combination plate which consisted of Mousakas, pastitsio, dolmades, leg of lamb, rice, potato and vegetables. The leg of lamb was pre-sliced, bland, dry and cold, but the rest of the food was okay. My friend and I enjoyed the fried calamari, but that was probably because we were extremely hungry before our food arrived. The fried calamari was fresh, but it was not seasoned.
The decor is lovely and they have street parking available free of charge you can't beat that in Chicago. The restaurant is clean, and the waiters are accommodating, but this is not a three or four star restaurant regardless if it's priced accordingly. I will give Athena another chance, but unfortunately it's located very close to its competitors which makes it very difficult for it to have "bad" day. In Greek town customers have so many choices for good Greek food that maybe Athena should have a chat with their chef's.
Pros - great patio. Â Although what brought us in was the huge screen with the monday night football game on. Â however, they did not have the sound on. Â I get that so not going to ding them on it.
Cons - Service is slow....somewhat friendly but just took for ever to get anything. Â Food - awful. Â Cheap greek food. Â Very low quality. Â
This is a large, high volume restaurant done up to give you the feel that you are at a quaint creek restaurant. Â What you are at is an olive garden / red lobster of greek restaurants.
I am a big fan of the Parthenon, so I don't normally go to other restaurants in Greek Town. Â Last night for dinner family friends wanted to go here, and I enjoyed it!
We sat in the glassed in center. Â It looks so cool from the inside and the outside. Â I'm sure this space is absolutely amazing in the summer! Â The only problem with this space is that it is incredibly loud. Â We had a group of 5 people, and I couldn't hear anyone except the person sitting directly next to me. Â It was very hard to have a conversation.
The food was good, the service was good, and the prices were reasonable.
The Greek soup is lemony and delicious. We also had the salmon cheese and fried cheese with bread, which is amazing. The main entree is pork kabob, which is a bit dry unfortunately. Overall, this is a nice restaurant with good atmosphere. Entrees can use some improvement, but overall food is also tasty.
Review Source:My friend and I had plans to take in a Sox game the other evening and decided that we'd grab a bite to eat for dinner before heading to the ballpark. Â Since she works near Greektown, we decided to take stroll down Halsted and pick whatever felt right at the time. Â For whatever reason, Athena stood out above the rest.
We were both dressed well, but casual. Â After all, we WERE going to Comiskey in a little while. Â I guess it must've been quite a while since I'd been here because it seems so much more modern and formal than I'd remembered it. Â Beautiful, don't get me wrong, but lacking a bit in the "family" feel that I thought it boasted before. Â No big deal, really...just an observation.
Not having a whole lot of time, we decided to skip the appetizers and head right for the main course. Â My friend had the Gyros plate (loved it, but could only eat about 1/3, there was so much) and I ordered off of the "Specials" Menu. Â Unfortunately, the name of my meal escapes me ("Exittos", or something like that), but it was basically lamb, mushrooms, apricots in a flaky crust pouch, served with rice. Â It was absolutely incredible. Â Too good, actually, because I had a tough time pushing myself away from the table since it, too, came in abundance on my plate. Â I left uncomfortably full.
The only blemish I would mention was the somewhat lackluster relationship we had with our server. Â Maybe it was because of our limited food order or not having ordered anything from the bar, but we both had the feeling that he had better things to do than wait on us. Â Neither one of us would let that keep us from coming back, though, as the food was certainly worth another trip.
I'd only come back for the patio and the baklava cheesecake.
When the server finally asked how our food was, he didn't even wait for a response...almost like he knew the food was overpriced and really "meh. Â There are much better places in Greektown". Â I had been craving grilled octopus all day and was really disappointed. Â It wasn't very good...in fact, it almost tasted 'wrong' (but I haven't gotten sick...yet).
Service was slow. Â Slow to get noticed, slow to get our drinks, slow to give us the desert menu, slow to bring us our check. Â Great if you are enjoying the patio and have a full drink in front of you....otherwise, frustrating. Â Especially when you are watching your drinks come out, but get taken all the way to the other side of the patio before finally getting to you!
Once I got the this place, I thought this could be the best Greek place I have ever been to. Wow, was I wrong. Not just for the poor quality of food and how pricey it was for such a little amount; but the service quality was poor too. Once I finished my water, I mean an ice glass, it took 15 minutes for the waiter to realize that I needed more water. By the time he was done pouring, it took me 4 sips to drink all of the water, leaving a glass full of ice. For dinner, I had lamb chops. 4 chops for 31 dollars.
The only good thing about this place is the outdoor patio
I would recommend going to a different Greek place in Greek-town.
I've walked by this place on my way to the grocery store several times. Part of my intrigue was their outdoor seating setup. With what seems to be a glasshouse setup right next to the brick and mortar building, it seems like the perfect place to enjoy a meal during the Chicago summers.
Aside from the seating area, there really isn't much to get excited about. The wait staff took awhile to even acknowledge our presence. The plates on our table were less than clean and by the time our entrees got to us they were a little more than room temperature.
If you're looking to enjoy the weather while eating something less than stellar, this may be the place for you. Otherwise, you may want to think about going somewhere else.
The beautiful, naturally lit, covered dining room is the only reason they even get a star.
Aside from the great environment, there was little to praise. The service was terrible. The host simply took us to a table, threw down the menus and left. The waiter got there promptly, but to our surprise, greeted our questions (as it was our first time at this restaurant and first time in greek town in a while) with annoyance. After our food came out, I will credit him with checking in on us once, soon after, but we were pretty much ignored for the next 45 minutes. The entire time, we did not get a single refill on water, though I needed one after 10 minutes. We finished our food, our plates were bussed, and we sat there for a good 20 minutes waiting for our check after we asked for it.
The food was alright. It wasn't anything special. Would have been enjoyable had the service been better. The prices were a bit steep for the quality of food and service. Other tables got bread and oil, but we got cold, crusty bread with fake butter. I don't know if they didn't like us or what. We got the spanikopita, which was good. A little on the greasy side. Certainly wasn't worth 7 dollars for 5 - 1 inch triangles. I had the mousakas and my girlfriend had some pasta. The mousakas was good, tasted and looked like how I get it everywhere else. The pasta looked like something a busy, working parent would fix for their kid; the vegetables barely cooked (cooked baby carrots? Not my thing), bare pasta, barely any olive oil or cheese. We had some wine, no complaints there.
Overall, I would say that if you only care about your environment, definitely go here. It is beautiful and you can sit at the bar. If you care at all about quality of service or food, choose another spot, because this was not even close to worth it.
Gorgeous patio, though sadly if you sit on it you will not get your saganaki flaming, lame.
If you go during peak time in the summer there will definitely be a wait for it but the bar area is large so we didn't mind hanging out for a while.
Tried the sampler platter, not sure what I was supposed to do with the huge chunks of feta cheese but the fresh pita and tzatziki were delicious! Beware the pink one is a salmon dip if that's not your thing!
Not a huge fan of Greek food but its worth a trip for the patio alone!
This was my first Greek Town experience and was not let down! Â I first went a few months back and was able to sit in the front patio nearest the Halsted. Â The chairs and tables in that area are super nice and comfy. The reason I mention that is because they also have a patio behind this one that consists of lower quality tables and chairs.
I had planned on eating elsewhere today but decided to go back here because of the pleasant experience I had the first time and plus I wanted a healthier option for lunch.
When we arrived, we were led to the further back patio (the front one was not that packed mind you) where no one else was sitting,
I was instantly put off. Â But...I really wanted to wait it out and see what would happen. Â More customers started arriving and they were all lead to the back patio. Â I understand they get busy at lunch time and were just trying to even things out but it definitely felt like we were being banished to a deserted island! Â It did make me feel better that they were seating people back there with us, though.
Anyhoo, the food. Â We started with the fried calamari which is fresh, delicious and plentiful! Â Highly recommend if you dig calamari. Â I also ordered the Chicken Village Salad. Â It consisted of grilled chicken, green and red peppers, black olives, feta cheese and cucumbers. Â It was fresh and came with a great Greek salad dressing. Â The service was great but I really wish we would have been sat in the front area and not sent to the back.
I dined here with my husband and his parents on a Sunday evening for dinner. Â We decided to get the family-style meal, which includes saganaki (flaming cheese), taramosalata (fish roe and potato spread), gyros, lemon soup, salad, mousakas (eggplant dish w/ zucchini, potato, ground beef and cheese), pastitsio (baked macaroni mixed with seasoned ground beef and cheese), dolmades (rice and ground beef wrapped in grape vine leaves), leg of lamb, rice, potato and vegetables (sweet peas), coffee and choice of dessert. Â It's $24.95 per person, with a minimum order of 4.
I will say that this is A LOT of food. Â You definitely get your money's worth as long as you take it home. Â Our server told us that no diner has ever finished the family style meal, so make sure you're extra hungry or can eat leftovers if you plan on ordering this. Â But honestly, none of the dishes really stood out to me except for the mousakas and dolmades. Â While the saganaki, gyros, and lemon soup were okay, the same dishes at Parthenon (a rival restaurant at Greektown) are far superior. The leg of lamb was very dry and the salad was something out of a plastic bag from the grocery. Â Luckily, they saved the best for last... dessert and coffee!
For dessert, we all decided on the galaktobouriko, which is a light lemon flavored custard in honey dipped filo dough. That was probably one of the best I've tasted in Greek town, and I'd definitely order the dessert again! I also enjoyed their coffee very much, and I'm a bit of a coffee snob.
I thought the food was average, service was slow, but the servers were exceptionally nice - as was all of the staff.
We sat on the patio and it was beautiful.
The restrooms were also nice.
The food was decent, but I got a typical gyro for lunch, so I cannot comment on the food too much. My boyfriend got chicken kabobs and said they were disgusting. He ate half of my gyro instead.
Our Greek side salads that were $5 a piece with our meals were nothing more than packaged lettuces topped with a cube of feta and a side a dressing in a tacky plastic container.
They do have free valet and the owner was very, very nice to us.
I'd go back to sit on the patio and maybe have an appetizer and beer.
Really wanted to go somewhere with a nice patio/al fresco dining. We asked to switch tables on the patio because we got put at a table near the street--which was very loud and busy. The wait staff was very accommodating and gave us great service. Overall, the food and experience was a meh--your standard Greek fare.
Review Source:Holy patio! Â If you like Greek food and want to eat outside on a nice day, this is the place. Very spacious and airy, view of Sears tower, tons of tables so no wait(or not for long). Â The food is the usual Greek suspects, they do a good job with grilled octopus, Athenian chicken, mousaka and lamb dishes. Â The service sometimes is a little off, but all the guys try hard, and I choose to overlook it because of the free valet.
Review Source:Heard about Athena's from a friend. Not only was the food amazing but the patio in itself makes it worth the trek to Greektown- it's huge and has amazing city views. George definitely took care of us and made us feel like we were part of the family! We got the Saganaki (flaming cheese) but were so sad to hear that they didn't light it on fire out on the patio, so George let us come sit at the bar to watch him light the cheese! Then we split the Gyros plate, which was amazing and definitely plenty for two people. Can't wait to go back here.
Review Source:As a Greek,  I have found the food in Greek Town ok nothing extraordinary. However I have actually  avoided it the past couple of years because of my discovery of Mythos Greek Taverna on the North Side (it is worth the drive out ).  So Sunday a few of us wanted to go eat Greek and of course our favorite was closed because of the holiday. So I recommended we go to Athenas since this was always my favorite restaurant in Greek Town.
We arrive with no reservations and were greeted immediately by the friendly host. We were seated in the recently renovated patio which has a retractable roof. Â I must say this was a nice touch up they did. Although it was 97 degrees outside the patio had a nice breeze to it. Â Our server did greet us and took our drink order and appetizer order. For Appetizers we ordered the Loukaniko very tasty, the Grilled Octopus also very tasty and the Saganaki (which I must say they do not flame outside any longer). So far so good!
So our food comes out, this is where things turned bad. My friend ordered the Chicken Reganate, very dry not at all flavorful. Â My other friend ordered the Stuffed Chicken with Spinach and cheese. Â This was also a very bland dish which looked very dry. Â I had the combination platter, the waiter was nice enough to substitute the mousaka with another slice of pastichio (Greek Lasagna). My dish was bad, the lamb was cold, the pastichio was dried out you could not even decipher if there was bechamel sauce on the top layer of the lasagna. My friend had the lamb with artichokes and cream sauce which turned out to be the only good dish of all. The portions have also gotten smaller than in the past. Â So what they do is server the entrees on smaller dishes to make it look as if you are getting more (however being a past dinner here I can tell you, this is not so).
I think the most embarrassing part of the whole evening was at the end. Â One of the servers from a nearby table took a plate off histable and placed it on the tray which was on a stand from another neighboring waiter. Â So the other waiter not paying attention grabs the tray and the plate fell and broke right in front of our table. So no big deal right? Wrong the other servers came by and looked at us if we threw it and asked us what happened? Â You tell me what happened. Of course the owner or manager came by making a comment as if we were having too much fun eluding as if we broke it. Â No one ever apologized and still were thinking we threw it.
Athenas you used to be my favorite, however whenever I have a taste for Greek Food, I do not think I will be coming back to you or Greek Town Mythos Greek Taverna it will be (and the sad thing is you are 5 minutes from my house) .
Poked our heads in here because it was one of the first nice days and they had a huge outdoor seating area. Â That patio is pretty incredible, very open & airy with a view of downtown, and you're set back from the street so you're not choking on traffic fumes. Â Looks like they can enclose it too, if it starts to pour you don't have to do the mad dash inside. Â I'd go back to Athena just to hang there.
The standards (sagnaki, braised lamb) were as good as we get from our usual place in Greektown, so no letdown there. Â Like this place a lot and will definitely go back.
My sorority had our semi formal here since it was Greek goddess themed. They set up quite a nice spread for us at a decent price. I was skeptical because they were setting up a tent for us in the middle of January but it actually was a space just outside the dining area that was actually quite warm due to space heaters and well put together. The Greek salad was outstanding as was the service at the bar where we were forced to order drinks. They didn't have many restrictions for us and everyone had a pretty decent time. The dining room looked warm but not super fancy. They provided us with vegetarian options as well that I had by mistake and were actually good (I'm not a huge fan of vegetarian cuisine that's for sure). I would come back here for dinner but our event was quite a success. I'm partial to the Parthenon but this place is also now on the list.
Review Source:Yesterday, it was by happenstance when we arrived during the Greek Independance Day parade. We were kept warm by the enclosure that gave us great views of the Loop and a low vantage point of the parade.
A basket of bread and water were delivered almost immediately. We started with cheese by ordering the Saganaki (Goat cheese lightly breaded in flour and flamed in brandy) appetizer with Bloody Mary and Corona chasers.
I ordered the Athenian Chicken. Half-chicken char-broiled with lemon and oregano. It came with steamed vegetables which was served in a garnish size portion. He ordered the Seafood Kebob. Salmon, swordfish and shrimp broiled on a skewer with tomatoes, onions and green peppers. Both were splendid.
The entrees come with a side of rice and a peeled, steamed half potato with some tomato sauce concoction. I did not care for its taste.
We finished with cheese by ordering the cheesecake for dessert.
One day I decided to stray away from my two go-to Greektown restaurants. ONE time. Big mistake.
For reasons I don't know why but I've always gone to Greek Islands, Parthenon and Costa's (closed) and I never tried any other places.
It was a nice day and Athena has a beautiful newly renovated patio. I said to my friends lets go there.
The patio was nice and beautiful but the food was just lackluster. Actually the bread was hard and stale. We had the taramasolata and saganaki, they were just okay. Nothing to write home about. Neither was our entrees. I much prefer the aforementioned restaurants.
The view was great. But server was quite inattentive. The host was nonchalant and not friendly at all. I wished all our tip had gone to the guy who refilled our glasses and cleared our plates.
There's free valet. But same goes with the other restaurants.
The outdoor seating here wins this place major points! I kind of felt like I was at a resort with the big, circular bar and the white, retractable ceiling (or at least it appeared retractable). The service was average and we found the appetizers to be better than our meal, but still a great place to go on a sunny afternoon. Not sure if I'd recommend it as a top Greektown option if you aren't able to sit outside, though.
It was also weird that my husband's gyro plate didn't actually come as a wrap. I guess I assumed a gyro plate would be sliced lamb in a pita, with a side of rice or potatoes. Not the case; he got a heaping pile of sliced lamb and then little pita triangles, so he couldn't actually wrap it up.
Excellent dinner; so-so dessert; and an eyebrow-raising answer to our question about an ingredient.
Calamari: thick pieces of beautifully prepared squid. Â Possibly the best version I've had in Chicago.
Chicken kabob was flavorful and generously portioned.
My dining companion ordered the Spanakopita, which our server boasted is not nearly as good as a Greek grandmother would make. When we asked which spice was dominating the dish, the waiter returned from the kitchen with a strange response: nobody knows. The chef made it earlier and left. Â Uh. Okay....I guess? A few minutes later, we determined it to be nutmeg, but the meal would've been better had we not known that at least one of our entrees had been made 12 hours before. Â
All in all, Athena is worth a visit.
I like to be one of those people who is fine with eating anywhere. I like all types of food! Go me! But I've never been a Greek food fan...at all. Yep, I am the only one I know who is like this - it's rather unfortunate. I decided to keep a somewhat open mind when my dad suggested it for dinner with some extended family members. I had an excellent experience here!
Sitting outside on a perfect Chicago night enhanced the dining experience. The host and waiter were both incredibly friendly and both checked in on us often, providing us our choice of dessert on the house (just to be nice - not because of mess-ups or anything like that). The wine that they suggested - and we drank - was OK but a bit too acidic. Still, the service was incredible.
I didn't try much of the cold sampler platter, since it didn't seem to match my tastes very well. Still, the pitas (which I think were whole wheat?) were fluffy and warm. Mmmm. I got the gyros platter, which was way too much for me to finish. They kindly left of the tzatziki, and the dish was still filled with fluffy pita, tender (almost crisp) lamb, onions, and juicy tomatoes. A little bit of gyros, a little bit of wine, and some greek yogurt and honey for dessert? Coupled with the relaxing outdoor setting, this was a wonderful night!
The outdoor seating area is easily one of the best in the city. Â Huge and beautiful...with flowers, a waterfall, and shade. Â That's the shining star of this establishment, hands down. Â The service is super friendly and efficient. Â The Athenian salad (with a bright dill flavor and an amazing dressing) was the highlight in terms of the food.
The rest of the food was just...ok. Â The tzatziki was way too garlicky. Â I love garlic just as much as the next girl, but it was so powerful it kept me up at night. Â The lamb special was ok. Â The cold appetizer plate with a sampling of all of their spreads was just ok. Â The saganaki was basic...and ok too.
If it's a beautiful day, I'll be back. Â But if we're dining inside, I'm going to hit up other restaurants in the area...
The weather was beautiful this July 4th and there was no better way to spend it than eating Grecian cuisine on the outdoor patio at Athena. I don't often dine outdoors considering most restaurants believe outdoor seating is a mini stretch of 4 tables along a car exhaust filled road. But Athena was everything but...fountains with flowers, plenty of room away from the road, and a huge outdoor space to accommodate at least a hundred diners. This place was made for Chicago summers.
If you are a fan of tzatziki, Athena is your place. Combined with the pita bread, I could have made a meal on that and hummus alone. The yogurt sauce seemed to be very light on cucumber and heavy on lemon which was a pleasant change. They were both outstanding. The saganaki was very lemon forward and summery. Sharing one order among 4 people wasn't easy.
For dinner I went with the gyro plate. I was disappointed to learn they don't make the gyros in house. But I loved getting additional servings of tzatziki and pita bread for my entree. The gyros were served with plenty of onions as well and the portion sizes here are generous.
Athena is a tremendous value. I've really gotten into Greek food lately and this place hit the spot. And on a warm summer day there's really no place I'd rather be than eating lunch on their patio. I will definitely be back.
I was dining with a large group (20 or so) and we were celebrating a birthday. Â I cannot say enough about the serving staff. Â They were nice, accommodating, professional, and quick.
Since we were in such a large group we were seated inside, which was fine because the decor was great, the music--just right, and the patio looked uber crowded anyway. Â
So why 2 stars?
The food. Â
First off, I am very understanding when it comes to the daily special being no longer available. Â I get it. Â It's good food, a reasonable price, and its always listed first. Â What really ticks me off though is when you are not made aware of it upfront--before ordering. Â 4 people of my group ordered a special only to find out that it was no longer available after about 15 mins. Â A few of us defaulted to a second special, which, to our unsuprise was also unavailable.
Ok, so now I have to pick my third option for dinner? Â Whatever. What this means now is that a good chunk of our dinners are being made about 15 minutes after the rest of the group. 1 of 2 outcomes: 1. everyone gets their meal and then feels forced to wait until the rest of the group is served or 2. The servers keep the food back and serve all at once, inevitably making some dishes overdone or cold.
Finally, the food comes. Â It is not great at all. Â The lamb, of course, was good but that is a matter of lamb being delicious and not of the skill of the chef. The rice was bland and the potato that came with it was just that; a potato. Â No seasonings, no sauce, no nothin'
Overall, I would not go back. I would rather take my chances on any other restaurant in Greek town than return to this one.
SO I ended up here on a beautiful Friday night. Â
This is one place that I havent tried in Greektown. Â
They have a huge patio that we sat on, complete with a fountain and lots of other Greek flair! Â I am already sold on Athena.
We had the tzatziki, gyro, and chicken kebab....dont judge me. Â Man, the gyro plate was probably the best thing I have had in a long time. Â The tzatziki sauce, tomato and onions made it the best little gyro ever....however later I think I reeked of Greek food for hours! Â I mean, it was exuding from my body for the next 24 hrs. Â The kebab was ok....I think it was just ok because the gyro was so good.
The price point was average for the area and the staff was friendly.
If you go, sit outside, get a bottle of red and the gyro plate....you will not be disappointed :)
Athena isn't worth visiting in the winter since the inside of the restaurant isn't anything special and the food is pretty mediocre. However, this is THE place to dine on a warm summer night thanks to their fabulous patio.
It had been storming earlier in the afternoon, but the weather gods cooperated just in time for our 5:30pm dinner. Yes, we now enjoy early bird specials thanks to our lil one.
We ordered many menu items for party of 6  1/2 (the baby doesn't eat greek food quite yet). Our  1/2 a person felt right at home since there were many other babies dining here at the same time. Â
Like past experiences at Athema I found most of the food to be eh (the calamari was especially gross), but they do make some very tasty gyros. I'd come back again for these gyros, but only on a lovely summer evening.
Surprisingly good. I don't eat Greek food that often, but this has to rank up there in my dining experiences. This place was recommended by one of my coworkers in Chicago, who is a regular here.
I had the lamb and it was pretty good. Things are a little pricey, but it certainly felt more upscale than the other Greek restaurants I've been to in the past. Also, the lima beans were very tasty, and I never considered myself a person who liked lima beans. Weird how things change after you haven't had them in a long time.
This is a good stop if you need a better place to eat in Greek town.
First time here, sat outside on the patio. That patio is worth its weight in gold- it is just a pleasant, peaceful place to meet friends on a nice day. Â Food was only OK. Â Saganaki was excellent, fried zucchini was good, vegetarian pasta left much to be desired. Â It was like spaghetti I would have made in high school with parmesan on top (and a bag of frozen vegetables mixed in). Â Nothing to write home about. Â
Our service was extremely slow. Â I mean it took 33 minutes before we even got our drinks. Â Then, they were never refilled, not even the water. It took over an hour and a half for lunch total, and I actually was dying for our server to come back to give me the check because I was so parched I had to get out there to find a 7-11 to get a freaking big gulp. Â Maybe there was something going on behind the scenes, but no apologies or explanation was offered by our server. Â I'm extremely patient in such circumstances, but even for me it was ridiculous. Â I can't in good conscience give more than 2 stars given the very poor service, even though the outdoor area is beautiful and the saganaki is my equivalent of scooby snacks. Â I would run into a haunted house or face my worst fears for saganaki- I am that nutso about cheese on fire.
This Athena is far from a Greek goddess.
My former boss is Greek and Athena is his favorite place to eat in Greektown since the demise of Costa's. I liked Costa's a lot and was saddened by their closing. I am a big fan of Greek food and Keri H was in the mood for it last Thursday. We also wanted to eat outside and have full bellies before heading to the CYBG event.
There's not too many places in G-town that offer up outdoor seating. I like Pegasus better, but they only serve appetizers on their rooftop patio, so Athena became our destination merely by default.
It was a sweltering summer's eve, but we can take a lot of heat so sitting outside was no issue for us. The patio was nearly full, so obviously many people aren't bothered by the heat.
We sat down, and in the interest of saving our alcohol consumption for strawberry-basil lemonade at Pour, we nixed drinking at Athena. I have to say, that it was unnerving to see mojitos and margaritas on a drink menu at a Greek restaurant.
Keri isn't too familiar with Greek food, so she let me take the reins once again. Since no meal in Greektown is complete without an order of saganaki, we ordered that, and added a Greek salad and fried zucchini to start.
I chuckled to myself as I heard the table next to us order "Nagasaki" as I wasn't aware that a city in Japan could be served on a menu in a Greek restaurant.
I digress.
The saganaki arrived, but sadly, there were no exclamations of "Opaa" nor any flaming of the cheese. What was up with that? After tasting the cheese, it was apparent that no such flaming would have helped. It was salty and not good. I warned Keri that it was a strong cheese, but her tastebuds weren't sufficiently prepared. It was like eating a salt lick.
The salad was your basic Greek salad. Moving along...
Fried zucchini is good, especially with a generous squeeze of lemon, but there's not much one can fry and have it not taste good.
We were still hungry so we ordered some gyros and a chicken kabob. Pretty safe things, or so I thought, until they arrived. The gyros were decent, but really, one can get better. Keri took one look and sniff at the kebob and proclaimed that it smelled like garbage. One taste and she said it tasted like vomit.
Um....check please.
We choked down a few more bites and got the heck outta dodge.
Sigh. I miss Costa's.
Side note: if you come here and sit outside, DO NOT sit next to one of trees on the patio. Little bugs kept falling on Keri and nipping her delicate, porcelain flesh.
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