My fiance and I came here to celebrate our anniversary together and we had a pretty good time.
It was a weekend night and with our reservations, we were seated within 5 minutes. The decor of the restaurant is beautiful, especially the main dining room. the vaulted ceilings and dim lighting with cool artwork, which made for an awesome vibe. My issue here was how uncomfortable the seats were. I was on the bench side of the half booth/half-seat table and I was so close to my neighbors that I could hear their conversation and had a pretty hard time getting in and out of my seat. It was almost like a wooden bench I was sitting on with pillows and it even made my butt fall asleep, lol. I'm not a large person by any means, so I can empathize with anyone that is even slightly larger than me or isn't as able-bodied to get around as easily.
The service was also pretty slow. We had to get our waiter's attention multiple times and remind them of our orders placed. I understand it was a packed house with lots of demands going on, but maybe they need to be staffed a little more when they're at full capacity. It wasn't the waiters fault. He did the best he could and he's only human but it still kind of ticked me off.
We started with the chicagopita, chickpeas and grilled octopus (AMAZING!). I had the sea bass which freaked me out a little since they present it totally whole at first (bones and all) and then later take it back to chop it up. My bf had some meat (I forget) and we shared the greek yogurt desert with honey. The food was perfect and that made up for the other flaws, so I'm trying to not let the other stuff get the best of me. I'm not sure if I will go back because there are other greek restaurants that have given me better service for the same level of food (e.g., Greek Islands and others in Greektown) but my night at Taxim was pretty decent.
Another great find thanks to the eater 38 list.
Not like the greek food you will find in greektown. This was excellent with lots of different items.
We started with the hummus(very very fresh) and the phyllo small plates and both were excellent. We had the fish gyros and the 1/2 chicken and both were very good.
We ended with a couple of desserts; one was the fried dumplings-amazing.
Great space and highly recommend for some great regional greek food.
The service was excellent, even though we were there on a super busy night. Â Our server knew the menu and wine list shockingly well, and made great recommendations. Â This place is the full package: Â excellent food, service, and lack-of-having-to-book-three-months-in-advance. Â Go there; if you love food, you won't be pissed that you did.
Review Source:An exciting, new approach to authentic Greek cooking, located right in heart of Wicker Park.  If you love the Idea of Greektown, but are tired of the  traditional approach, consider Taxim.  Instead of following the usual maps and recipes, the head chef at Taxim imagined how traditional greek food would be created today.  I'm not a big octopus fan because it has always been gross and rubbery whenever I tried it...but I gave it one more chance at Taxim, and wow was it good!  My fiance and I ordered several small plates to sample as much as possible instead of ordering a main course- I think that's the best way to go.  Dessert was tasty; we ordered the dumplings which are basically donut holes, but crispier on the outside, smothered in honey, and served with custard.  $99 bill.
Review Source:This restaurant delivered on so many levels. Â Delicious food, stellar service, relaxed atmosphere and good value. It's Greece on a plate, with such an interesting take on it that even if you've sworn off Greek food because of one too many bad experiences, give it a try. Â
Everything we had was delicious. Â Beet salad with walnut puree was to die for. Â The hummus was silky and the duck gyro w duck fat fries out of this world. Â The only thing that would keep me from going back is the hassle of negotiating Wicker Park on any given evening.
The service was also friendly, relaxed, informed and personal from the moment we walked in the door to the moment we left.
Highly recommend!
Loved it! Valentine's dinner on Sat Feb 16th. They were kind enough to adjust our reservation from 6 to 10pm. Saw this place on Windy City Live and I had to check it out. My boyfriend and I had an absolutely wonderful time.
One of the best dates in our 5 1/2 year history :)
Cory our server ROCKED! Knowledgable, funny, very friendly, suggestive (which I love- because I always ask the servers opinion on what to get).
Also, we mentioned early on that we wanted to get the grilled octopus- he ran to the back to save what he knew was the last one. Success! I love this guy.
We enjoyed everything: Htapodaki Sti Schara-Grilled Octopus, Prassopita-House Made Phyllo, Seftalies Kai Maidanosalata-Pork Sausage, Tsipoura Me Radikia- Sea Bass, and for dessert... Loukoumades-Fried Dumplings.
Everything was great.
***At the risk of sounding like a lush- I do believe there was wine left in our bottle that we were told we could take home, but it never made its was back out to us corked. Oh well. I hope it was an honest mistake ;)
Ambiance was good, a little noisy but there were a few groups with birthdays. Exposed brick with copper table tops and benches along the brick walls with pillows gave it a cozy feel.
Reggae DJ started playing around the time we left, I was enjoying the music but you start to feel overtaken by the people coming in to set up the equipment and looking for seats.
But we will be back!
Had a Feb. 9 reservation at 8:00 pm made through Open Table. Â The restaurant called me TWICE during the week to insist on a credit card to hold the reservation. Â When I inquired why that requirement was not mentioned on Open Table, I was told they only require a credit card on weekends for parties of 6 or more. Â By 9:00 pm, we were still waiting for our table. Â Neither the host nor the manager could tell us why we hadn't been seated or when we would be seated. Â To add insult to injury, they really didn't seem to care. Â Needless to say we left. Â Walked over to Lucia's and had a great meal. Â I held up my end of the deal by providing the "required" credit card, too bad Taxim couldn't honor our reservation.
Review Source:I've been here a few times, and I have to say, the quality of food and service has been very inconsistent. The first time I went, I had an incredible, five-star worthy experience! The food was fun and delicious. Great lamb chops and I absolutely raved over the lamb encrusted shrimp. Sadly enough, however, the next visit I ordered the same shrimp dish and it was dried and hard. Similar experience with service - first and second time, the service was impeccable. The last time I went, our server completely forgot about us and we had to get up to grab the host who then took over our service. Luckly, the food was great this time around, so we didn't fuss too much. Overall, I keep going back because, ultimately, the food is great and the dishes are unique. I keep cheering on for Taxim, but I can't afford to be disappointed again. My review could easily be 5 stars if consistency in quality food and service improve.
Review Source:We chose Taxim as the venue for my sister's bridal shower, and I have to say it was a GREAT choice! Â All the guests were so impressed with the look of the restaurant, the space was warm and somehow intimate even though there was plenty of room, and the FOOD knocked it out of the park! Â Delicious entrees like the beets, the vrassopita, the chicken, and the lamb, were unbelievably tasty and super satisfying. Â The owner and chef, David, was so personable and friendly, and he worked with us to plan a good menu within our budget. Â Our guests left commenting on how unique the venue was, feeling happy and satisfied, and already planning to come back with their families. Â Great experience all around, thank you David and Taxim!
Review Source:Came to Taxim for a Sunday night dinner. Except for a large birthday party the place was practically empty. Good to know it's a good place you can take a large group. The service was absolutely fantastic. Our waiter was great at making wine suggestions, perfect in terms of proposing how much food to order, and thoughtful in assessing dietary restrictions. He was patient with our billion questions and coursed out a meal assembled of lots of small plates fairly well. Taxim isn't really a small plates place, although they definitely have a lot of that on the menu. My party just happened to be one that puts a high premium on variety so we ended up constructing a meal out of their smaller offerings. Although in general people seemed drawn to different dishes the clear winner was the revitha kas which must be Greek for hummus. It was smooth and delicious and we were practically licking the plate clean to fight over the last few tastes of tahini goodness. I favored the Kolokithokeftedes as well, a great mix of a house made yogurt, cabbage slaw, and butternut and acorn squash fritters. The food was solid and pleasing to a lot of different palates. The ambiance was cute and I loved the huge exposed brick walls. All in all I found Taxim to be a very solid and safe choice, if Yelp allowed it I'd give 'em a 3.5 especially given that the service was so good.
Review Source:OOooOoOooo! Â Consider me satisfied and delighted!!
I wasn't exactly thrilled at the thought of having Greek. Â Not gonna lie. Â BUT every dish we tried was super, not to mention, plated beautifully. Â
**GET THE BEETS. Â Our party of 4 threw down two portions easily. Â The walnut-y pesto is the bomb. Â It has become my latest cooking obsession to recreate that sauce.
--pureed chickpeas--basically hummus w/ light, fluffy pita.
--octopus. Â Hell yes.
--squash fritters--I could not stop eating the yogurt and cabbage.
--duck gyro
--pork shoulder
--roasted chix--lemon-y, juicy, damn good chicken. Â
The wine list is obnoxious. Â Luckily, our server hooked me up with something tasty based upon what I wine I normally like. Â I also highly recommend the drink w/ St Germain. Â Tastes like sex.
Every time I go here, I am amazed at the quality of the food. Â Every single dish has been outstanding, without exception. Â The wine list is intimidating, cuz it's all Greek, but the staff has always recommended something that I liked. Â And they'll give you a sample, too. Â The owner is great, the staff attentive. Â And new year's eve last night was fabulous. Â The live music was phenomenal. Â I am never disappointed.
Review Source:Contemporary Mediterranean food  with a special greek touch. The service was outstanding and we even got a free beet salad to try as it was our first time there. They have an amazing choice of Greek wines and food is delicious. The only thing I did not like was the pita they served with one of the appetizers. In my opinion, it was too thick and tasted like one of those pre made frozen pita breads instead of home made in the oven. It just seemed to be wrong compared to the rest of the food on our plates which was delicious. Other than that it's a place to go.
Review Source:I love Taxim! The small plates hot and cold are great! Especially the beets! Their lamb is fantastic! The owner has great recipes! Warm atmosphere with Greek music playing in background. They have good selection of Greek wine and servers are knowledgeable. They make homemade yogurt and serve with honey and nuts, it's absolutely delicious!! We come here several times a month! They just need a more visible sign, but over all Great place! :)
Review Source:First, the decor and atmosphere is great. Noise level on a Friday night was reasonable. Service was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. And we arrived at 8, but were seeing a 9pm show at Gorilla Tango. Our server managed to expedite our order so we could make our show.
My only quibble is that there are only a few wines served by the glass. They were really nice wines, but a wider selection would be nice.
We had the lamb sausage, braised kale and lamb kabob for appetizers. All excellent. The lamb was very tender, and not at all dry, which can be a problem. The herbs and yogurt with both dishes were well selected and very fresh.
I had the braised pork shoulder entre, and it was excellent. Not too salty, which I've found to be a problem elsewhere. And the barley the dish was served with was an excellent compliment to the shoulder.
My only regret was that I was too full for dessert!
I highly recommend this restaurant.
We chose this location for a special occasion BUT the experience was horrible! We were one of only two tables that evening BUT our food took ONE AND A HALF hours to get to us. The cup of soup and cup of rice we ordered for our child took an hour to arrive. ON TOP OF THAT everything we ordered was EXTREMELY SALTY, (except for the lamb - that was the only glimmer of hope that evening). I will definitely not go back nor will I recommend this to my friends and family. ZAGAT should re-rate this place to show its real sub par rating!
Review Source:the octopus and the beets were very tasty.
the hummus was aight, lamb crusted shrimp was interesting, but not for me...just is a bit weird conflict of flavors. my girl liked the lentils.
server's head was more concerned about what was goin on with her iphone than asking what next round of small plates we wanted, when we were clearly finished up with round one (and the only table there). nice enough gal, but if there is one table in the restaurant, they shouldn't be crinkin their nexts to grab your attention.
i would only go back for the octopus and the beets.
Know for its beautiful ambiance & gourmet regional Greek cuisine, Taxim does not disappoint! Inside the palace like dinning room, chef David Schneider puts together a great menu with local fresh ingredients along with attentive friendly service and some amazing cocktails from the bar.
Taxim transforms into a unique & elegant refuge on Milwaukee Avenue for late night party goers looking for a classy yet not pretentious lounge to enjoy a Saturday evening! Boasting a spacious dance floor, courteous bar & comfortable booths available for bottle service upon request. A perfect place To "REVEL"!
Come by for some great food, drink, music, and company on a Saturday night for one of our bi-monthly events! (every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month)
-Definitely Feels Right Productions
Ok, now this place is EASY to miss. Or at least I think so since I have missed it for 2 years. Hubs and I are walking down the street to find somewhere new for dinner. Greek food...sounds good. We go in and are blown away.
Beautiful area! Perfect for a date or any occasion. We are greeted by a understated and polite hostess who seats us by the window (where we asked to eat). We ordered 4 items.
1) Grilled Octopus: PERFECTLY cooked! I am a grilled octopus freak. I order it every where. This is BY FAR the best I have had anywhere (including fisherman's warf in San Fran, San Diego, NY...) You could just pull it apart with your fingers. It was divine.
2) Hubs ordered the Duck Gyro: delicious fries, great meat, great sauce. No disappointments.
3) I ordered the beat salad: WOWSER! delicious in every way. Cheese on it was fantastic, great dressing and such.
4) I also ordered the lamb encrusted shrimp. More like a meatball over a shrimp and it was HEAVENLY! My husband and I locked eyes as we ate a bite and just went "wow." Order it.
Then we had the Greek coffee, which was great. Wine with dinner was good too.
Love the fact they have small plates as well as normal size entrees. The staff is fantastic. If I looked at the waitress she immediately came over to see what I needed. Checked on us, but not overly friendly and didn't pester.
Sadly we are moving to Texas, and we just discovered this place. Don't make our mistake. Go there and you'll love it. Great experience.
From what I understand this is a Mediterranean restaurant except I've never had food here. Â Many of my visits through this place have been limited to random visits on weekends after the restaurant portion has closed and it's opened as a lounge. Â
The lighting is darkened, the music is thumpin' and its vibin'. Â There is a scent in here that is reminiscent to me. Â The shadows the candle light reflects off the walls, that incense burning, it reminds me of late night clubs in India. Â A heart warming feeling usually overcomes me. Â On occasion I've heard some Arabic or Ethnic sounding trance like sounds and then other times I've come across reggae beats.
For the late night they should get a decent bartender than can mix a few special crafted cocktails. Â They have a decent beer and drink menu but pricing is a little too high. Â Check out Carol K.'s review for a more in depth feeling of the layout of the interior.
DAMN.
The meal I had here last night was one of the best I've had in months. I had two cold plates (the roasted beets and the pureed eggplant) and one hot (the lentils with feta), and all three were exceptional. The interplay of flavors was balanced and delicious, and the presentation was lovely.
The restaurant itself is beautiful too, and the service was attentive and informative - AND the waiter was very handsome, which is always nice. :)
I'd recommend this place unreservedly, to vegetarians (like myself) and presumably meat-eaters (though I can't speak to those dishes directly) as well.
The food here was decent but the ambiance and the service were lacking. Â Our server was not friendly and seemed annoyed to be waiting on us. Â All of our party of four commented on her odd behavior throughout the meal, including pushing us to buy the only $150 bottle of wine on a wine list with an average price of $40.
We did really enjoy the arugula salad, the lentils, and the eggplant.
I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with this restaurant, the food was amazing. I had the Aegean Sea Bass, and my only regret was that it was so big that I could not finish it. But is was probably the best fish I have ever had in my entire life.
But the main reason why I came to this restaurant was to watch my favorite artist, Monica Da Silva perform here last night.
Firstly, I made the reservation a week in advance for myself and a few friends to which I was told that I did not have to purchase tickets but that I agreed to purchase food that would amount to $30 or more per table. I agreed, not seeing a problem with this.
To my horror, after my friends and I had been there the entire night, we were told that there was an actual cover to watch the band perform. The cover was really not anything to cry about but I felt as though I had been duped by the hostess who had told me that there would be no cover at all. This dishonestly really put a dent for this restaurant as I was really going to give it 5/5 stars.
Okay, now that my rant is over, let me tell you more about the restaurant. The decor was really minimalistic as compared to the pictures in the actual site that had flowing curtains and Mediterranean carpets and made you feel as though you were in Greece or Persia. When you walk into the restaurant it is like any other bar/restaurant in that area, but a little more spacious.
Our waiter was like the invisible man, we saw him when he took our order, and when he gave us our bill. He tried to seem friendly, but it was obvious that he would rather have been elsewhere doing other things.
The food as I said is really good but incredibly pricy for a restaurant in wicker park.
I would not personally choose to come back to this restaurant and I really went there to support a really great performer Monica Da Silva.
I went here with the boyfriend. Â We could not agree on an entree to split, so we split 1 cold plate and 3 hot plates which was enough for 2 hungry adults. Our server was encouraging us to order more food, but we were both completely stuffed after we finished our last plate. Â Overall, our server took good care of us. We were looking to have a long relaxing leisurely meal and that is exactly what happened.
There are definitely some gems on the menu, and they are worth trying. The absolute best thing we ordered was the grilled octopus. It was smoky and succulent. The second best thing was the Chicagopita, it was a little Spinach pie in phyllo dough, which apparently they make the dough there. We both agreed we would just come back to eat the octopus, the Chicagopita, and finally try the duck gyros.
As for things that were not outstanding -- our other two dishes -- the arugula salad and the lamb sausage were okay. The lamb sausage had the texture of breakfast sausage which is definitely not my favorite sausage. Â The sausage is spicy too but they give you a healthy helping of yogurt to save you.
This was the perfect place to have a nice leisurely romantical dinner. Â Definitely make reservations on the weekends, it was packed when we arrived for our 9 pm reservations.
The 4 star rating is actually, for once, going mostly for service and atmosphere. The food was also pretty good, but nothing jaw-dropping. I wish I could give a 5 for service and 3 for food.
The restaurant was pretty packed at 8:30 on a Saturday night but had thinned out by the time we left around 10:30. The ambiance is great and the decorations are awesome. I envy some of the art on the walls!
Our server was great and had some good suggestions.
We split the "pureed chickpeas" cold starter (i.e. hummus), which was so delicious that we ordered a second one! The lamb sausage starter (which were pretty much gyros) was also quite good, but I remembered that I don't really like the taste of lamb, which was too bad.
We both had the duck gyros as a main dish, which was delicious and unique. The duck fat fries on the side were bomb. My only complaint with the dish was that parts of the duck were a little gamey, which made eating the wrap hard at times.
I found this restaurant based on SeriousEats.com's reviews of most romantic restaurants in Chicago, and I definitely will agree with that! The atmosphere was really great and cozy, but still had the trendy feel of hipster Wicker Park.
I'd really like to give 2.5 stars, but I'll round up to 3 because it definitely wasn't a 2 star experience.
We went on a Friday night with two other couples. Everyone ordered drinks and we also ordered a bunch of small plates, both hot and cold, to start us off. The server did a good job mixing my drinks -- I ordered a Tom Collins (which he served in the wrong glass, but it still tasted good) and then a Sidecar later. Also all of our small plates were very good and came out in a timely fashion. We got the eggplant, octopus, okra, squash rissoles, and the pork loin. The squash and the okra were my two favorites of the bunch. Very delicious, fresh, and well made. And the pita was addicting!
Unfortunately, our entrees took a VERY long time to come out of the kitchen, and then everyone agreed that they weren't great. As a matter of fact, the consensus at the table was that the chicken was the best dish. *The chicken.* When is the chicken ever a restaurant's best dish? Everyone else ordered either the duck gyro, the fish gyro, or the lamb shank. They make their gyros with phyllo dough instead of pita. I'm sorry, but phyllo dough does not a gyro make. That was more like a Greek taco. While the duck was very good, I did not enjoy the wrapper; I took the phyllo off. I wish they had put that on the menu, because I wouldn't have ordered it. None of us ordered dessert.
They automatically include 18% gratuity to parties of 6 or more. I didn't feel badly about that, however, because our service was really very good. And it was definitely bustling in there. All the tables were full and it was loud. The decor is nice (pretty standard/authentic Mediterranean), but they definitely need something to help soak up some of the reverberations.
It would have been a 5 star review but there were a few things holding Taxim back. The food on the other hand is definitely 5 stars. The service leaves a little to ask for. We orderer our wine and appetizer at the same time, our appetizer was out and we already eating before out bottle appeared at the table. And the wait service was very antsy about removing our dishes in a hurry. Also it is a bit over priced but soo good its hard to complain.
As for the good things all I can do is rave about the food. I am a totally french fry snob and the duck fries that came with the duck gyros were like a party in my mouth. Not the mention the gryos themselves were fantastic. My date had the lamb shank which was soo tender and flavorful it fell right off the bone. We also had the eggplant hummus which was a perfect starter. All in all with a bottle of wine an app, and two entrees it was about $100.
I ill definitely be coming back to to Taxim in the future. What a GEM!!!
Don't waste your time heading to kitschy Greek Town if you're looking for fantastic Mediterranean food, as you're unlikely to find it there. Â Head to Taxim instead... It's an awesome Greek/Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of Wicker Park. Â Although there are many tasty items on the menu, I would have to say that the pureed chickpeas, the wood grilled octopus (definitely the most tender I've ever eaten in my life), and the leek/phyllo appetizers are all not to be missed. Â As for the mains, you can't go wrong with the duck gyros, which is the dish I can never seem to resist ordering.
The space itself is warm and inviting, and the service has always been very solid. Â The last time we were there, our server (Corey?) was excellent. Â It was actually his birthday, but he brought us an unexpected free dessert, as well as some samples of a tasty white wine. Â It was the perfect end to a great meal!
An upscale Greek restaurant in the heart of Wicker Park that serves Fakés (lentil soup) just like yiayia makes? Score! As a Greek, I find Taxim to be a great dining experience and although you won't find Saganaki and Pastichio, you'll find many other items that are well worth satisfying your taste buds! The meals are small, but decadent. And the Moroccan ambiance is beautiful. I love going here with a group of friends so that we can all share the small plates like tapas style. I recommend pretty much anything on the menu (especially the small plates). Please note that this place is a bit pricey, but luckily à la card offers a $10 gift card!
Opa!
Overall a fabulous meal with great service.
My finacée and I made a reservation for 5:30 and when we got there it looked like they just opened because they were busy putting out chairs and lighting candles. We were the only ones there for a half hour before anyone else showed up. I'd say we ordered too much to eat for just two of us but there was still a lot more on the menu I wanted to try. The two stand outs were the goat & bulgur stuffed quince and the lamb chops. Taxim changes their menu up a lot at least for the small plates so sadly that quince might not be there right now. But those lamb chops were fantastic and cooked perfectly.
It's a bit pricey but grab yourself a glass of wine and treat yourself.
I went to Taxim recently with a group of 10 people for a friend's birthday. We had a pretty good experience, but there were some negatives.
A plus was that I liked the look of the restaurant. I liked the exposed-brick walls, the high ceilings and the lantern-style light fixtures. It was cozy and intimate inside, though it was also very loud when we were there for dinner on a Saturday night.
Our waitress, Allison, was very friendly and attentive. When she came over to our table when we first got there, she actually recommended ordering one of each of the hot and cold appetizers and one of each of the entrees for a group of our size. But instead of taking her advice, which we thought would be WAAAAAY too much food, we ordered a few appetizers and entrees to share.
Everything tasted good, but we were all really taken aback by how small the portions were. We definitely did not order enough food! I mean, obviously Allison recommended ordering a lot more, but we were like, yeah, each appetizer is an average of $9, and each entree is about $25, so yeah ... I don't think so. I mean, our bill still came out to $800, but I think everyone was still hungry when we left.
Like I said, the food was tasty and the flavors were right-on. A couple appetizers that stood out were the RevÃthia Kas Fróssos (pureed chickpeas, lemon, garlic, fresh green chickpeas served with pita) and the GarÃdes koúpes (lamb-encrusted shrimp with feta). Super tasty, but the portions were super tiny considering the price (the shrimp was $12 and the chickpea dish was $6). For an entree my husband and I ordered the Duck Gyro. We chose it mainly because it was one of the few entrees on the menu where we thought we knew what we were getting. Boy, were we surprised when the Duck Gyro came out looking like two egg rolls. It was definitely a unique interpretation of a gyro! It was tasty, but, again, the portion was small.
As for the service, like I said, our waitress was really great. Another negative of our night, however, was that there was way too much lag time between when we finished our appetizers and when the entrees came. There was at least a 45 minutes between appetizers and entrees. Our waitress was very apologetic and said the kitchen was backed up, but it was kind of frustrating--especially since we barely had anything to eat for appetizers. Then, of course, when the entrees finally came out, we were disappointed by the portion size. Also, I think if the entrees would have come out faster, we would have ordered dessert. We were afraid we would be stuck there waiting for it for another 40 minutes and decided to leave.
Overall, the food at Taxim was good, there just wasn't enough of it. The service was good when it came to our waitress, though there was too much lag time between when appetizers and entrees came out. If you do decide to give Taxim a try, be sure to order enough food!
Taxim has been opened more than 2 years now. Â It took me this long to make it there. Â In that time, I could've travelled to Greece on foot (and flippers) many times over lol. Â Anyway, I regret not having been to Taxim sooner, so now I need to make up for lost time.
Taxim is not your big fat Greek wedding. Â The dining room was sultry and mysterious on a late Saturday evening. Â The food is also not of the Greektown variety. Â The menu is fairly descriptive, but our waitress was also very adept in explaining the dishes. Â From the all-Greek wine list, the Skouras Zoe rose was vibrant with luscious fruit. Â I could almost feel the Mediterranean breeze.
There's a huge variety of cold and hot mezes. Â By all means, get plenty to share. Â Everything I've tried was good. Â Pureed chickpeas with fresh green chickpeas. Â This is the summer of fresh green chickpeas in Chicago. Â The little Prassopita of leeks and goat feta in phyllo was sublime. Â I wish I could wake up everyday and have this for breakfast. Â The lamb-encrusted shrimp needed a bit more explanation, until I realized that it is pretty much kefta wrapped around shrimp. Â It's an interesting take on surf and turf, but the lamb might have been too aggressive for the shrimp. Â Lastly, the Dolmades of smelts was a revelation. Â If you know dolmades, imagine that, but with unexpected smokiness from the grill.
For mains, I had the Oven-Roasted whole Aegean Sea Bass in lemon and olive oil, and sautéed dandelions.  So I asked our waitress, "It's from the Aegean?"  She goes, "Yes, they are flown in every day."  I had a momentary pang of guilt in the name of locavores everywhere.  But then I bite into the sweet white flesh, punched up wit lemony tang and sharp bitterness of the dandelions.  All was forgotten.
For dessert, the house-made yogurt with Peloponnese fir tree honey and walnuts. Â A few years ago, I had a transcendental moment in Italy eating a simple dessert of fresh ricotta with fruit jam. Â This was a similar experience. Â The texture of the yogurt was like nothing I've had before.
Why 4 stars? Â Taxim is a very unique restaurant unlike any other in the city. Â The atmosphere is terrific. Â The food is inspired, delicious and unique. Â If I close my eyes, I could feel my bare feet soaking in the warm cerulean Grecian waters.
We celebrated my sister's 25th birthday here. Â It was perfect. Â From the time I made the reservation till the moment we paid the check the experience was incredible.
The decor is amazing in itself. To walk in from Milwaukee Ave to this beautiful and golden and decorated room is quite a beautiful change of scenery. Â
Service was fabulous; he helped with wine suggestions and de-Greek-ifying the menu for us non-speakers. Â Surprisingly their take on hummus was fantastic (not that we didn't except it to be good, it is just such a common place dish we almost did not order it, but were glad we did!). Â Other table favorites were the lentils and feta and the ramps in phyllo.
Cannot wait to return!
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
