Greek Islands Restaurant Chicago
More than Opa!
Chicago-City
Greek Islands
Address: 200 S Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60661
Phone: (312) 782-9855
greekislands.net
Visited: November 2025
Reviewers: Andrea and Rich
Greek Islands restaurant is a lot more than Opa! But even the Opa! is the best around. Even after 200+ visits.
When we started planning restaurant reviews, the traditional rule was to visit a restaurant at least twice before doing a review. If two gives you good insight into the restaurant, would 200+ visits be even better?
I started eating at Greek Islands soon after they opened, because I worked in downtown Chicago, a few blocks away. Our work group went for lunch once or twice a month. Andrea and I have visited regularly for over 50 years. I estimate that I/we have eaten at Greek islands 200+ times.
And it is consistently one of the best Greek dining experiences we’ve had in Chicago or elsewhere in the United States. (We’ve never been to Greece.)
The Place
There is “early” all day long. Our focus is early bird dinner, but Greek Islands has nonstop customers from opening to the time they close. We've been there at 11 AM for early lunch, 2-3 pm for late lunch, 4-6 pm for early bird dinner, and later in the evening. There are always people. One reason is Greek islands is in the Chicago recommended tourist guides. Still, many Chicagoans are like us; downtown for some reason, want a good meal at a reasonable price that won’t take two hours. That’s Greek Islands restaurant.
• Greek Islands started as a small storefront and is now a large, sprawling layout of several rooms. Upon entering, you walk up an aisle past open coolers of fresh seafood on ice toward the host stand. Despite its popularity, we rarely wait more than a few minutes for a table at lunch or early dinner, even without reservations.
Greek islands is a comfortable space, each room is pleasantly decorated with white stucco walls with Greek culture motifs. We like some rooms better than others, but all are comfortable, and we’ve never felt crowded.
The Food
Over the years, we’ve tried most of the Greek-style dishes: the traditional, simple dishes like pastitsio, the wide variety of seafood, and lamb dishes. If I’m not sure what I want, there are combo plates, something new, plus something familiar. This is the feast we shared in November:
Spoiler alert for all other restaurants: This literal feast before tip $70.11!
• The best saganaki we’ve had anywhere, arriving with the flaming Opa!. A generous portion, perfectly prepared, on the sizzling plate. Saganaki seems like a simple cheese dish, but we’ve had precooked, preheated versions served still cold inside. Never at Greek islands. And, salad, bread, and saganaki could be a simple filling meal by itself.
• The basic Greek salad is good, nothing special or unique, just good with tasty dressing.
• A bottomless basket of Greek sesame bread. Just like the salads, you would think a restaurant could get the bread right, but often we’re disappointed with spongy or near-stale bread. Here, the bread is always fresh, and there’s always more.
• Outstanding. An entrée we’ve never had before, the seafood kebab. Salmon, shrimp, and the catch of the day was swordfish. All fresh, well-cooked, and a large portion. Plus, this kebab did not disappoint like many we’ve had, no skimping on vegetables. Plenty of peppers and onions on the skewer.
• The traditional rice and potatoes accompany most entrées.
• We weren’t going to have dessert because our favorite nogatina is long gone. Then the dessert tray passed us, and we saw the one that seemed irresistible — a new special dessert that was like a combination of cream pie + cheesecake + baklava. It was absolutely delicious and a new favorite.
The Experience
• We had a two-top table, against a wall, with a partial view of the kitchen but out of the traffic lanes. And one of our pet issues: plenty of distance between tables.
• Despite the large rooms filled with people, the rooms are reasonably quiet to have a conversation.
• All restaurants deal with the issue of staff maneuvering through the tables, and often we feel in the middle of a stampede. The space is open enough that we never felt threatened by a passing tray falling on our heads.
• Quiet, comfortable, not crowded. Checks all our boxes.
The Service.
Service can make or break the best meal.
• Greek island service is efficient, prompt, usually informed, but rarely chatty and never pushy.
• Orders are taken, a short wait for the food, and no one ever disappears when you want more bread, water, iced tea, or anything else you want.
One of the great service features is the free valet parking. There are paid parking lots within walking distance, but Greek islands has always had free valet parking (we do tip). Like everything else at the restaurant, it’s efficient, and you never have to wait long to drop off the car or have it delivered when leaving.
The Verdict
Rating Highlights:
• ⭐ Food Quality: Excellent
• 💰 Value: Super Excellent
• 🕐 Early Bird Experience: Always other diners, consistent menus, quality, and service.
• 🔇 Atmosphere: Comfortable, bustling
• 👍 Would Return: Yes