One of the very best cuisines from across the sea that you can check out is that of Greek cuisine.
Whether it’s a delicious moussaka, a mouth watering souvlaki, or even a tasty baclava for dessert, the Greeks certainly know how to eat – and eat very well at that.
Thankfully, though, you don’t have to go all the way to Greece just to experience it though. Like all the best international cuisines, you can sample it all across the United States of America.
Whichever state or city you find yourself in, you should be able to find a great Greek restaurant serving up a delicious mix of all their finest meals.
But which ones are going to be the best? What are the greatest Greek restaurants in the USA?
Well, we’ve got the answers for you! In our handy guide below, we’ve got a breakdown of the 17 greatest Greek restaurants in the USA. With each one, we’ll list the location and explain what they offer, showing off what makes them so great. Read on!
1. Greek Islands Chicago
Where Is It Located? 200 S Halsted Street, Chicago, Illinois 60661
Located in Chicago, the great “Windy City”, you’re guaranteed to be blown away by this fantastic Greek restaurant that’s been going strong since 1971. In fact, they even proclaim that they’re the most popular Greek restaurant in America (see also ‘20 Delicious Dishes At Red Lobster That You Won’t Want To Miss!‘)!
Unsurprisingly, the title is deserved. Why? Well, they have an enormous menu to choose from, absolutely filled with mouth watering Greek delights that are guaranteed to send you home with a full stomach and a smile on your face.
To start your meal off, their appetizers will immediately “wow” you, with small dishes such as flaming saganaki cheese (the best imported Greek cheese) and loukaniko (which is their broiled sausage), among many others.
After that, you can pick some salads or soups, such as the “psarosoupa”, a delicious seafood gumbo.
As for the mains, though, you’ve got a great range. Delicious dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), arni fournou (lamb with potatoes), kontosouvli (pork, pita, onions, yogurt), or even a pasta and meat dish named “pastichio” – to name a few.
2. Kokkari Estiatorio
Where Is It Located? 200 Jackson Street, San Francisco, California 94111
If you’re ever in San Francisco, make sure to give this terrific Greek restaurant some of your time – it’ll be more than worth it! They have a menu that’s packed to bursting with flavor from a whole range of tasty Greek dishes.
Kokkari Estiatorio pride themselves on the Greek concept of “philoxenia”, which is all about making friends with strangers. In this sense, they treat their customers as their friends, serving them up the finest foods they have to offer.
What are these foods? Well, if you pick from the “Mezethes” section of their impressive menu, you can enjoy a dish of grilled calamari stuffed with feta and other tasty things, some spanakotiropita (filo pies filled with spinach, leeks, feta, and dill), or even kolokithokeftethes, which are crisp zucchini cakes with a delicious and refreshing dressing.
As for the soups and salads, they’ve got either your typical vegetable or tomato ones, or even one with roasted strawberries if you’re feeling fancy!
After that, they’ve got some enormous sharing dishes of fish and various meats. Delicious!
3. Zaytinya
Where Is It Located? 701 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
If you’re ever in the capital of the United States, you’ll want to stop by Zaytinya, a famous Greek restaurant run by beloved chef José Andrés.
The restaurant specializes in light and airy meals, meaning that you can enjoy a wide range of delicious Greek dishes.
You can begin by picking from a range of different spreads, then move onto a tasty flat bread. After that, you can either choose a soup or a salad, or pick from the range of mezzes.
When it comes to mezze, you can have either vegetable or seafood. The vegetable mezze includes dishes like cauliflower tiganites or mujadara (a Lebanese rice and lentil pilaf).
Meanwhile, the seafood mezze includes sea scallops, octopus santorini, or even (if you’re feeling fancy!) avgotaraho, which is traditional Greek pressed caviar.
4. Kyma
Where Is It Located? 3085 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30305
At this popular Greek restaurant in Atlanta, you can enjoy a variety of fancy and creative dishes.
For your small appetizer, you can enjoy a variety of different “meze”. These include various seafood (like calamari, scallop, and tuna), pork, lamb, and spinach pie for the vegetarians.
As for your main meal you can enjoy a variety of whole fresh fish, such as “Arctic Char” or “Tsipoura”.
Alternatively, you can pick some seafood specialties like halibut and salmon, or instead go for the meat specialties such as a beef ribeyes, a lamb shank, or some lamb and pappardelle pasta. Tasty!
5. Molyvos
Where Is It Located? 402 W 43rd Street, New York, New York 10036
If you’re ever in the city that never sleeps, New York, you can make sure that you stay up at this delicious Greek restaurant.
In fact, the restaurant even specializes in having a pre-theater menu for those eating just before going to New York’s famous Carnegie Hall, which is just a mile from the venue.
This is actually a new location for them, after spending 25 years delighting eaters elsewhere. At the time of writing, this new location hasn’t opened yet, but it should have by the time you’re reading this.
However, their menu is tried and tested (or should that be “tasted”?), and everyone knows they will continue to serve the same delicious Greek selections here.
6. Esperia Grill
Where Is It Located? 344 Washington Street, Brighton, Massachusetts 02135
If you’re even in Brighton, a neighborhood in Boston, then you’ve got to try out Esperia Grill. You won’t regret it!
They have a wide ranging menu, filled with a whole array of Greek cuisine. They have a soup of the day for variety, but you can also enjoy their egg lemon soup “avgolemono”.
If you’d rather have a salad, they have a variety, and you can add meat and fish onto them.
After that, you’ve got delicious specials like swordfish steak, keftedes (mouth watering meatballs), an always-reliable mousaka, and spinach pie for those who don’t eat meat. And that’s just to name a few!
Meanwhile, there’s a whole range of diners, such as chicken or pork gyros on pita bread, and kabobs (either lamb or beef). Again, to name a few!
7. George’s Kitchen
Where Is It Located? 6102 N 16th Street Ste 1, Phoenix, Arizona 85016
If you’re in Phoenix anytime, then you need to find George’s Kitchen ASAP! They offer a delicious range of Greek food that your stomach is going to thank you for trying.
They serve a bunch of different entrees all day, such as grilled salmon and shrimp (for seafood lovers!) and some Mediterranean pasta (for more shrimp and salmon recipes, read here).
Meanwhile, they also offer a variety of pitas and subs. For example, you can enjoy a delicious chicken pita meal, or even a jalapeno pita for those of you who like a little spice!
Interestingly, you can also get pizzas at George’s Kitchen! This is not something you’ll see at many Greek restaurants, but you’ll find that the pizzas have a Greek feeling to most of them.
For example, you can get the self-explanatory “Greek Pizza”, or enjoy other flavors like the “Ellen” or the “White Pizza”.
8. Omega Ouzeri
Where Is It Located? 1529 14th Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98122
If you’re in Seattle, then it’s well worth going for a delicious Greek meal at Omega Ouzeri. They have a wide range of authentic Greek cuisine, as well as a fine range of wines and cocktails to wash them down with!
For starters, you can enjoy a good mix of different small dishes. These include Greek essentials like marinated olives and the classic tzatziki and pita bread, as well as things like mouth watering zucchini fritters.
As for the entrees, they may only have six main dishes to choose from, but they’re all worth it. For example, there’s plenty for seafood lovers: octopus, grilled lavraki (sea bass), and prawn kritharoto.
Alternatively, you can enjoy lamb or chicken dishes, or even “briam” (eggplant and other tasty treats) if you’re vegetarian.
9. Pylos
Where Is It Located? 128 E 7th Street, New York, New York 10009
You can enjoy a Greek-style lunch or dinner at Pylos, a great restaurant in New York.
They offer a great variety of Greek dishes. For example, there’s a good range of salads to choose from, each packed with delicious vegetables and full of healthiness. We like the one that includes some cooling pear!
They only have one soup option at dinner times, but it’s a fancy one! How so? Well, it’s known as a “champagne avgolemono”, with egg and lemon mixed with orzo pasta and chicken stock. Totally unique and packed with good stuff!
When it comes to the mains, you’re spoiled for choice. For meat lovers, they’ve got a “brizola”, which is a prime sirloin steak served up with some special potatoes and spinach, as well as a few other dishes.
Meanwhile, seafood lovers can enjoy meals with salmon, bass, shrimp, and more.
On top of all that, they’ve got some classic “Greek comfort foods” too, which include their lovely sautéed eggplant or baked pasta with béchamel and meat sauce.
10. Kanella Grill
Where Is It Located? 1001 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107
If you’re ever in Philadelphia, you can enjoy the sunshine at this delicious Greek restaurant, Kanella Grill. They’ve got a good range of Greek dishes, all at decent prices, meaning that you’ll keep coming back for more again and again!
For example, you can enjoy a meze starter such as “mutabal”, which is an eggplant salad with yogurt and garlic, among other things.
If that’s not to your fancy, you can enjoy a Shepherd Salad with tomatoes, feta, and cucumber, or perhaps even some Cyprus potato chips (you haven’t had chips until you’ve tried these!)
As for the entrees (the main courses), there are six to choose from. It might not seem like a lot, but they’re all so delicious that you won’t mind. If you like fish, then you can enjoy a tasty salmon kebab with rice pilaf and a pita bread.
If you’re more into beef, though, the “Ribeye Cap” will suit you well. It has a mix of beef cubes (see also ‘16 Family Dinner Recipes With Beef Cubes‘) and hot peppers. Alternatively, a chicken shish is a delicious choice, or the “Adana”, a lamb kebab.
Thankfully, vegetarians have a choice too! They can either enjoy a “Spanokopita”, which is a spinach and feta pie, or the felafel that’ contains ground chickpea and fava fritters.
11. Mandolin Aegean Bistro
Where Is It Located? 4312 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33137
If you’re ever in Miami, you can take a trip to this fantastic Greek restaurant, Mandolin Aegean Bistro.
Their range of mezes is quite astonishing, with loads and loads of different small dishes to choose from. Whatever you’re in the mood for, they should have something to suit you.
Such as? Well, they’ve got a delicious roasted cauliflower with peppered garlic yogurt, a Greek classic. Alternatively, you can get a cheese saganaki, or seafood lovers can enjoy grilled prawns, grilled octopus, or fried calamari.
Additionally, you can also get some köfte, which is their meatballs, or vegetarians can get a stuffed zucchini – packed with almonds, eggplant, feta, walnuts, and much more.
After those, you can pick from a selection of salads or sandwiches, or go right onto the main dishes.
When it comes to the mains, you can enjoy a wide range: manti dumplings made out of minced beef, beef souvlaki with fries, lamb chops over some orzo pilaf, an eggplant and beef moussaka, a chicken kebab, and more.
12. Psistaria Greek Taverna
Where Is It Located? 4711 W Touhy Avenue, Lincolnwood, Illinois 60712
Lincolnwood in Illinois is home to this lovely family-owned Greek restaurant, which has a wide range of traditional dishes to try. They’ve been going since 2005 and show no signs of slowing down, serving delicious food to their many happy customers.
They’ve got an enormous range of hot appetizers to start you off with, such as their shrimp tourkolimano or fried eggplant. After that, you can choose from a variety of salads and soups, or move straight to the main dishes.
There’s a range of traditional Greek meals on show here, such as the beef and lamb dolmades, or the chicken spanaki, which is a chicken breast that’s been stuffed with a mixture of feta cheese and spinach.
If you like seafood instead, there are also plenty of dishes to pick from, with all kinds of fish: cod, salmon, whitefish, tilapia, and many more.
Alternatively, a tasty pasta dish might suit you, and they’re all served with a cup of soup.
13. Katerina’s Taverna & Grill
Where Is It Located? 619 N Pinellas Avenue, Tarpon Springs, Florida
If you’re ever in the cozy city of Tarpon Springs, Florida, then you owe it to yourself to go and have a Greek meal at Katerina’s Taverna & Grill.
They’ve got a variety of classic dishes on their impressive menu, meaning that you should be able to get something you love. For example, the grilled lamb chops dish is a favorite among customers, as is the chicken skewers.
Of course, they’ve also got the always-reliable moussaka, saganaki, keftedes, and more on offer too.
14. Chef Zorba’s
Where Is It Located? 2626 E 12th Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80206
Named after the famous film (and the even more famous piece of music from it), “Zorba The Greek”, you can tell that you’re going to get a good Greek time here.
Their offering of food is vast, and you’re guaranteed to enjoy whatever you pick. For one thing, they serve a variety of sandwiches to their happy customers. These include various different types of pita sandwiches, such as ones with chicken or falafel.
Alternatively, you can choose from a selection of different entrees for the main course. These include dishes like the “Spanakopita Plate”, which contains feta cheese, spinach, and dill all inside a delicious pastry, served with a choice of sides.
Additionally, there is the chicken marinated in lemon and garlic, or the “Gyros Plate”, which has beef and lamb served up with pita and tomatoes, among other things. Delicious!
15. Helen Greek Food & Wine
Where Is It Located? 2429 Rice Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005
If you’re in Houston, then it’s a good idea to try out Helen Greek Food & Wine for exactly that…some Greek food and wine! We love a restaurant that’s the point, and we also love one that serves great food.
Thankfully, that’s Helen. You can enjoy a range of Greek dishes from their menu. For example, there’s a delicious meal of baked feta and tipiti, which comes with some breadman sourdough too.
Alternatively, you can enjoy a Greek wedge salad for the healthier choice, which features pickled tomatoes, feta cheese, dill, and more.
Or you might be in the mood for pie? Well, this restaurant does a great “Greens & Cheese” pie, which contains fried capers, among other delicious things.
If you’ve come to the restaurant with a party of people and you all want to share a meal, then we’d recommend the “Traditional Pork Gyro Platter”. It comes with some pork shoulder, onions, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce – as well as lettuce wraps or grilled pita bread to enjoy with it.
16. The Greek Pastry Shop
Where Is It Located? 520 S 5th Street W, Missoula, Montana 59801
Open since 1977, The Greek Pastry Shop has been delighting its customers for decades. For that reason, they say that they have the number 1 gyros out there – and it’s easy to see why!
Let’s begin with their range of appetizers. They’ve got a whole load to choose from, such as spanakopita (feta cheese and spinach) and Greek Fries, which are fries with oregano, salt, and lemon.
On top of that, they’ve got an intriguing dish called the “Baba Ganoush”, which is a roasted eggplant and garlic dip.
After that, they’ve got a range of tasty salads, such as the felafal one that comes with no less than SIX felafal balls! Alternatively, you can choose Greek salads with different types of meat, such as chicken or pork.
As for the main plates you can choose a pork plate or a chicken plate, both of which come with sides of salad, pita bread, fries, and tzatziki sauce. Oh, and a lemon wedge! You can also get a Gyro Sample Plate, which uses a side of gyro meat instead.
For the vegetarians among you, there is of course an option too: the Felafal Plate, which comes with three felafal logs, as well as the usual sides of pita and fries. However, instead of lemon, you get hummus.
17. Cosmos Restaurant
Where Is It Located? 316 S Maryland Avenue, Wilmington, Delaware 19804
Finally, this restaurant offers a mix of Greek and American food. As a result, their menu is enormous, for both types of cuisine!
For breakfast, you can enjoy a Greek Spinach & Feta CHeese omelet, which is something you’ve probably never had before!
When it comes to lunch and dinner, on the other hand, there is the classic Greek salad (which you can also have with chicken), as well as a handful of other Greek specialities.
For example, there’s the always-reliable moussaka, as well as a pastitchio, which is baked pasta with cream sauce and beef. Alternatively, you choose a “Greek style” spaghetti, with browned butter and some feta cheese.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Most Popular Dish In Greece?
There are many popular Greek dishes, but moussaka is probably the most well known. We’ve mentioned it a few times throughout our list, so you can see that it’s certainly popular!
It usually has meat, potatoes, and aubergine coated in a béchamel sauce.
What Are The Best Greek Desserts?
Though Greek desserts aren’t at every restaurant, you might be lucky enough to find a kourabiedes (which is like a cookie) or some galaktoboureko (custard in pastry) at some.
Final Thoughts
Use our list to find some of the greatest Greek restaurants in the United States (see also ‘17 Korean Restaurants You NEED To Try in the United States‘)!
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