Athenian Room

"This neighborhood Greek restaurant is one of our favorite spots in all of Chicago. You can’t beat it for the price (very low), atmosphere (super casual), and quality of food (excellent). The sauce on the chicken kalamata dinner is something special, and the gyros and skirt steak are just as good. If you haven’t already eaten at Athenian Room 100 times, you need to change that." - sam faye, adrian kane, john ringor, veda kilaru

"Athenian Room is not BYOB. Repeat, NOT BYOB. But you can bring alcohol over from the bar next door. Do that, then get ready for some delicious, incredibly cheap Greek food, including the kalamata chicken—one of the best roast chicken dishes in Chicago. Service is brusque, and the space is ultra-casual, but you’ll feel like you’re pretty much stealing the food." - adrian kane, john ringor

"This classic Greek restaurant has been open since 1972, serving locals and DePaul students. Find stellar Grecian chicken (served over fries sopped in jus, so delicious that customers still dream about it), gyros, and kebobs." - Ashok Selvam, Eater Staff

"Big cities are generally expensive, and if your visitor buys gum at CVS and discovers Chicago’s 78% sales tax, they’ll be concerned. Luckily we have Athenian Room to soothe them. It’s an extremely casual Greek spot in Lincoln Park with huge, reasonably priced portions. The must-order dish (and reason we send everyone here) is the kalamata chicken, roasted and served with fantastic chicken-jus-soaked fries we’d happily eat every day of the year." - adrian kane, veda kilaru

"There’s never a wrong time to eat at Athenian Room. The kalamata chicken is fantastic, and as a bonus, it also happens to only cost about $15. In fact, everything here is both delicious and reasonably priced. And real dining solo pros know that you can also bring your food to the bar next door." - adrian kane, john ringor, veda kilaru, josh barnett