Taxim

by Anne M.

2.5 stars for the unbearably loud atmosphere and so-so food.  It wasn't BAD, just wasn't special.  I had the lentils which were good, but salty and the chicken entree which was good, salty with minimal presentation (which is not to say bad at all).  We skipped dessert to escape the noise.  A little pricey too; 2 drinks, one cold appetizer and one entree for $65.00.  I hate to harp on this, but the noise made the place feel like a cheerleading squad just rolled in from a big win...couldn't wait to leave.

by Oscar the Death Cat B.

The reviews that described Taxim's storefront as unassuming and easy-to-miss weren't kidding - twice (first when arriving and later after re-feeding the parking meter) I almost walked into the neighboring People Lounge by mistake!Taxim is definitely not old-school Greektown - if you asked them to set fire to your cheese they would probably refuse. I highly recommend sharing an array of the smaller plates - among my favorites were the phyllo pastry stuffed with ramps, the fava beans, and the okra - in fact I think this was the first time I had ever tried an okra dish where the okra actually retained any semblance of its natural flavor.  I was slightly less impressed with the entree-size dishes.  The duck gyros?  Good flavor but a bit chewy.  The goat kebab?  Just a run-of-the-mill kebab IMO. Service was friendly, though somewhat chaotic once the restaurant became busy. Our server was very knowledgable when it came to suggestions for wine pairings too.  We all agreed that we were glad that we took a chance on Taxim looked forward to returning, including one member of our dining party who up until our meal had professed a hatred of Greek cuisine!

by Jason O.Katherine R.David S.John H.Dapper C.

I recently went on a date here and a fantastic experience. I am typically not a fan of Greek food, though I have to admit I have never had an "authentic" Greek meal other than your chain restaurant in the West loop and the occasional gyro. There are so many things I liked about this restaurant. Our waitress was excellent and very attentive, she had several great recommendations that we ordered including a bottle of wine. The menu is small, but everything we picked was delicious. We ordered four small plates: the heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, stuffed phyllo, grilled octopus, and an entree: duck gyros.  My surprise favorite was the grilled octopus and the heirloom tomatoes for a close second. The meals themselves were simple, fresh, and very flavorful. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the atmosphere and diverse crowd. The setup has the tables very close to one another, yet was still intimate with my date. The crowd was a mix of older and younger patrons which is rare given the neighborhood is geared more towards younger crowds. I liked this as it was fun people watching and also striking up a conversation with an older couple next to us. This is a place I would go on another date to as well as take my parents out for a night of fine dining. I had a great experience here and highly recommend it to anyone who would like a creative twist on Greek cuisine.My friend and I met here right after work one night, so the place was pretttty dead. That is not a typo, the place was dead, I just added extra t's for emphasis.  I would like to say though, that whenever I walk past it, it's slamming. A few other tables had trickled in when we were walking out, but otherwise it's a pretty quiet place.The décor is very Greek, shocker! It's got a cool feel to it with the pillows on the benches and the little tables with the hookah's on them. Very cool.Anyways, Ms. Heirloom tomato salad? You're awesome. I could have another salad if it weren't for the two other dishes coming out. Damn. We had the potatoes and the eggplant special. I've never met a potato I didn't like and this was no different. Please keep in mind this is basically like Greek tapas, so at first be prepared to share but if you aren't in the mood, order an entrée. None of them looked too appealing to me, so we stuck with the small plates.The homemade Greek yogurt is the best yogurt I have ever eaten. It was super creamy, full of flavor and just glorious. You have the option of with or without honey and walnuts too. I got both  and I would recommend saying easy honey if you're not a huge fan because they load it on.The place is pretty expensive for a small plate kind of place, hence the 3.5 stars. That is one reason I won't go running back. I would probably go back and get the salad and the yogurt. Done son!I have thought about the duck gyro every day since I had it on Friday - damn, that was good stuff - the meat, the sauce and the wonderful bread. Tow of us split seven of the small plates and these duck gyros. It was a lot of food, but every bit was delicious. My favorite small plates had to be the heirloom tomato salad (what a great fresh mix of tomato, olives, vegetables and cheese), the sauteed eggplant and the leek puff pastry. I also had several glasses of a very nice dessert wine. I didn't even bother to write the name down as they have exclusive distribution rights of this small batch wine in the US. I think this is the perfect excuse to go back!We went to Taxim for a late lunch on a Monday afternoon.After looking through the menu we settled on two cold small plates and our very helpful waiter helped us pick two hot small plates.  We had a flatbread with cheese and egg, which was fine, but not the best thing that we ate; the revíthia, which was very much like hummus--chickpea puree with pita--and was excellent; the fakí, lentils in a balsamic reduction, which was superb; and the pantzária me skordaliá--roasted beets, served with blanched beet greens, a walnut puree and feta cheese--and it is hard to put into words how fantastic that dish was.  I would go back to Taxim exclusively to eat the beet dish.  My partner thought it was the best beet dish that she has ever had (and we did the prix fix beet dinner at Sola earlier this year), and, you know what?  I'm inclined to agree.But one of the best things about Taxim was our bill:  Four small plates, which was more than enough food for the two of us, which were all delicately prepared and tasty.  Our bill?  $23.We had excellent service as well as imaginative and creative food. David (the owner) clearly had a vision for Taxim: the decor is beautiful and the food is magnificent. Favorite dishes of the night: halloumi in the arugula salad, stuffed phyllo, and the baked custard. I recommend this restaurant for special occassions. Great for groups too!

by lisa h.

what the hell.  this place was suggested to me by my best friend who happens to work for rick bayless.  he lives in the area loves the food.  it's also been getting lots of raves from other long time customers of frontera.  (i used to work there) if it's good enough for them, it's usually good enough for me.  i don't know how much detail to go into, but i must say that although the food was excellent, the service  sent the experience through the roof.  it's not easy waiting on my friend.  she is the sommelier for frontera/topolobampo.  she will grill you on the very subtle nuances of the wine list.  because that's important, and the staff should know this stuff backwards forwards.  it's just SO rare that they really do.  we arrived after 9 pm on a monday, they did not make us feel uncomfortable.  we asked to move our table because it was too loud next to a happy 6 top. no worries there.  we asked the waiter her faves in first the cold apps-so we went with the heirloom tomato salad with fresh soft feta mild garden peppers.  we noticed how excellent both the cheese olive oil were.  then we tried their hummus-which has no tahini in it.  she raved about the pita, although they need to give twice as much pita because we hate to toss such tasty food away.  then we got the filo pie with spinach cheese-the cheese both melted inside the perfect flakey crust a wedge cold laying out on the plate to enjoy.  mmm.we split the duck gyros.  perfect seasoning.  really a moment of glory.  onto the dessert, which would have been better left behind :-(that's just fine.  this was still one of the best dinners i have had in years.it's taking greek to a whole new level.  excellent greek wine that is completely different from any other one you may have tried.  this place really surprised me.

by Jason O.

I recently went on a date here and a fantastic experience. I am typically not a fan of Greek food, though I have to admit I have never had an "authentic" Greek meal other than your chain restaurant in the West loop and the occasional gyro. There are so many things I liked about this restaurant. Our waitress was excellent and very attentive, she had several great recommendations that we ordered including a bottle of wine. The menu is small, but everything we picked was delicious. We ordered four small plates: the heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, stuffed phyllo, grilled octopus, and an entree: duck gyros.  My surprise favorite was the grilled octopus and the heirloom tomatoes for a close second. The meals themselves were simple, fresh, and very flavorful. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the atmosphere and diverse crowd. The setup has the tables very close to one another, yet was still intimate with my date. The crowd was a mix of older and younger patrons which is rare given the neighborhood is geared more towards younger crowds. I liked this as it was fun people watching and also striking up a conversation with an older couple next to us. This is a place I would go on another date to as well as take my parents out for a night of fine dining. I had a great experience here and highly recommend it to anyone who would like a creative twist on Greek cuisine.

by T.-A S.

We came here after bolting from another restaurant with a  line snaking around the corner (if we wanted to go to hot doug's, we would've gone to hot doug's). Since we came without a reservation on a Saturday -- and they were fully booked that night -- we had to make do with cafe seating on stools. The tables in the front are pressed right up to the glass -- try to avoid these seats if you can since it's really drafty up there. I was freezing!The service for the stools/tables was wanting. We felt pretty frustrated because we couldn't get our server's attention for the entirety of the two hours we spent there. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and expect that it would be better if seated at a "normal" table. Really, though, if you're gonna seat people there for dinner service, you really ought to provide...service.We had a cold roast eggplant mezze with toasted pine nuts. Delicious. We also ordered a pastry with ramps encrusted with nigella seeds and a slice of feta. Also delicious, but at $12, was too expensive for what was given. Our entrees were fantastic -- I had a braised lamb shank with faro and fennel salad. The faro was tossed with preserved lemon, which was the perfect counter to the rich lamb ($23).Friend had a "baby vegetables stuffed with lamb." Also quite good. Both dishes plated, and in the dark light, looked remarkably similar (stuff set on grain pilafs).We thought the two mezze were too expensive, but all told, 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and a dessert was $65. A decent value. And we were stuffed.It was too loud for my tastes on a Saturday night -- friend and I had to yell to talk. Not good. Go on a weeknight, get a table in the back, cross your fingers for better service, and everything will be well.A welcome addition to the (few, seriously lacking) eastern Mediterranean offerings in Chicago.

by Katherine R.

My friend and I met here right after work one night, so the place was pretttty dead. That is not a typo, the place was dead, I just added extra t's for emphasis.  I would like to say though, that whenever I walk past it, it's slamming. A few other tables had trickled in when we were walking out, but otherwise it's a pretty quiet place.The décor is very Greek, shocker! It's got a cool feel to it with the pillows on the benches and the little tables with the hookah's on them. Very cool.Anyways, Ms. Heirloom tomato salad? You're awesome. I could have another salad if it weren't for the two other dishes coming out. Damn. We had the potatoes and the eggplant special. I've never met a potato I didn't like and this was no different. Please keep in mind this is basically like Greek tapas, so at first be prepared to share but if you aren't in the mood, order an entrée. None of them looked too appealing to me, so we stuck with the small plates.The homemade Greek yogurt is the best yogurt I have ever eaten. It was super creamy, full of flavor and just glorious. You have the option of with or without honey and walnuts too. I got both  and I would recommend saying easy honey if you're not a huge fan because they load it on.The place is pretty expensive for a small plate kind of place, hence the 3.5 stars. That is one reason I won't go running back. I would probably go back and get the salad and the yogurt. Done son!

by Kristina S.

I really appreciate that someone actually took the time to think about what type of cuisine Wicker Park was lacking, and didn't just open another lame sports bar with 50 flat screen TVs, and serving bad bar food under the guise of "American comfort food."The food here is excellent.  I've had the grilled haloumi salad, the ramp-stuffed phyllo pastry, baby okra, grilled fava beans with lamb, and the goat-stuffed baby zucchini and eggplant.  The flavors of the Mediterranean were vibrant among each dish, but were also well-balanced so you can taste the freshness of each component.Thanks for coming to Wicker Park!

by marissa d.

If this restaurant doesn't make you fall in love with what Greeks can do with vegetables, I don't know what will. And this is coming from a girl who routinely hid broccoli in her napkin growing up.We came here to celebrate my fiance's birthday with his very Greek family...which means we had some tough critics at our table. And Taxim exceeded expectations. We started with a lovely bottle of Greek sparkling wine and ordered a few appetizers to start. Let me just say - they were absolutely fantastic... the lentils, the peppers, and oh my God the okra! I was in vegetable heaven. For our entrees we tried the duck gyros, which lived up to the hype, along with the goat shish kabob with rice and yogurt (very good), and the chicken. While I enjoyed my gyro very much, I cannot WAIT to go back and order the chicken. So finally...dessert. At this point I was maybe the fullest I've been in a long time, but, in typical Marissa fashion, I had to try at least 3 desserts, especially my favorite Greek dessert - yogurt with honey and walnuts. Delicious (even though my future mother-in-law's homemade yogurt is most definitely more delicious). I ate every bite...a move that perhaps wasn't the smartest considering the extreme and uncomfortable fullness that hit me once we left the restaurant. The other two desserts we tried were the bougatsa and something that I forgot the name of...it was like a baklava - phyllo dough around walnuts and honey. Both were scrumptious, although the baklava-type one was the favorite at our table.Overall, a fantastic experience all around, especially if you're looking for a new, possibly more sophisticated take on Greek food. I say YES to Taxim.

by David S.

I have thought about the duck gyro every day since I had it on Friday - damn, that was good stuff - the meat, the sauce and the wonderful bread. Tow of us split seven of the small plates and these duck gyros. It was a lot of food, but every bit was delicious. My favorite small plates had to be the heirloom tomato salad (what a great fresh mix of tomato, olives, vegetables and cheese), the sauteed eggplant and the leek puff pastry. I also had several glasses of a very nice dessert wine. I didn't even bother to write the name down as they have exclusive distribution rights of this small batch wine in the US. I think this is the perfect excuse to go back!