I recently visited Oakbrook to try out this Greek Mediterranean restaurantthat so many of my friends were talking about.
The name of the restaurant is Violi in Oak Brook.
Located in the Oakbrook mall where the old Mon Ami Gabi was located, this restaurant is fairly new under a year old.
I looked on the OpenTable app to see if it would be busy on a Sunday right when they open at 11:30 AM. The app showed availability every 10 minutes. I did not feel I needed to make a reservation.
When you first walk in the front doors, you must walk through the front atrium. It is gorgeous with faux plant life in the walls. The room is surrounded by windows, so it is quite gorgeous.
I wanted to sit in the main dining room, so I walked up to the front hostess.
I informed the hostess that I did not have a reservation and would like to have a table for two in the main dining room. The hostess, a young girl, who looked completely bewildered explained to me that the dining room was only for guests who had made a reservation. My only option would be to sit outside in the atrium area.
I explained to her on OpenTable that there is full availability every 10 minutes. I asked if she would like me to make a reservation right now and wait 10 minutes.
The hostess looked like she was completely taken off guard. She did not expect me to push back at all on her, telling me no then suddenly told me there was an open table in the dining room that I could be seated at.
Strike one in my eyes I already did not like the place, due to the games the hostess was playing at the front, but the restaurant was absolutely gorgeous with a Mediterranean Parisian vibe.
I started to look over the menu and noticed this place is not cheap at all. The prices are on par with an upper class steakhouse, but far less on the menu.
Waters were poured and our server greeted us at our table. The server asked if this was our first time dining here. I had him explain what he suggested from the menu.
He suggested the cheese croquettes for an appetizer. I wanted to order other appetizers, but I was informed they were out of two of my choices: the zucchini bites and the spanakopita.
The restaurant was starting to fill, but I noticed the dining room area where I was seated had multiple tables still unseated.
The croquettes came to our table. They were extremely small with five croquettes the size of a gumball. There was a fig jam underneath the croquettes. The flavor was delicious but not worth the close to $20 price tag.
Our server asked if we were ready to put in our main dishes, or if we would like to order more small dishes.
I opted to put in my main dish. We were still on the lunch menu, so I ordered the lamb gyro platter that came with fries.
My wife ordered the Violi hamburger that also came with fries.
To drink I ordered an Arnold Palmer. The lemonade and tea were very tasty.
Our dishes came out. Mine was on a large wooden serving platter. The lamb was not cut as you would normally get on a typical Gyro. It almost looked like a pot roast. The gentleman that brought out my food poured a yellow sauce over the meat. The sauce smelled and tasted like lemon butter. The other accompaniments with my dish were red onion to Tzatziki sauce and diced tomatoes.
The dish also came with two small pocket pitas.
My dish was absolutely delicious. The meat was extremely tender and juicy.
My wife on the other hand did not enjoy her hamburger so much. It was a mix of lemon beef with pesto sauce on top. It also came with an extremely spicy sauce that she had asked on the side. I enjoyed the sauce on my Gyro.
Her hamburger was very burnt. When we inquired we were told it was the normal char. It was extremely small, the size of a dollar hamburger from McDonald’s.
After our main dishes, we ordered a dessert that consisted of ice cream, Filo dough and various fruit. The desert was very refreshing and light.
The bill came and it was over $100. I do not know if anything that we had other than my gyro was worth anywhere close to that money.
The restaurant seems to be the type where you were paying for the ambience and the view.
I would like to come back and try the other items on the menu, because like I stated my gyro I was very tasty.
I give a rating of 7 out of 10. I think it is worth a try, especially for a special occasion. I just feel that the portions do not correlate with the price.
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