Greektown is looking pretty spiffy these days; Halsted Street has been beautified and most of the restaurants on the strip have spruced up inside and out.
Costa’s, the 18-month-old restaurant on the southern tip of the Greektown strip, may be the prettiest of the bunch. It’s an open, welcoming space that offers the casual feel of a Greek villa without skimping on fine-dining niceties.
The menu, by executive chef and partner Jonathan Pouliezos, is pretty customer-friendly as well, from its agreeably low prices to its large selection of mezedes (appetizers) in sharable portions. Experiencing a wide variety of tastes is neither difficult nor expensive here.
That’s provided, of course, that you don’t overload on bread first. A basket brimming with soft, sesame-crusted bread arrives at the table quickly; bread and olive oil are at the table, but my recommendation is to order one of Costa’s addictive spreads and match the bread to that. Options include taramosalata, a fish-roe spread; skordalia, an intense garlic dip; a roasted eggplant-garlic concoction; and htipiti, a blend of whipped feta cheese, olives and basil. Any of the spreads may make you unfit for polite company (the garlic component is high in each, sky-high in the skordalia), but they do taste good.
Shrimp piperates is a dish offered in appetizer and entree portions. The appetizer version includes five large shrimp, carefully broiled and judiciously seasoned with sweet vermouth, lemon and garlic, along with a surprise kick of pepper.
Mussels Salonika, an occasional special, earns points for flavor and presentation. The steamed and sauteed mussels are set in a white wine sauce with tomatoes, green onions and small cubes of feta cheese; atop this are four large mussels in their shells.
Grilled calamari hoods, stuffed with a blend of feta and kefalotiri cheeses, are a good bet, as are cheese-stuffed roasted peppers. Beet lovers will gobble up the salad featuring oil-glossed beets with skordalia, an effective contrast of sweet and savory flavors.
And we ordered saganaki — sometimes you just gotta — enjoying the tableside-flaming theatrics (waiters pour a generous amount of brandy over the broiled cheese, producing an impressive burst of flame when ignited) as much as the slab of tasty kefalograviera cheese.
Every Greek restaurant in town offers whole-roasted snapper and sea bass, at market price. I always ask the waiter to recommend the better option that evening, and so we tucked into a $22 snapper — one of the priciest entrees on the menu, but worth it. The fish is presented whole, boned deftly tableside and drizzled with an olive oil and oregano sauce. The fish is done just right, the flesh meaty but yielding, with a slightly sweet flavor that is enhanced by the sparingly applied sauce.
Also pricey, and also worth the cost, are the lamb chops ($20 for two, $27 for three), which are hefty, nicely trimmed and broiled. Lamb kebobs are a bargain-priced option, and the meat’s quantity and quality are impressive.
Broiled Athenian chicken is a simple dish, seasoned with rosemary, oregano, garlic and lemon, but those who have endured greasy approximations of this dish in lesser establishments will appreciate the precision of Costa’s version.
Shrimp Costas, sauteed shrimp over angel-hair pasta with spinach and pine nuts, is a nice pasta dish, as is the malia angelou (no connection to the novelist), which is angel-hair pasta with artichokes, tomatoes and feta cheese.
Not many dishes disappointed us, and when they did, over-marinating was the problem. That seemed to be the culprit behind the limp grilled octopus appetizer and soggy swordfish entree. The mistake was particularly egregious with the swordfish, ruining a piece of fish with very good flavor.
More Top Picks What Does An Irlen Overlay Do For Reading
Desserts include a good version of galaktobourieko, honey-soaked phyllo dough with a lemon-custard filling, and a straightforward chocolate cake. More adventurous is the ek-mek kataifi, syrup-soaked bread dough topped with walnut paste, sweetened shredded wheat, custard and whipped cream. Rice pudding is a snore; skip it.
Costa’s dining room is a wide-open space with terra-cotta tile floors, rough-textured white walls and archways, and oak trim. It’s bustling and noisy when crowded, but acoustic ceiling tiles dampen the sound considerably. White tablecloths grace the tables, and live piano music (occasionally the pianist will switch to the bouzouki, a stringed Greek instrument) plays in the background.
Service is personable — hosts are especially friendly — and efficient on the whole; one night the waiter forgot to bring us a couple of salads we had ordered, but his forgetfulness was consistent; the items weren’t on our bill.
Costa and Dan Vlahos, who own the place along with Pouliezos and partner Gus Danos, opened a second Costa’s in Oakbrook Terrace in June. It’s a virtual carbon-copy of the original — right down to the grand piano in the dining room — which is good news for DuPagers looking for a little oooopa! in their lives.
———-
Costa’s
(star) (star)
340 S. Halsted St.
312-263-9700
Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun., lunch Mon.-Sun.
Entree prices: $9.75-$26.95
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V
Reservations: Recommended
Other: Wheelchair accessible; free valet parking
Rating system
(star) (star) (star) (star) Outstanding
(star) (star) (star) Excellent
(star) (star) Very Good
(star) Good
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.