Salonica Restaurant
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: None
25 Reviews for Salonica Restaurant
I am giving this Hyde Park local Greek dive a fiver because you just CANNOT find a better atmosphere. Greasy, good, local with a little edge to the servers. There was NO way i pissing of my server, probably the matriarch of the crew. I had the Mousaka, which was great . . . not that I have anything to compare it to, but just sitting there, i felt all Chicago-esque . . . not that i know that that feels like.
Prices were good, food was good, crowd was local. A five it is!
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I love this restaurant! It's inexpensive, everything I've had there is great, and I LOVE the atmosphere! I always get the sagnaki (flaming cheese). No complaints!
For brunch in hp its the only place I find...but its really hard to fuck up eggs. I've also had lunch/dinner there and there was nothing special about the tuna sandwich....in fact I could have made the exact thing at home...and for that it was too expensive. I do like their booths that line the walls...they remind me a carriages.
The cup of chili was so spicy it made my hair sweat. The Reuben sandwhich was a bit greasy but tasted good. Truthfully, though, it was a slurp and burp special.
The place is fast, friendly, reasonably priced, with passable service. However, I'd go somewhere else next time I'm hungry in Hyde Park, but not because it was bad; just for variety. I'd neither rush back nor complain about this place.
They had a lot of standard Greek fare on the menu but I wasn't in the mood. I might have had a different take on this place had I gone native.
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Great place for Sunday morning breakfast.
Good prices, good service, good food -- what else can you ask for? I took some friends who were visiting out of town here and they were pleased. I had the gyro lunch special with fries & drink for $5.75 -- as most gyros go, I can never finish one so my boyfriend had to finish it off for me (not like he was complaining about that). My friend had the saganacki (sp?) aka "the flaming cheese" which he raved about the entire trip. If you're looking for a good, down-to-earth no frills place to eat and have cash on you, hit up Salonica. I don't remember the name of my server but he was very attentive despite the busy lunch rush. I can always tell how pleased I am with the service by the amount of refills I get and he never let my glass get empty. Hooray for that.
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Greek diner - Located near University of Chicago in the Hyde Park area of the south side of Chicago. I've been going here since I was a little girl taking ballet classes upstairs. The prices are very reasonable and the food is the best in Hyde Park. You can get a full meal for under $10. I always have the sagnaki (flaming cheese). Anything you order here is going to be good. The service is also really good. Most of the staff have worked here many many years. They still remember me when I go in.
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I have been eating at Salonica for over 15 years. They have a warm and friendly environment. I enjoy their breakfast and burgers. They have a dish called "Nick's Delight," I order it when I can afford to splurge. It is Gyro and Roast Beef on pita...To die for! The soups are good and everything is inexpensive. The owner John is the most kind man, he's very personable. I've been around for his wedding, and the births of children. I absolutely love this place...I highly recommend it...Especially the soups, they are always very fresh and hot.
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It's a diner, nothing more, but there is something to be said about consistent eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. Caffe Florian, right down the street, attempts a brunch on the weekends but it's neither diner quality nor upscale cafe quality, so Salonica wins.
Parking can be a big pain, but if you're from Hyde Park, where else in the area isn't?
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Pretty good greek diner restaurant, as I chose to go here, when I was recently down at the MSI, and had a change of heart from wanting to go to Medici, and wanted something different from Mello Yello(my traditional go-to breakfast/lunch diner in Hyde Park over the years).
Soulnaki here is really good, and what my friend got was also decent, too(though I stupidly now forget what she ordered). And since it's a greek diner, you get the nice bonus of seeing varied reactions to the saganaki/flaming cheese being lit, lol. Prices are very fair, and the portions are excellent.
Finally, I totally love the slightly-raised booths on both sides of the front room, for some reason, and the decor on both sides of that part of the restaurant are nice. Overall, I'd definitely come back here, whenever I'm in this part of Chicago again.
As a Detroiter, I YEARN for a good Coney restaurant. While I have yet to find a place that can replace Spargo's in my heart, this place comes close. The food is tasty, the omlettes are fantastic, and their coffee is pretty good.
Avgolemono. Enough said.
Bring cash. They have an ATM across the street at Harper Market, but who wants to pay a service charge?
All in all, it's a comfortable, warm, friendly place to go. It's sunny, there are a lot of really nice colors, and I like to sit in the little archways.
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I love Salonica! If you ever notice, behind the counter they sell olive oil from their own farm. WHAT!?!?! I just thought that was noteworthy. Aside from that thought. I've only ordered breakfast here, because I can't bring myself to come here and not order breakfast, but I also can't handle more than breakfast in one sitting. It's always up to my standards! It's a nice place, with a great diner atmosphere, not the cheap feeling atmosphere you'll find at many places, and it's clean. The service is fast, but varies in quality, although the food more than makes up for it. Friends have ordered dinner here before and it was great, but I really only come for my b-fast. It's always greasy, and something to keep in mind is that greasy-ness is necessary if you want to stand out in my book (of breakfast joints). The only thing that keeps me from coming here EVERY weekend is the prices. It's not too pricey, since you can get the frenchtoast and coffee for $5.25 or $6.25, can't recall, but it's when you add the eggs or OJ or potatoes that it starts to add up. There's cheaper places then. Nonetheless, Salonica holds a special place in my heart.
Be warned. This is a cash only establishment!
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Salonica has been around for ages, apparently (you can tell partly from the ancient sign outside). It's a popular diner with Hyde Parkers, who go there in droves for breakfast.
Prices are CHEAP. The food is fairly typical diner fare, but very tasty and plentiful. The egg lemon soup is excellent.
Be sure to bring cash, as they seem to have stopped accepting credit cards.
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Fabulous breakfast spot in Hyde Park. Great prices. Good service. Fine coffee. Relax environment. Eclectic clientele. Love the feta and spinach omelet. They know how to make over easy eggs just right!
Full disclosure: this place is only 2.5 stars worthy in terms of food, but I came here every Sunday morning in college, and so the nostalgia bumps it up. Salonica is so cheap it makes you wonder how they do it. The people are nice, and the french toast is mushy yet delicious. A great hangover cure.
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Good, basic diner with Greek influence. Excellent turkey burger, good breakfast provisions, tasty milkshakes. Open all day- simple staples & low prices keep them busy.
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I have been going to Salonica for many years. One of my favorite things about them has always been their hash-browns -- they were lovely: warm and buttery (mm good). Today I went, though, and I found the experience to be somewhat lacking. This included, gasp, the hash-browns....
It is true that it is a greasy spoon and one can normally only expect so much from one of those, but my hash-browns were lukewarm and not so flavorful. It was really disappointing. I also had the Athenian omelet and it was so-so. To be fair, I should report that my eating companion had a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whip cream and she really enjoyed her food. SO, maybe it was just what I ordered or the time of day (not early or late enough to be busier when maybe things would have been a little fresher), but I felt like Salonica was not at its peak of fabulousness.
What is good about it then? Their prices. And the whole diner food thing -- it is so satisfying sometimes, even when it's not spectacular. Also, the reason we ended up there was because we were in Hyde Park and (I couldn't believe this but...) the Medici wasn't open for breakfast (more on that some other time), so this is the only place that I know of now that you can get breakfast in Hyde Park (of the egg and hash-brown variety). So sad....
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Salonica is a yummy greasy spoon. It's also cheap as hell! I'd normally get a grilled cheese or some eggs. My boyfriend at the time was much more experimental. He often tried the Greek dishes. Yowsa!
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Salonica, I grant you five stars out of nostalgia and a yearning for the past when I could still manage to survive on no sleep, caffeine pills, and your omelets, rice puddings, cheap soups with heaps of free bread, and my favorite-- the saganaki, which is one of the best in the city.
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Basically your typical greek diner. They have sandwiches, gyros, comfort food, and breakfast served all day. Coffee is above average, food is average, and service is typically quick. One of the few good restaurants within walking distance from UC campus make it an appealing stop for those in the area.
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My first day in Chicago my mom and I were taking a cab ride back from Target and our driver said: "do you know where you need to eat if you're going to live here? Salonica." I was a vegetarian at the time and he assured me: "Don't worry, they'll take care of you." Man was he right. Without their gigantic omelettes, spanakopita and never ending mugs of coffee I probably would have ended grad school a very skinny, grumpy, lady. It can get crowded on the weekends, but during the week, this is a great place to stop if you're a local. As long as it's not crowded the staff are really nice about filling your coffee and letting you chill and read for an hour or so.
This joint is amazing if you like ordinary-looking places with food that speaks for itself! The omelettes are to die for. I swear they are really good! The milkshakes are excellent! My favorite meal consists of a feta and onion omelette with a chocolate milkshake. The service is great, you always see the same waiters and waitresses and if you go there enough, they start to recognize you too! And boy are they friendly when they do! Not in a weird way though. It's basically a humble place with yummy food!
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Simple, greek food. I love the atmosphere, but the food was a little sparse (Maybe I expect the usual extra large portion sizes). However, this little jem is a must when visiting Hyde Park as it a good resturant. I also enjoyed the music on the lunch day I was there.
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Good solid Greek joint in Hyde Park. You can get a variety of things here, most of your favorite comfort foods you can think of. Nice cozy restaurant with great booths! Friendly quick service you can count on when you are hungry.
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I like this place pretty well. It has an interesting combination of American and Greek food in Hyde Park. The service is good, the food is delicious, and it's cheap. This is comfort food in comfortable surroundings. Good service, usually.
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