Kalamata Kitchen - Oak Park

Father’s Day six of us dinned at Kalamata Kitchen in Oak Park, IL. Friendly and attentive service. The mural wall paintings, makes me want to go to Greece. We shared Grilled Octopus and Cold Spread Sampler delicious appetizers. The Skordalia is so garlicky that I topped my bread with it. We each ordered different entrees: Moussaka, hubby enjoyed it. Kalamata Dinner (a combo of 5), variety and delicious, leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Gyro plate, he ate it all but didn’t share. Grilled Veg Shish-kabob, the most beautiful plate. Vegies were cooked and seasoned perfectly. That’s what I’ll get next time. I do love veggies. Chicken Shish-kabob, looked impressive. Leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Finally my Grilled Chicken Breast a bit dry as breasts go, but the rice topped with homemade tomato sauce was worth the carbs even for a diabetic. Desserts: Best Baklava ever. Lemon bar, Chocolate Moose Cake, Galaktoboureko (flan like custard) well, we almost licked the plate. Do we recommend Kalamata Kitchen? YES, most definitely. We plan to dine there again.

This place was beyond expectations! My husband is Greek and very particular about his Greek food. “ I love this place”. The ingredients were garden Fresh! Not frozen fresh. Nikky, our server and cousin of owner, verified all food was hand made, fresh with loving care from authentic recipes from Greece. The portions were larger than any other restaurant. We will bring our Greek relatives here.

The food was delicious and service was great. Only thing I didn't like and made me so uncomfortable was the manager working behind the bar yelling at the waitress in front off customers. My feelings was so hurt to see the waitress get yelled at was hurtful and embarrassing.

I went to Kalamata with my mother (Wed. August, 9) and ordered the lamb riblets. I asked them to be well-done, not burnt please . When I received my meal, it was severely burnt. I didn 't complain because we didn 't want any trouble and was willing to pay but the waiter felt that we should 've been compensated. He offered us a free Baklava and we said that wasn 't necessary but he insisted. We eventually said yes but the chef said since we ate what we could; he wasn 't giving us anything free. He insinuated that we were seeking free food when we made it clear money wasn 't an issue; we didn 't even want the free Baklava at first. The chef even put the young waiter in a situation where he offered to pay for it; it was wrong to do that to him. The chef wouldn 't share his name but NO ONE should have to endure that kind of disrespect. I will NOT be returning to this establishment.

What is this place? A sports bar? A fine dining restaurant? A place for servers and staff to gain experience before moving on? We ordered takeout without looking at reviews, I get there to pick it up and the bar tender was apologizing to the woman in front about the delay. When I gave my name she said the kitchen was backed up how I don 't know the place was pretty empty for a Friday night. The food did come out within 10 minutes of being told it would be ready and it was good, not great but good. The calamari needed a bit of a kick but it was..fine but nothing to write home about (though enough to write a review I guess)