Greektown just got a serious shot of adrenaline. Ithaki Estiatorio opened on Halsted this fall with a 180-seat, Mykonos-bright dining room and a wood-fired kitchen planted right on the neighborhood's main drag. The seafood-forward spot from Forte Hospitality is built around classic Greek cooking, sharper, more modern service, and a sprawling wine list, all positioned as part of a bid to revive a corridor that has watched too many dining rooms go dark in recent years.
The restaurant officially debuted at the end of August, according to Eater Chicago. Executive chef Konstantinos Ntalianis, a MasterChef Greece alum who relocated from Greece, runs the kitchen alongside Forte culinary director Saul Ramos. The team is also working on a downstairs cocktail lounge and a wraparound bar designed to spotlight Greek wines and spirits. Ithaki sits at 314 S. Halsted St., a location also listed on the restaurant's website, Ithaki Estiatorio.
From Family Legacy To A Modern Taverna
Kosti Demos, whose family owned the beloved Costa’s that was destroyed by a fire in 2010, says he wants Ithaki to help "spark a renaissance" for the strip, according to WTTW Chicago. The new restaurant takes over the former Parthenon space and trades in heavy, old-school blue-and-white decor for island-inspired materials and bright, coastal tones. Demos and his partners frame the project as the result of years of planning and a deliberate effort to bring more Greek ownership back to Halsted Street.
Seafood, Saganaki, And Imported Fish
Ithaki’s menu keeps plenty of Greektown comfort dishes in play, including pastitsio, pork souvlakia, and the requisite flaming saganaki, then layers on a stronger seafood focus with whole grilled fish, branzino and lobster sold by the pound. Eater Chicago reports that whole fish will be flown in weekly from Greece and Spain, while a ribbon-cutting covered by Third Coast Review highlighted the restaurant’s emphasis on fresh, seasonal seafood. Ntalianis brings island-trained technique and a lighter touch to standards that longtime Greektown regulars will recognize.
The beverage program leans hard into Greek producers and lesser-known spirits, with Forte promoting what it bills as one of Chicago’s most extensive Greek wine lists and a tightly curated cocktail lineup, according to Meetings + Events. The roughly 30-seat bar is set to spotlight bottles from Santorini, Crete, Nemea and Rapsani alongside tsipouro, ouzo and mastiha-based drinks. Management says about 85 percent of the wine list is Greek, an intentional tilt meant to give local diners access to producers that rarely show up on Chicago menus.
Service hours, reservations and menus are posted on the restaurant's website. Ithaki Estiatorio lists dinner hours as Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., and confirms the address as 314 S. Halsted St. The team says complimentary valet and a large dining room are part of the old-school hospitality playbook they hope will draw steady crowds back to the neighborhood.
Greek-American and city outlets have been tracking the opening, with coverage from The National Herald among others, as residents and fellow operators watch to see whether Ithaki’s updated approach can help rebuild foot traffic on Halsted. For now, the restaurant is leaning on a mix of nostalgia, new suppliers and an ambitious wine program, a combination the team hopes will pull in both longtime Greektown regulars and a fresh wave of diners.
