From the street, Yianni's does not say, "for a wonderful meal you'd best come in here." Now, having eaten at Yianni's I'd say that's quite unfortunate; indeed looks can be deceiving.. We had a truly wonderful meal last night--along with some really delicious drinks--after having...driven by this Greek restaurant at least a hundred times.
The interior is not overly impressive but it is very comfortable. It's relaxed and has a certain warmth; it may be right to say that Yianni's is somewhat romantic but mostly it's a very, very pleasant neighborhood restaurant.
To start, we had a pomegranate margarita and a standard Moscow mule. The drinks were of good size and mixed to perfection. I could see us returning to Yianni's for the drinks alone--there is a good-size bar and a Happy Hour is indicated--plus the neighborhood atmosphere.
We intentionally selected a weekday night as we thought the restaurant would not be busy. There were several folks eating and each group was animated, obviously enjoying each other's company. We could not help but overhear the foursome in the next booth telling the server exactly what they wanted and how they wanted it prepared. I'd say by the comments we also overheard they got exactly what they ordered and they were enjoying it fully.
We each ordered a Greek salad and and one mixed grill plate to share. The service was not fast but was attentive and sincere. We placed our order and asked a lot of questions along the way. Each question was well-answered and we were certain we'd ordered the right things. And, as it turned out, we had. The salads were liberal in size, crisp and perfectly cold romaine lettuce laden with cucumbers, green peppers, onions, tomatoes and Kalamata olives with a vinegar and oil dressing. The mixed grill included two lamb chops, chicken souvlaki, pastitisio, spanakopita, dolmathes and bruschetta all in liberal portions. And, cooked just right. In fact, based upon the way the lamb chops were prepared and how they tasted we resolved to return and order the lamb chops as an entrée... mmmm, the chops were good. Desert was baklava ice cream which is large chunks of baklava embedded in a vanilla ice cream. Can I say it? Yes! The baklava ice cream was to die for. Oh, yummie.
The menu makes it easy to order American food or Greek food and allows many ways to sample all sorts of Greek specialties. The prices are a bargain when you consider the quality of the food, the preparation and the size of portions. Thank heavens we finally decided to stop and find out what's inside of Yianni's; we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and that means will will be back to sample more of this wonderfully prepared food.More