Chicago (Greek) - Artopolis

Artopolis
306 S. Halsted, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 312-559-9000
Date of Review: June, 2007

Artopolis is one of the more casual dining spots in the heart of Greektown. This place is a bit different from every other place around as it offers some traditional Greek dishes but also offers tastes from around the Mediterranean and pizzas cooked in a wood burning oven. Artopolis has a very enviable location as it is close to the Hasted Blue Line station located in the middle of Halsted Street across from Nine Muses. There are 3 floors in the restaurant and lots of open windows to look onto this always busy and active slice of Halsted Street. The restaurant has an open layout with a bakery visible and display cases of pastries for sale. The décor reminds me of the Mediterranean.

Artopolis has a wide ranging menu that includes traditional Greek dishes, pizzas and sandwiches. The solid Greek Salad is void of lettuce and focuses solely on the tomatoes, kalamata olives, peppers and feta that are topped with an oregano and red wine vinaigrette. It is served with a plentiful basket of bread. The Mediterranean Fest includes a plate with hummus, fava, baba-ghanoush, tzatziki, and olives. Unfortunately, the same bread served with the salad is used for the dips. The bread is fine but pita bread is much nicer with Middle Eastern spreads like these. The hummus and baba-ghanoush were average compared to the variations of these dishes I have had at Middle Eastern restaurants in Chicago. That said, the tzatziki was solid and I respect the effort to stretch the menu beyond the borders of Greece.

On another occasion, I had the Spinach and Feta Spanakopita as a starter – can also be ordered as an entrée. This dish is excellent and consists of fresh leaf spinach, leak, spring onion, dill and feta cheese in a flakey phyllo dough.

There are a host of excellent sandwiches on the menu including varieties of vegetarian, chicken and lamb sandwiches. Two sandwiches I have tried which I really enjoyed include the Briammi Kefte and Mediterraneo. The Briammi Kefte is oven-baked lamb and beef kefte, briammi (vegetable ratatouille), and crumbled feta on rosemary bread. The Mediterraneo has sliced roasted leg of lamb, Dijon mustard mayonnaise, tomato, green leaf and mint on rosemary bread.

The pizzas at Artopolis are excellent. The pizza crust is what is most impressive as it is crispy and flavorful. The pizza is pan style and has a plentiful amount of toppings that make it very filling. On my last visit, we ordered the Inferno pizza which has roasted chicken, smoked gouda, mozzarella, green and florina peppers, caramelized onions, and spicy tomato sauce. It is a sizeable portion as this one pizza priced at $12.75 had 8 reasonable size slices and could easily serve as a dinner for 2 moderately hungry people.

The prices at Artopolis are reasonable. On my last visit, we had a Greek Salad, appetizer plate, a pizza and a half bottle of wine for $53 including tax and tip. Pizzas range from $10 to $13 and sandwiches are in the $7 to $10 range.