LYRA

I spontaneously dropped by after hearing so many great things about this restaurant. It was a quiet, relaxed Sunday and we were greeted by warm and attentive staff; super beautiful restaurant and I regret not taking any pictures of it. But in my defense I was distracted by the Loukoumades I ordered. I had the real deal in Greece and these were superb. They even came with honey (traditional), Nutella, and a few other sauces. The entire experience reminded me of my time there and needless to say I’ll return. Apparently it’s the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights in the West Loop so let’s see if it lives up to the hype.

Amazing food, wonderful service, horrible manager. Gyro and cauliflower were our favorites. Leo was our server. Very sweet and considerate. Thanks Lyra. Can’t wait to come back. You get a cooool sparkler if you’re celebrating! I do have to say the manager sucked really bad. She was so rude and impatient. She scuffed at the fact that we’d put “fish allergy” on our reservation but notified her that the person with fish allergy didn’t show up. We later on found out she was the manager…! Not sure how she got that gig

I wish Google had 1/2 or 1/4 stars because this restaurant is somewhere right in between great and amazing. It appears to be a wonderful spot for a group but a bit harder to explore the menu if there’s only two of you. I believe this restaurant is fairly new & I have high hopes for it in the future. This place can accommodate some LARGE groups and we saw it first hand as a whole bus of people came in at the same time as us. We had a reservation and did wait a few minutes to be seated but the hostess was super friendly and apologetic for the short wait which is understandable when you come in with a literal bus full of people. The inside is beautiful and large with several private rooms. I would love to comeback for the patio when it’s warmer. I would highly recommend making a reservation as it was packed on a Wednesday. Our server was great and on top of everything. Lots of vegetarian options which is always a win in my book. I should have inquired more with the server on portion size because it was hard to tell how much we were going to get but that’s 100% on me ie zuch and eggplant was very generous while the halloumi was just one piece. We shared the CRISPY ZUCCHINI & EGGPLANT, HUMMUS & CHARRED BEETS, GRILLED HALLOUMI and my boyfriend had the DECONSTRUCTED PASTITSIO. Only two pieces of feedback: My bf was dying for a gyro but their only option was in a platter style. Unfortunately we weren’t in a situation to take leftovers and alas I don’t eat the meats. It would be nice if the even had a half order option. The other bit of feedback would be with the deconstructed pastitsio as it was “drowning in truffle” per my bf. I love truffle but he said it overpowered the rest of the dish. We also had dessert and while I can’t remember what it was, I do remember it was delicious (please see photo).

This was one of the best meals ive had in Chicago. The 4.1 ranking absolutely shocks me - there were workers EVERYWHERE, the drinks and food were so fast and everyone was so kind. The meal was amazing - the spicy tuna tar tar and the deconstructed pastillo (spelling it wrong) were perfect and the lobster pasta & lab gyro were close seconds. Its admittedly expensive but worth every penny for a great meal in west loop

My colleagues and I went to Lyra for dinner. Which was good, some food hit or miss. We had the halloumi, which was very expensive for the size and what it was. The octopus was great as well. I highly recommend it. For sides we had the potatoes and cauliflower which were amazing. For mains the Wagyu Beef Soulvaki. Highly recommended. Good atmosphere.