First it was seafood, then it was steak, and now the restaurant space at 2601 Navy Boulevard in The Glen Town Center is featuring Greek cuisine. Yanni’s made its debut last month, replacing Jameson’s Original Charhouse, which closed last summer.
“We felt like there was a large demand for more Greek options on the North Shore,” said Andy Kalyviaris, general manager and part owner. “There really isn’t anything out there like what we are offering—a menu that consists of authentic Greek dishes as well as modern cuisine.”
Yanni’s is a familiar name to those who have lived on the North Shore for awhile. Originally opened in the late 1990s in Arlington Heights, the owners sold the restaurant four years later. After changing hands a couple more times, Yanni’s closed a few years ago.
Kalyviaris, along with some of the original Yanni’s owners, wanted to bring back the Greek restaurant, this time to Glenview. For the new location, the owners hired chef Kostas Anyfantis, a graduate of Le Monde Culinary School in Athens, and also brought back Charles Bowman, the original chef at Yanni’s in Arlington Heights.
“I moved back here from New York to take this position,” said Bowman, who has worked in New York City restaurants including La Cote Basque, River Café and Periyali.
The Yanni’s menu includes traditional Greek dishes such as saganaki, moussaka, souvlaki and spanakotropita, and other chef’s favorites including roasted cauliflower with couscous, chilled marinated octopus, fennel salad with pomegranate, pine nuts, tarragon and dill, thin cut lamb chops, and fresh fish dishes.
“You’re getting real, true ethnic food using fresh ingredients, most that are imported from Greece, Spain and other Mediterranean countries,” Bowman said.
“Everything is made to order and made fresh daily, using the best quality ingredients we can find,” Kalyviaris said. “That includes organic chicken, hormone- and antibiotic-free pork, octopus imported from Spain, cold water shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico and herbs and oils imported from Greece.”
Yanni’s, which is named after Kalyviaris’s wife’s grandfather, Yanni Angelos, also offers an extensive Greek wine list and a large selection of Greek liquors.
The restaurant’s décor is bright and modern, and includes light wood furniture, white painted wood walls, chic lighting and what Kalyviaris described as “a comfortable yet elegant feel.” The restaurant seats around 200 and has a private dining area for 40. Yanni’s also has two outdoor seating areas.
“This is a really special place,” said Kalyviaris, who lives in Glenview with his wife and daughter. “Everyone here takes a heck of a lot of pride in what we’re doing.”
Jackie Pilossoph is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
