Thoughtless and disregarding attitude. Enough said about the service side of this establishment. Entree was served at the same time as a luke warm first course. The timing and temperature problems were especially unforntunate given that the food was actually very tasty. It gets worse sorry to say. We were forced to leave half way though our bottle of wine when the cleaning crew went into full motion including the flipping on of a vaccum. Go back..... never. Recommend ..... never.  View Less … View More

Great baklava, poor service, a very off night maybe?. My husband and I went to Eleni's in Sellwood on Friday night at 7:50 p.m. We were promptly seated and there was no line. We ordered two appetizers - the grilled calamari and the saganaki, both appetizers which we've ordered many times before. More than 30 minutes passed - at which point our server mentioned that our appetizers should come soon and someone brought us bread. Because of the delays we decided not to order dinner but to cook at home and we ordered baklava to go (Eleni's baklava is one of our favorite.) By 8:30 p.m. our order still had still not arrived and our server said there had been a problem with the saganaki not cooking properly. (By this time the table beside us had finished their appetizers and received and finished their main meal!). The server said the bakalava we'd ordered to go would be on the house. Our saganaki arrived seconds afterward - was still not cooked properly and we sent it back. The calamarai arrived a couple do minutes after that and was delicious. When our bill arrived we paid for the calamari and the baklava (which was on the bill - even though we 'd been told it was on the house.) At that point we didn't feel like haggling over what was promised, so we paid and left. We really like good restaurants to stay in our neighborhood but were so disappointed with our experience I don't think we'll be back anytime soon.  View Less … View More

oh my god!!. First, the service was outstanding, they had answers to all our questions, explained what everything was etc. Second, so many thing to choose from.

Third, the food was to die for! It just got better with every course, and we tried a total of 3 apps 3 main dishes and 2 desserts.  View Less … View More

Obnoxious owner!!!. This place has a cozy nice abience one of the best in Portland . But the loud crewed and I'd say mentaly unstable j owner screeming at her staff just ruins the whole Dinng experience The food comes out sloppy although the taste is OK I had a bowl of avgolemono soup that had so much lemon in it it puckerd my mouth definitely won't be going back the owner actually made nervous  View Less … View More

check the shameless restaurants site before you go. Read the post on shameless restaurants dot com on eleni's where employees discuss some of the food recycling practices at this restaurant. Look in the portland section and read away.

Lots of info to digest before you dip into that tapenade! Sorry eleni.  View Less … View More

Fabulous Food - Flavorless Service. We were thrilled and grateful to get into Eleni's without a reservation on a recent Saturday night. The food was truly wonderful - marvelous! However, we were disappointed by the curt and bristly waiter who informed us, with no apologies, that they there were several changes on the menu to note, given that the oven was not working on that particular evening. Oh yes, and they were out of bread as well - so the appetizer would have to be served on ...? He certainly had the "like it or not" attitude about most things, but in spite of him WE DID LIKE IT - very much.  View Less … View More

lovely and tastey food; and some suggestions. Being Greek and cooking Greek, my standards are high. Eleni's does the job and then some. You've got some fine traditional fare, like dolmathes and mousaka and spanakopita, but also some nifty Cretan dishes in tapas style. I loved the meatballs and the calamari (refreshingly broiled), and the tzatziki and skordalia were a delite. The Minoan salad is not to be missed, and I like it that they don't drown it in feta. The gigantes (beans) were great, and my companion was wowed by the rabbit. Service was friendly, prompt and unstuffy, and though I see some folks have said it's slow...well, good things do take time. Munch on the cabbage salad with almonds, roast paprika and a little lemon while you sip some Santorini wine and decide on what else to order. It's fine to eat slowly. Oh, and the sauce on the shrimp appetizer is scrumptuous and subtle.

I think what would make Eleni's offerings even better would be some specials where you could choose 3 or 4 items from specified groups of food and get a glass of wine or two for a set price. as at TABLA. Also, since we're talking Oregon, why not feature some locally grown lamb or veggies (the spanakorizo (spinach and rice) is mahvelous)? Deserts could offer more seasonal fruit as an alternative to baklava (a little dry, needs more marinating in honey). But this is a great place to share your eats and sample in an unrushed atmosphere  View Less … View More

I am of Greek descent and originally from Chicago, city of great Greek retaurants. Eleni's is superb.. If you want some carefully prepared and wonderfully presented distinctive Greek food, you'll love this place. Eat as much or little as you wish in this tapas style establishment, with several fine entrees. The grilled calamari is fabulous as is the spanakorizo (spinach and rice); the Minoan salad is luscious and the tzatziki and skordalia nicely pungent and garlicky; try the Greek meatballs with a nice hint of mint to give them a distinctive flavor; the dolmas are served with tzatziki and are meatless but have a nicely understated sweetness with raisins etc. Those looking for junk food like Gyros should stay away, but if you want a new experience of Greek cuisine, get a party together and spend an evening eating slowly and happily at this relatively small European style restaurant (estiatorio) with some Greek music (on tape) not so loud so you can talk. I'd recommend the rabbit and the lamb wrapped in filo, or any specials that chefs conjure up. Again, I've sampled lots of Greek restaurants, both here in the US (especially in Chicago) and abroad (Greece and Crete) and this place is in my top five. Service is attentive, friendly, and unpretentious --- Kalee Orexee. Ya sas!  View Less … View More