Dionisos (6/10)

My friend, Annie, and I wanted to try something different for dinner last week.  We had Dionisos on our radar since Greek food always looks good (um, hellllooo feta cheese!), and we were in the market for some lighter fare.  I had high hopes for Dionisos, since the menu was full of a variety of dishes- from salads, to meats, to fishes, and more.  Unfortunately, I was not impressed by the food at all.  I thought it was extremely overpriced for what they provide and left a lot to be desired.  Also, they charge for their tiny pieces of pita bread, and when we asked for water from the tap, the waitress brought us two bottles of water.  A friend told me that when she went, they did the same thing and then told them that they would only be provided one glass of water from the tap and then they had to pay.

 I am giving it a 6/10 because I felt the atmosphere was nice and they could provide some decent things, but we certainly did not have them.  (To be transparent, Annie enjoyed her meal a lot, but she only had grilled chicken).  Actually, I didn’t know until after, but Dionosis is a chain restaurant- something I am not usually a huge fan of.

DionisosdionPicMonkey Collage

  • Address: Calle del León, 17, 28014 Madrid
  • Atmosphere: clean, open, bright, simple.  I wouldn’t call ir modern, nor romantic.  It’s simple, but nice.
  • Type of food:  “traditional” Greek with a heavy emphasis of fresh vegetables, meats, fish, and some cheese.  The menu has various sections including a number of traditional dips and other appetizers, salads, chicken dishes, fish dishes, and some pasta.  They had a mixed plate of appetizers that sounded good, but I saw it at the table next to ours and didn’t think it looked like anything special.  You can see it pictured above.
  • What we ordered:  It’s difficult to tell you exactly what we ordered since their menu link online doesn’t work, but we shared a Greek salad (but not the Greek salad) that had lettuce, tomato, Halloumi cheese, and croutons.  It was good, but for 8 Euros, on the small side.  For our entrees, I had an oven-baked merluza (fish) with tomatoes, onions and potatoes, and Annie had grilled chicken with vegetables.  Both were good, but I thought the portions were entirely too small and mine had entirely too much oil.  Annie liked her chicken because it “was a good piece of grilled chicken” and I, too, thought my fish was OK, but not impressive.
  • Other recommendations:  None.
  • Tips:  If you really want Greek food, there are probably better places to try.
  • Would I recommend it?:  No.
  • Would I go back?:  No.

Rating: 5/10 for food, 7/10 for atmosphere.dion5