If they hadn't given me food poison last night from the chicken I may rate this place higher...After ordering the Pastistio and the waiter telling me, "Eh, Pastistio doesn't look good, can you pick something else?" Guess i should've left when he admitted that they can't cook basic greek food. I have been sick for the last 12 hours. :( read more

I have been going there for a few years , The staff always welcoming and polite, Food is always fresh and great, I like the soups all of them are excellent, beeftaki , grilled salmon with vegetables. Every dish I tried was good. If you like Greek food this is your place, I always recommend my friends and family. read more

I'm Greek, this place is authentic. Need I say more? The ambience is nicer than most Greek places. It can make for a nice date night.

This is not for the Parthenon restaurant but rather the Chevy Chase Lounge that is adjacent to the restaurant. This place is simple - simple wine list, simple beer selection, and a no frills bar. You don't come to this spot for the best gimlet, complimentary bread or the ambiance. This is a just friendly neighborhood bar where the locals hang out. DC is missing these kinds of bars - well as the new drinking holes offer wine on tap, cocktails on draft, or a selection of craft beers served to you by a bearded hipster bar tender. This place does it's job, it happily serves you a drink after a long day at work. read more

Old school style Greek restaurant. Service is good. Food is average. More of a family/older crowd.

Location happens to be convenient to a friend and I (Hispanic and African American). Tonight, (10/11/17),was our 2nd time to the restaurant..we walked in to the bar section. We were not sure whether we had to wait to be seated since the bar was full. The bartender noted the "confusion" but chose not to partake in helping us get settled in. A gentleman who was waiting on guests in the restaurant section saw this after a while and came over to help out.. we sat for almost 10 minutes, no acknowledgement still. New guests came in, all caucasian, and they were attended to promptly by the bartender. Their drinks and orders were taken rather fast.we were still patiently waiting though upset because we had been there for a while now. My friend decided to kindly ask the bartender who would be taking care of us. She snapped back, saying she'll get to it and that she's busy. Needles to say, her tone was uncalled for. She seemed to pick up on our surprise towards her response, though we chose not to address the sassiness. As the night went on, she became nicer, she even gave us a glass of wine on the house. When she came over to collect the check, she acknowledged that she was sassy earlier on and she apologised....... Needless to say, we will not be coming back. ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY AND WITH THE SAME AMOUNT OF RESPECT. Also, the bartender (her name starts with G.....) was rude to the wait staff bringing glasses and what not to the bar area. But, cheers to the kitchen staff, the food was bomb!!!! read more

I loved this place! I had the Greek salad on a weekday afternoon. The waitor was quick but efficient, and my order came out correct. The only negative thing I would have To say about this place is it was quite dead for lunch time. read more

This is my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in the DC area. Although I love me some good Lebanese food, some of my first and fondest memories of growing up in New Orleans involved Greek food and the huge Hellenic Cultural Center. This is good proletarian Greek food...go for the pastitio or the moussaka, the arni kapama or the lamb souvlaki, and always get the roasted potatoes. The closer you hew to traditional Greek food, the better off you are. I'm not even a big fan of lamb, but the way that Parthenon prepares it makes me crave it. At $16, they even have an entree sampler plate that's a great value. As far as appetizers go, the saganki flambé is decadent, cheese that's set aflame at your table-side. The avgolemono soup, made with chicken, eggs, orzo pasta and a hint of lemon, is as good as I've had anywhere else. The hot or cold appetizer plates are a good value, either as a meal or for two to share before your meal. The last thing I want to do is address a few of the haters. I'm sorry if one reviewer's delicate sensibilities was offended by the plastic outside chairs (which have since been replaced), but believe me I don't want you back here sucking the oxygen from a nice meal with your (oddly misplaced) haughtiness. Yelp will let anyone be an Elite, won't they? And to everyone complaining about the prices - we're talking about what is possibly DC's toniest neighborhood. Greek food, especially when made with quality (and generally imported) ingredients, ain't quick or cheap to make. If you don't want to pay dinner prices, go for lunch. If you think this place is overpriced, stick to your mall Greek kiosks & run-down takeout joints. read more

The food was ok. It reminded me more of a retirement home cafeteria than a restaurant. It seemed like the kind of place I can just see a grandfather going to for years and years because "You get a real meal there! Bread, meat, potatoes, and vegetables! And it's Greek, so it's exotic!" And go there grandparents do, and eat their bland, mushy vegetables that are easy to chew with dentures. I probably would have left with a much better impression if the waitstaff wasn't so abysmally terrible. Dropping down pates and rushing off, ignoring our water glasses, blatantly flirting with rich old Chevy Chase biddies for tips. Maybe it was the fact that we were literally the only patrons there who didn't have white hair or a walker, or maybe they genuinely thought we enjoyed being ignored and treated rudely, but we had to wait for our plates to be cleared or to get the check for over 40 minutes while waiter after waiter after manager sped by us, ignoring our hand-waving, "excuse me!"s, eye-contact, and general exasperation. It honestly crossed our minds to just get up and leave- we had an appointment to make, and they obviously thought we had fallen off the face of the earth and couldn't care less. read more

Weird place and worst gyro I have ever had! I am not picky by any means and have never had a gyro I did not like (no joke), until I dined here. The sauce was globbed on in one spot sloppily and not even spread out which was not even a big deal until I tasted the rubbery meat and wanted to vomit. Not to mention, being HIT ON the entire time by the disgusting bartender and waiter while I waited FOREVER on my order, even though the place was empty. It is a shame because I love Greek food and live nearby... read more

When my boyfriend and I walked in the front door, the host just looked at us. After I finally had to tell him we were there to eat, he pointed to the crowded bar area since the dining room was full. We were hoping the food was better than the service, but that fell short, too. You're better off going to Yanni's in Cleveland Park. read more

I went in this restaurant with my husband with no a priori. The very first impression was good even if the cocktails didn't figure in the menu, and our waiter was nearly unable to explain us clearly what they had. We finally had two cosmopolitan which were very expensive (we discovered it only the time we had the bill). We chose a starter for 2 (around 20$) and it seems a little small (we expected more than one plate). Except for the calamari too chewy the starter was good. The big deception came with the main side: shrimp pasta for my husband, more than 25$ for 5 shrimps with classic pasta and sauce. I take a lamb not so good with rice (for me disgusting), potatoes, and peas and carots which tastes like bad vegetable from a school cafeteria. The desserts were not bad but nothing exciting either. And I had the bad idea to try the greek coffee without knowing what kind that was (unfiltered coffee, very weird in my point of view). We ended with more than 100$ for a very disappointing meal, the food is overpriced. We certainly never come back again. read more

This place is located in uppity-uppity Chevy Chase (D.C. side), so I thought it would be delicious. While this place works on the scale of a neighborhood joint, I don't think it would stand up to some of the better Greek restaurants in D.C. It does have a promising blue awning that extends from its front door, but sadly Parthenon is just not as good as I thought it would be. I'm sure people in the neighborhood who can walk here frequent it often. But I don't know whether I'll be back or not. read more

I have come back to this place over and over... It's nothing exceptional but it's good home-cooked greek food and the portions are generous.

They are very accommodating to family members with physical handicaps. When we pulled up to their front door, someone immediately came over to our car and helped us reseat my elderly mother in her wheelchair. While I saw many families with children there, we still could hear each other clearly in spite of our hearing aids. Their fish selection is fantastic with sizable portions and scrumptiously prepared and visually appetizing. I highly recommend for those on a Mediterranean diet. I enjoyed the bronzini if you can wait 30 minutes, and the baklava for dessert. read more

I cannot recomment the Parthenon. I had a disappointing meal there about two years ago, I had ordered a greek salad that was almost entirely iceberg lettuce with a small amount of feta cheese and a smattering of hard tomatoes that were not fresh with a poor dressing. But a friend suggested the restaurant as it was convenient, and I thought to give it another try. Big mistake. I order the "Gyro Platter with Garnis." The gryo meat was practically inedible. It clearly had not been carved anytime recently from a rotating column of meat. The meat was completely dried out and practically inedible. It appeared that they just microwaved some old meat that was lying around and very likely frozen. I feel badly, I think the restaurant is struggling, and I suspect they are just not getting the volume of customers they need to offer fresh food. But with tip and tax, the cost for this was item was $22. One can get a far better gyro and fries at other Greek restaurants in DC such as Zorbas and Byblos Deli for barely half the price. read more

Sometimes when I get a hankering for Greek, almost any will do. I was killing some time while waiting for a Chuck Palahniuk reading at the Avalon, and thought to myself hmmmm... this place looks promising. Upon opening the menu my eyebrows arch like someone that has had one too many face lifts....everything is absurdly overpriced for greek food, which lead me to assume that it was going to be outstanding food. My dinner mates and I started with a cup of the avgolemono which was rather good. I had the cold appetizer platter for two as my meal, a combination of assorted dips, spreads, cheeses and such... all things that are an easy bench mark for quality in a Greek joint. Everything arrives looking stellar...a few bites in I start a slow descent into a completely underwhelming meal that should have cost less than half of what I paid. Everything was either too bland or too salty. For a whopping $17 I got a few weak scoops of each thing, scattered with a couple of kalamata olives and a few slices of cucmbers. Lame. I would only suggest coming here if convenience is a factor that outweighs value and taste. read more

Seems overpriced for something so mediocre. We stopped in for Sunday lunch and sat in the sidewalk cafe area, which seems like it would be fairly cheap, what with all the plastic chairs and traffic noise. But there wasn't a lunch menu (at 1 p.m.? really?) or a sandwich in sight, just dinner entrees available at $20-plus each. We ended up sharing a "cold appetizer" platter for $18, which was actually a decent deal...it included hummus, tzatziki, some yummy eggplant-raisin-onion spread, a couple of stuffed grape leaves, feta, beans, and plenty of tasty pita bread. It filled us up, and I appreciated that the waiter didn't pressure us to spend more. But I've certainly had better and cheaper Greek food elsewhere. read more

This is one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants. I'm a great fan of Greek food and Parthenon's is usually good. But mostly I enjoy the atmosphere in the slightly quaint dining room with the white table cloths. And the service is always good. And they serve Retsina! read more

I hope they took a good look at me because they will never see me again... First of all, the door to the place was fully opened all night and it was freezing. Second of all the service was arrogant (which drives me crazy...what did I do?), we took a second too long to order apparently on a Tuesday night... but ok. After working to pacify the offended waiter, we get the food VERY fast...maybe a little too fast. There's not much made fresh here. The calamari was delicious (at $14.50 for an appetizer it better be) and the seafood linguini was ok. The moussaka is Costco bought as is the Greek yogurt. All in all, nothing to write home about and horrendous service. But waht gets me is the prices. $86 for 2 for dinner without drinks?! That is NOT cheap and totally NOT justified... I don't get it. Sans moi. read more

Three of us went there for lunch after a great movie Saturday afternoon. Wait staff had hugh attitude the whole time. Taking orders took too long and bringing food even longer. We asked for hot sauce 5 times and he never came with with it so we had to ask a cleaning guy for one. Then the bill comes and we pay by credit card. He brings back my card with some one else's amount and bill. We questioned it and they promised it was corrected. Well it wasn't - I had duplicate charges on my card. Food was OK - nothing spectacular. Loved their bread. And yes - too expensive for the quality and quantity of food (and attitude). One more complaint - there's only one restroom for men and women. Go figure!!! We will NOT return to the restaurant. read more

I've not been to the Parthenon as yet. I, like many others on here, am reviewing the Chevy Chase lounge. This place was first described to me as a dive. Now, perhaps my time in Southern VA has inured me to the more subtle varieties of what a "dive" is. Rednecks seem to have that market cornered as far as I am concerned. And just how much of a dive can it be in Chevy Chase. Perhaps I have answered my own question....in Chevy Chase (or Bill Murray for that matter) does not the standard for Dive-ness get raised a bit? On to my visit. I went about a week ago with a friend for a brief drink and it was all but empty and our bartender was nice and funny and attentive. But I was only there for a short spell, not enough to warrant a full review. Last night though, I went in with 4 of my co-workers for an end of the night bitch and drink session and we had a great time. I don't know how much of that I can attribute to the service however. Their bar menu is pricey for what I am sure are (by the listings: chicken fingers, wings, jalapeno poppers, etc) no different from bar food anywhere. But when I asked for the dinner menu (a la Parthenon) I was pleasantly surprised at the prices of the appetizers. (That late at night I don't want a big meal, nor do I want bar food) I got the dolma (grape leaves if you don't know) and they were quite tasty and had a nice lemon zing to them. I nibbled on someone else's hummus and it was fairly good as well. I didn't get any drinks--for two reasons: their prices were awfully high, and the fact that the night before was an all out drink fest and I needed a break. But my coworkers all managed to put away a LOT of alcohol! Pretty entertaining to watch from the "outside" as it were. The waitress frequently disappeared and my cohorts had to wait unhappily for refills. Now I am a very understanding patron, but she only had maybe 2 other tables and didn't seem terribly busy, and certainly not rushed to do anything for us. It seems that a table full of people drinking is a table you want to keep drinking, and happily so, because the larger the tab, the larger the tip--yes? But no, I don't think she felt that way. Alas. So. To sum up. Not a seedy dive. Good apps at good prices. Slow if not surly wait staff. Nice bartender. All around, I suppose I shall end up there again sometime because of the proximity to my workplace. read more

I have absolutely no complaints about Parthenon or the CC Lounge. I think the food is good. I ate here a week after coming home from Greece and I was so happy to see saganaki on the menu!!!! I really like the gyro salad. I think the gyro meat is better than most places I've been to. The Chevy Chase Lounge is like a classy sports bar. It doesn't smell, the floor isn't sticky, and you don't have to push and shove for a seat! On NFL Sunday, you have all the fans, and they are all happily watching the game. A plus are the drink and food specials! I'm a wine drinker, so its $5 wines. They have $5 burgers and the crab cake sandwich is $10 I think. On top of that, the bartender is amazing. She's so personable and practically knows everyone by name! The last time I was at the lounge was last Sunday and the bartender was the waitress for the whole lounge. Every seat was packed and she managed to work her way through the crowds without a single unhappy customer!!! read more

I bought a ticket Sex and the City down the street at the theater a half an hour before showtime and set out to find a place to have some food and a drink. There's not a whole lot of choices for bars in the area, so I made a bee line for the bar attached to the Parthenon, figuring I could get some kind of quick appetizer and a G&T. The bartenders were attentive with the drinks, but my spanikopita order took 25 minutes, and I had to have them chuck it in a box to go. I grabbed it and sprinted through a thunderstorm the two blocks to the theater and made it just in time. I tried to quietly open the bag and box to enjoy my warm greek dinner to find they had failed to provide me a fork. I had no idea what it looked like but it tasted pretty great, even eaten by hand. read more

I am a fan of Greek food, but not a huge fan of Parthenon, at least for dinner. It seems a little overpriced and inconsistent between excellent and mediocre. The ambiance needed a little work as well. read more

We used to go here a lot but the last few times we went there it was obvious that their food quality is deteriorating. My stomach is very sensitive to old fries; guess what, last 3 times I had fries I couldn't walk from pain. Got also stomachache from spanakopita and the last time when we concluded our "never again" was when they served me re-heated gyros, the cuts had grill lines on them! You can get better gyro from the food truck in downtown. I'm very sad about this because I like Greek food and Parthenon was the first place where we went for lunch after we moved in the neighborhood 6 yrs ago. read more

This was the last place my gf and I went to on our first date on some random Friday when, prior to meeting we were both too tired to make any crazier plans. So here is where we ended up. So on memory alone, it is a great place. Plus the first time I came here (before I knew my gf) the bartender was super nice. Welcomed me to the neighborhood and showed me there are some local watering holes in DC to be found! I like this better than the Zoo bar (similar type of vibes though this place lacks free music the food is better). They also had some tasty free food one time, I think maybe Xmas time or New years, can not remember. The appetizer platter is your best bet and some of the soups of the day that come with bread are good value. read more

The food was pretty good meaning that it was not the worst Greek food I've tasted but it definitely wasn't the best. The taziki sauce was pretty bland which was really unfortunate. read more

I've driven past this place about a thousand times and finally decided to meet my gf there for lunch this week. You definately cant miss the blue awning. I had salmon with side of sliced and seasoned potatoes. Salmon was better than average and potatoes were excellent! gf had lamb chuncks, rice and potatoes. Very good too. Service was good. read more

THIS RESTAURANT DOES NOT DESERVE A POINT! I had a cockroach in my food and the water pitchers are filthy too....I would recommend everybody NOT to go there. When we told and showed the server the cockroach he just took the plate no sorry no nothing. I was expecting the Manager would come to talk to us but again nothing they left us there like nothing ever happend. Finally i asked for the manager he did not seem to be suprised. We left right away not touching the food. Really disgusting dirty place! read more

A peculiar mix of cement flowerpots and an open late, but always empty bar gives it a mix of eyebrow-raise and street-cred. At least you have a great view of the gas station across the street. read more

Parthenon is pretty good as far as Greek food goes in Washington, D.C. I came here for a family dinner and we could tell that the food is authentic. The restaurant itself is cute and classy and has a lot of lovely Greek decor. The service was friendly and the food selections were vast. I ended up getting a chicken platter. More specifically, I ordered the Kotopoulo Souvlaki. Though I really enjoyed my meal, I felt like for the price we paid, the portions weren't that big. I also found a very deep red part of the chicken as I was cutting through the last portion of it and didn't end up eating that piece because I did not want to get food poisoning. I would have given this place 4 stars had I not found that my chicken was not thoroughly cooked. Still, it could just have been a bad experience, and subsequent visits may prove to be more satisfactory. read more

This is very good Greek food, and I come here quite often with my family. The stuffed grape leaves are too die for, and the spanakopita is amazing. One time I was there right after they had finished making their rice pudding, and they brought some - warm - to our table. It was the BEST thing I have ever eaten in my life. The only reason I am not giving Parthenon 5 stars is because the service is sometimes lacking. It's always fine, but sometimes it takes a while to get a drink refill or the check. Overall, however, this is delicious. Even if you're too full for desert (likely, given their serving sizes), ask for a piece of baklava to go. You won't be sorry! read more

I should point out that this wasn't the first time this happened. It was a regular occurrence. They always give the dregs to the takeout orders. Never again. read more

Way overpriced and under seasoned. I ordered the vegetarian plate, it had PLAIN steamed broccoli, PLAIN steam spinach, PLAIN steamed rice, a small piece of eggplant, and green beans. My husband asked the waiter "What is the dish with ground lamb on a skewer?" The waiter says, "Oh, the special." He got "The special": it was a plate with 2 small unseasoned bony fish. Not at all what he had asked about and not what he wanted. The waiter didn't care. We were both very disappointed and will not be going back. read more

Day old bread. This is more for the management/owner than other yelpers. You have a nice place to eat on a sunny day; wine, food and service is good. Why in the world would you serve day old bread that sat in plastic over night. You don't charge separately for it. If it is not fresh, don't serve it. Make bread pudding or French toast with it. I gave a good rating because i am a regular and I like the restaurant. When I told the waiter, he brought out warm pita, which was great with the meal. read more

Amazing friendly service! Headed out of town and need to grab food quick - they had our order out in 5mins! Our speedy meal was great!

A beautiful Greek restaurant in the Chevy Chase Circle area. I had the gyro plate today for lunch. Every place I get a gyro from, they are all so very different. This had wonderful meat, and it was not greasy like most gyros. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it does not have the great sauce, that many New York gyro stands have. The sauce was well made but a little heavy. I have had the moussaka and other dishes here. They are all good, but perhaps not memorable. This is definitely a reliable restaurant with very friendly, and attentive staff. The menu is very extensive, so come and enjoy! read more

I had dinner at the Parthenon last night with my wife and daughter. We were always curious about this place but had never been there before. So we decided to give it a try. We were all very pleased. We had dolma, pasticcio, and mousaka. All items were great. Also, the service was fantastic. We had a great waiter. We are now sold on the Parthenon and we will be back. read more

Best Crabcakes in DC! Awesome Hummus too! Lamb and chicken dishes are tender and amazing! Great neighborhood spot that I go a couple times a week- Especially on Wednesdays and Weekends :) read more