Great family-owned greek restaurant, every time I go up to visit my family up-state we stop in for some souvlaki or gyro. Also, check out the Greek spice mix they sell, I use it to make my own greek chicken at home!! read more

Very organized and very pleasant restaurant ,food excellent ,clean ,hard workers,Thank you for showing up for work to take care our need

Hmm!! After reading a few great reviews my son and I were super excited to go here (we both love ethnic food). It was short lived though. First off let me say that the service is really good but unfortunately that's where it stops. First came the pita bread, if you are going to serve people "bread" of any kind, please make sure that it's fresh. Nothing worse that stale bread to start a meal and why do you need to ask for yogurt dipping sauce? Just bring it out with the bread. Honestly we should have just left right there and then. But... we stayed. We started with the calamari, over cooked, crunchy and very chewy. Yes crunchy and chewy, no idea how you guys pull that off but it's no good at all. The salad? It's a salad, how do you screw a salad up you might ask yourself? Well I'll tell you how, tomatoes were way too over ripe for a salad, the olives should be pitted so that no one breaks a tooth, the dressing was good but overall a 3/10. Main dishes, lamb chops ($25) that are select cuts, NO THEY ARE NOT!! First off if you are going to advertise that it's a select cut of meat, make sure they are all the same thickness, mine came with four chops, two were about 3/8 inch thick and two were about 3/4 inch thick. Each one was cooked differently. I asked for medium/rare and at best the thicker ones were medium/well. The rice pilaf, honesty I think it's the stuff you get in a bag at Price Chopper. Oh God and let's not forget the stuffed grape leafs (are these meant to be picked?), I've never had pickle grape leaves before, this might be a new thing though. Literally grape leaves and rice where's the parsley, dill, pine nuts and mint? Maybe a little less lemon juice so that they don't taste pickled overall 2/10. My son got the grilled salmon ($18), let's just say that if rather eat hospital food instead. Over cooked and really dry, stuck to the roof of your mouth like the stuff dentists use to make impressions of your teeth. He also had the rice pilaf, overall 3/10. For a grand total of just over $65 for two meals and an appetizer, just too pricey for the quality of food. I'm not sure if I was there on a off day (there should never be an off day in that kind of business) but honestly I have no idea how this place gets this many stars and rave reviews from people. My only guess is that these are friends of the owner or just don't know what good food should taste like. read more

The manager stops at every table to see how everyone's meal is. He is so friendly with a smile on his face no matter how bad the day . The atmosphere is a calm and friendly one too, a place you'd like to come back to.Not to mention the delicious food you get there! There is something for everyone there. read more

Who ever made our food order this evening should be fired. Last Sunday, we had delicious Greek chicken salads from Symeons with two generous dressing portions, good salads , and tasty chicken. This evening we ordered the same salads and receive 1/2 an order of 1 dressing, tasteless tough chicken, and a pile of tasteless iceberg lettuce. We also ordered the Greek appetizer which we received as a pile of raw vegetables with no dressing and 4 grape leaves. The only redeeming part of the meal was Melantzana appetizer and that rated a 3. No more Symeons for us and we will spread the word to be careful of the inconsistencies of this place. read more

The food here is delicious! I've had it before for lunch at work, but this was my first time coming here to eat. There are so many options on the menu. I ordered the Grilled Salmon dinner entree and it was fantastic. It really is basted in a LIGHT lemon and olive oil blend. I enjoyed that, but if you want more spices on your salmon you might want to try something else on the menu. My friends and I also ordered the Melitzanes Yemestes Sto Fourno to share. I'm not sure how to pronounce it, but you should order it because it's one of the best things here. I saw a few pictures of their Baklava Cheesecake online and I really wanted to try that. I was full from the meal, but I ordered it to go. It was pretty good. All in all - great food and quick service - I will happily return. read more

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In an area without a lot of restaurants Symeons is not only welcome but excellent. We had the Melitzana salata for and app. It is a delicious eggplant dip with cucumbers for dipping. The chicken ka-bob was perfectly cooked and spiced. According to my husband the Psari Sto Filo, a fish and mushroom filo wrapped dish, was good enough to warrant a trip back to Yorkville. I definitely recommend Symeons to families, couples, and anyone who is hungry. read more

Fantastic food and server Anthony was very helpful. We have never been to a Greek Restaurant so we were clueless he was able to answer our questions and gave me a recommendation. Would go again and the prices for two with a appetizer was 43$ read more

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The only thing I can recommend is the fried eggplant. Everything else is okay. The locals seem to like it though so check it out for yourself. For me, 3 stars. read more

Everyone's always friendly and the food is always delicious. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu.

Love this place. The best Greek restaurant not only in Utica but of any we've visited across the country. Every time we come here we enjoy the food. On a visit to Utica this past time we came here TWICE! LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. read more

Got some takeout from Symeons today. They are just the best. There are so many good things on the menu it's hard to pick a favorite. The calamari is really good. I had the slouvlaki this time and the meat was perfectly cooked, juicy and delicious. The Psari Sto Filo is another good one. read more

The fried eggplant appetizer is out of this world! I'd go back just for this. But maybe also share some of my husbands calamari. Yum!

I'm in town on business and decided to check out the local Greek restaurants. Before I get to the food portion of this review let me tell you that the restaurant is nice both inside and out . Seemed very clean and the waitress I had was a very nice woman and was attentive to my needs. First off my wife is Greek. I thought all Greek food per-wife was gyros and lamb. Over the past almost decade I have discovered it is so much more than that. Her mom is a great cook and has passed that knowledge onto my wife. My meal was a spanikopita and saganaki app. With moussaka as my supper and galadabourkio for dessert. The spanikopita tased like watered down spinach in filo dough with no feta inside. The saganaki was disgusting!!! It looked like some had sausage pizza and white wine and threw it up into a dish, I sent that back. The moussaka was fair at best, sadly it was the best part of the meal. The galadabourkio Was horrible, the syrup looked really watered down and the middle of my custard was some weird color perhaps a whole egg yolk. That was sent back also. The waitress removed the items from the bill but no manager came to address my needs/issues. I did hear a lot of dings coming from the kitchen from what I would guess would be microwaves. I have a feeling that maybe some of the food maybe cooked early and then reheated later in a microwave. From the quality of food I can only imagine that is true. If your looking for Greek food don't stop here. read more

After moving away from the area and our first local greek restaurant. We were excited to bring the whole family here... It was a sad experience. .. so little detail. I don't know what they did to the calamari recipe, but this was nothing to enjoy. I will pass on talking about all seven dinners, but that Mussaka. ..... wow, ya you get the Greek salad before the Mussaka. Then the Mussaka comes in a simple stainless steel dish on a plate. We know that serving Mussaka or a Lasagna it's needs to be a reheat... but this shows nobody is looking at the food going out. They really need to do a better job at reconsituing this dish... maybe even add a garnish... enough said. read more

The food is sub-par for Greek. I've eaten here a few times and it's usually a disappointment. The lamb is overcooked and if you get a peek into the kitchen you'll see that it's basically a shishkebab factory. Their baclava is cheap; made with corn syrup, dolmas out of a can, not a Greek salad. One thing on the menu was actually very good; it was a sort of casserole with trout and cheese and filo dough. I realized that this was good because they had to cook it individually; they couldn't factory prepare it. Their Thracian Chicken is... it's chicken. Nothing Greek about it. Soulvaki with rice; generic. Symeon's is the go-to spot for the "where's my teeth" crowd: old people eat here. They love this place. Occasionally someone's elderly father who shouldn't be driving mistakes the accelerator for the brake and drives his Chrysler through the front of the restaurant. Symeon's is a local staple; the locals love it but I've never understood why. Everything on the menu is just bland, most likely because they prepare their food for mass quantities, not individual plates. I suspect that the couple who recommended this place to me had never been to another Greek restaurant. This one might as well be a Stuckeys. read more

This is one of my favorite places to eat when I visit my family in Upstate, NY. It is a shame I don't get here more often. I love the decor of this place and each room is a little different so it doesn't have that stale feeling to it. I'm a sucker for the Saganaki appetizer. The combination of cheese, sausage and lemon works wonders together. For dinner, I always Souvlaki Platter - it is just too good. The seasoning on the meat is just perfect and the meat is always cooked just right, never dry but never undercooked. I usually get both the pork and lamb to enjoy the distinct flavors but if I feel like spoiling myself it is lamb all the way. They sell their spice blend online, I might have to order myself some. Baklava is a must here and if you are lucky, they have baklava cheesecake, which is shit your pants good. A great local restaurant that is still thriving in a tough economic area so if that doesn't say something, I don't know what does. read more

Food is never consistent. To make sure you don't get pink chicken you always have to ask them to cook it longer and they give you three pieces of chicken on a skewer the rest is filled with squash, etc. We asked for extra bread because they are always skimpy with it and they gave us three little pieces that look like they would be meant for a toddler read more

Symeons - Greek Near Me - Yorkville, New York

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I paid a visit to Symeon's in July of last year when I was in Waterville on vacation. Now, I may be a little biased since the waitress was my sister Jen, but this place was amazing and the service was fantastic! We had a huge party, with four generations of family coloring away on the table tops! I started with tzatziki for the pita that comes to the table, to die for! So garlicy and delicious, the best I have ever had! I went on the the lamb souvlaki, which again was amazing! I finished with the globotken (sp?) This dessert was so good that I came home and have attempted multiple times to recreate it here in Anaheim, Ca! I cant wait to go back to New York, and there is no way I wont make at least one stop at Symeon's! read more

Never, ever disappointed in Symeons. The food is always good, consistent and the servers are always excellent. We don live in the Utica area anymore, but we return to Symeons every visit. You absolutely must try the baklava ice cream. It's ridiculous read more

Symeons is not my favorite place but the food was always acceptable. Menu hasn't change in 20 years. I went there Saturday night with a group of our friends you always know when they're busy when the lobby is busy. It wasn't Saturday. The service was great. I'm not a fan of Greek food but the fish fry has always been good. Food was served within a reasonable amount of time. My fish fry was cold French fry's were soggy and undercooked. There were several other complaints of lukewarm dishes. I could have sent it back but Symeons was chosen by someone else I didn't want create an issue. There are much better places to go. The Olive Garden would have been a better choice. read more

I just moved back to the area a couple weeks ago and I've already been to Symeon's twice. The chicken dishes are great, so tender. Oh, and the baklava is so good. We actually get the seasoning mix to make our own Symeon's salad dressing at home. My family goes for lunch every other week because of the great service, prices, and food. Every time I've been there for lunch the owner actually comes around to make sure everything is perfect. The lunch prices are very reasonable. Def worth checking out. read more

We've eaten here for many years, but today's meals were the best ever. Great service and atmosphere. read more

The Best Greek food outside of Greece Grew up in Utica , left many years ago Always make this a stop when home 4-5 times a trip Great prices & real Greek food Do not pass this wonderful place up Great for dates & families read more

Always perfectly cooked and we always order some Thracian Chicken and Souvlaki! The rice pudding is great for dessert too!

Delicious food, excellent service, great prices! I've been going to this resturaunt for years and I have never had a bad meal. My favorite dish is the Boston Baked Haddock, however their Thracian chicken is wonderful as well. Absolutely love their salad dressing. If you're ever looking for a good dessert option, I love their chocolate mousse! read more

I'm sure you can tell by the name, but this is Greek food... This is a large place with enough space between tables so you don't feel like you are dining with another family. The food prep area can be seen through the dining room in some spots and it looked quite clean. My husband and I split an order of warm stuffed grape leaves and a sampler platter. The waitress said the platter was big, and since we were out of town we didn't want to take leftovers. The platter was excellent. It had 3 meats on it, rice and a side. However, it wasn't large by any stretch of the imagination. It was just enough for me, who wasn't hugely hungry and my husband who certainly didn't leave full. The food was fabulous. And, the waitress was pleasant. We would go back again, but maybe order more next time. Parking was ample. Gluten free options are somewhat limited since they rely on pita bread for many of their dishes. We picked a meal that was mostly meat on purpose. Dessert was almost entirely gluten based, so that was a bummer. read more

Absolutely hands down best food, service, and consistency from reputable family run restaurant. When eating out of town we always ask locals and gauge the number of vehicles in the parking lot. If you're looking for a great meal in the Utica, NY area, SYMEONS is it! read more

Fancy appearance but pretty low quality food n small portions especially for the price.

Symeon's has become my favorite place to eat. It's my to go to place to reconnect with my former co workers.. I will always rave about Symeon's.. the food is consistent and delicious!! Servers are always on point, friendly and super accommodating!!! read more

One of my favorite local restaurants! Lately, takeout at restaurants doesn't have the same quality as eating at the restaurant. Symeons has very consistent and delicious food! read more

My other half has been going on about this place for years. I thought it was misplaced nostalgia but he was right, it is one of the best Greek restaurants I've been to outside of Greece. Lamb and chicken kabobs were both amazing. Take home some Symeon spices to make grilled chicken breast magic! read more

Friends and I were told this was the place to go! I must admit my lamb chops, salad and baked potato delicious! Others enjoyed skewers of meat, vegetables and eggplant with feta cheese, along with baklava (friends are not gluten-free so they enjoyed that dessert). This restaurant is huge with great seating for a large party, another section with tables for smaller parties and another section with bench seats closer to the kitchen. The owner came by to check on how everything was for us...no complaints from this group...even my friend's calamari was the best had in ages! read more

Amazing food and I will definitely be back for more! Had no idea I had been passing by this place for years and never noticed it.

Hands down my favorite Greek restaurant I've ever been to. Maybe I am partial since it's food I grew up on, but I can't find anything that even comes close. I generally start out with the warm Dolmades and then its a toss between the lamb Soulvaki with rice and the Chicken Florentine. Make sure you save room since they also happen to have the best baklava I've ever had- sometimes I find other versions too cinnamon-y and sweet but this is a perfect balance. Servers are always friendly and accommodating, and the restaurant itself is spacious and casual. I wish they would open up in Charlotte but it's one of those things that I have to go home to enjoy. I'll be back on my next trip! read more

Such delicious and fresh Greek food. I love their meats, whcih always taste fresh and they come out sizzling hot. Their cheesecake baklava is like no other. Prices are also reason, especially if you go during the lunch hour. read more

I like this place a lot. I recently was back home and got to have lunch here with my aunt. The atmosphere is nice here, bright light from the windows, friendly service and elegant settings. I of course throw this off with my messed u hair and hoody, but hey its me. Anyways I really like their dolmas. You can buy them from the little cafe in the front too I think to-go. And they have really tasty salad too. Makes you feel healthy but you know, if it tastes great and looks good for you, its really probably horrible for you :) Feta cheese yuuuum. Well anyways, usually I end up with a lamb kabob or lamb chop, but this time I went for the fish, salmon specifically. ... And I keep asking myself why I deviated. It was ok, but not as good as the other choices. The salmon was frozen before, you could tell by the texture. Still good but like I said, not like you expected when you come here for meat dishes. I would still recommend going for anyone who wants to have some greek food in the area. read more

Went to symeon's the night before the boilermaker to load up on essential nutrients. I got the lamb chops and they were nicely seasoned and made to perfection. The place was quite packed, but there's a lot of seating. I like how the kitchen is somewhat visible and it's pretty cool to see the chefs work. Will definitely go there again! read more

A regional staple and a great family meeting spot. An absolute must every time my wife and I come home to visit family. No trip back to Clinton seems complete without setting foot in Symeon's. A personal favorite of mine has always been Thracian Chicken. A side of Tzatziki dip with the gratis bread is also a must have. read more

My husband grew up in Utica so we are in town often to visit relatives. Symeon's is a long time favorite. We had an early dinner on Sunday. I had the stuffed peppers which comes with a dinner salad. The stuffed peppers had bechemal sauce on top which was a new way to me of preparing the dish. I liked it. The service is always good. One of the few non-chain restaurants that are open on Sunday for dinner. read more