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| - Luckily for us, Mediterranean restaurants are suddenly plentiful in Charlotte and quite frankly most of them are good to very good, which is also the case with Ilios Noche. This location is by far the more comfortable and visually appealing of its two locations. The dining room is quite stunning and is as beautiful as found any anywhere in the city. The service was courteous and attentive on both the Saturday evenings that we dined there. We unfortunately had issues with the food on both occasions.
We started things off with the Mesclun Salad with baby greens, Gorgonzola cheese, candied walnuts, white balsamic vinaigrette. At $8 it is a little pricey; however, it did deliver portion size-wise and was generous with the walnuts and Gorgonzola. The vinaigrette was very tasty but applied too heavily; my mistake however, as I should have ordered it on the side.
I can't go to a Greek restaurant without ordering falafel and that was the case here also. At the very reasonable price of $5, five pieces are served alongside their beautiful tzatziki sauce. As my photo shows, it was artfully displayed however it was a little bland for my taste and was overwhelmed by garlic. This could be chalked up to personal preference but of the eleven area Greek/Mediterranean restaurants that my wife and I have dined over the past year, this falafel was our least favorite.
What cannot be attributed to personal preference however is the two burnt skewers of grossly overcooked tiny lamb kabobs that was served with my Lamb Souvlaki platter. As any Greek chef knows, lamb should be cooked medium rare to medium, yet mine was cooked well done (see photo). I would have normally sent it back but we were running late for church and just didn't have time. The accompanying country Greek salad and Greek fries were excellent. In fact the fries were the best I've had anywhere but such a major mistake on the lamb preparation is hard to overlook and weighs heavily in my overall score. The Pita bread was unspectacular to say the least. (What qualifies Pita bread as spectacular you might ask... see my review for Kabob Je Rotisserie in Matthews, NC for that answer - theirs is out of this world and worth the 10 minute drive.)
On the plus side, the the Wild Mushroom Ravioli at $11 was expertly prepared and very savory. Serving size was small but this was reflected in the price. Loved it so much I was tempted to lick the plate
Overall everything was just okay at best, which is disappointing because, based on prior reviews, our expectations were quite high. Due to the better alternatives I mentioned at the beginning of this review, we probably won't return, but it's still worth a try I think if you haven't been before. I just hope your experience is better than our two visits. The odds, based on other reviews, it probably will be.
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