12 Islands

We live 4 blocks from this restaurant and we placed an order tonight at 7PM. After one hour and a half we had to call the restaurant, the guy said that the order was out for delivery.
10 minutes later we had to call again and they said the delivery guy was 6 minutes away, 30 minutes later they said that the delivery was 5 minutes away.
2 hours from the time we placed the order, we are still waiting and we don’t even know if they are even going to deliver.
So, summarizing, our order has been out for delivery for the last hour and 20 minutes and we live 4 blocks from this place. They definitely use a really bad logistic over there to optimize deliveries.
UPDATE: Finally got the food at 9:16PM and all the containers are broken and food all messed up. The delivery guy definitely screwed up! The restaurant called to say they were making a refund. Unfortunately this is not about the money, it’s about good service, and for that you only need to be responsible with your work.

I ordered Jumbo Grilled Shrimp. Sounds simple in a place that boasts seafood. The shrimp were tasteless. I think they were frozen, boiled earlier and thrown on grill for a moment before they came out. No seasoning at all. Like eating cardboard. And the vegetables were BLANE and mushy.

Great food and love the specials! Bobby, the owner, is very creative with his menu and hospitable to his patrons. The shrimp gyro is one of my favorites with his homemade dressing and phenomenal hand cut fries! Definitely worth a try!

This place is awesome. Great hospitality, impeccable service and quality Greek food. I would definitely come back here! I have been looking for some excellent Greek food in the area and this place nailed it. I would highly recommend 12 Islands and am already looking forward to coming back! Vasilis, our server, was awesome– super attentive and anticipated any needs we had before we ever asked. I have nothing but positive things to say about this place.

12 islands is a nice little greek resturant. Food was good and worth a visit if near by. Loved the cheese offered with pita (try the purple cheese; sounds nasty but very good). Ordered saganaki for an app and it was delicious but the presentation could have been better. Orther greek places usually light the cheese on fire at the table but here they appeared to have done that behind me taking away that experience. For the main course I ordered the mousaka which was all delicious. I don’t know how traditional this was as most other greek places layer the mousaka differently but overall it was good. I would recommend 12 islands and if in the area return.

Not great. Chicken was burned and the souvlaki tastes weird… Dissapointing. Don’t know about the service. I ordered a take out. Fries were good though. I guess that’s something.

Our go to place before going to the Paper Mill Playhouse. Pleasant BYOB with friendly service. Probably less than 4stars but enjoyable. Mussel app was a little small for $ 14, maybe 10 mussels cooked in ouzo and topped with feta. Soup was hearty and tasty. Lamb shank was a special, nicely tender and served over a tomato based orzo. Char grilled salmon was good but a little on the small size. Served with briam a Greek roasted vegetable dish.
During warm months, there is outdoor seating in a very nice courtyard that is shared with other restaurants

The only thing good about this place was the whole bronzini. Everything else was just awful. The lamb was too salty, the appetizers were inedible, as was the semolina cake, which I threw out after one bite. Do not bother with this place… somewhat better, but not great, greek at Thavma in Livingston.

Only good for take out.
Food is good enough. Very fresh fish. But the atmosphere is more like a dimly lit McDonalds. Dreary lighting. All hard surfaces, and very loud atmosphere with crying babies. Interior done very much on the cheap. Completely different from their website. If you intend to spend $ 27 plus on an entrée, there are many better restaurants to choose from.

Came here with my mother and had a really delicious dinner! The spanakopita was fresh and warm, the meats were perfectly seasoned and their homemade French fries were so good! My favorite dish was their dessert though, warm baklava with vanilla ice cream, made my mouth water I highly recommend this place! I’ve ordered their gyros for lunch and it’s very delicious too!

I was longing for a good meditarian meal with a nice glass of wine and an espresso to cap it all off. I sure selected the right place… I enjoyed a traditional village salad with a side of beats with garlic potatoes. The food was perfect… nice and fresh and generous portions. The glass of white wine was a perfect pairing and the I wrapped it up with a perfectly made double espresso along with compliantary loukoumades. It was a meal made in heaven. The staff was great attentive but not over the top. Eating outside on a beautiful day even made the experience all the better.
Thanks for being there. I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Enjoyed a very nice meal here last weekend. Went to Millburn unsure where to eat and pulled up the trusty Unilocal app which led us here. Stopped by a liquor store to pick up a bottle of wine and we were set. Walked in the front door and asked to be seated outside. The rear patio area is really quite nice, if not a bit cramped. Unlike many other places the area is well isolated from the parking lot and is on the side of a small square with a fountain and seating for another restaurant. I’m also not sure if I would have stayed if we were seated inside. The kitchen’s at the front of the restaurant and is completely exposed. Usually that’s not a problem but it was quite smoky and permeated the entire restaurant.
We ordered a mixed seafood platter which included grilled salmon, squid, shrimp and mussels. It was really quite good and I thought the price was more than fair given the portion size and quality. It was a perfect meal for me. Healthy, fresh and delicious.
So why 3 Stars? After taking our order, our server disappeared completely. Next time I saw him was when he brought the check. I’m not saying that the service was bad and if the restaurant was larger, it would have even been somewhat acceptable. But the place is fairly small and there shouldn’t have been any reason for sub par service.
That said, however, I would absolutely return as long as we were again seated outside. I think that it’s a solid choice, providing excellent food that’s reasonably priced. Their service, however, could use some polish. Solid 3 – 3.5 stars.

Not coming back

I had high hopes for this place. Been wanting to check this place out for a year but never did until tonight. I ordered the «sampler» platter that had a variety of grilled meats, like lamb, beef, chicken and pork. Thought it would be a good intro to this place.
Well, everything was over cooked and very dry. Even the sausage which has a lot of fat was a bit on the beef jerky tasting side. The worst of it was this hamburger patty, forget what it’s called in Greek, but it tasted like it was freshly made, then frozen, then cooked frozen but not completely. It was SOOO wet in the middle, though it was thoroughly cooked. The only way a beef patty has that consistency is when is previously frozen and cooked too quickly, preventing the moisture/​water to not render out properly. Plus it had too much fresh oregano in it, way too herby.
And when does a «Greek» salad have iceberg lettuce in it? I had a Greek roommate just after college and even to this day we are friends. He’d made Greek salad almost every other night and don’t recall seeing any iceberg lettuce in it, EVER! I remember going to Greece, Santorini amongst the islands, and don’t recall seeing iceberg lettuce in my salads. So either I have no idea what a Greek salad is or every Greek restaurant I’ve been to has given me something I didn’t order. Why not just call it a garden salad with a wedge/​crumble of feta cheese? It would certainly be more accurate. A Greek salad should only have tomatoes, cucumber, onion, Kalamata olives, feta, salt, olive oil (maybe a little vinegar, maybe).
I saw the server three times. When I ordered, when I got my food and when I got the bill. How about freshening my water glass, or not charging me for the salad you said would be free or just checking to see if my food was over cooked?
And the rice that came with the entrée had way too much bay leaf flavor in there. WOW, that’s all I could taste. I picked the leaf out but of course at that point, it doesn’t matter.
Steve’s Restaurant, the best Greek place in Boston, does it perfectly, quickly and inexpensively. When I had an officer near Faneuil Hall, I’d go to Steve’s almost daily. I’d order the same thing; chicken kebab, rice and salad. Friggin FANTASTIC! I could see the chicken breast was par cooked but with enough oil, fresh peppers and onions, it does the trick. The best $ 10 I’ve ever spent. $ 35 for this platter of overcooked meat is not worth it. I don’t get it. It wasn’t busy, maybe 6 covers while we were there (although I only noticed one server on the floor). And where’s the tzaziki?
Needless to say, I doubt I’ll go back, though maybe for a gyro. Gyros are difficult to screw up since they usually buy the thing already seasoned and just need to warm it up. It’s the only Greek place in town, hope it gets better.

Had dinner there on ⁸⁄₇. All of the inside tables were empty. Everyone was seated outside. Hey, why not, it was a beautiful night.
The food is really good. No complaints there. The servers are very friendly. However, the good service stops there.
I’ve worked in food service and there’s a thing called «service 101» — the basic fundamentals of service that are basically common sense. The servers here were horrible in that regard. For example, we had no utensils and had to ask for them AFTER our appetizers arrived. Once we finished our appetizers, the plates sat there until our main course was served (nearly 30 min later, but we were in no hurry so the delay didn’t bother us).
After our meal was served, our server never came near our table to ask if «everything was ok» and no one ever refilled our water glasses. The server returned with the check in his hand and said «here’s the check». Never asked us if we wanted coffee or dessert. We had to ask if we could order dessert. He took our dessert order and left the dirty dishes from our meal on the table! We had to ask him to take them away when he brought the dessert.
I think this is a real shame. The food was so good, but the level of service left a real bad taste in my mouth. I have received better service in a diner.
So for a restaurant with great food, my rating is a 3. I’m sorry, but at today’s prices (and this place is not inexpensive) I expect at minimum, basic service. Sadly, the basics were absent.

Came here for a casual Greek dining experience and that is exactly what we got. It’s BYOB so that’s always a plus. It’s
Not a fancy place but they have a nice back area that is always crowded.
For appetizer we got the pita bread and dip sampler. It was pretty cool, a lot of pita bread with multiple dips, hummus, and sauces to try them in. It was a fun experience trying all the different options. Most of them were good except the cold mashed potatoes one. But to say you dipped your pita bread in mashed potatoes is fun enough.
The dinners did hit the spot. I got the gyro platter and the meat was very fresh. It was
Big enough that I could take it home for lunch the next day. My girlfriend got a Greek style pasta and meatballs, it was a little dry but I think next time she will also be getting the platter.
If you’re in town and want to try something different and not too fancy, definitely stop by

Best Mediterranean food in the area hands down. every thing we had was perfect the chicken is so tasty and the sampler platter is also great for an appetizer…
Service was great the owner of the place is super friendly also he’s he’s staff …
So We Will DEFENITLY Come Here Again.

My new favorite Greek restaurant. My husband and I came here with another couple. When we first walked in, we were greeted by the friendly staff. It’s an open kitchen and you walk by the kitchen to the back dining area. All the kitchen staff made us feel so welcome with their warm smiles.
I’ll get straight to the meal. For appetizers, the table shared the following:
Traditional salad with romain, red onion, olives, tomatoes, capers and feta: fresh and delicious.
Stuffed grape leaves served hot with rice and meat with lemon sauce: my favorite of all the appetizers. I never had them hot before.
keftedakia, fried beef meatballs: these were my least favorite. The beef I think was overworked and too smooth. I like a little chunkiness in my meatballs and I like to see the herbs and onions when I bite into them.
The grilled octopus was superb.
For the entrée, I had the grilled Brazini. Fresh, moist and nicely charred. The lemon potatoes were lemony and creamy.
My husband had the double cut porkchop. It was delicious, the only problem was, it was only a small single cut chop when he got it.
The other two couples had the lamb and chicken souvlaki, which they both loved. They said it was nice and juicy.
I can’t wait to come back to try more dishes.

One of my favorite local restaurants in Millburn. Warm and friendly every time I come in. No liquor license so BYOB. We started last night with the assorted dips and pita and Greek salads. Perfect starter to a filling entrée. The décor is pleasant and inviting. Fish nets adorn the walls along with pictures of Greek islands. The smell inside is intoxicating but be warned you will smell like a grill afterwards. Normally I get the grilled octopus and the whole squid but I tried something new. I had the lamb shank with lemon potatoes which was an absolute delight. The meat was coming off the shank with minimal effort. Loved this dish so much I wanted to lick the plate. Other enters ordered were hits as well from the lamb chops which were devoured, to the grilled branzino, and the shrimp with sundried tomatoes and feta. We were very full and very pleased. Service was excellent as always. The owner is the nicest guy and is the gold standard of restaurant owners. He cares about what he serves and it shows in the high quality food that has been on my plate every single time I come here. Please don’t overlook this awesome Greek place.

YES! YES! YES! Vist 12 Islands Milburn. What an experience. I felt like I was on the islands again… the food is amazingly fresh… the hospitality like home
The Pikilia Meat Platter is a great choice for a indecisive group along with the Pita Spreads. We also had the Grilled Octopus and Calamari… so tender! The Shrimp Tilos is a bouquet of flavors. When you visit 12 Islands make sure you say hello to Bobby so you experience his warm welcome. Kali Orexi – Enjoy your meal!