Vasilis’ Take Five: Vittles & Vices

I like bars. I really like bars that serve food. I especially like bars with food that are also within walking distance of my home and other bars. For these reasons I really wanted to like Take Five. I really did. I’ve even given it 4 – 5 tries. Each time I go hoping that maybe they finally got their stuff together. Then I leave with the sad realization that they still have a lot of work to do if they want to compete with the rest of Willy St.
You know how sometimes upon entering a restaurant you can just smell the desperation? This is one if those places. On my last visit we walked in and noticed they had done some rearranging. Unfortunately it looked and felt like it was furnished with used dorm room housewares from Target. The only other person at the bar was the cook. And to top it off there was a techno remix of The Price Is Right Theme song playing on the lone speaker behind the bar. Needless to say this set our expectations pretty low.
We cautiously approached the bar and ordered the evening specials– $ 2 tacos and $ 3 margaritas. The margaritas were pretty syrupy and sugary. I wouldn’t order them again. The tacos were ok. We each ordered the same 3 tacos– 1 chicken 1 lamb and 1 pork. They were luke warm which is odd because we were the only people in the restaurant. They were served on the smallest corn tortillas I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen my fair share of tacos. The flavor was ok. I guess I’d say the pork taco was the better of the 3. But none were anything special.
I won’t be going back. There are too many other better options on Willy St.

My friends and I went to this place on a wintery night in January for my birthday, and we had an amazing experience! We all almost hurt ourselves trying to get there since the sidewalks were impossibly icy, but it was worth the trip.
The place was pretty empty, and we had amazing service from our waiter Brandon. He made excellent recommendations and even gave us a free dessert for my birthday! The food was delightful. I remember that the hummus in particular was exquisite. The bar had good drinks, and a couple of pub games like darts and pool. Since it was so bad outside, we pretty much made ourselves at home there that night.
Overall, I loved this place! I’ve moved out of town, but if I still lived there, I’d be back.

Food is very tasty place is very clean and taken care of.

I live just around the corner and have always been curious to try this place out. I am glad I did, but can’t say I am screaming to go back.
We came here on a Saturday night around 6:30 and the place was eerily dead. Besides a lone man sitting at the bar, we were the only ones in the place until a couple walked in as we were paying our bill. But the place was anything but quiet as they were blasting trashy techno-​pop via Spotify. It’s frustrating to have to talk over the music in an empty restaurant. Other tacky elements include a horrible color scheme and general theme confusion. I don’t need any chintzy Grecian urns or togas, but this place has no charm whatsoever besides its corner location and big windows facing Willy St. Everything feels so stale, like when they turn on the lights at a bar and you realize how crappy everything is once things aren’t shrouded by the dark.
Our waiter was friendly, but clearly amateur and aloof. He asked us how our food was as we were finishing our last bite. Again, the place was empty…
The food was great, though. The gyro I had was perfect, and was served with a nice salad and awesome french fries. My boyfriend ordered a pasta that I don’t remember the name of (and is not on the menu uploaded here). It was very flavorful, however, and he enjoyed it. I did think the prices were maybe $ 2 – 3 overpriced, but I don’t mind supporting a small restaurant.
The bartender was cute.
I can’t really give a definitive answer on Take Five. I really want to like this place, as it is super close to my place and offers good alternatives to other restaurants on Willy. The food was good, but I think they still have some kinks to work out (e.g. serving water in Stella Artois glasses? having the beer menu listed on a board no one can see?) However, I think you need to judge this one for yourself. My impression is probably seriously clouded by the fact that the restaurant was uncomfortably empty, but that could be a sign of more serious issues threatening the life of this local place.

I went back to Take Five and had an amazing experience. The food was great and the service was better than great. Whoever was the server this Thursday has changed my mind on this fine establishment! They had also remodeled since the last time I was there which made the atmosphere better. The fries at this place are among the best in town (I know fries don’t seem like that big of a deal, but believe me. They are AMAZING.) Take Five also always seems to have a good special going on. It seems like they’ve worked out the kinks. I will now happily recommend this place!

The server was the only positive feature of our dining experience.
2 of the 3 entrees were way below the one star rating available, and the 3^rd was below average. They were anything but fresh. The spanakopita was like a greek burrito, and the edges were burnt.
I cannot believe they are still in business. The bar area seemed to be a happening scene with people who looked shocked that we actually came there to eat.

Went here for dinner on ¹⁰⁄₁₈ at about 7:30. We ordered the pulled pork flat-​bread, the dolma, the Friday fish fry special, the stroganoff, soup, and a couple salads. Generally the food was pretty tasty. A couple things like the fish and the pulled pork flat-​bread fell short. All-​in-​all I wasn’t blown away but would have been satisfied with the meal and may have come back.
Unfortunately the mistakes made that evening make it unworthy of a return trip. Initially it took a long time to get our drinks. We placed the order with the waitress and never received them. We finally said something to the bartender. When we did get them, 3 out of the 4 were wrong. We ordered red wine and got white. No biggie but annoying after having waited so long. 50% was taken off the drinks which was cool.
I ordered the Fish fry special and asked to substitue a side salad for french fries. When the bill came I noted I was up-​charged an additional $ 4.00 for the side salad. If I had known that I would have stuck with fries.
Now this morning upon checking our credit card statement, I found two transactions on the credit card from Take Five. One of those was my bill and the other I did not authorize. Sigh…
I think if I had to pick one thing that really screwed my experience here would be the service and their lack of attention to detail. A majority of the tables were empty but the bartender and waitress seemed overwhelmed and made mistakes.
I do not recommend.

If you crave Greek food this is always a great fix. You can get a great gyro plate with home fries, or lamb chops, pasta or great Greek salads. So glad it’s in my hood. I always eat at the bar, but they have a very nice dining room for bigger groups.

After walking by this tiny little restaurant many times and never really noting its presence, I decided to stop in for lunch last week. That appears to have been a mistake. As noted by several reviewers, this restaurant seems to still be «working out the kinks», which might offer some insight as to why there was only one waiter working at the peak of lunch service. The place really was only somewhat busy, and with the appropriate staffing level of two servers, nobody would have thought twice about it. I waited 15 minutes to be seated, and was taken aback by the bartender, who was on the phone swearing at someone for half of that time. What? After it was apparent that nobody was going to be helping me, I decided I would leave and try my luck with their delivery service. Again, I wish I hadn’t. I regret to say that I can’t even attest to the food, because I never had a chance to even taste any! I called for delivery, and I instantly recognized the voice on the other end as the «Hothead on the Rocks» bartender from earlier. He sounded even angrier than before, and barked «Hold!» at me in a tone that should have made me hang up right then and there. After 5 minutes, I finally heard somebody pick up the phone, and instead of instantly trying to make things right, they SIMPLY HUNG UP THE PHONE. When I called back, the bartender picked up and, once again, hung up on me. That’s really all there is to this story, and frankly, I am still confused about what happened. Perhaps «Vasilis» is spreading himself, and his staff too thin, and should probably focus his efforts on a single restaurant, until he has the right people in place to help him…

Love it! Must get the sampler appetizer platter! I love the veggie pita! Not a lamb fan, but the fiancé loves the regular gyro. We always get delivery and the food holds up well!

I stopped by here with my family while visiting for the weekend. My sister and dad had lots of good things to say about this new and interesting restaurant that has popped up in the neighbhorhood and it seemed like a good idea to try something new… Madison has a lot of great restaurants and a lot of diversity in cuisine, but we hadn’t gone to a Greek restaurant there so we thought we’d give it a try.
And I’m so glad we did! The restaurant is located in a space that used to be a corner store, but they’ve done a great job with the décor make it both cozy and eye-​popping. Right away, several members of the restaurant staff recognized my family members and gave us a warm welcome as if we were members of their family. In fact, the service across the board was exceptional – warm, welcoming, friendly, knowledgeable but unpretentious – in short, the kind of service that makes you want to come back again and again. Both the proprietor and the chef visited our table and you just felt like you were well cared for.
In terms of the food, all of us had positive reviews. I ordered the beef kabobs, which I appreciated were «deconstructed» as I’ve never found a way to gracefully remove the meat and vegetables from the skewers. I found the portion size to be just right and the flavors well-​balanced. The selection of fun and economically priced martinis was a bonus, especially since the wait staff were well-​schooled in providing a recommendation in line with your beverage preferences.
Small restaurants can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. In my opinion, this one deserves your notice as a unique option in the Willy Street neighborhood of Madison.

Tried Vasilis’ Take Five again because I had a free drink coupon. Ordered the lamb kabob. Figured that kabob meant grilled meat and vegetables so it shouldn’t be greasy. I was mistaken. I don’t think they have a grill. It seemed fried in a pan with lots and lots of oil. Everything had a greasy sheen too it. Also, I am pretty sure that I got beef rather than lamb, even though the server confirmed that it was lamb. The meal was inexpensive, but not too good. I am sorry because I like to see restaurants in the hood succeed, and if they were true to Greek cuisine, they could easily succeed.

Great food, great drinks, the grape leaf app was the best I’ve ever had. Cocojito drink was spectacular.
The atmosphere was a little weird (seating arrangement not intimate) which is why I’m going with 4 stars.

I wanted to like this place. I really did. I give it two stars because everyone I’ve encountered on the staff is super nice.
But the food is not good. We got they gyros for lunch once and there were pretty terrible. The meat came in giant, hard to chew and (size-​wise) hard to handle chunks. A few nights ago, we decided to give it another go, mainly because we had a gift certificate. I like that they deliver within a 5-​mile radius. However, they do not have this part together at all. We ordered a pasta, greek salad and soup. They forgot the soup. I called them and they apologized and said «the driver is on his way back.» Well he must have gotten lost, because he never showed up and therefore I never got my soup.
I don’t believe this restaurant will last.
Oh and neither my husband or I really enjoyed either the salad or the pasta. It was just ok.

I’ve been to this restaurant twice now and my first visit was 4 stars and my second visit was 2 stars, so I went with 3 for this review. In general I think the food is good for the price, but not spectacular. I’ve had the traditional gyros sandwich with lamb and the braised lamb shank and found both to be flavorful. The gyros was a good size, the meat was what you’d expect but not overly greasy like some in Madison. The pita bread was excellent. The lamb shank was incredibly tender with a great compliment of seasoning in the sauce, although the dash of dried oregano that was tossed on top when it was plated was a lot more than a dash and was almost overpowering.
So, why a 2 star experience vs. 4 stars? The first time my dining companion ordered the Greek salad and it was very good — lots of mixed greens, a large block of feta cheese (not crumbles), exactly as advertised. Keep in mind this is a 10 dollar salad. On the second visit it was the opposite — the greens were only iceberg lettuce, the feta was crumbled and clearly a lower quality, and the capers were nowhere to be found. 10 bucks for a bowl of iceberg and pre-​crumbled feta I can buy at Copps? Not good. Also, the lamb was described as being served with rice pilaf, but it came with simple steamed rice that was room temperature at best.
The big question is, will we return? Since we often order one entrée and one salad and share the two, I’d have to say probably not. I see myself ordering just the gyros sandwich to be delivered when I’m home alone, but that’s probably about it.

excellent beef stroganoff. the gyros were, in my opinion, just average. nice wait staff.

Vasili’sTake Five recently opened up on Willy street right across from where I work. I wanted to like this place because I love Greek Food, but the experience was really very average.
The service I received from my waitress was friendly and prompt. She got us menus and water right away.
The décor is modern and clean. I really liked the granite tables.
My dining companion and I ordered a sampler platter of appetizers. While the cheese pie came out piping hot, I suspect it was premade/​frozen and heated to order. There was really nothing special about it. Spanikopita or spinach pies were the same story. The stuffed grape leaves were most certainly from a can. They were really quite terrible. I love stuffed grape leaves. These were awful. Seriously, I went to a restaurant so you could open a can and dump crap on a plate?
Egg plant hummus was an interesting take on hummus, but they are definitely using canned garbanzo beans, and it didn’t really wow me. It was unusual and different, but not awesome tasting. I’d rather have an amazing plain hummus than a wild/​crazy hummus that is just OK.
Staff loudly yelling and chatting behind the bar in the other room detracted from the ambiance. The music selection also seemed a little odd, and was way too loud for a dining room that was largely empty.
I ordered my salad «light on the dressing». Instead, they put the dressing on the side. This is a major pet peeve of mine in restaurants. I hate tossing the salad on the plate because it’s difficult to do and makes a mess. If I wanted dressing on the side, I would have asked for dressing on the side. It also cost extra to have chicken on top and then they gave me a miniscule portion of chicken. It was probably 3 ounces of chicken. The salad itself wasn’t very generously proportioned and so I actually left hungry after dropping almost $ 20 on dinner.
A few weeks prior to this visit, I had a chicken pita to go, was good, but overpriced. The moussaka that my friend had, which I tried a bite of, was very good tasting.
Overall, save your money and go somewhere else because this restaurant just isn’t firing on all cylinders. There are too many great restaurants in the Willy street neighborhood to waste your money here.

I was excited to try this place because it’s right around the corner from where I live. I appreciate that this place is trying, but our lunch experience here was just OK. The waiter was really nice and attentive. But the food left something to be desired. My boyfriend got the Gyro, and the lamb was overcooked and dry. I got the Talapia, which was on special, and it was too breaded… would have been much better withou the breaded layer. Also their fries seemed like the kind you might get at the grocery store frozen and then bake in an oven. They didn’t seem fresh at all. It wasn’t horrible, and the lunch prices were good, but I won’t be returning.

Still cooking (at a later than average hour)
Gyro was fresh and tasty. So was the beertender…
I think
I mean
they both looked great
Give it a go

This little restaurant just opened in the space of the old Corner Grocery. I will miss their sign that read «Canned Ethnic Goods» The space is fresh and modern. We arrived around 8:30 pm and we were the only folks in the dining area. There were a few people in the bar. We were waited on by one of the owners. He was warm and friendly. We ordered the moussaka and the evening special, Saffron Chicken. Both meals were generous and tasty. I preferred the moussaka as I felt I could easily replicate the saffron chicken. As someone who likes to cook, i like being served items I would generally not prepare at home. The bread was crusty and warm. It was served with a honey butter. I had a glass of cabernet which was a little «thin», lacking in body. At $ 5 a glass, I didn”t care. Dinner cost us $ 37 including tip. Another worthy dining spot on the fashionable east side.