Hellas Pastry Shop

I don’t live in Chicago, but my son is a neighbor of Hella’s and I coerce him to bring home my favorites whenever he can. I’ve traveled all over the Mediterranean (including several stops in Greece and Italy) and Hella’s pastries are the best I’ve tasted. The chocolate-​covered baklava is «to die for» and I agree with one of the other reviewers that the honey cookies will leave you [almost] speechless! The baklava phyllo is perfect, there is no skimping on fillings and the honey is literally dripping from the the treats that have it in their recipes. The family members who own and run the bakery are extremely gracious and enthusiastically encourage «taste testing.» They make everyone who enters feel like they are part of their family. If you are in Chicago, it is absolutely worth the effort to seek out Hella’s and explore their wide variety of baked treasures!

As a Greek-​Chicagoan I feel at home in this place. The owners are very friendly, and the pastries are fantastic. My brother and I got kataifi and karithopita and both were moist and delicious, and perfect with coffee. Do yourself a favor and stop in.

My family has been going here for the longest time. The sprinkle cookies are the best!

The cookies are delicious. Just like the owner said, the best ever. They have gluten-​free cookies as well!

extremely good spinach pies.

What a hidden gem! We were a bit early for the noon opening of Monti’s around the corner, so we stopped in. We were greeted by a friendly woman at the counter (who even gave us free cookies!) and we ordered an array of tasty treats to take home. All the offerings were fantastic that we sampled, especially a chocolate covered baklava. Yummy.

Super good custard pie! The crust was so flaky and the custard inside was delicious– not too sweet but just perfect. I recommend slightly toasting it in a toaster oven when u get home for a crispy, flaky tasty dessert! Their baklava is also really good and packed with lotsa nuts. Their almond cookies with powdered sugar on top are also delicious! The owner is very nice and even gave me a free piece of baklava and a free cookie! He’s super super friendly. Next time I go back I want to try their spinach pie which I heard was good! I’ll definitely be back…

Amazing — the best chocolate éclair I’ve ever had in my life. Thick, rich, all natural chocolate frosting — delicate, tasty puff pastry — real custard filling like everyone else stopped making 20 years ago. I’m not Greek, but IMO the galactoboureka (sp?) was also the best I’ve ever had (compared to what I’ve had in Greek town). Can’t wait to go back — it’s probably a good thing I don’t live close by.

I’ve walked by this place a ton of times whether on the way to HarvestTime or Monti’s — yet just recently husband I decided to stop in and see if the amusing signs on the storefront really were legit (e.g. sign says «once you try one, you will be back!»).
We were immediately greeted by the happiest man in an otherwise empty store — his cheery demeanor is contagious!
Ordered a pound of powdered almond cookies for my family and I ordered several of the gluten free cookies for myself — almond and cherry.
The gluten free cookies were fantastic! Crispy on the outside and sweet, and unexpectedly chewy on the inside — loved the flavor of both!
Not really a good place to dine in and enjoy your sweets — more of a takeout operation.
I guess he is right — we will be back! The other signs point to their famous «spinach pies» — so check those out!

The honey cookies are addictive and one of the best cookies I’ve ever had. Spinach pie was great. The male owner is very jolly.

The owner is very friendly and the cookies are delicious! I tried all the cookies they have at the counter and liked the round almond one the best. It is crisp and crumbly on the outside, cake/​chewy inside, not too sweet, very alomndy. The eclipse sandwich shaped ones are nice too, light and soft cookies. I will come back again for sure.

It’s a Saturday afternoon and the place is empty! The shelves are literally empty. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad business considering they’re supposed to be open until 6pm and it’s only 3:35 pm.

After tasting Greek Orange cookies at work I found this place. Clean, small, nice personnel. Got a few orange cookies, they’re great with coffee. Love baklava and took some home. I prefer pistachio, they use walnuts and it was good but much too sweet. I could not eat it. However I tasted a molasses and honey cookie that was moist and perhaps one of the best cookies I have ever had. I’ll be back for those.

Extremely sweet (REAL LIFE GREEK YOU CAN TELL) owners. Almost as sweet as the cookies and cakes and whatnot they provide.
I’m probably a better man for moving away from this bakery. Really, no body needs as many spinach pies as I was consuming in my time in Lincoln Square. However, I still make the trip here.
The sign on the window does not lie. Once you come here, you will be back.

I am seriously addicted to the spinach pies.
I dream about them.
That’s how good they are.
This bakery has been in the same spot for 50 years and I hope it never leaves. I see all these great Unilocal reviews but I never see anyone in there. It would be an absolute shame if they went under, so I’m going to start shouting from the rooftops about this place.
Seriously, y’all. The spinach pie. It’s just magical. I’m drooling just typing about it.

Honey cookies. Holy crap… I’m…speechless…oh wait no I’m not. The cookies taste like… a child’s happy laugh on a beautiful summer’s day. If you could taste that, that’s what the cookies at this pastry shop would taste like. The baklava is great, the almond cookies are amazing and the honey cookies make me need to reevaluate my life. Wow, just wow. I just want to go in the shop one day and raid the cases of pastries like a raccoon. Well then, I just added something to my bucket list now…
Anyway, go here ASAP. Be prepared to taste heaven guys.

On Miracle Mile or as others call it Lawrence Ave. Nice place, just simple food with a friendly service. It’s fresh and they care. Worth giving your money, time and business to someone that cares. It’s great! My new favorite… their four dollar spanokopita

This is only to review the gluten free cookies… they are freaking yummy if a tad sweet, very little variety and flavors to choose from but solid non the less.
Hella is just as sweet as the cookies too, very friendly service.

What a lucky find!
While pursuing the sandwich list, I glanced across the street and thought, hmmm, that places looks interesting. I pretended I wanted to get a picture of the sandwich place and scampered across.
The owner was super friendly and I loved that he had a little handwritten sign up encouraging people to read or review them on Unilocal!I liked the confidence. I also liked the selection — not overwhelming, just the right amount of sugar and honey goodness.
I really had just come in to look but it was so friendly and inviting that I bought 8 cookies. They looked like a tea cookie but were double and had sprinkles on the end. I took them all home which was really mean to my companions as they were divine. Sorry, I didn’t know!
I have to go back — if the cookies are that good imagine the pastries!

I had an amazing first visit to Hellas today and I will definitely be returning in the very near future! Every time I drive down Lawrence I always tell my boyfriend «hey, there’s that Greek pastry shop, I have to stop there one day». Well I finally did and I was thoroughly impressed.
It is very hard to beat my Yiayia’s cookies… but Hellas came pretty close! I bought a couple Kourabiethes (the ones covered in powdered sugar) and a couple of the Amygthalota (almond paste cookies with apricot filling in between), a piece of Baklava, and a big rum ball. The woman who was working (who I later found to be the owner, maybe her and her husband?) gave me a taste of their Melomokarona (or Phoenikia, they’re the honey-​dipped spiced ones with nuts on top). They were all good but –the almond cookies were extra fabulous, so chewy and tasty-​and she even threw an extra in my box :)
On top of a little cookie sample she also gave me a taste of their Spanakopita or spinach pie and as soon as I had one bite I told her to pack one of those for the road too! This is the best Spanakopita I have ever had-​EVER-​in my 27 years of family functions and other greek gatherings. My mom called me just as I was finishing stuffing my face and I said «oh my god I just had the best spanakopita ever!». Her response was… you better not tell your yiayia or your theas that!
Hella good… I’ll be back!