Vios Cafe at Third Place

We’ve been eating at Vios for years and were just there on Monday. I ordered my usual Chicken Souvlaki sandwich with side salad. When the sandwich came it had only 2 bites of chicken and was otherwise filled with French Fries!!! I complained but the waitress insisted that this is the latest in Mediterranean cuisine. Well excuse me but I prefer the healthy traditional style stuffed with FRESH raw vegetables. Also, the side salad was drenched with dressing. Get a clue folks and go back to healthy sandwiches.

Chicken souvlaki sandwich is my favorite, but the ricotta pancakes are tough to beat for brunch. Kids are welcome and have their own space to read and play while waiting. My only complaint… there isn’t a location on the east side.

Craving Greek food for dinner and this was close to my final destination, plus it is within a bookstore. Perfect, right? Not for me. While the lamb souvlaki tasted good, the «plate» was way overpriced for what was included. There are much better Greek restaurants in town.

I really want to like this place because I love Third Place Books, but 20 minutes standing in line is too long for an okay Americano.

From beginning to end, just a great lunch experience. The Lamb Souvlaki and traditional greek salad we’re delicious, as was the baklava; staff were friendly and helpful.

I ordered breakfast and the food was expensive and cold. The grilled bread was dry had to ask for jam. Coffee was cold and cream was really milk. Only pink fake sugar, the worst of them all. I felt rushed even though the restaurant was nearly empty. Just bland, cold and no compelling reason to order food again. The space was pretty and the bookstore rocks.

Portion sizes are a tad small for the price, but the quality of ingredients and preparation are worth it. The burger in particular is AMAZING, with the possible exception of the bun.

My waiter was too sweet. The people here are all, just, way too sweet.
My waiter must have known that I’m one of those customers who loves it when his waiter rolls her eyes at the guests in one’s own company, bot only when the waiter thinks that she isn’t being looked at. I also love that she’s the great kind of waiter who won’t care that this review exists. That’s my kinda waiter. Honestly, I like when people wear the same thing more than one day in a row. Maybe next time I’ll be even the slightest bit impolite.
I enjoyed that my raw, stoned, and half-​drunk confusion was exactly the kind of thing that my waiter would never have the time for. Not even when she was being paid to do exactly that. Who knew I might have questions?! Not me! I shouldn’t have said that I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I realize this now. It was my bad that I didn’t already know. Had I known, I would not have been rude enough to inconvenience you. I could have avoided forcing you to make my much more timid company, very uncomfortable. Thank you for being so stern in telling us when the kitchen closed, though. As cringe-​tastic as I felt, I did learn something (it was in ten minutes).
I was off of my game, though. I shouldn’t have been such an ignorant human to my hosts. I still love you when you hurt me. Feeling unwelcome in, «the cool-​place-​that-​I-​was-​showing-​to-​an-​out-​of-​town-​friend,» isn’t the kind of thing that bothers me, so I’d definitely come back! Those friends are jerks anyway. That’ll teach them to order bread when you’re out of it!
Had my friends understood that personalities could be made of sand, they could have avoided being so rude as to make you help them feel stupid.
I wanna dip my barn-​pail-​fries in something that makes me feel uncultured again!

Great staff! The power had gone out and all of their systems were down and they were still friendly, efficient and calm. Sweet sense of community here, would come back just for the staff!

ViOS Café At Third Place has amazing food, friendly & welcoming staff and a neat atmosphere. It definitely has the small community feel and I would recommend it to all my friends and family!

Being Greek I always feel a need to eat at as many Greek restaurants as I can to see how they compare to my Yiayia’s (grandmother’s) cooking. Vios is a fresh taste on timeless Greek classics. Of course I had to order the lamb Gyro… with a cup of avgolemono soup (egg lemon soup). The flavor profiles were nice, like I said, a «fresh» taste on Greek classics — they added sundried tomato to the Gyro and instead of shaving the lamb it was braised. All great additions, but not what you expect when you order a gyro. Greek dishes are classic for a reason, their flavor profiles are already outstanding, so why try and tweak them? Overall, I do recommend this restaurant if you’re looking to pay quite a bit for a different take on Greek food. If you love large portions of truly classic Greek dishes I wouldn’t attempt it.

I live down the street so I come here a lot for brunch.
My biggest suggestion is a side of Tzatziki with whatever quiche of the day they have. I’ve also had their salads, and some of their specials and am generally very pleased. I really enjoy their side of potatoes with brunch, they’re well spiced and have a delightful crunch!
But the burger? The burger I am in love with! It was SO GOOD. I’m also recently obsessed with their savory scones and slices of cake. My only solace is that I refuse to drive there since I live a few blocks away, and my laziness prevents me from running there to get cake everyday.

Mediocre food, SNOTTY waitstaff.
Leave feeling used.

get the quiche! and that salad that comes with it is a REAL salad, not just garnish.
i like their decaf americano, and the rest of the setting with a kid friendly play area is amazing. thank you for being such a wonderful place in Seattle.

How I heard of this place: It used to be the Honey Bear Bakery, a coffee shop at the far end of Third Place Books, which offered bar seating against the windows overlooking NE 65^th Street, café fare and friendly staff. Vios came in about two years ago and after hearing many good reviews, it was high time I sampled the menu. My friend Chris S. was in the mood for kebabs, «something Mediterranean» after our six (his eight) mile run around Green Lake. Ashley and I chose the spot as we waited for Chris to complete his last lap.
Type of cuisine: Simple Greek cuisine.
Ambiance: Casual setting with tall booths for seating. The space hosts a children’s play area between the bookstore and restaurant. Simple and sparse space with a lot of openness.
What I ordered: I ordered the Meze plate with one grilled chicken skewer ($ 11), a traditional Greek salad made with tomato, cucumber, green bell pepper, red onion, feta cheese and olives, and tzatziki (Greek yogurt with cucumber, garlic and fresh herbs). One of my dining companions also ordered a chicken skewer meze plate with hommus (chickpea purée with garlic, lemon and tahini) and braised greens (kale with extra-​virgin olive oil, garlic and lemon juice). Our third dining companion ordered the lamb meze plate with a side of hommus and kopanisti (feta cheese, roasted red pepper, and hot pepper). We accidentally got three pieces of falafel due to server error, but no one was complaining.
What I loved: I loved the kopanisti the most. The spicy flavor and the creamy texture were both pleasant to palate and tasty!
Why I loved it: The service was quick and the food satisfying. The portions are manageable and the food good.
Cost: Average to high ($ 10-​$ 12 for a small meze plate, which includes two sides)

The best brunch in Seattle. And we’ve pretty much tried them all. Their eggs Benedict are also literally the best I’ve ever had anywhere in the world. The egg sandwich is really good (Columbia City bread!), as is the French toast (but Portage Bay is better for that). The pancakes are texturally amazing but extremely filling. We like to get them without the lemon curd and just use syrup. Their specials are frequently really good as well.
Great coffee and similar drinks, too, but that’s par for the course.
One note, though: their incredible brunch menu is only offered on weekends. On weekdays, the breakfast menu is different.

This place is a good neighborhood gem located inside of/​attached to a cute bookstore. They offer your usual breakfast fare and has pastries as well. The seating is first come first serve and the staff is good at helping you find a spot. We had a large party so we had to have 2 tables but they were right next to each other. You order either from your table or at the counter, it is that casual. There is a nice play area for kids (small ones), but space is a bit tight.
I had the egg sandwich and it was good. Didn’t want to roll the dice this time with some of their more unique dishes, kept it safe. Note that the menu here is completely different than at the Capitol Hill location. Parking out front on the street was no problem and they have a lot.

I have mixed feelings about this Vios. On the one hand, the food is good enough to deserve at least 4 stars. However, it’s overpriced for what you’re getting (for dinner, at least). The bookstore, though, inevitably adds a coolness star to the rating.
I tried both the chicken souvlaki and lamb souvlaki. I preferred the chicken because I think it was better-​spiced and better-​prepared. The lamb was tough and chewy. The main problem was that for dinner, you only get 2 skewers with lettuce, pita bread, and tzatziki sauce, and it costs $ 14 for chicken, $ 16 for lamb. It takes more than 2 skewers to make me full, so slapping those prices for those dishes is a little steep, in my opinion.
The Galaktoboureko (filo dough with custard) was quite delicious, but I’m not sure if it was worth $ 6. I would recommend it over the Baklava, though.
The service was fine, and the atmosphere is nice and laid back.
Like I mentioned, having a bookstore attached to the restaurant is really cool, so I’m ok giving the place 4 stars overall. I just think you’re paying a little more than what you are getting for dinner.

This is a really cool little place. I ran in here for a quick lunch while on break from my job. Since it was in the back of a book store, I assumed it was a quick service style restaurant where you order at the counter but it turned out to be a legitimate sit-​down restaurant.
I was skeptical about the timing, given that I actually had to order and wait for my food to be cooked, but so pleasantly surprised to find that it was Greek food that I decided to give it a go. Not only was the service quick and pleasant, but my falafel was really good! The sandwich was warm and tasted fresh and high quality. It was delicious! Roasted tomatoes and falafel and some sort of sauce that I can’t spell correctly, but it really was exceptional.
When I told my boss how good it was once I got back to work (on time, thanks to the quick service without «quick service»!) she told me that Vios is Greek for life and was actually the product of a tragic loss in the owner’s family. She also mentioned how it’s super child-​friendly because the owner was a single dad when he started the restaurant and there’s some sort of child play area where you can let your toddler play while you sit nearby and have a meal with your spouse.
I think the concept is really excellent, and they’ve carried it out quite well. I will definitely be back at some point given it’s proximity to my job, but even if it was on the other side of the city, I’d be craving that falafel.

(Note: this is only a review of the weekend brunch. I didn’t know these guys do a dinner service; it might be quite good!)
Honestly, it is very hard to get excited over breakfast/​brunch places. The menus tend to be basic. The challenge for someone competing in this niche is to execute your dishes as well as you can. Happily, Vios Café does a good job here.
Nothing really earth-​shattering on the menu. You have the usual suspects of omelettes, griddle specialties, sandwiches, etc. Vios stands out from the pack by executing each dish very well, and being careful to use quality ingredients. Even sides that are an afterthought, like breakfast potatoes, are a cut above here. They cut russet potatoes into large cubes, boil and drain, then quickly deep-​fry. The result is light and fluffy inside, with a lightly crispy exterior.
Vios also benefits from a very pleasant and efficient staff, and prices are well in line for what you’re getting.
Oddly, while they offer a couple of Greek dessert wines, there are no wines or beer for pairing with the meal. I dock them a star for that.
But don’t be put off: Vios has a limited repertoire, but like Paul Simon sang: «He’s just a one trick pony (that’s all he is) But he turns that trick with pride l» In other words, you don’t have to have a menu as big as the books in the bookstore that Vios shares it’s space with, just do what you do really well.
By all means check ‘em out!