Niko's

Sometimes you miss one...it's right there, you see it, you think "oh, there's a place we haven't tried", and still, you just...miss it.

And so it was for Niko's for a couple of years.



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Like the name suggests, Niko's is on Chattanooga's southside, in the rapidly swankifying Southside development zone.  One of our family favorites, the Urban Stack gourmet hamburger emporium, is located just down the street, and a handful of other regular haunts are within a short walk.

But Niko's...we had seen it, but not visited.  Once, some number of years ago when we were but a young, unwed and un-childed couple of love birds, we had visited Chattanooga for a sleepover away from home and dined at a previous spot in the same space, called Southside Grill, if memory serves.  And that meal was fine, but maybe the fact that we had eaten inside those 4 walls allowed us to mark the space off as "done", even though the new place was, well, new.

At any rate, tonight after mowing the lawn I got an email from Open Table suggesting that I might be one reservation away from a new reward, so I checked out what might be available at 6 for a family of 2.5, and Niko's popped up.  A quick check of the menu suggested the Niko was likely a Greek dude, and we haven't had Greek in a while (since Chicago, TYVM), so I booked the table and off we went.

The space is nice, and there was ample street parking out front.  The hostess did not blink about us bringing a toddler in, although, to be fair, there were few diners to bother at that early hour.  Our server was a pro, and soon we were set up with drinks (a Dark&Stormy for me, a glass of Sauvignon Blanc for the missus) and a special summer bruschetta.

We seem to have entered a new stage with the Little One.  He has more energy and less patience for fine dining these days, and it has become a challenge to keep him occupied while his Mama and I eat.  Pepper shakers and straws are good for about 48 seconds each.

Ultimately, we opted for "Greek-ish" options from the entree menu; she chose a "Farmer's Pie", which was basically a shepherd's pie kind of thing in filo dough (she says it was veggies and cheese).  I chose lamb chops with a mint pesto, couscous, and squash.

My dinner was fantastic.  The lamb was nicely done, although the overall dish needed a tough more seasoning.  Our server recommended a glass of Malbec to accompany the lamb, and it worked out well.

For a pre-tip check in the mid $70s, this was a great meal out, and it made me sorry that we had missed Niko's for so long.