Our Restaurant

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Little Lemon is a family-owned Mediterranean restaurant, focused on traditional recipes served with a modern twist.
The chefs draw inspiration from Italian, Greek, and Turkish culture and have a menu of 12–15 items that they rotate seasonally.
The restaurant has a rustic and relaxed atmosphere with moderate prices, making it a popular place for a meal any time of the day.

Little Lemon is owned by two Italian brothers, Mario and Adrian, who moved to the United States to pursue their shared dream of owning a restaurant.
To craft the menu, Mario relies on family recipes and his experience as a chef in Italy.
Adrian does all the marketing for the restaurant and led the effort to expand the menu beyond classic Italian to incorporate additional cuisines from the Mediterranean region.

Italian Cuisine

Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula since antiquity, and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora.

Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet — the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century.

It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.

Turkish Cuisine

Turkish cuisine (Turkish: Türk mutfağ) is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora.

It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European cuisines.

Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including those of Southeast Europe (Balkans), Central Europe, and Western Europe.

The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm taking influences from and influencing Mesopotamian cuisine, Greek cuisine, Levantine cuisine, Egyptian cuisine, Balkan cuisine, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia (such as mant, ayran, kaymak), creating a vast array of specialities.

Turkish cuisine also includes dishes invented in the Ottoman palace kitchen.

Greek cuisine

Greek cuisine (Greek: Ελληνική Κουζίνα) is the cuisine of Greece and the Greek diaspora.

In common with many other cuisines of the Mediterranean, it is founded on the triad of wheat, olive oil, and wine.
It uses vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, and meat, including pork, poultry, veal and beef, lamb, rabbit, and goat.
Other important ingredients include pasta (for example hilopites), cheeses, lemon juice, herbs, olives, and yogurt. Bread made of wheat is ubiquitous; other grains, notably barley, are also used, especially for paximathia.

Common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits, and filo pastries.
It continues traditions from Ancient Greek and Byzantine cuisine, while incorporating Balkan, Turkish and Italian influences.