It would seem, at least from somet of my previous reviews, that I have totally succumbed to the allure of Griffintown when selecting a place to eat. Perhaps I have. It is unquestionably the area of town where some of the most exciting and talented young chefs have decided to hang their shingles.
The other night was no exception. I had a yearning for a meal at one of our city’s popular Greek tavernas. I recently received a gift of a vintage white that I was very eager to sample so the restaurant also had to be a BYOB, .
Scanning the list of BYOB restaurants in the city up popped Petros located at, where else, the corner of Notre Dame St West and Guy, right in the heart of Griffintown!
Petros, I later found out, is owned by the same person who owns the neighboring La Trattoria, a long standing popular BYOB Italian restaurant, open at the same location for years.
Petros is not a large restaurant by any measure, but its warm walls of aged barn wood and bright sunny Mediterranean colors of blues and whites could easily transport you to a small taverna on one of those idyllic Greek Islands.
The menu at Petros is a bit unique, it is almost entirely centered around table d’hôte selections with its prices including a generous four courses. There is also a small appealing a la carte selection of special appetizers.
The table d’hôtes, priced from $45 to $55, was displayed on a large blackboard. It includes a starter, a choice of a Greek or beet salad, a main course that includes a selection of lamb, chicken, steak, pork, a variety of fresh fish and to finish a taster plate of several of their in house desserts. The a la carte special appetizer menu includes, among others, crab cakes, grilled calamari, grilled octopus and grilled jumbo shrimp ($10 -$22).
There were three of us so we chose a variety from their starter selections: Eggplant and Zucchini Chips, Fried Calamari and an a la carte selection of Grilled Octopus.
The eggplant and zucchini chips were lighted coated in a thin batter and fried completely oil free and delightfully crisp. The calamari were also perfectly fried and tender and oil free. Both starters however lacked proper seasoning and the calamari would have been greatly enhanced with a dip of some kind.
The grilled octopus was served as thinly sliced nicely charred disks mixed with thin shards of red onion and a drizzle of olive oil. The octopus was very tender, but sadly it too lacked seasoning (a bit more oregano perhaps).It also cried out for something a bit acidic to cut through the luscious Greek olive oil, perhaps a bit of fresh lemon juice or a dash of red wine vinegar? As it was it tasted a bit flat.
The next course, was a selection of either the Greek salad or the beet salad. We chose both.
The Greek salad was fresh using juicy ripe tomatoes not those vile, hard as a rock GMO varieties, but it too missed the point of perfection by again being a bit under seasoned needing more oregano and again some lemon juice of vinegar to complement the fruity olive oil. There were no complaints about the beet salad however, every morsel was gobbled up!
Our main courses fared much better and were the stars of the night.
We chose the Grilled Lamb Chops, Grilled Swordfish and the Grilled Pork Chop.
The grilled lamb chops consisted of, I think, five perfectly grilled and seasoned and very tender loin chops accompanied, as were all our main courses, with a medley of perfectly cooked ‘al dente’ vegetables and nicely roasted and crisped potatoes halves. My grilled swordfish, garnished simply with capers and a drizzle of olive oil, was superb, one of the best I have tasted in quite some time. It was perfectly grilled and seasoned with a delicious charred flavor. I had only one small complaint, perhaps the portion could have been a bit larger given the price tag. The pork chop was equally delicious, grilled and nicely charred on the outside and perfectly luscious and moist inside
Our dessert “taster plate’ consisted of baklava, fresh fruit, a slice of cake and a rich swirl of that wonderful rich Greek yogurt drizzled with honey. A great way to end our meal.
Service was friendly albeit seemingly a bit rushed, perhaps due in part to the capacity crowd in attendance the night we were there and that fact that they reserve tables on a per sitting basis, a practice that inherently fills the restaurant up all at once at two times during the evening making it a bit hard on the servers.
Petros is a great addition the panoply of restaurants and bars in Griffintown. Don’t let the advertised prices deter you, they represent a four course meal which, by most standards, is well worth the price.
Our meal for three of us came to $186 including taxes and a $2 corkage fee for your BYOB
1530 boul Notre Dame Ouest
514 035-8500
www.restaurantpetros.ca
Tues to Fri: 11h30 -14h00 17h00 – 22h00
Sat & Sun: 17h00 – 22h00
Monday: Closed
