Old Village Grille in Penn Hills says it's the Home of the Authentic Gyro. Owner Niko Papageorgiou — a first-generation American with Greek roots — says there aren't many such places in Pittsburgh.
“Everyone's excited,” he says about the customer response to the restaurant that celebrated its first anniversary Oct. 1. “People say they don't have to go Downtown anymore for the best gyro in Pittsburgh.”
Papageorgiou describes the restaurant as an authentic Greek grill, with meat that comes right off the spit. The signature dish and best-seller is the Authentic Gyro ($5.99), which has a broiled mixture of lamb and beef, wrapped in a grilled pita with red onion, tomato and Greek tzatziki sauce.
Another top-seller is the Hercules Gyro ($7.99), a bigger version of the Authentic that includes french fries in the pita — but it's not a nod to Pittsburgh. Greeks commonly put fries in their sandwiches, says Papageorgiou, 30, who spent two semesters in 2005 studying abroad in Greece while a business major at Robert Morris University.
Diners at Old Village Grille, where Papageorgiou employs several family members, also love the Authentic Greek Salad ($5.99) with its blend of greens, red onion, tomato, cucumber, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, feta cheese and the eatery's house Greek dressing, served with a grilled pita. Add meat to the salad for $2.25.
Besides the popular salad, vegetarian options include the Veggie Gyro ($5.49) with hummus, cucumber, roasted red pepper, romaine, kalamata olives and feta cheese on a grilled pita. Other meatless options include Dolmades (five for $3.29), which are marinated grape leaves stuffed with rice and herbs; Spanakopita ($2.79), flaky fillo dough stuffed with spinach and feta cheese; and Tiropita ($2.79), fillo stuffed with a blend of cheeses. Old Village Grille makes two homemade desserts: rice pudding ($3.29) and baklava ($2.29) with honey and walnuts in fillo.
The food at Old Village Grille, Papageorgiou says, is “quick, fresh and simply authentic.”
Papageorgiou named his restaurant in reference to his father's hometown in Greece: Palaioxori, which means “old village” in Greek. While the younger Papageorgiou was growing up in Monroeville, his family owned a few restaurants — including Santorini's in New Stanton. But the family closed their restaurants in the late '90s because Niko got sick with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 12. He recovered, and now Old Village Grille donates money to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“I wanted to put my family back on the restaurant map, so I opened up a gyro shop,” Papageorgiou says. “I want to give back.”
The family theme continues with the restaurant's many repeat customers, who either dine in or do takeout.
“When they are in here, they kind of feel like they're part of the family,” Papageorgiou says.
Old Village Grille, 6277 Saltsburg Road, Penn Hills, is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Details: 412-888-9169
Kellie B. Gormly is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at kgormly@tribweb.com or 412-320-7824.
