Small Greek restaurant is big on flavors and variety

While searching the New River Valley for places to review, I often ask my friends and co-workers for suggestions . I was pleasantly rewarded when a friend told me about The Greeks’ Restaurant and Grill on North Main Street in Blacksburg.

The Greeks’ is owned and operated by the Havelos family, which has a relatively long history in the Blacksburg restaurant business.

Owner Tom Havelos ran Greeks Restaurant on Progress Street several decades back, which has lent the nickname of “the new Greeks” to his current establishment. Tom’s brothers are the men who brought us the Cellar restaurant, and the infamous downstairs Cellar bar.

Thankfully for us, the Havelos have not tired of serving up quality Greek food at a great price.

So, on a cool, rainy day in the middle of November, I accompanied friends for a quick lunch at The Greeks.’

The small restaurant is tucked away just off North Main Street in Blacksburg, near the intersection of Turner and Main streets.

The Greeks’ has very limited seating — enough for 10 to 15 at most in front of a deli-style counter. Most of the interior is taken up by the kitchen, with pictures of Greece adorning the walls. Behind the register is a shelf displaying some packaged Greek desserts and a few mammoth tins of Greek olive oil.

I was surprised only by the lack of a familiar gyro spit rotating to warm the meat.

For such a small restaurant, the menu is fairly extensive, with a host of tempting appetizers, all of the traditional gyros and souvlaki and falafel, as well as burgers, subs, pasta, pizzas and calzones.

I had a hankering for falafel, and my friends quickly made up their minds for a gyro platter and Pete’s Greek spaghetti .

I settled on an appetizer of hummus and pita. Then we relayed our orders to Tom’s son, who was working the registers and cooking the food.

We settled at the only table large enough for three or more diners, and in short order our appetizer arrived. The thick, garlicky hummus was quite good, and the pita was fabulous.

It was not the floury, inflated pita I am used to eating. Instead, it was a flatbread flecked with whole wheat, lightly brushed with oil and dusted with large salt crystals.

This warm and chewy wonder is, in my opinion, the best pita in the New River Valley.

Much to my pleasure, the falafel was served atop one of these wonderful pitas, and was smothered with the infamous tzatziki sauce — a creamy, yogurt and cucumber combination that balances the dryness of the chickpea-based falafel balls. My friends were pleased with the gyro and the pasta, which tasted homemade.

But the fries were fairly ho-hum and the house salad paled in comparison to the Greek salad.

Although I was full, I followed up my meal with a monstrous slice of The Greeks’ famous baklava . It was outstanding. The phyllo dough was drenched in a honey-syrup, which just managed to bind the half-inch of nut-based wonder sandwiched between.

The entire tranche is doused with a sweet honey sauce.

Altogether, I had a great time at The Greeks’. The Haveloses are professionals who know the business. The food was great, and the prices were reasonable .

I will definitely return to finish sampling the appetizer menu and to pay a visit to that wonderful pita and baklava.

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