I often drive down Lacordaire Boulevard in St. Léonard for business. The large Scores Restaurant on that strip was always a big favorite of mine. Then last year I noticed the sign in front had disappeared, replaced by Grillys 9305.
Recently, curiosity got the best of me and I dropped in to meet owner Maria Tsimboukis, her sister and brother-in-law George Tsonis. George has decades of restaurant experience under his belt and serves as the general manager. After undertaking extensive renovations and re-branding the property Grillys 9305 (the latter is their civic address) they opened and customers began to arrive in droves.
The large restaurant can seat 270 people in a single sitting. This includes a private room with a capacity for 70 which is being used consistently for groups and parties to host wide range of special events. There is a busy takeout counter and they offer free delivery to residents of Montreal North, St-Leonard, Anjou and RDP.
Maria Tsimboukis is a graduate of the Law Faculty of the Université de Montréal. She also attended HECMontreal where she earned her MBA. “I have been blessed with many opportunities throughout my career including working as a vice president of legal affairs and chief compliance officer within the financial industry. The launch of this venture takes me back to my roots as my father was a chef and I share his passion for good food. The concept behind Grillys9305 is casual dining without having to compromise on quality ingredients and freshness for value.”
George was very proud to point to the many menu items which are homemade, such as the hamburgers, pastas, and sauces. One of the first things I noticed when I walked in was how bright and spacious the restaurant is.
My friend Mario and I were pleased to join Maria, George and Penny for a sampling of the menu. We started off with the large soup and salad bar where we were told they seek out the best ingredients from local food producers. The chicken noodle soup was delicious and the selections I chose for my salad were so wonderfully fresh.
While my original plan was to have some of their popular barbeque chicken, George suggested some of their signature dishes. To start things off, he brought us a basket of crispy calamari. A big thumbs up!
Then came the main courses, starting with the restaurant’s signature fall-off-the-bone pork back ribs, slow-cooked at low heat for eight hours until they’re mouthwatering tender and topped with homemade BBQ sauce. The dish was served with butterfly shrimps sautéed in garlic butter and a choice of French fries, baked, mashed potatoes, rice, or coleslaw. The ribs cut like butter and tasted superb. Ditto for the shrimps.
Next came one of their homemade hamburger plates. One bite of this and I agreed this was an unexpected highlight on the menu, cooked a perfect medium. Mario was curious about the lasagna, not something he expected to order when we walked in there. He had a big thumbs up for this four layer pasta, with Italian sausage, topped with ricotta and mozzarella cheese and served with a Bolognese sauce.
Well at this point we could eat no more. Grillys 9305 has a deep menu, with items such as salmon, brochettes, souvlaki, fish ‘n chips, filet of sole, sandwiches and wraps, chicken burgers, chicken wings, mini-burgers, steaks, spaghetti, fettucine, chicken fajitas, chicken parmigiana, smoked meat, pulled pork, General Tao and poutine.
Reservations are accepted and strongly recommended on weekends. You can call (514) 321-2777 and log on to http://grillys9305.com/ to view the entire menu. They also have a heavy presence on social media, join them on Instagram and Facebook.
By Mike Cohen