In case you have not noticed, I am a huge fan of the growing Petros Taverna (restaurantpetros.ca) family of dining establishments in the Montreal area.
Owner Ted Dranias is a man on the move. His 34 years in different restaurant ventures included a partnership with Peter’s Cape Cod on the West Island. He opened La Trattoria (latrattoria.ca) on Notre Dame Street in Griffintown and then introduced the maiden Petros right next door in May of 2015. It was such an instant success that in December 2016 he expanded with Petros Westmount at the corner and Grosvenor. I dined at both Petros locations in the past several months – and La Trattoria the years ago. Clearly not one to rest on his laurels, Dranias was in a growth mode once again and at the end of April. Petros Laurier made its debut
Word of mouth
Young Perry Kalivrousis has stepped up to work as one of Dranias’ associates. One of the reasons why Petros Laurier was a success from the get go had to do with Kalivrousis’ customer service ethic. He circles the restaurant continuously, making his way to every table to ensure there are no problems. From filling glasses of water to bringing an item from the kitchen, he is already a real difference-maker.
Dranias splits his time between the different restaurants, but on the night we dined at Laurier he worked the kitchen with veteran sous chef Johnny
We were a group of five on this night. Our server George went over some of the menu items and we began with some starters: fried zucchini, the Psilokomeni chopped salad and the grilled octopus. Along with this came three spreads: taramosalata, tirokafteri and tzatziki. The zucchini was amazing, the chopped salad superb and the octopus was so good I did not want to see our plate empty.
Let me tell you about the eggplant! It looked like a bowl of applesauce when George brought it to me. The Petros secret? It is roasted and then pureed, with some special flavoring added. Our family never enjoyed a side of eggplant more than this one!
For the main courses, we tried different dishes. Two of us shared the grilled fagri, a classy fish that draws the people’s impressions because of it’s rosé color. The Mediterranean Sea bass was well received at the table. An enormous portion meant a nice take home package at the end of night. One member of the party tried an order of moussaka for the first time in her life and she really enjoyed it. There was also a taker for the grilled lamb chops, prepared just right and well received.
Besides a variety of salads and other fish selections menu options also include, chicken, steak, oysters and lobster pasta.
For dessert we shared a plate of fresh fruit, accompanied by some yogurt and baklava.
Inquire about the excellent group menus for lunch and supper.
Petros Laurier is located at 234 Laurier and open Monday to Friday 11:30 am to 3 pm and Sunday to Thursday evenings from 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm and Fridays and Saturdays, 5:30 pm to 11 pm. For reservations call 514-312-0200 and book via Opentable.com. You can log on to https://restaurantpetros.ca/en/laurier