Business Profile: Taverna Pandesia, Mount Kisco

Local residents and foodies don’t have to travel very far if they crave a taste of Greece. All they need to do is head to downtown Mount Kisco and they can get a great meal as if they were visiting the Mediterranean coast.

Last week Nikos Kostakis opened Taverna Pandesia at 36 E. Main St in Mount Kisco. He calls it authentic Hellenic cuisine.

“You make everything on the premises,” explained Kostakis. “No fast food or buying from suppliers outside. A hundred percent of everything on the menu we make here.”

Kostakis, with 25 years experience in the restaurant business, has teamed with his brother, Elias, who is also the chef and a culinary school graduate with 16 years experience working at established Greek restaurants in Queens and Long Island to bring Mount Kisco its newest restaurant. The brothers also have another partner in the business, Christopher Fillos.

The 73-seat Taverna Pandesia, which means sumptuous feast, features the traditional Greek fare that so many patrons recognize such as the gyro or pork or chicken souvlaki. Then there are the traditional specialties, including the  moussaka (baked eggplant, potatoes and ground beef with bechamel sauce) and gemista (peppers and tomatoes stuffed with ground beef, rice and herbs). There is also a vegetarian Gemista.

Kostakis recommended anything on the seafood menu. Chicken and steak dishes are also featured prominently along with a full array of appetizers and salads. Kostakis has included a children’s menu for youngsters 12 and under.

“We made it more family oriented,” said Kostakis, who still is a part-owner of the Lynbrook Diner in Lynbrook, L.I. “That’s why we made the prices so reasonable.”

While the success of any restaurant starts with the quality of its food, atmosphere is also important. Kostakis’s wife, Peggy, said the decor can transport a patron to a small town in Greece. There are white chairs and the walls are adorned with several large photos and paintings of the Mediterranean. There are also several pieces of her grandmother’s needlework, which says to patrons that they’re in a bright, refreshing and familiar environment.

Customers can also enjoy a drink at the full-service bar before their meal or during lunch or dinner.

“We wanted to create an inviting and pleasant atmosphere and welcome home,” Peggy Kostakis said. “You could say ‘Kalos Eirthate.’ That’s welcome.”

Then there’s the service. That’s where Kostakis and his quarter-century of restaurant experience comes to the fore. While the pace and atmosphere of Taverna Pandesia is much different than that of a diner, the customer service part of the restaurant business never changes.

“The service always has to be A-1,” he said. “There’s no difference to me what I do here and what I do at the diner. I was always up front with the customers, speaking with customers. You have to do that.”

Peggy Kostakis said her husband and brother-in-law picked up their love for food and the restaurant business back home in their native Ioanina, Greece. She said her father-in-law loved to go into the kitchen and create all sorts of unique dishes.

Kostakis emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1977 at 14 years old. Residents of Whitestone, Queens, the couple said they chose Mount Kisco for the restaurant because they have regularly visited friends and family in the village over the years and enjoy the area.

There was also the opportunity to go into the block on Main Street off of South Moger Avenue that has been recently transformed into a mini restaurant row, with a variety of new eateries. That made the location particularly attractive.

“You have a lot of good restaurants in one place, it’s happening, there’s a happening there and then people find out from other areas what’s going on,” Kostakis said.

Taverna Pandesia is open seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m. There are also takeout orders with free delivery with a minimum $10 purchase. Reservations are accepted but not required.

For more information, call 914-244-3000 or visit www.tavernapandesia.com. Orders may be faxes to 914-244-3033.