Pi-Rho Grill
81 Riocan Ave., unit M4 in the Barrhaven Marketplace, 613-823-7171, pirhogrill.com
Open: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Prices: $8.75 to $12.25 for salads, grain bowls, pita sandwiches
Access: no steps
By now, any seasoned foodie worth his pink Himalayan salt can rhyme off the signs of an enlightened restaurant.
Does it sing from the farm-to-table hymn book? Does its kitchen eschew additive-laced, processed-food shortcuts to cook from scratch? Does it serve locally made beverages? Does it have vegan and gluten-free options?
I expect some, if not all, of these boxes to be ticked off at new and often higher-end Ottawa restaurants, especially downtown and along the city’s more competitive dining streets.
But I was surprised to see Pi-Rho Grill — a fast casual Mediterranean/Greek eatery in a big Barrhaven mall —abide by the new tenets of dining out. Opened in April, it has the look and feel of a chain or franchise operation, but it isn’t – at least, yet.
The eatery was created and is owned by George Plagakis, who through the 2000s was a partner running the three Baton Rouge franchises in Ottawa and Hull.
Pi-Rho serves fast food, with staffers pulling together pita wraps, grain bowls and the like assembly-line style as customers move along the queue, indicating their preferences for meats or toppings.
But in contrast to a shawarma shop or other fast food joint, Pi-Rho proudly calls its fare “true food.” Its signage boasts about Ontario lamb and Angus beef. Its soups, sauces and the like are made in-house, and freshly so, they say.
Its two draft beers are brewed locally, by Kichesippi Beer Company, while soda choices include bottles of Harvey and Vern’s, brewed out of the Kichesippi brewery, as well as fizzy, fruity Loux soft drinks imported from Greece.
The eatery also has a commitment to recycling and composting so that disposable cutlery, bowls, cups and foil don’t end up in the landfill. It walls and tables are made of reclaimed oak and fir.
There are also USB charging ports on the walls.
But locavorism, environmentalism and marketing aside, how does the eating at Pi-Rho stack up?
Over three visits, I’ve been, for the most part, pleasantly pleased by the food, cooked on the grill or combination oven. With the food, developed by chef Luis Molina, the flavours have been bigger and more fresh and varied than at comparable casual places.
Mind you, the initial visits for myself and my friends required some deciphering of Pi-Rho’s five-step ordering regimen, which deconstructs an item into a sequence of ingredients.
The bottom line might be that you want braised lamb in a pita with tzatziki, feta, quinoa, tomato and onions with the house’s pomegranate and ginger dressing. It’s a little tricky the first time, but easier on later visits, to get what you want.
As per the assembly line, Pi-Rho’s food is very modular. The first choice is essentially between between a salad, a grain bowl, a large pita wrap, two mini-pitas and a mini-pita/soup combo. After that choice, a customer picks a dip or two (tzatziki, feta, eggplant and red pepper, hummus, red pepper hummus, or spicy harissa), then a protein (chicken breast, vegetables, zucchini cakes, beef or lamb meat balls, braised beef or lamb). Then it’s on to toppings and dressings.
What worked best for me? The braised lamb, seasoned with garlic, turmeric and coriander, had fine flavour and texture. Lamb meatballs made with harissa and cilantro were moist had a nice spicy kick. The spiced tzatziki and jalapeno-spiked feta were punchy additions, and the beet-and-cranberry-spiked quinoa was nicely sweet, but not overly so. Those items figured in the “boss’s favourite” and “chef’s favourite” items on a chalkboard, which made for easier, choice-free ordering.
Boss’s favourite grain bowl with braised lamb, saffron basmati rice, tzatziki, feta, beet-and-cranberry quinoa, pomegranate ginger dressing at Pi-Rho Grill
Also, the pitas were warmed to order and fluffy. A bowl of ginger butternut soup was not shy about its ginger.
Pitas at Pi-Rho Grill
Butternut squash ginger soup and roasted vegetables mini pita at Pi-Rho Grill.
What I liked less, was the lack of a dessert, although Plagakis says he hopes to have a Greek yoghurt-based meal-ender available in a few weeks, as well as Ottawa-roasted Equator coffee.
Also, a server or two was inexperienced and perplexed by his or her assembling duties. But what I really didn’t like was a hair found in a friend’s grain bowl, seemingly in a scoop of saffron basmati rice. He returned to the counter, discretely mentioned the hair, and received a new order.
Rice bowl with chicken breast at Pi-Rho Grill in Barrhaven
Plagakis said his service could be improved upon with better training. “I think it’s good. It just needs to be great,” he said. “I want to support the local students,” he added. Store manager Tom Tohme said there have been no other complaints about foreign objects since the restaurant opened.
Plagakis said that he dreams of developing the Pi-Rho brand and having multiple locations, at which point he could source his meats locally. He is scouting options downtown and in Kanata.
A neighbourhood beyond Barrhaven should welcome a Pi-Rho if Plagakis can pull it off, I think. It might not be a fancy date-night experience, but it is quick, wallet-friendly food that I found to be better-than-average tasty and, with that one exception, well-made and assembled. I would go back.
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