Nostos

by Warren Rojas

Hospitality vet Peter Pagonis is bringing his particular brand of Greek cuisine back to NoVA with Nostos, a fine dining establishment that’s short on decorations but full of ambition.
Pagonis, who continues to preside over Mykonos Grill in Rockville and owned/operated Alexandria’s Four Seasons Diner what seems like a lifetime ago, says the plan for his Vienna restaurant is to keep things light and breezy. “We’re trying to capture the younger crowd there,” he suggests, touting a mezze-heavy menu as the perfect, casual dining bait.
Nostos—which, Pagonis explains during what had quickly become an impromptu etymology lesson, actually pays tribute to the root of the term “nostalgia” and means “the desire to go back”—does the minimalist thing well, sporting stark white walls, unobtrusive fixtures and a sleek looking bar setup.
The menu covers the Greek classics (avgolemono, spanakopita), fields a slew of appetizing salads (everything from olive oil-drizzled tomatoes and feta to grilled salmon over spinach), a handful of multi-textured spreads (tzatziki, taramosalata), three-dozen wildly diverse mezze selections (grilled cheese to fried fish cakes to roasted lamb) plus just over a dozen entrees—half of which revolve around a somewhat illusory, laundry list of prime seafood (the main menu stubbornly lists over a dozen of their signature fish dishes; one must inquire as to which selections are actually available at any given time).

8110 Boone Blvd., Vienna; 703-760-0690; www.nostosrestaurant.com

Open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner Monday through Saturday.

(September 2011)