Johnny’s Restaurant is a blend of Greek and Southern styles of cooking. Chef Timothy Hontzas has Greek heritage, naming the restaurant after his grandfather Johnny who also cooked.   Opening in 2012 this place offers a “meat and three” style with Greek specialties as well as traditional dishes like meatloaf.  It is located on the second level of a busy shopping center where parking could be an issue.  You place your order at the counter with the large chalkboard menu behind the counter but some additional specials were posted on the wall as you walked up.  You get a number and the servers find and bring your food out to you.  All lunch plates come with a choice of cornbread or yeast roll.  Music is in the background, the drink station is in the back and portions are generous.  The food is quite good, especially the vegetables.  I would love to go back and sample more dishes – hope you’ll get a chance to try it.

Set- Up

 

Food

We each got a main course and 3 sides, choosing different ones so we could sample more.  There was plenty to share of each one.  One of the daily specials was Charbroiled chicken souvlaki with lemon-tahini butter. It was pieces of white meat chicken tenders and so some of it was a tad dry but the meat was nicely grilled with lots of seasonings for flavor and a good sauce for dipping into. It had a $2 upcharge to the regular meat and 3 price of $13.99.

 

The chicken pot pie is a regular main and one they often sell out of, according to the counter person.  It was filled with tons of shredded chicken and vegetables in a rich sauce and then topped with a housemade crust.  It was not heavily seasoned but more like a bowl of comfort food with a buttery crust. The cornbread was good with a bit of crumble to it.  The person who brought the food offered to bring butter if we wanted, which was a nice option.  There were some whole kernels of corn in the well-flavored muffin.

 

Sweet potato puree with cinnamon maple butter was lovely.  Tons of spices like cinnamon and allspice were incorporated into the smooth puree that almost glistened in the bowl.  It could have been dessert.

 

Parmesan Grit Cake was a fried patty that was filled with pureed white grits.  It was so good and such fun to eat with the contrast in textures.

 

Creole Red beans were slightly spicy.  The creamy beans were accented with bits of meat for a delicious end result.  One of my favorites of the selections.

 

Macaroni and Cheese was a bit stiff for me but that is the style here.  Mild flavors were in the well-cooked dish.

 

Field peas were black-eyed peas with lots of nice seasonings.  Also tons of good black-eyed pea flavor.

 

The Greek Salad was a side with a $1.50 upcharge.  It was nicely dressed with lots of feta cheese, olives and herbs.  It was good.