Greater Patchogue coverage is funded in part by New Village at Patchogue, open-concept rental residences with sleek contemporary design. Click here for a tour.
Greek and other European delights are set to arrive in downtown Patchogue this spring.
Konstantinos Chilias and Andrew Hendricks, owners of the Colosso Di Rodi Greek Bistro at 58 S. Ocean Avenue, are looking to open their new restaurant as soon the end of May. The duo said they hope to attract multiple generations of diners looking for European eats on a night out in the village.
“There are some secret family recipes, but it’s a modern twist on the ancient Greek cuisine,” Hendricks said of the bistro’s offerings. “This cuisine’s been around for thousands of years, we’ve brought it to Patchogue. We’re going to update it. It’s going to be classy. It’s going to be a modern take on the ancient ways.
“We’re going to run the gambit of what your grandfather was used to eating in Greece and what the kids are looking for today,” he added.
Seven days a week, Colosso Di Rodi will serve lunch and dinner. The lionshare of the menu will cater to Greek and and other dishes integral to the Mediterranean region. Diners can expect octopus, lamp chops, moussaka and gyros among other Greek dishes.
Those seeking popular dishes from Italy might consider the chicken oreganata or the branzino. As for drinks, the bistro offers Greek and Italian wines, as well as Greek Frappes.
The bistro also serves entrees for those looking beyond the Mediterranean, such as a filet of salmon and a 21-day-aged New York strip steak.
Greek ambiance
From the music to the Greco-Roman columns buttressing flowers, Chilias and Hendricks hope to transport their diners to Greece. Among the many antiques and trinkets, diners may notice the figurine of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, and a plate depicting the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world constructed on the Greek island of Rhodes.
Chilias, who goes by “Chef Dino,” said he moved to America from Greece in 1996 and soon after entered the restaurant industry. Hendricks, born of Italian dissent, worked in the same industry since he was 16, and the pair have known one another for nearly two decades.
The men fused the two cultures in the restaurant’s name: “Colosso Di Rodi” is the Italian translation of the wonder in Greece. Hendricks points to the Italian phrase “una faccia, una razza,” which translates to “one face, one race,” to best describe his and Chilias’ personal connection and their restaurant’s offerings.
“Historically, Italians and Greeks have a close symbiotic relationship in Europe,” Hendricks said. “The food bleeds over into each other from pitas to pastas, from pizza to gyros. We’re all a very close-knit community.”
