My spouse and I dined at Pegasus Taverna for a late dinner
on a Friday evening in early July 2017. Pegasus is open daily from 11:00 am
until 3:00 am (even later until 4:00 am on weekends). Although the restaurant
does not accept reservations (except for larger parties), they maintain a wait
list. (In fact, despite the late hour when we arrived, we waited on a bench
near the host stand for about 10 minutes until a table was available.) Besides
the Greektown outpost, Pegasus offers other locations in Ford Field and St.
Clair. Its owners also operate nearby sister restaurant Santorini Estiatorio.
Pegasus Taverna opened almost 20 years ago on Monroe Avenue in
Greektown. The restaurant is located on the street level of a huge brick building
(once called “Trappers Alley”) that is home to other bars and restaurants
(including Cold Stone Creamery and Five Guys Burgers as well as the Greektown
Casino. (You can even use your casino comps to pay for your meal at Pegasus.)
The restaurant space includes an open kitchen at the front,
a deli counter (where you can purchase take-out cheeses, pastries, and
souvenirs), a large drinks bar, and seating in two dining rooms at either
tables or booths. The interior is enormous, capable of serving large parties at
one time. Over many of the tables hang wooden lattice boxes covered with faux
grape leaves and vines.
Pegasus Taverna serves Greek cuisine. As we perused the
menu, our server brought us water (we liked that we didn’t have to ask!) and a
basket filled with bread and butter. We decided to share two appetizers:
saganaki (impressively presented on a hot iron skillet, doused with liquor [which
evaporates after the flame extinguishes], and lit on fire; Opa!), and the domathakia
(warm grape leaves) served with a lemon sauce (the filling was tasty, but we
have had more tender braised leaves elsewhere). As our “entrees”, we ordered
two gyros, one with fries and one with rice. (Pegasus serves the gyro
unassembled, with the flat pita bread set atop a pile of rotisserie/shaved lamb.)
Our waiter offered the dessert tray, and we chose to share the baklava;
however, the phyllo dough seemed a bit stale and was difficult to cut/bite. (A
few nights later, we were more pleased with the cinnamon-y baklava at
neighbor/sister Santorini.)
We enjoyed the festive atmosphere of Pegasus Taverna, but we
have had better food elsewhere.
