Hidden Gems: Kostas Grill in Tuckerton is a Greek delight

Editor's note: This is the first in a series on hidden gem restaurants we think everyone should know about.

Constantine "Gus" Stavrides isn't a chef, nor did he have any restaurant experience, when he opened Kostas Grill nearly a decade ago.

He sold high-end furniture, a career born of a job he took after he immigrated to the United States as a 26-year-old. But during a visit to Little Egg Harbor to visit his in-laws, Stavrides, who was born in Drama in northern Greece, found himself missing the food of home.

"I loved the town, I loved the area. We spent time here — summers, holidays — we knew the town," Stavrides said. "One time, I came with my wife here to stay and all of a sudden, I missed Greek food. I wanted to eat Greek food."

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He flipped through the Yellow Pages and didn't find anything.

"I was disappointed, and all of a sudden ... I (said), 'How about I open a Greek restaurant?' Greeks, we like to take a lot of chances," he said. "The philosophy is, if you don't make a move, (you're) always going to be in the same position."

Kostas Gril, a BYOB tucked in a strip mall, has been going strong since 2016. Its dining room is big, bright and airy, with walls painted the blue of the Mediterranean Sea and covered in photos of Greece. It's a place where regulars bring out-of-town guests and visit several times a week, Stavrides said,

This is partly because of the food — meals start with bowls of crispy spiced chickpeas, and the menu has traditional dishes like moussaka, pastitsio, chicken souvlaki, gyro pitas and platters, rack of lamb and avgolemono soup — and partly because of Stavrides himself, who enjoys making the rounds in his dining room to talk with and teach customers about Greek cuisine.

"It's good to tell people what you know," he said.

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(He taught me, for example, that good feta should be made with 100% sheep's milk, or 70% sheep's milk and 30% goat's milk — never cow's milk.)

"I bring the good products from Greece — feta, Kalamata olives," he said. "I have the best cheeses Greece has to produce. One is feta, which everybody knows, but I introduce people to kefalograviera, Kasseri, halloumi, manouri. People love to try something different, and it keeps us going."

Feta and manouri cheese are used in salads, kefalograviera is fried, Kasseri is broiled, and halloumi is grilled and served with zucchini and pesto.

That desire to serve new and different dishes has Stavrides making regular trips to an ice cream company in Baltimore, which churns the honey graham and olive oil-sea salt flavors he serves at Kostas.

He also imports cold-water octopus, which is grilled and served with pesto and chickpeas; fresh sardines, which are lightly floured and sautéed; and fish like barbouni, which as a fish of the day would be grilled and served whole with spinach and lemon potatoes.

"Because I'm not a chef by profession, I cook the way everybody cooks in their house," Stavrides said. "No preservatives, no artificial (ingredients) in this restaurant. We're cooking a lot. We want to do it all fresh.

"People come here, they experience the real flavors of the real food," he said.

Go: 161 E. Main St., Tuckerton; 609-879-5333, kostasgrill.com.

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Kostas Grill serves authentic Greek food in Tuckerton