Lunchtime in Verges Lagies

The concept is relatively simple: meat served in sandwiches or platters, appetizers and spreads, salads, and drinks. I have a real soft spot for small menus because that way you can try a wider variety of items without getting lost in the choices. Too many options, especially at a grill house like this, might actually be a reason to avoid it. Fortunately, here, whatever you choose will be fresh and made to order. And as the name suggests, the skewers, βέργες (verges), used in the restaurant turn black — λάγιες (lagies) — from everything they grill throughout the day.

One of the signature dishes at Verges Lagies is roast pork in the casserole, meat that’s slow-roasted for 6 hours over low heat. If you order it on a platter, as I usually do, it comes with fresh fries, mustard, paprika, tomato, onion, and corn pita. These sides accompany every dish and are sure to leave you satisfied. What I can’t explain is how it always ends up on my plate tasting exactly the same, something that rarely happens when it comes to stewed meat that falls apart just as you use your fork every single time.

Getting back to the side dishes, I may have confused some of you with the word paprika. Paprika is a type of spread that often accompanies meat dishes, and more, and in Greece, you’ll find it mainly in the northern part of the country. It’s made with roasted Florina peppers, tomato paste, sometimes a little cheese and spices, but its main ingredient is red pepper. It’s also found elsewhere in the Balkans, as you’d expect, with ajvar being perhaps my favorite variation. Along with that, we got the hot green pepper as well as their homemade tirokafteri (τυροκαυτερή), the spicy cheese spread, which is made with yogurt, feta, and red bell peppers and packs just the right amount of heat. Other appetizers worth trying are the aubergine, which is also done on the grill and served with grated feta, and the grilled feta. As we said: simple flavors, but that doesn’t mean they lack taste.

After the roast pork in the casserole, the dishes you absolutely must try, in my opinion, are either the beef and lamb bifteki (μπιφτέκι), the patty, as shown in the photo before it almost immediately disappeared, or the lamb chops. If you want to try the lamb chops, you’ll probably have to come relatively early, but I’m sure you’ll leave very satisfied. If your group is a bit larger, you can simply order almost everything on the menu.

This bifteki weighs 380 grams and is made fresh every day by the staff at Verges Lagies. It has all the flavor you’d expect from the grill it’s cooked on, but it’s also incredibly juicy. Here, they don’t fall into the trap of overcooking the meat, and everything arrives on your plate just right, exactly as tradition dictates.

The icing on the cake at Verges Lagies is their fries. A grill house doesn’t just succeed because of the quality of its meat, but also because of the potatoes it serves. Just like everything else they make, the fries arrive at your table freshly fried. The next time I visit, I’d like to ask which variety they prefer using, but the fact that they respect their customers by maintaining high standards of quality is enough to keep me coming back.

Everyone here is really nice. Even though I see new faces every time I come, the staff’s willingness to take care of you remains just as strong. No matter what you ask them, you’ll always get a warm response, and they’ll do their best to make you happy. Don’t leave without trying one of the two-day-aged spirits, which combine really well with the rest of the menu. One thing’s for sure: if you come here once, you won’t stop coming back to Verges Lagies.