Petra: A Greek Taverna among restaurants opening at Tivoli Village

Dan and Demetri Kouretas say "Opa!" with two restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. In their hometown of Las Vegas, however, that name already was taken, so the brothers are greeting local customers with Petra: A Greek Taverna, one of four restaurants that opened Thursday at Tivoli Village, 440 S. Rampart Blvd. at Alta Drive.

Dan Kouretas said he and his brother moved to Las Vegas in 2001, after selling some real estate in California and looking for a new market to move into. Before Petra, they owned two other valley spots, both Lucky's Lounge & Restaurant.

"We've had some great success in California with our restaurants there," he said. "We wanted to bring our concept to this community, because we both live here. We had these restaurants in other places and we wanted it so bad in our own backyard. We felt there was a need for it. We looked for the perfect location, and we think we found it."

Kouretas said Petra is different from other local Greek restaurants in that it's "not blue and white" but "urban sexy chic, much more modern and contemporary." Like every other restaurateur, he says they emphasize freshness and quality, but also "the healthy side of Greek food."

"Obviously we have the notable Greek dishes" such as spanakopita, pastisio, moussaka, souvlaki, gyros, loukoumades and baklava. "We throw in a lot of the Greek dishes we grew up with -- much more authentic," such as lamb shank, branzino and grilled octopus, said Kouretas, whose grandparents immigrated from Greece.

There also is a focus on tapas-style dishes, Kouretas said, with sharing encouraged.

"We have a huge emphasis on appetizers," he said. "Few people actually make it to the entrees."

"One of our biggest things is we're not a corporation," he said. "In Las Vegas, that mostly reigns supreme. We're two brothers who live in Las Vegas and we want to help our community grow. With the economy and the recession starting to bounce back, we thought it would be a great time to open."

Among the other restaurants that opened with Tivoli Village is Brio Tuscan Grille, which already had a valley location at Town Square on Las Vegas Boulevard South. Brio is from the Bravo l Brio Restaurant Group, based in Columbus, Ohio, and it specializes in Northern Italian food.

Leone Cafe is modeled on a traditional Italian coffee shop. Coffee is roasted, ground and brewed on site, and the menu includes espresso-based drinks plus a variety of baked goods.

YoScream melds self-serve frozen yogurt "with the top quality and flavor of gourmet ice cream" and serves crepes and Belgian waffles -- with chocolate-fondue fountains for the truly indulgent.

Bottles & Burgers, from Double Helix, is scheduled to open later this year.

Petra offers indoor and outdoor dining, the latter with a view of Red Rock. It serves lunch and dinner, a late-night reverse happy hour, and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The brunch menu, Kouretas said, includes traditional American breakfast foods including omelets and pancakes, plus such specialty items as gyro hash and eggs and a baklava waffle.

"It's good hangover food," he said.

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.