Pete’s Original Restaurant

Petes is across the street from work, so i eat here a lot. The people are friendly. It is very clean. The food is inexpensive and plentiful.
I gave it a 4 because some of the food is a 3 and some a 5. The breakfasts are great. The bacon egg and grits plate is as good as any i have had. The lunches vary in quality. The hot bar is pretty standard cafeteria grade food. Not bad, not great. The grilled chicken fingers are great, juicy and flavorful. The club sandwich and Philly cheesesteak are both very good and served with a pile of fries. The greek salad is also very decent.
Overall just good food served by nice people. Not a bad way to spend a lunch hour.

Had a grilled chicken pita lunch special. Really good and served quickly and piping hot. The place is spotless and the folks are friendly.

One of the worst Gyro’s I’ve ever had. Meat was dried up and not much flavor at all. Gyro and fries were almost $ 9. Waste of money. I was really craving a good gyro too. Very disappointing.

Before I review this restaurant, a brief history of Greeks in Greenville. After WWII there was a huge immigration of Greeks to the Greenville area. Many of them set up what we call «short order» restaurants, burgers, hot dogs, BBQ, onion rings (the best in the world), and chili-​cheese burgers. There are several restaurants around Greenville called «Pete’s,» but they are not a chain, but owned by individuals, most of them related either by blood or marriage.
This Pete’s is called «Speros Original Petes» and it’s located on Pendelton Street. It has been around for well over 50 years and is operated by the same family that opened it. In the days when Furman University was located downtown this restaurant was where Furman students would eat off campus. It started out as a «short order» place like I described earlier, but in the past few years these Greek restaurants have, while keeping «short order» menus now serve meat-​and-​three, with changing menus every day. Speros serves meat-​and-​three Monday-​Friday for lunch, other Pete’s locations serve at other times.
Today I went in and had Chicken Pot Pie, Green Beans and Mac and Cheese. It was excellent. I closed my eyes and imagined my Grandmother setting that in front of me, it’s very authentic Southern cooking.
Speros also has some of the best hand breaded onion rings I have ever tasted. I eat them as much as I can. Their Fried Chicken is also to die for!
I am a major fan here and will be a lifelong customer, and I strongly urge anyone who is a fan of this type of food to try the place.