Let’s Eat

From This Valley

Pappa knows best Jay and Layla Pappas are the owners of Pappageorge's Restaurant.

When Jay and Layla Pappas opened Pappageorge’s Restaurant and Bar nearly 13 years ago, they already had a following of devoted customers. That’s because Jay Pappas –who has been working in the restaurant industry since he was 15 years old – and his father used to run Maggie’s Restaurant and Bar, a former Mankato staple that developed a reputation for simple, high-quality, classic full-service dining. The couple actually met there, and when they sold Maggie’s in 2005, Jay Pappas began delivering packages for FedEx and Layla Pappas sold advertising for Clear Channel. But their hearts remained in the restaurant business. “We just weren’t in love with our careers,” Layla Pappas said. When the building at 1028 N. Riverfront Drive became available, they put together a business plan, got a loan and named the restaurant Pappageorge’s in honor of Jay Pappas’s great-grandfather, who emigrated from Greece to the U.S. in 1902 and was the first in the family to open a restaurant Jay and Layla Pappas have developed a loyal clientele from scratch

What: Pappageorge’s Restaurant and Bar

Where: 1028 N. Riverfront Drive, Mankato

What they’re known for: Classic full-service dining. Along with a variety of steaks, seafood, pasta, sandwiches and salads, weekend specials include a London broil cut from tri-tip steaks in au-jus and wild mushroom ravioli in a gorgonzola cream sauce topped with filet-mignon, fresh tomatoes and green onions.

in America. Today, the family has been running restaurants spanning four generations. “We were fortunate when we did open that we’d already established a good name in the community,” Layla Pappas said. “We were able to open the doors and have regular customers immediately by serving them what they were used to from Maggie’s. It was fun to see all the faces of regular customers we cared about so much.” Like Maggie’s, Jay Pappas said it’s all about starting with a good product prepared from scratch. “We sell a lot of shrimp, walleye and steaks,” Jay Pappas said. “That’s what people come here for.” Jay Pappas, who learned how to cook from his parents, is head chef at Pappageorge’s. He has two cooks, including one who joined the staff a few months after opening in 2007. Layla Pappas said they’re not over-the-top as far as fanciness goes; they let the food speak for itself.

Weekend specials such as the wild mushroom ravioli, mixed with a homemade gorgonzola cream sauce and topped with medallions of filet-mignon, fresh tomatoes and green onions, is exceptionally popular. It’s not uncommon for the London broil – which is made from cuts off a tri-tip sirloin and set in au-jus – to sell out before the weekend’s over. Pappageorge offers some of the best steaks and service in town.

“We run it until it sells out, which it does every weekend,” Layla Pappas said. The lunch menu focuses on burgers, sandwiches and salads, and the dinner menu expands to steak and seafood entrees. Some recipes from Maggie’s have carried over to Pappageorge’s menu. “Our turkey pasta salad — we brought that over from Maggie’s and people just love it,” Layla Pappas said. “It’s a buttermilk ranch with fresh vegetables mixed in.” Other popular items are the variety of hand-cut steaks, from filet mignon to a one-pound ribeye. Jay Pappas makes all of his sauces – like the gorgonzola sauce to a garlic parsley butter – from scratch. Layla Pappas said two of her personal favorites are the 10-ounce top sirloin and the grilled pork loin. “It’s a big pork chop without a bone, and it’s so juicy and delicious,” she said. Layla Pappas said her favorite part of running the restaurant are the friendships they develop with regular customers, some who come for a meal several times a week to meet with friends or meetings. Like Jay Pappas’ parents, grandparents and great-grandparents before him, the customers are multigenerational. She said some of their best customers are the children and grandchildren of people who used to dine at Maggie’s. “They’re not just customers anymore — they’re family,” Layla Pappas said. “You know their names when they walk in the door. You know when they’re having a good day or a bad day. That’s why we do it.”