The Grille Restaurant & Bar

The Grille Restaurant & Bar is a casual, yet elegant restaurant that is open 24 hours a day.

This is fantastic for the area, being right on the Queensway in "Downtown West", as it's being called, there is steady traffic whether it's 3 pm or 3 am.

Which means, you can have an all day breakfast, brunch lunch or large dinner at whatever time of day suits you.

This is great for our progressively 24-hour world and work. It used to be that most of us worked 9 to 5, but how many people do you know that still do that?

And with a menu boasting items to satiate your palate any time of day, you might just want to want to stop by for more than the $3.99 breakfast special.

Owner and creator of the menu, Jimmy Tsioubris knows all the secrets to running a successful restaurant.

His father taught him well during his childhood, where his parents ran such fun family restaurants as Cagney's, The Windsurfer and The Hungry Fisherman and Jimmy did everything from bussing tables to dishwashing.

And still, Dad is "here everyday helping me out."

And now, after 8 years of owning The Grille, Jimmy continues the quest to please the crowd - offer large portions of good food at a good price .

A year and a half ago, he completed a renovation that not only made the restaurant larger (over 200 seats including the large patio), but has created a warm and cozy environment where you want to linger over dessert or coffee.

Large booths accommodate a few couples, a group of friends or allow just a few people lots of comfortable space to settle in and enjoy their meal. Lush carpets and soft, creamy lighting make for a relaxed atmosphere and the Eighties music brings out your playful side with memories of neon shirts and the Robert Palmer girls.

Jimmy has made sure that the food is prepared properly as well.

"Everything's done from scratch. Only thing I don't make are the chicken fingers. Everything is fresh."

For instance, the pototoes for breakfast?

"They're done on the grill. They're boiled, we peel them, spice them."

And Jimmy uses butter to cook his eggs.

"It cost me an arm and a leg to have butter, but you don't find that anymore."

And you can find that dedication to ingredients throughout the menu. Which offers so much, it is hard to decide - do I want a souvlaki dinner, burger, fajitas, steak, fish or maybe even breakfast, though it's 9 p.m.

And then there are the daily specials, like Fish and Chips on Fridays or sometimes there's Prime Rib.

I decide on a small Garden Salad ($4.25), which turns out not to be small at all. Mixed greens are blended with onions, carrots, tomatoes and red cabbage and with a flavourful, zesty house dressing, it makes for a wonderful starter, as does the hot garlic bread that arrives at my table. It's garlicky goodness oozes out of the softness of the bread and off its crisp edges.

I choose the full rack of "World Famous Ribs" because who can resist "World Famous?" It comes with the garlic bread, coleslaw, a choice of potato or rice and a cup of soup or a garden salad. And all for $14.99 (they are regularly $20.99, but The Grille is currently offering them at this great price).

I choose homemade BBQ sauce over honey garlic, though both sound good.

I also have a Pasta Combo of Peppercorn Chicken and Pasta ($15.49) - a tender breast of chicken crusted with peppercorn, grilled and topped with a creamy peppercorn sauce. It comes with a heaping side of fettucine alfredo.

It sounds like a lot of food, and it is. The Grille serves most everything on a 15" platter and the entrees take up just about that much room.

There is a lot of meat on the ribs and the meat is soft and sweet, though thankfully not too sweet. The chicken is tender and peppery hot, and the sauce has great depth and fullness. The pasta is thick and hearty and the alfredo subtle, which in this case, against the peppercorn, is a great combination.

As I eat, both regulars and newbies come in. People are having all kinds of food despite the late hour, and there is a magic that comes with a restaurant that's open all night, like the Hopper painting, "Nighthawks," with people sitting around the counter.

And as a way to give back to the community that has served him well, every year Jimmy prepares a free Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless and less fortunate. This year was their second annual and they served 575 folks and raised over $2,000. He doubled his numbers from last year and cooked up 900 lbs of turkey.

"My goal is 1,000 people next year," he says.

"I'm looking forward to the next 10 years. This is the place to be right now," Jimmy says, with a smile.

And he's right. Because it's so comfortable here in this booth and it's open 24 hours, so there's really no rush to leave.

Maybe I'll have a look at the dessert menu after all.