Demetris Pizzeria & Mediterranean Cuisine

Demetris has passed on.. .is no more.. .has ceased to be. bereft of life, it rests in peace, etc.
I am quite saddened. It was frankly the best delivery in this neighborhood and I’m sorry that it’s gone, while I can still get delivery from skidmarks like Evan’s Varsity. Oh, those pizzas, those pastas, those Greek desserts. Returned to the earth of the pseudo-​diverse landscape of West Philly’s mediocre cuisine.

SCHUYLER’S MOST EMBARRASSING REVIEW EVER:
We tried Demetris, I thought I was being adventurous so I ordered the plum and tomato pasta. Well… it wasn’t until after I poked around with my fork that I realized that it was «plum tomato,» not «plum comma tomato.» I had ordered straight pasta with tomato sauce, no plums anywhere. Needless to say, Demetris disappointed me, but it was 100% entirely my fault. I guess I need to brush up on my varieties of tomatoes.
PS I saw no pizza on the menu and they’re not open for lunch.

Still five stars, this time for the delivery option. We called at about 3 pm on Superbowl Sunday to get delivery in the evening. Keeping in mind that there was still a ton of snow on the ground one day post blizzard and the fact that everyone in the US was ordering pizza and wings, Demetris showed up at 7:01 (for a 7 pm delivery), with pizza and wings that were still hot! It’s really nice to be able to order basic take out food, and then add an order of their fabulous spanikopita for fun. Kudos to being so put together on a crazy night!

I ate at Demetri’s in West Philly for the first time on Saturday October 2^nd.
Unfortunately, being a restaraunt in West Philly they have to allow for the take out/​delivery options of your standard «philly favorites» and the silly chicken tenders, wings, and blah blah blah.
I decided to go because the menu mentioned Saghanaki, a flaming cheese dish I used to have with my dad as a child.
My boyfriend and I showed up on date night expecting a nice sit-​down dinner without having to travel to center city or University city and we got SO MUCH MORE.
First of all, the interior is amazing, Beautiful paint, curtains and tile walls and floor. The booths were a mix of chairs and comfy couches with pillows, really inviting you in to spend an evening sampling dishes.
We had the Saghanaki of course and mussels in a tomato sauce to start. Mussels left a little to be desired but there was plenty of sweet sauce to dip the abundance of toasted garlic bread in, a pleasant escape from the cold bread and frozen butter of most places.
We decided on our entrees from the takeout menu before we even arrived. It was hard to make a decision, but only because I knew everything would be pretty good. After all i decided on the Taste of Italy. Im a fan of blush sauce and wanted to try theirs. It came with tortellini, gnocchi, cheese ravioli and penne. I never liked penne but all the pasta was cooked perfectly. After every bite I couldn’t wait to squish the gnocchi in my mouth. I had to stop halfway through and take a break so that I could fully enjoy the whole dish without getting too full, I didn’t want it to end!
Afterwards we had a tirimisu, which was actually homemade but fairly standard. the second cake was an armenian cake with chocolate and nuts and cream, I would try those creations for a new taste rather than the standards.
All in all, the 2 appetizers, soup/​salad, entrees (my BF had seafood pasta with alfredo sauce) and 2 desserts was only 56 $.
A steal!
Its a blessing to have a nice place in our neighborhood with GREAT food and good deals.
You can read the reviews above but I wouldn’t trust anyone that walks into a place liike Demetris, looks at the menu and decides to have «mac and cheese» or simply a calzone!
My new fave!
Go Now!

The interior is, as noticed, surprisingly nice, although we were seated in a strangely uncomfortable booth. The pillows were soft but the booth sloped backwards, forcing you to either recline away from the table or sit up totally straight, defeating the purpose of a comfy booth at all. I alternated between trying both of them and finally gave up and destroyed my back.
We were indecisive about the food; I wanted to try the gyro (and I will probably go back to do so) but ended up splitting an entrée. And let me tell you that $ 13 gets you enough chicken parmigiana to feed two people with leftovers. There was a LOT of chicken on that plate. It wasn’t bad at all: a nice crispy coating to the chicken itself, lovely melted cheese atop. The pasta and sauce were a little bland, but I’ve never been a huge fan of straight spaghetti and red sauce. The salad that accompanied the meal was absolutely drenched in dressing, but the balsamic was good, at least. And the garlic bread was delicious, I definitely was left wanting more than just one piece per person.
The service was pleasant and courteous though I did feel a little rushed to order – there was a rather large menu to decide from so it took a moment! But the whole restaurant has a nice, casual family feel despite the nice tablecloths; looking into the back, you can see the cooks hanging out at the kitchen door, escaping the heat and seeing if you’ve liked what you’ve eaten or not.

Demetri’s is not a pizzeria. It is a really nice family restaurant with a self-​image problem. The tables are covered with cloths and the banquettes are upholstered with fabric. The interior is calm, well-​lit, and attractive.
I got the mac-​and-​cheese of the day. They have a different «mac and cheese» every day; on my day it was farfalle with spinach and a swiss cheese sauce. It came to the table hot and savory, and was delicious. On other days they’ve had gnocchi with asiago, fettuccine with ham, I forget what else.
There you see their «pizzeria» problem again. They have this wonderful pasta with cheese sauce dish, and they sabotage themselves by calling it «mac and cheese». People who order «mac and cheese» are expecting to get orange Kraft instant junk. People who would like farfalle with spinach are not going to give «mac and cheese» due consideration.
So there you have it. I liked Demetri’s way better than I expected and way better than they led me to believe I would.
I also had a fried egg sandwich, which was just a fried egg sandwich. But it was a competently-​executed fried egg sandwich, and there was nothing wrong with it. Other folks in the restaurant were having hash browns, which looked superb; maybe I’ll get to try them next time.
The restaurant is only a month old, and is still coming up to speed. The service is a little disorganized and a little jittery. They’re trying really hard, maybe a little too hard. They are not yet a smooth, well-​oiled machine. I expect this will get better in a few weeks. If it survives, and if it shakes off its self-​deprecating attitude, I think it’ll be great.
They have a large full menu and my guess, from the «mac and cheese», is that you’d do better to order real food instead of convenience food. Someone here knows how to cook. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be doing such a good job pointing that out.
Give it a try; they could probably use some help.
Addendum 20 090 824: Went back yesterday. The mac-​and-​cheese of the day was penne rigate with chicken and fontina cheese sauce. My 5yo daughter was with me and enjoyed fish and chips for only $ 4. Service was friendly.