Pantheon Restaurant

Name: Pantheon Restaurant
Location: 1203 Monroe St. Ste. 1, Endicott, NY 13760
Phone: (607) 757-0275
Cuisine: American/Greek diner
Price: Around $10 per person

Review:
As part of the new "Diner Thursday" tradition that Megan and I have formed, we decided to head out to Endicott this morning and hit up the Acropolis on Washington Avenue. We got there only to find that the restaurant was closed due to vacation this week, but I had remembered another diner, the Pantheon, was just around the corner on Monroe St. So we headed across the street and had our lunch there instead.

We got to the Pantheon around noon. It's not much to look at from the outside but is pretty reasonable on the inside with a standard diner setup, including the rotating dessert case and the coffee counter. Upon entering, we were instructed to sit anywhere we wanted. Seeing as the restaurant was fairly busy at the time and all of the booths were occupied, we found a table not far from the door.

We were quickly given menus and got drinks, a Sprite for Megan and a coffee for myself. In perusing the menu I noticed that breakfast food was not an option for lunch, unlike some diners in the area. Luckily, we were both in the mood for lunch, so all was well.

I ordered a cup of the Yankee Bean soup to start out (as a Yankee hater, I wanted the Oriole Bean, but that was sadly not an option) and went with the Ham & Swiss Club for the main course. I tried for the Roast Beef club, but there were out of roast beef. No biggie. Megan opted for one of her diner faves, the Chicken Souvlaki. She ordered it "Deluxe," Pantheon-code-language for "with fries."

I tried the soup first and thought it to be pretty delicious. This was a nice ham and bean soup with a generous portion of tender ham. I would order it again.

As for the Club, it was pretty good, if perhaps a little pedestrian. The bacon was crispy and the lettuce and tomato were fresh, so I was pretty satisfied. The fries that accompanied the meal were quite good, done up in the classic diner fashion, crispy, golden, and tasty.

Megan's souvlaki (not pictured) was a definite home run and a highlight of the meal. I tried a few bites as Megan surrendered to fullness and was rather impressed. The waitress appeared to be of Greek descent, and go figure, in a place called the Pantheon, it makes sense that the Greek food would be pretty solid. On a future visit for lunch, I will definitely go with a gyro, souvlaki, or one of their other Greek specialty items.

Overall, we were pleased with our experience at the Pantheon. Service was friendly and quick and the food was uniformly good. This place is nothing amazing or out of the ordinary, but for a small neighborhood restaurant, it was quite satisfying. This is a restaurant I'd definitely visit again and would certainly recommend to others in search of a good diner lunch in Endicott.

Grade: B