Dining Out Review: Gus’ Bar & Grill

I don't like to compare a new restaurant with the previous tenant, especially if they fall into the same category: fine-dining, family-friendly, sports bar, etc.

But for Gus' Bar & Grill, located in the former home of Out of Bounds near the Department of Motor Vehicles on West Broad Street, this comparison works to its advantage.

For the most part.

While Gus' bills itself as catering to a dining crowd rather than Out of Bounds' wings-and-fries regulars, the more unusual items on its menu -- many boasting a Greek influence -- still need fine-tuning before I'll consider the restaurant a regular spot in my dining travels.

On the other hand, Gus' has an improved vibe compared with Out of Bounds' signature hole-in-the-wall feel. Gone are the pool tables, dartboards and clouds of smoke. In their place is an open and inviting room perfect for grabbing a beer with some buddies while watching sports on the bar's flat-screen TVs.

Black booths with logo-ed tabletops sit against pale yellow walls dotted with black and white prints. Terra cotta-colored tiles give the room a warm glow. Gus' menu even encourages youto ask your server for wine recommendations.

Based on appearance alone, Gus' seems to have everything to draw in the diners just as easily as the drinkers. However, it's not there yet.

A friend and I stopped in on a weeknight to find the place mostly empty, the few patrons lining the bar glued to the TVs. We grabbed a booth and started scanning the menu before our waiter came over to get our drink orders.

He could not recommend wine, but I wasn't bothered. Throughout the meal, he was pleasant without hovering something that happens too frequently when a restaurant isn't busy.

Gus' appetizers, "The Starting Line Up," include typical chicken tenders and chicken quesadillas (both $7.95), but we were more interested in trying some of the items our waiter touted as unusual for a sports bar, such as Gus' Flaming Saganaki ($8.95) and fried ravioli ($6.95).

As is customary with this popular Greek starter, Kasseri cheese arrived with panache, all aflame before being extinguished with a squeeze of lemon juice. Creamy and golden-colored with a sharp, salty flavor, it was good at first, accompanied by pita wedges. But as it cooled, it turned into an unappealing puddle of grease, something I've not encountered with saganaki.

And what a puddle it was. I wish our waiter had warned us this was far too much cheesiness for two people to conquer. As my joke-cracking dining companion put it, it should have come with a side of angioplasty.

The ravioli, on the other hand, were inhaled in seconds. Served with a side of refreshing sour cream, those puppies packed a spicy kick inside perfectly fried shells. I would return for them in a heartbeat.

For main courses, we tried Gus' Sub ($8.95), a footlong behemoth piled high with roast beef, turkey, pastrami, bacon and Kasseri cheese, and chicken kebabs ($11.95).

The sub covered all the bases for a home run: perfectly crisp bread with a mountain of meat, lettuce, red onion, mayo, oil and vinegar. It's enough for several rounds of leftovers.

However, the accompanying potato salad wasn't as spectacular. It was nicely seasoned but so doused in mayonnaise, I could taste nothing else.

The chicken kebabs were skewered with red onion and green peppers, but despite being marinated, they were dry and tasteless. However, accompanying rice pilaf studded with red and green peppers was flavorful, as was the side of Greek green beans accented with tomatoes.

Although Gus' offers daily dessert specials, we didn't partake after our hit-and-miss meal.

I think Gus' is smart for trying to distinguish itself from other nachos-and-wings sports bars, but to do so, it needs more than just fancier décor. Its menu -- not its flat screens -- is what should keep people coming back.

Freelance writer and graphic designer Dana Craig considers dessert the most important food group. The Times-Dispatch pays for the meals on her unannounced visits to restaurants. Contact her at .