Make dinner a rare experience

The original Little Billy’s Hideaway was a Vancouver favourite, a Greek place you’d hit up with your friends after the bar closed. Its homemade pizza and Mediterranean-style ribs were the stuff of legend.

When the most recent location, in Burnaby, was destroyed by a fire in 2007, Little Billy’s Hideaway underwent a complete transformation — from favourite post-bar fare to an upscale restaurant renamed “Little Billy’s Steakhouse.”  Diehard fans of the hearty Greek fare need not worry, however; the fire left the menu completely intact.

General manager William Paskalids knew far better than to stop serving the classics that the original Little Billy’s was famous for. He describes the loyalty of his customers by recounting a night where a car slowly rolled by the restaurant and pulled in, the driver obviously intrigued by the restaurant’s name:

The man hurried towards the restaurant, whipped the door open and asked, hopefully, 
“Are you affiliated with the original Little Billy’s on 2^nd and Nanaimo?”
“That’s us,” said William.
“Do you still have the Paidakia ribs?”
“Absolutely.”
The man turned back to his car, yelling, “They’ve still got the Paidakia ribs! It’s them!”

His wife came running. They then sat down inside, feverishly chatting about Little Billy’s history — down to exact years — as they excitedly ordered the signature Greek ribs.

William laughs, “The funny thing is that they had just come from dinner somewhere else!”

Stories like this are common for Little Billy’s. It’s so packed that it is reservations-only on weekends and many customers are ones who visit weekly — at least.

A restaurant with passionate clientele offers something unique. Good food is a given, especially when the recipes are as authentic as the iconic Paidakia ribs. What really inspires customers’ loyalty, however, is the character and atmosphere of a restaurant — the intangibles. It’s the intangibles that the dedicated family behind Little Billy’s truly has to offer with their rich history rooted in hard work and familial love.

William’s father, Harry, began his culinary career as a logging camp chef with a dream of opening a restaurant. With the help of his three brothers, Paul, Mike and Billy, Little Billy’s (named after William) opened in 1975. From there, they offered decades of family-based service. William remembers being taught to roll pizza at five years old. William’s son, another little Billy, has already started pawing at his grandfather’s “grown-up play-dough” at the age of four.    

An evening out at Little Billy’s is just like being invited to the Paskalids’ home for dinner. The restaurant is buzzing nightly, with Harry’s wife, Irma — always with a glass of wine in hand — there to welcome you at the door. She’s quick to recognize diners (even those who’ve only been to Billy’s once before!), and often sits down to chat. Harry, working seven days a week for the last year without complaint, can be seen through a window cooking up a storm; he’s grilling the highest-grade steaks, decadent baby lobster and classic Greek favourites. William works the front, checking in on every table, every customer.

“If anything goes bad you feel horrible about it,” he says. William’s been known to rip up bills of unsatisfied customers even when they insist otherwise. He did it for one woman, known as the “restaurant boycotter” to her friends, and she now comes in two times a week, at least.

But William’s quick to pass off the credit. He says the real hero of the story is his father, who he’s slowly trying to ease toward retirement.

CLASSIC PICKS
Of course the steak is spectacular, but here are some of Little Billy’s other classics that have customers returning weekly:

Crispy Prawntons With Sweet Chili Sauce — Massive prawns laid in a wonton wrapper with hints of pork and scallions. Then it’s wrapped in a green onion bowtie and deep-fried.

Saganaki — Cheese literally set on fire as it’s brought out to your table. It’s as spectacular for your stomach as it is visually.

Paidakia Ribs — Flagship char-broiled ribs. People from all over the Lower Mainland come for this Greek-style, meaty decadence.

Roast Lamb — Marinated, fall-off-the-bone lamb shoulder baked in Harry’s special mustard sauce. One customer who refused to eat lamb for 50 years comes in for this dish once a week.

“He’s more than just an amazing man,” William says. “He’s given up a life of golfing, and fishing, and hunting, and everything a man would do to work in the restaurant. He has a sense of pride for the food that comes out. If something comes out bad you see it in his face, how horrible he feels.

“He has had so much love for his family. It brings tears to your eye when you think about what he’s done. He’s given up most of his life for his family.” Harry and Irma have raised five children: three boys and two girls.

Harry and Irma’s partnership extends to the restaurant itself, where they are an equally successful and loving team. With Harry manning the kitchen, Irma assumes full control of what William laughingly describes as “everything else,” remarking on her ability to flawlessly complete any task Harry asks of her. The whole family is heavily involved in the restaurant — guests are often welcomed by no less than eight of the Paskalids clan.

Harry is looking to take more days off, so the torch is being passed, but William assures that business “is being run better than it’s ever been run.” In fact, a second location will be opening up in Langley. The Paskalids family will also be staffing it, with William and Harry splitting their time between the two, so guests can expect that same family-run quality and feel from both locations. 

“What we’ve done here — it’d be a shame not to bring this to another community,” William says. “You don’t open a restaurant like this in a suburb; nobody takes a chance like that — if you do, it’s a big risk. What we’ve done is hit the nail on the head.”

The delicious food and loyal following are definitely two key components to the restaurant’s success, but William says that the familial atmosphere of Little Billy’s is what keeps customers returning.

“We didn’t open up a restaurant,” he explains. “We opened up our home for people to come in and dine.”•

Find more on Little Billy’s Steakhouse at littlebillys.com.

Photos by Erich Saide, erichsaide.com