Okeanos certainly has extensive roots in Park Slope: reared in Bay Ridge, Tommy Manounas, the gregarious owner of the restaurant, used to work in his dad John’s shop down the street – the 7^th Avenue Doughnut Shop, which has been around since 1978, and is familiar to all us Park Slope denizens. Tommy, with a MBA in Finance from Lehigh University, toiled in that arena for a couple of years, but was drawn inexorably back to the restaurant business.

And, Okeanos was born. The family bought the corner building there on 8^th Street in 2008 [there are 6 rental units upstairs], eventually gutting and refurbishing a space that was formerly a Laundromat. Okeanos, a restaurant featuring 100% Greek cuisine, opened in February 2010.

The restaurant’s décor can be described as stylish without being ornate – it’s very appealing and welcoming. Tommy, who gives a lot of credit for the restaurant’s burgeoning success to his manager, Stephanie, emphasizes that Greek seafood is the specialty of the house, although the full menu is certainly eclectic. An absolute favorite of customers is the ‘whole fish’, which could be brazzini or orato, depending on the time of year, and is cooked very simply, with some seasonings and oregano. Tommy describes the preparation as basic and “rustic.”

Mr. Manounas and Stephanie very generously allowed this writer to taste some of their offerings: the eggplant-spread appetizer was delicious, but for me the cucumber salad appetizer was the tastiest of all the spreads.

The writer also sampled one of the signature dishes of Okeanos, charred octopus, lauded by the Village Voice as one of the 100 New York City dishes “You Must Have.” It’s braised and then anointed with lemon juice and a little olive oil. Wonderful.

Tommy did not mince words as to the difficulties of running a restaurant. To get a restaurant off the ground, Tommy asserted, you run into all kinds of problems. But, and he emphasized this, he’s really been in the restaurant business since he was a young kid, and understands the ups and downs of the business very well.

Okeanos, in fact, Mr. Manounas says, has shown steady improvement and progress since he’s opened the place. And, he understands Park Slope : residents can be very loyal, but “want to see how they’re treated first.” Franchises don’t usually work in Park Slope, because residents “know quality.” And, the key to his restaurant are “regular customers.”

There is a lunch menu as well as dinner, and Specials every day for both lunch and dinner. An interesting fact about specials: they often lead to permanent spots on the menu, i.e., swordfish began as a special, and now resides on the dinner menu. Lamb Chops with a basil mint seasoning was another daily special. Yummy, right?

One final note: on Sundays, for $29.95, Okeanos offers a three-course ‘Lobster Special’ deal, consisting of an appetizer, lobster prepared in either of two styles, and dessert.

 Mr. Manounas, who also owns the Sunset Park Diner at 889 Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, is a restaurateur through and through: this writer senses he’s very much committed to serving great food to, as he calls them, “my neighbors,” those of us who live in the Park Slope community. The writer already is planning a dinner out at Okeanos – that delicious whole fish and an exuberant Tommy await his arrival.

By Jim Israel

Jim@ParkSlope.com