Crossing the threshold of Bouboulina at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda feels like stepping into another world. The light and airy lounge and bar at the front of the house gives way to a dark, sophisticated back room decorated with paintings and soundtracked by jazz music.
In a way, the restaurant’s décor reflects the blending of two ideas at the heart of the concept: combining classic American steakhouse fare with the naturalistic, ingredient-focused traditions of Greek cuisine.
Named for Laskarina Bouboulina, a female admiral who fought in the Greek War of Independence, Bouboulina opened in 2025 as the latest project from the team behind Mediterranean-inspired restaurants including Melina and Julii, as well as Cava Mezze and its fast-casual counterpart, Cava.
Co-founders Ted Xenohristos and Ike Grigoropoulos are both children of Greek and Cypriot immigrants who worked in the culinary industry — a legacy they continued when they opened Cava Mezze in 2006.
“It was the last thing our parents wanted us to do,” Grigoropoulos jokes. “They wanted to come to America for us to go to college and get a degree as a doctor or a lawyer, but we just couldn’t get away. I tried — I was an accountant for a couple years, but I just couldn’t do it. I just love the restaurant industry.”
Grigoropoulos still puts his accounting skills to use managing the restaurants’ financial operations, while Xenohristos oversees restaurant operations.
A Fire-Only Kitchen
All of their projects are influenced by Mediterranean cuisine and culture, but Bouboulina draws specifically from the villages where their families grew up and the culinary traditions tied to them.
Every dish at the restaurant is cooked over an open flame using white oak wood and Japanese charcoal. The fire-only approach gives the food a distinctly smoky flavor — and there is not a single microwave or fryer in the kitchen.
“When we visit Greece, we traditionally cook on open fires. We do big Easter celebrations where we grill meats over charcoal all day long,” Xenohristos says. “We’re very used to cooking with fire, and we were like, ‘Why can’t we get these flavors in a restaurant?’”
There are very few restaurants in Montgomery County that rely exclusively on fire for cooking, so the team worked directly with county authorities to ensure the concept met safety and code requirements.
When Bouboulina first opened, its menu was intentionally small, but it has expanded as executive chef Aris Tsekouras continues to develop dishes rooted in this back-to-basics philosophy.
Everything is made in-house using seasonal ingredients. The kitchen sources seafood from Chesapeake Bay fisheries when possible, while importing staples like feta cheese and olive oil directly from Greece.
Hospitality at the Core
Hospitality — inspired by the traditions of Greek communities — remains a defining element of the restaurant.
“When we opened our first restaurant, we had no money. We bought all the furniture and tableware from T.J. Maxx and the dollar store,” Xenohristos recalls. “So, the hospitality would be what differentiated us from other restaurants. What has stayed core to our approach is treating every single customer like it’s their first time eating dinner at our restaurant.”
What to order
As expected in a steakhouse, beef is the star. The dry-aged New York strip and the 32-ounce dry-aged tomahawk steak rank among the most popular dishes.
But there are surprises on the menu.
Hidden gems include the whole grilled branzino, cooked over fire for a distinct depth of flavor.
“That’s the one people are always surprised about,” Grigoropoulos says. “They come in expecting to go down the steak route, but every time someone has branzino, they’re like, ‘That was amazing.’ It’s cooked over fire, which gives it a different taste.”
Another standout is the housemade lasagna, which the owners describe as one of the most underrated items on the menu, featuring noodles made from scratch.
Looking Ahead
Bouboulina recently celebrated its first anniversary, marking two decades since the opening of Cava Mezze. Over that time, the local dining scene — in Montgomery County and beyond — has evolved significantly.
“When we first started, we had to teach people what [Greek food] really was,” Xenohristos says. “But as the country has become more diverse, people have started to understand foods from other countries more. Back then, we had to tell people what tzatziki was, what harissa was. Now, you can find multiple kinds of those in the grocery store.”
The team is already working on its next concept: an Italian restaurant in Potomac called Maurizio’s, named for colleague Maurizio Luise, who passed away in November 2025.
