Zesty's opened in the fall of 1993. In less than a year, with the help of Roxborough Manayunk Bank, Zesty's expanded next door to double its size. It's designed for quiet dining and features a brite, open kitchen. Zesty's is located in Manayunk.   Named a National Historic District in 1983, Manayunk is centrally located along the Schuylkill River, Center City, the Main Line as well as the entire Delaware Valley. With over 65 chic boutiques and galleries and about 30 restaurants, Manayunk is a world unto itself. It is these demographics, along with unique shopping and dining experiences that have helped Manayunk consistently draw crowds of great numbers. Manayunk received its name from the Lenape Indian word "manaiung" meaning, "where we go to drink". The availability of water with the completion of the Manayunk Canal drew people to the area. It provided power for the construction of textile and paper mills and provided the transportation link to the port of Philadelphia and inland to the farmlands of Pennsylvania.

orn in Lefkas, a southern island located between Greece and Italy, Tom combines the best of both regions culinary styles. This "Greco-Roman" theme creates a unique and delightful Mediterranean feast for the senses. Although a traditional couple, Tom & Shelley are also into new technologies. Thier interest in computers keeps them well ahead of most well known restaurants in this region. Zesty's is the first restaurant in the country to feature a multimedia window menu. It's not a regular printed menu push-pinned to a cork board. This is a moving menu that has photos and music displayed on a digital flat screen monitor. See it for yourself in our front window!   "We declare that there is no greater fulfillment of delight than when joy possesses a whole people and banqeters in the halls listen to a minstrel as they sit in order due and by them tables are laden with bread and meat, and the cup bearer draws white wine from the bowl and pours it into the cups. This seems to our mind the fairest thing there is." Athanassios "Tom" and Shelley Konidaris

Zesty's extends its hospitality to the community with our ongoing food donations to Philabundance is a nonprofit organization that works to end hunger in the Greater Philadelphia region by rescuing surplus food and distributing it to local organizations serving people in need. www.philabundance.org 215-339-0900 or 856-665-0707

Also...see what our patrons have to say in our Guestbook Philadelphia Inquirer - Weekend Section 1993 Philadelphia Inquirer - Eating Out, 1996

Italian, Greek cuisines combine in style at Zesty in Manayunk. By Gerald Etter, Inquirer Food Writer Philadelphia Inquirer Eating Out: Weekend Section of April 12, 1996

She ordered the insalata tricolore. I chose the Greek salad. Then she selected a gnocchi al gorgonzola and vitello al limone. Meanwhile I was deciding on the spanakopita and arni kapama. Was she at a trattoria dining Italian, and I all alone at a nearby Greek taverna shauting "opah" betwen courses? No, we were both at … Zesty, in Manayunk, where the menu has given new meaning to Greco-Roman. Zesty, the work of Tom Konidaris, opened back in 1993, and a year ago expanded next door to double its size. It's designed for quiet dining, features an open kitchen, and has a staff that … takes pride in serving you. The decor is artzy yet subtle, and dotted with tastefully done playful visuals. Bottom line is that this Italian-Greek combination restaurant is able to put it all together and make a stylish and polished statement. Which can be attributed to the taelnts of Konidaris, a serious food person who excels in many areas of the business, from conceptualizing to cooking and understanding the importance of service as part of the art. Zesty dishes have that made-from-scratch feel. In keeping with the Mediterranean food theme, the delicious bread, served warm, is accompanied by rich olive oil flavored with garlic and herbs.

Greek and Italian meet in Manayunk and the match up is a zesty success. By Gerald Etter, Inquirer Food Writer Philadelphia Inquirer Weekend Section: November 19, 1993

The cuisine combo at Manayunk's new Zesty - Italian and Greek - seems a perfect match in light of the continuing emphasis on the health benefits of the Mediterranen diet. This attractive bistro has an open kitchen and it's as bright as a Neapolitan folk tune and as graceful and earthy as a Greek dance. Zesty is the work of Tom Konidaris, who operated Onassis, a Greek restaurant at 17th and Sansom Streets that drew crowds for both dining and dancing in the late 1970s and early '80s. Zesty, much like Onassis, is, well, pretty zesty. Since 1993 Zesty's menu has given new meaning to the word Greco-Roman offering an extensive selection of Greek, Italian, and Mediterranean specialties.. Zesty's restaurant is located in Manayunk. Named a National Historic District in 1983, Manayunk is centrally located, along the Schuylkill River, to Center City, the Main Line as well as the entire Delaware Valley. With over 65 chic boutiques and galleries and about 30 restaurants, Manayunk is a world unto itself. It is these demographics, along with unique shopping and dining experiences that have helped Manayunk consistently draw crowds of great numbers. Manayunk received its name from the Lenape Indian word "manaiung" meaning, "where we go to drink". The availability of water, with the completion of the Manayunk Canal drew people to the area. It provided power for the construction of textile and paper mills and provided the transportation link to the port of Philadelphia and inland to the farmlands of Pennsylvania.