Upon its opening in 1987, Periyali was the first restaurant in Manhattan to establish traditional Greek cuisine at it's finest. A romantic Greek word for coastline or seashore, the name Periyali was chosen because so much of the food originated from the Greek Islands, specifically Patmos, home of Periyali's first consulting chefs, Irene & Victor Gouras. Their delicious 'home cooking' recipes were extensions of "Patmian House," their seasonal restaurant on the island.