Luka Muslin remembers when he arrived in the United States eight years ago to attend Grand Canyon University.

“One of the things that shocked me when my friends and I would go to a restaurant, the moment we finished eating, the waitress would start hinting we should leave,” he says.

It was not what the Serbian-born Muslin, who had lived in France for 18 years and played professional soccer throughout Europe, was used to.

“At restaurants in Europe — with apéritifs, smoking breaks — meals are more of a social thing. That’s the concept of our place: A European place where you don’t have to rush out the door.”

The “our place” to which he refers is Pastis Delicatessen and Eurogrille, which has assumed the former Oasian Noodle Bar across Val Vista Drive from Dana Park in Mesa.

Muslin (pictured at left) opened Pastis last November with friends Steve Djekic (whose sister is married to Sasha Cosic, owner of Ahwatukee’s popular Va Bene) and Slaven Grubisha, both second-generation Serbian-Americans.

“We felt there was a need for a modern European bistro in this area,” Muslin says. “It’s pretty much chain restaurants around here.”

Their restaurant takes its name (pronounced pass-teese) from an anise-flavored apéritif — a pre-dinner drink meant to stimulate the appetite — popular in the south of France.

Pastis’ menu covers France, Italy and the Mediterranean, as well as Serbia and Bosnia — “all the dishes we liked in Europe,” Muslin says.

When Pastis opened, the menu ran about two dozen sandwiches, a roster that’s since been cut in half. All are named after European cities.

The Athina ($7.75, including side), a hot pastrami sandwich topped with horseradish-tinged slaw, is the most popular. Next is the Madrid ($7.75), turkey and prosciutto with mozzarella pulled in-house.

Deli-style sandwiches, though, are only the beginning at Pastis.

The homemade mozzarella also is used in the Stuffed Pastis Burger ($9.75), which Muslin calls a “European-style burger.” Red peppers are mixed with the ground beef, and it comes with delicious, hand-cut French fries.

Chicken Cordon Bleu ($14.75) is one of five stuffed-meats entrées. There’s also a tasty shrimp pesto pasta ($14.75).

If you want to try something traditionally Slavic, chevapi ($9.75, pictured above) is a national dish of both Serbia and Bosnia. The ground sirloin sausage links come with chopped sweet onions and a puffy flatbread called lepinja, made by a local Bosnian baker.

Sudjuk ($9.25), another dry, all-beef Bulgarian sausage, comes in longer links that are sliced lengthwise on toasted lepinja, also with onions on the side.

“In our culture, the food is pretty bland,” Muslin says. “There’s no sauce, so we look for a mix of flavors.”

The exception to the “no sauce” rule is ajvar, which highlights the meza plate ($13.50, pictured at left) of smoked meats. The sweet and smoky red paste, made from roasted eggplant and red peppers, is addictive.

“It’s a delicacy in our country,” Muslin says. “We jokingly call it Serbian caviar.”

Crepes ($5.75) — you can choose two toppings, such as Nutella, bananas, strawberries, walnuts or jam — are the must-have dessert. They’re so popular Pastis has to mix eight batches of batter every day.

A small bar offers drinks from Smithwick’s red ale to Armenian bourbon to, of course, pastis. By this fall, Muslin hopes to add tap beers from France and Russia.

Non-alcoholic drink options include sparkling French lemonades and various European juices, including a rose-petal juice from Romania.

Many of the European foods and drinks on the menu also can be purchased from the restaurant’s retail section. I’ve already got my jar of ajvar.

Pastis Delicatessen and Eurogrille
Where: 1935 S. Val Vista Drive, Mesa (between U.S. 60 and Baseline Road)
Open: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Prices: Appetizers $7.50-$11.75, salads $4.50-$9.50, sandwiches $7.25-$7.75, entrees $9.25-$18.75, desserts $3.50-$5.75
Info: (480) 926-3354 or pastisaz.com

Photos by Tim Hacker, East Valley Tribune