Ask Chris Sideras, who along with his wife Tina runs The Hourglass Tavern, how many years they've been there and he says, "Forever." Actually, this warm, hard-working Greek couple has owned this, the smallest and least pretentious place on Theatre Row, for 34 years. It's a hometown, Main Street sort of spot that nobody expects to find in Manhattan, much less on 46th Street in the middle of the Theatre District. Corny as it sounds, the Sideras' act as though their customers are guests in their home.

Mrs. Sideras wears an apron and amicably chats with people who pause outside the restaurant. Don't be surprised if upon leaving she hugs you and plants a kiss on your cheek. Her husband lugs sidewalk signs out front when the restaurant opens, describes the dishes on his handwritten menu with enthusiasm ("How is it? It's beautiful!") and helps the long-time upstairs waitress serve diners.
It's more than just homey hospitality that keeps patrons returning to the Hourglass Tavern. Portions are monstrous and prices are miniscule. This one-of-a-kind, easy to miss nook near the corner of Ninth Avenue, with only six or seven tables on each of two levels, has a lived-in look. Art covers every wall. There's bric-a-brac galore, everything from nutcrackers to elephants. Every inch of back mirrored shelves is taken by mementoes gathered over the 34 years of the restaurants existence. There are candles and flowers on every table. A dinner companion observed, "If I were a tourist and found this cute little place, I'd congratulate myself for discovering a restaurant where the real New Yorkers eat."

Warm loaves of bread and maybe a minced vegetable, phyllo dough stuffed, in a spunky red sauce, greets diners. They can order a glass of beer for as little as $3.50, a hefty glass of wine for $4 and a bottle for $16. Most main courses come with a choice of mixed green salad or a bowl (not a cup) of soup. There are six two-course meals priced at $15.75. (Almost everything on the multi-paged menu is listed as "tonight's special.")

Beginnings and endings - that is, appetizers and homemade desserts - are most noteworthy at The Hourglass Tavern. Regulars seem to know about two off-the-menu starters: warm, plump, grilled shrimp over salad and smoked salmon draped over greens. The rustic, filling soup of the day was a good cannelloni bean and vegetable brew. Desserts are house made and gargantuan: sturdy tiramisu, dense chocolate cake, towering apple-pear pie and a terrific mixed fruit cobbler that fills a soup bowl.

The best entree sampled was five, bite-sized, gilled lamb chops. They were tiny, tender and knowingly seasoned.

373 W. 46th St. btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves., 212-265-2060, www.hourglasstavern.com