Meltemi

Location: Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds
Cuisine: Greek
Company: Kate and Katie (high school yeah!)


~Food~
Mix of modern and traditional Greek fare. Had Entree and Mains.
The dip was average, no better or worse than the tzasiki(sp?) that comes out of a supermarket. At least to my taste buds. The goat cheese starter was awesome though. Really salty but really yummy. You have to squeeze a bit of lemon on it apparently!
Mains were great!
I had moussaka (mince sauce with potatoe, zucchini and eggplant baked under a fluffy cheese blanket). Very yummy and filling but a tad too salty. I think next time I'd get the vegetarian version coz it was the vegies in it that were the best!
Kate had lamb cutlets and they were BEAUTIFUL. Really juicy and tender. Not smelly at all. Loved it.
Katie had the best dish- a seafood risotto. It wasn't at all gluggy and there was heaps of seafood in it. This is what I'm getting next time. Hands down, best dish.
What set this place apart was the fact that all the ingredients were so fresh. You can really taste the quality of the produce they use. Very nice.
Unfortunately, like most Greek food, it tended towards the salty side but hey, that's what you need water and bread for!

~Atmosphere and Service~
Lots of buzz. Lots of people. one man put a menu on his head. :S
Service was a bit too slow, we waited quite a while for mains but lucky we had entrees to keep us occupied. However, the quality of the food made up for the wait time. I like that they don't serve inferior food even though it was soooo busy. Basically the restuarant went from 2/3 empty to full capacity in 20 mins. No wonder the kitchen was stressed out! So the delay was definitely forgivable.

~Price~
Bit pricey, by uni student standards. Mains about $20-$30 dollars. Risotto was more expensive ($27.00) but considering what you get, its not so bad.
The three of us spent just over $100 inc drinks so it wasn't a cheap meal.

~Fructose friendliness~
Very helpful. When I asked the waitress about making food fructose free she was very nice and said and i quote 'oh, onions is easy. We can just give you unmarinated stuff!"
Contrast this to Jim's Greek Tavern.
They did say we should ring ahead first.

~Overall Impression~
8.5/10
Loved the food- generous servings cooked well using fresh ingredients! (the saltiness seems to be a characteristic of the genre and not the restaurant. it would be like marking an indian place down for being too spicy)
Would have got an extra point if only it wasn't so expensive... I'd definitely go back there. And take friends!