The Press Club

Location: 72 Flinders Street, Melbourne 3000
Phone: (03) 9677 9677
Link: www.thepressclub.com.au
Cuisine: Greek

It's been another weekend of good old Melbourne feasting and where else to start but with the highlight?

The Press Club is probably George Calombaris' most well-known restaurant and it certainly lived up to expectations. The entrance is tucked away just inside the Ernst & Young building on Flinders Street, but once inside, you can't even tell. 

The interior is smart and elegant, with a nice calming ambience. A friendly waitress leads us to our table, takes our coats away and returns with a drinks menu. We're asked whether we'd like still or sparkling water, and after requesting tap, we're informed that is not available. Fair enough if that is the restaurant's protocol, but we later hear a waitress offering our neighbouring table if they would like tap, still or sparkling. Not impressed.

We order cocktails and scan the two options available for lunch: a kerasma (four course sharing menu) or the mini symposium (five course degustation of chef's choices). The Zeus dessert from MasterChef All Stars catches our eyes, and we're pretty much sold. The waitress returns with a wooden box to explain the menu and the specials for the day. With truffle season drawing to a close, it must be on the menu. The waitress opens the box to reveal a large ball of truffle, the aroma immediately wafts across the table.

We're left to ponder our menu choices but with the truffle smell still lingering, it's not hard to decide. We go for the symposium, and add in the truffle special as an extra course.

olive bread, white bread, anchovy butter

The bread arrives - small stacks of olive bread and white bread, with a quinelle of anchovy butter. The butter is to die for - smooth, rich and salty - and it melts into the warmed bread. A great starter, and when offered seconds, we accept without hesitation.

Artichoke - Jerusalem, celeriac, parsnip, smoked walnut, toursi onion, kalamata olive

We're impressed with our first course. From meat lovers like us, any dish that comprises simply of vegetables doesn't ordinarily appeal, but the number of techniques that have gone into the various components on this dish somehow win us over. 

The artichoke is sweet and tender from slow cooking, the onions have been made into a sweet caramelised sorbet, the celeriac is fresh and a little crunchy, and the parsnip is soft. The smoked walnut and olives scattered around the place draw the dish together. But the best part is the quinelle in the centre - subtle flavours of olive oil and grains that taste like cereal in a sorbet.

Swordfish - "Poseidon god of the sea", sea weeds & vegetables, ouzo mayoneza, pink fir

This is the first time I have knowingly eaten swordfish (hey, who knows what people put in 'fish' dishes these days?) and it's impressive. It's gently seared on the outside, and still rare in the centre. The fresh pieces of fish almost have a jelly-like consistency, but firm enough to hold its shape. The delicate flavours balance well with the crunchy savoury seaweed and shaved vegetables. The ouzo mayonnaise is sweet and ties the dish together.

Tasmanian truffle, marron, girolles, kritharaki

A foodie's heaven. After much anticipation, our truffle dish arrives. It's a risoni (Greek rice) based dish, with pieces of marron meat, a mushroom foam and generous slivers of truffle. When they said the special was to showcase the truffle, this certainly does the job. The risoni is cooked to al dente, plump from soaking in its cooking liquid, the marron pieces are sweet and tender, and the mushroom foam is creamy and intense in flavour. 

But the hero is the truffle which has been delicately sliced so thinly that it almost just melts in the mouth without being too overpowering. Truffle is the most amazing thing in the world, end of story.

Hapuka - Trahana, parsley, strawberry clams, maratho, kalamares, lahano

It's my first time eating hapuka and it is certainly an interesting experience. It is one of the firmer types of fish, with a texture that is almost crocodile like - overcooked fishy flavoured chicken. The foam on top is perhaps a little overkill in that it doesn't add much flavour or texture to the dish, but the crisp shavings of vegetables, and the green olive sauce give the dish the added flavour it needs.

Wagyu - 24 hour oyster blade, helleniko kafe, celeriac, horta, heirloom carrot

On arrival, the dish looks a little like your usual steak and mash. Not so. It's no ordinary beef. The wagyu is so tender it cuts easily with a normal knife, and just melts in the mouth. The heirloom carrots are sweet and slightly caramelised, and the white emulsion on the side is slightly sweet and creamy. The grains on top again add an interesting texture to the dish.

Sokolata - A story of Zeus & his 8 mistresses with Michel Cluizel single original dark chocolate

All those who watched MasterChef All Stars would remember the Zeus dessert. It was slightly disappointing that this dish did not look like the one on the show (in particular, the chocolate bar representing Hera was not wrapped in edible gold), but it was nevertheless a beautiful end to the meal.

A large quinelle of 'chocolate clay' (sorbet) was surrounded by various textures and forms of chocolate - chocolate caramel, chocolate sorbet, chocolate cake, chocolate tuile, white chocolate nougat - and some freeze dried raspberries to add a sharp zingy contrast to the richness of the chocolate. The tuile was perfectly crisp, the chocolate clay was cold and refreshing, and the rest just fell into place. Definitely an indulgence.

The service was near impeccable. Aside from that misleading line about water (for which we were then charged $6 per person), the dishes were well timed and presented by passionate waiters and waitresses who ran us through was we were about to eat.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Aspro Ble

Location: 389 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9602 4444
Cuisine: Greek

For a while, Aspro Ble was a little-known Greek restaurant hidden away in a corner of the CBD not generally known for food. Following some foodie rumours, we decided to test it out on one of my Melbourne trips some time ago.

The layout is more cafe-style than fine dining. Decor is minimal and follows a light blue and white theme that almost gives it a nautical feel. The limited tables are arranged around a bar and open kitchen.

We're waiting for a friend to get out of work, so we grab a drink and some bread and dips to tide us over.

blood orange tiro

Turkish bread with trio of dips

There's two types of bread - chargrilled pieces of crisp flatbread, and thicker slices of fluffy Turkish bread. Both go impeccably well with the trio of dips (caviar, tzatziki and hommus).

slow roasted lamb with garlic yogurt dressing, lemon and tarragon gravy

If you're hungry, the slow roasted lamb is the dish for you. The plate is brought out with what looks like a dainty mound of shredded roast lamb, a garlic yoghurt, a jug of gravy and a wedge of lemon.


Dainty? Think again. The serve of lamb is very generous and the slow roasting has done it justice. There is a smoky aroma which is drawn out more by the zingy freshness of the garlic yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon. The tarragon gravy is smooth and silky, and as much as I love the flavours in the gravy, it does leave me wondering what role it had to play in the dish.

crispy chat potatoes with olive oil, lemon and oregano

Who doesn't love potatoes. Crispy on the outside, light and fluffy inside. A simple but tasty side, although given the amount of lamb there was, a side salad might have been a better choice.

Oh well, there is always next time!

Overall Impression: 8/10

Grandma's Little Bakery

Location: 5796 Federal Highway, Collector NSW 2581
Phone: (02) 4848 0240
Link: www.grandmasbakery.com.au

Cuisine: Italian, Greek

Grandma's Little Bakery is a snug little cafe located at the Fedra Olive Grove, along the Federal Highway on the way to Sydney.

We haven't booked, and it turns out that they have a full house. We're given two options - get take away, or sit outside. The sun is shining, so we opt for sitting outdoors.

As luck would have it, it starts raining but the wonderful waiter finds us a table inside. Seated inside the cosy dining area, our dishes are brought out.

Wow. Out come two platters larger than we had imagined.

Grandma's gourmet lamb 'basket pie' served with side salad

So it turns out that the 'basket pie' is literally a 'basket' of crispy flaky pastry filled with a generous serve of braised lamb and beans. An assortment of sides are nestled against the side of the pie. A pesto, a tomato salsa and a fresh garden salad. 

slow cooked osobouko & Grandma's tomato marinade served with wild rice

Soft and tender pieces of slow cooked beef that literally falls off the bone with a light prod of the fork sits surrounded by a rich tomato gravy. The wild rice is textural, aromatic and soaks up the gravy beautifully. On the side are a slice of freshly baked bread and a minty pesto to add a refreshing contrast to the richness of the rest of the dish.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Hellenic Republic

Location: 434 Lygon Street, Brunswick East 3057
Phone: (03) 9381 1222
Link: www.hellenicrepublic.com.au

Cuisine: Greek

Another place that's been on my wishlist for a while has been George Calombaris' Hellenic Republic. Not exactly in the CBD, the place has often been brushed aside for a restaurant within the CBD. But not this time, we ventured out beyond the CBD to satisfy a craving for pita bread, dips and traditional Greek spit roasted meats.

Tram numbers 1 or 8 will get you to the Brunswick end of Lygon Street, and stop 126 is located directly outside the restaurant, about 25 minutes tram ride from Flinders Street Station.

Immediately upon entering, the amazing aromas of spit roasted meat hit us. A waitress shows us to our seats, and offer us a plate of mixed olives whilst we wait for our third member to arrive.

warm mixed olives

Again, we knock back the set menu (or what they call 'trapezi') in favour of designing our own menu.

We can't go past the pita bread with dips, and the waitress helpfully suggests we order a half serve of each dip (there are three) so that we can try them all.

warm pita bread with dips (clockwise from top-left): melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant, miso, tahini),
taramosalata (white cod roe dip) and tzatziki (cucumber, dill, garlic, olive oil and yoghurt)

The bread is warm, soft and fluffy inside, and tastes great even without the dips. But that's not why we've ordered it. The dips are divine. The roasted eggplant dip is unlike any other eggplant dip I have ever had before. At first taste, the first thing that hits you is the sweetness and there doesn't seem to be much eggplant flavour at all, Eventually, the subtle roasted eggplant flavour comes through, before the smokiness from the miso and tahini. It's a beautifully smooth texture, with a brilliant combination of flavours that just dance on the tongue.

The tamosalata is the saltier of the dips. It's a bit of a cross between a smoked salmon dip and an anchovy paste, but with the acidic flavour of lemons to cut through the saltiness. 

Tzatziki - the classic hero of Greek dips. Amazingly fresh, the yoghurt was light, smooth and creamy, the cucumber was fresh and crunchy and the garlic and olive oil were perfectly balanced. 

Having run out of bread, we save the dips to eat with the meats.

Having had an amazing corn-on-the-cob experience at Mamasita (yes yes, I still haven't done the review), this Greek version caught my eye and my curiosity would not let me skip it.

kalamboki - sweet corn, spiced butter, smoked almonds, kefalograviera

And it was amazing. Completely different to Mamasita's, but in a good way. The corn was smoky from the chargrill and served warm topped with a beautiful spiced butter and shaved kefalograviera cheese that was just starting to melt. The corn was sweet and juicy and the cheese was subtle. Slivers of smoked almonds were then scattered on top and around to provide yet another contrasting texture. Overall, a top dish. I could eat a whole meal of just this.

tyri saganaki - kefalograviera with peppered figs

Saganaki, another Greek classic that we just couldn't go past. Although, Hellenic Republic put its own spin on this classic by pairing the fried kefalograviera with sweetened peppered figs. Whilst not the biggest fan of the figs (I found them a little too sweet for my liking), I must admit the combination of flavours worked. The sweet peppery flavours of the fig cut through some of the heaviness of the fried cheese, and also provided a contrasting texture to the dish. 

meat platter: arni sto fourno (slow roasted shoulder of lamb, garlic, oregano)
and kotopoulo psistaria (Hazeldene’s free range chicken from the spit)

When I hear of Greek meat, my expectations skyrocket. We ordered the slow roasted lamb shoulder and the spit roasted chicken. Possibly because we had already eaten so much, but also possibly because I had set such high expectations for the quality of the meat, I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the meats were beautifully soft and tender. The lamb fell apart very easily, and the chicken was moist. But I found that both meats lacked seasoning compared to other Greek meats I've had in the past. I was expecting much stronger flavours - without which, the meat was more or less ordinary (but very well roasted) meat.

This was where the leftover dips from earlier came into play. The tzatziki went amazingly well with the lamb (classic combination of lamb and tzatziki), and the lemon flavours from the taramosalata paired very well with the chicken.

sides: tiganites patates (potatoes fried in olive oil, oregano, salt)
and patzari salata (beetroot salad, cumin yoghurt, coriander)

Sides, sides, sides. We probably could have done without these - or should have picked something a little different. The potatoes were relatively ordinary - reminding me a little of the duck fat potatoes from the Aylesbury, but without the duck fat. The beetroot salad was tasty, but the cumin gave the yoghurt a slightly odd taste. Given the selection of dishes we had ordered, we might have been better off with a lighter salad.

After standing in line for half an hour to buy some loukoumathes at the Canberra Multicultural Festival a few weeks earlier, there was no way I was going to pass by these Hellenic donuts.

loukoumathes - Hellenic donuts, local honey, walnuts, cinnamon

The donuts were crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, although at the end of a big meal, leaned a little to the heavy side. They were then coated with a thick honey syrup then sprinkled with walnuts and cinnamon. The honey was extremely sweet, and I made the first mistake of cutting open a donut, and dousing the inside with more honey. Big mistake. The walnuts provided a nutty relief to the honey overdose. 

Bakalava Yianniotiko

I've never been the biggest fan of baklava, but no Greek feast would be complete without it. The pastry on the top and bottom of each piece was built from several layers of filo pastry almost glued together from the honey (or was it sugar syrup?). The nuts inside were chopped finely and tightly packed together. Whilst I found the baklava too sweet, it was one of the better ones I've had before.

Greek coffee

H chose to finish her meal off with a Greek coffee. I personally could not understand why, the coffee was strong, bitter and grainy. But regardless of my opinion (and given I admittedly do not know much about coffee), H enjoyed hers.

Service was friendly and pleasant, and despite having told us on booking that we could only have the table for two hours, we were allowed to stay for longer. There was definitely a friendly warm atmosphere within the restaurant, and it was relatively loud, so it was nice that the tables were fairly well spaced out.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Kouzina - Lunchtime Mezedes

Location: Level 2, Westfield Doncaster, 619 Doncaster Road, Doncaster (also one at Southgate)
Link: www.kouzina.com.au
Cuisine: Greek

The lunchtime menu at Kouzina seems to sport more mezedes (tapas style dishes) than mains, and feeling like a variety of food, we decided to order a few to nibble on.

Mini lamb kebabs with tzatziki and onions

From the 'mezedes from the land' list, we decided on the mini lamb kebabs. I assumed (and would have preferred) that this would be kebabs of threaded with gyros (Greek spit roast lamb). I was rather disappointed when the kebabs were loaded with large chunks of lamb. The meat itself was quite well flavoured and went very nicely when smothered with tzatziki, but was a little on the overcooked side (especially given the thickness of it). The onions gave a good contrasting bite.

Mixed dips with pita bread

From top: eggplant dip, feta cheese, caviar, roasted peppers, tzatziki, olives, feta and capsicum dip

J was craving the caviar dip from our last Greek feast at Stalactites so we ordered the mixed dips as the first of our 'mezedes vegetarian'. We were very surprised at the number of dips that were on the dish - especially at the extras (roasted peppers, feta cheese and olives) that accompanied the dish. The eggplant dip was a little odd tasting, and the feta and capsicum was a little too salty (due to the feta I believe) but the caviar and tzatziki were smooth, creamy and very tasty indeed. I also particularly liked the roasted peppers which were nice and sweet.

Kalamarika - Salt and pepper calamari, ouzo aioli

From the 'mezedes from the sea' list, these were very nicely flavoured, but lacked crunch. The crumbs on the outside were a little soft and tasted like the oil hadn't been properly dripped out before they served them. The lemon and dipping sauce went very well with the salt and pepper already on the crumbs.

Spanakopita - Yufka filo pastry rolls with spinach and feta, served with walnut-pepper coulis

We needed one more dish and I saw this on the 'mezedes vegetarian' list and immediately thought 'Masterchef!' One of our best choices as it came out looking exactly like a miniature version of Alex Lloyd's version on Masterchef. Cutting into it, there was plenty of the spinach and feta inside the spiral shaped pastry. Perfectly crispy on the outside and nicely flavoured on the inside. I want some more now!

~Service and Atmosphere~

We went for lunch on a Thursday and thus it was very quiet - we nearly had the whole restaurant to ourselves. There are some very nice window seats which would look very nice at night. We had one waitress serve us for the entire meal, and she was pretty helpful when we were ordering, and was very friendly. Dishes came out as they were prepared, with most out in a reasonable time, except for the spanakopita (although that was well-worth the wait!).

~Price~

A little pricier than we were expecting to spend (each mezedes was around $8 - $12) but for the experience, it was well worth it.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Cafe Era

Location: Menzies Alley, Melbourne Central
Link: www.cafeera.com.au
Cuisine: Greek, Modern Australian

Seafood and corn chowder

Loved this dish - sweet corn and nice thickened chowder with lots and lots of seafood. There were plenty of clams, mussels, fish, prawns and scallops and then some nice Ciabatta bread to dip in.

Smoked salmon linguine

Chicken focaccia

Overall Impression: 9/10 (chowder!)

Kouzina

Location: Level 2, Westfield Doncaster, 619 Doncaster Road, Doncaster
Link: www.kouzina.com.au
Cuisine: Greek

Early Bird Land Mezedes for two
Clockwise from top-left: beef and lamb keftedes, chicken souvlaki, lamb lady fingers, pork souvlaki
Center: loukaniki

This was one of the early bird specials for $30. At first glance there didn't seem to be all that much food there, but once we started eating, we realised that there was more food than we had thought there was!

Beef & lamb keftedes - char grilled Greek style meatballs, tzatziki

These were quite tasty. The meatballs were juicy on the inside, and nice and crispy on the outside. The tzatziki was fresh and tangy.

Chicken souvlaki

The chicken was a little on the dry side, although the sauce it came with was quite nice.

Lamb lady fingers - filo pastry rolls filled with lamb, raisins & feta, yoghurt-sumac sauce

The lamb lady fingers were very interesting and new to me. I quite liked the mix of the savoury lamb and feta, the sweetness of the raisins and the tang of the yoghurt. Unusual combination, but it worked.

Pork souvlaki

Like the chicken, the pork was also a little on the dry side, but the caramelised onions and the sauce that went with it was brilliant.

Loukanika - char grilled spicy Greek sausages, green olive sauce

These were very tasty too - slightly spicy and bursting with flavour on the inside. The sauce was a bit odd, but it also worked well with the sausages.

Kalamaraki

We eyed the table next to us get a serving of this in their degustation, and decided we wanted some too. It turned out not as good as it looked - the crumbs on the outside weren't anywhere near crispy and it was pretty obvious that it hadn't been drained properly of the oil from the deep fryer. Other than that, there was enough flavour.

Overall Impression: 8/10

Stalactites Again

Location: 177 - 183 Lonsdale Street
Link: http://www.stalactites.com.au/
Cuisine: Greek
Previous reviews: Stalactites

The complimentary bread that was supposed to go with the moussaka but ended up going with the dips

This came out quite early, and sat at our table for a very long time while we waited for the dips to arrive. By the time they did, the bread was cold.

Dips: (clockwise from top-left) hommus, eggplant, tzatziki, caviar

These dips were fantastic! The hommus was pretty average, but the other three were very well done. The caviar was popular, smooth and creamy in texture. The tzatziki and eggplant were fresh and full of flavour.

Pita bread

The pita was toasted so that it was slightly crispy and warmed. Went very well with the dips!

Moussaka - Greek traditional dish of baked layers of potatoes, minced beef & eggplant topped with bechamel cream sauce served with baked vegetables & rice

I had never had moussaka before, so this was a new dish to try. I wasn't as impressed, it didn't turn out the way I had imagined it to be - there wasn't nearly enough bechamel sauce and I half-expected it to taste like a lasagne with potatoes instead of the pasta sheets. The baked vegies and rice were amazing though. The vegies were nicely baked, sweet and tender. The rice was somewhat similar to the spicy rice at Nando's, just without the spice.

Small lamb giro (sic) platter

By the time we got to this, we were simply too full to continue eating. However, the lamb did smell great when it first arrived at our table, and the few pieces I managed to squeeze in were just as good as expected.

Service was ridiculously slow, especially since the dips took about as long as the moussaka to come out - one would expect the dips to arrive well before the rest of the mains!

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Stalactites

Location: 177-183 Lonsdale Street
Link: www.stalactites.com.au
Cuisine: Greek
Company: YC, Darren, Qiao-Lin, Anna

~Food~
The menu is quite extensive for a place that appears to only specialise in souvlakis. Actually, to be honest, they seem to pretty much make the same sorts of things, in varying setups and with different accompaniments. Regardless, I ordered the lamb giro and absolutely loved it. The was well marinated and grilled to perfection. YC's moussaka, Anna's souvlaki and Darren's mixed grill looked quite tasty too.

~Atmosphere and Service~
Given that the place is always packed, the service was quite commendable. The food took a little whlie to come out, which was somewhat annoying since the others only had one hour's break.

~Price~
Quite decent for the amount of food piled on each plate. Souvlakis cost around $12-$15, while the mains were about $20 each.

~Overall Impression: 8.5/10~
I'll be back next time I feel the need to eat more meat!

Tsindos

Location: 197 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne[near Russell Street]
Link: www.tsindosrestaurant.com.au
Cuisine: Greek
Company: Dan

~Food~
The food was decent. We ordered saganaki with red capsicum and fetta for entree. The dish came out in a small pan and the flavours were nice and strong, but well balanced. For mains, I ordered a mixed grill [chicken souvlaki, lamb gyro, lamb rissole, lamb cutlet, sausage, salad etc] and Dan ordered a seafood platter [prawns, fish, Greek pasta, saganaki sauce etc]. Serving sizes were generous and the lamb gyro was amazing. The salad could have done with a little more dressing and fetta though.

~Atmosphere and Service~
The place itself is cosy and casual, but the service was lacking - or rather selective. We were greeted at the door and shown to a table in a very pleasant manner. But once the waitress took our orders, the service pretty much ended there. Our food came out after quite a long wait, and they brought our mains out before we had even finished the entree. The worst part was that they didn't clear away any used plates even though we had piled a nice little collection on the side of the table. And when we waved for service, one waiter nodded curtly and then palmed us off to another waitress.

~Price~
The prices were suitable given the serving sizes. Usual $20-$30 for mains. They also had set menus and share platters that were a little more expensive.

~Overall Impression: 7/10~
I wouldn't be rushing back to this place, only because the food was nice but not quite enough to make up for the bad service.

Fedoulla's Cuccina

Location: Shop 42, 43 - 45 Collins Place, Collins Street [near Spring Street]
Link: www.fedoullas.com
Cuisine: Greek, Modern Australian
Company: the Law Crew

~Food~
The menu wasn't very extensive, but was quite broad in terms of the types of dishes available, the range included fish and chips, lamb skewers, soup, steak, salad, calamari, pasta, degustation set menus and a few daily specials. I ordered the veal scallopini [which seems to have disappeared off most restaurant menus these days] which was excellent - the veal was tender and juicy, the roasted vegies it sat on was sweet and had the grilled 'smokey' taste, and the mushroom sauce that was poured over the lot was full of mushrooms and flavours. Among the other dishes, the fish and chips came in huge servings with some very crunchy chips, the lamb came atop Mediterranean salad and the degustation seemed quite worth the price per head, including a glass of wine each, and a series of entrees and share platters.

The dessert menu on the other hand was virtually non-existent. The waiter merely pointed out the cakes that were left int he front display case and told us we were welcome to choose from blueberry cheesecake or some vanilla slice. We opted out of dessert and left.

~Atmosphere and Service~
Very classy looking place, but the atmosphere was rather casual. We booked ahead to ensure we got a table [for 10] and were seated within a reasonable amount of time. The waiters were particular patient [as we were waiting for one more person to come and then order] and also very helpful, double checking our queries with the kitchen before giving us definite answers. The food all came out around the same time [minus a slight serving time difference between the two plates of fish and chips] and again quite speedily.

~Price~
The prices were quite average and reasonable. Mains ranged from $15 - $25 depending on what you order.

~Overall Impression: 9/10~
I was very impressed with the quality of the food as well as the service. The waiters knew when to approach and when to leave us alone. We'll definitely be going back to this place in the near future

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!

Jim's Greek Tavern

Location: Collingwood
Genre: Greek
Company: Jeanie

Decor & Atmosphere: It's meant to be authentic greek decor. Little tables, family feel, blue place mats. Very mom and pop type of thing. However, whilst the restaurant itself looked very nice, the atmosphere had a lot to be desired. There is no menu - so you have no idea what there is, or what it costs. The waiters and staff were not nice at all, and attempted to screw you out of as much money as possible by 'suggesting' food that are typically given as side dishes (like a 'SALAD WITH YOUR MEAL'), but in actual fact they sell them as separate dishes. They were not happy that i dared ask if they could serve my food onion-free, and attempted to make me feel guilty when asking for chips because "we have to hand slice them if we do that"...when it turns out that they HAND SLICE THEM ANYWAY (which we found out because the waiter was sucking up to a big family in the table behind us). By the way, don't expect 2 out of 3 of the waiters to understand much english.

The Food: 5/10
I ordered the snapper (with salad) and jeanie ordered lamb. The snapper was nice, but a little dry. The salad contained nothing but lettuce, rocket, and ONION. Jeanie's lamb was very salty, and a bit overcooked. Not what we expected at all from the rave reviews we read in the Good Food Guide.

The Price: Excessive
$30 for the snapper, $10 for the salad, and $25 for the lamb. Utter rip off. What got me was that they charged me for the salad, which they offered with my meal, without telling me that it would cost money. Quite frankly, it was overpriced, and the food wasn't even that good quality.

Fructose Friendliness: Not friendly at all. They didn't seem to understand how not to put an onion into a meal, when specifically told NO ONION. I was sick for 2 days afterward.

Overall Impression: 1/10
If i am going to order a meal, at least give it to me the way i asked. I said i had an allergy, and they not only didn't listen, they did not care. Quite frankly, i don't care if they are 'the oldest greek restauarant in Melbourne', their customer service was absolutely pathetic and there is no way in the depths of Hell that i would ever deign to eat there again, let alone recommend it to my friends.