Hellenic Hotel

28 Ferguson Street
Williamstown
Victoria 3016

We'd been talking about visiting George Calombaris  Hellenic Hotel for a while and recently arranged a family lunch there. The restaurant is on the corner of James and Ferguson street in a rather grand old building Federation style that was formerly the Hobsons Bay Hotel. Infact from a distance the old pub signage is more prominent than the new.

While the outside has maintained its heritage looks, inside things are quite different. The main dining area is a bright double height space, there is also a smaller section at the front of the ground floor.

There are a few tables out on the first floor balcony.

The open kitchen is next to the main dining space where we were seated.

We kicked off by trying the three dips on offer with char-grilled pita bread.  The Taramosalata was suitably fishy and the Tzatziki tangy. The Fava Yellow split pea dip came with olive oil, capers and softened shallots provided more colour and texture.

The grilled haloumi was perfectly cooked and soon sliced into 5 and shared amongst the table!

The better half was keen to have the Kipriaki Salata Cypriot salad of grains, pulses, nuts, pomegranate and yoghurt which she'd had at a sister restaurant. It turned out to be a good choice!

We had the half 'Kotopoulo Psistaria' Chicken which had been cooked on a spit and was served with lemon, garlic and oregano. It ticked the boxes of flavour, tenderness and remained juicy.

The brother in law had strongly suggested the 'Arni Sto Fourno' slow roasted lamb shoulder with garlic and lemon in advance. It was super tender and richly flavoursome.

We also had the 'Tiganites Patates' or chips with feta, garlic oil and oregano, which did the job.

We finished off with coffees, my long black was disappointingly average.

The service was friendly and the dishes were nicely paced for a relaxed lunch. The bill came to $228 for the five of, which included $95 for drinks and coffee. The menu is great for sharing with a group and I'd certainly be happy to dine there again like that.

Greek Street Food - Food Truck

Food Truck, visited at:
Yarraville Gardens
Somerville Road
Yarraville
Vic 3013

While I grabbed a burger from the Little Mushroom Co on our trip to the food trucks in Yarraville Gardens, the better half headed to the Greek Street Food truck by Kara's Kalamaki.

Her wait was slightly longer than mine, but the crowds were out in force! The oregano chips were winners, perfectly cooked good sized fries with a bit of extra Mediterranean flavour.

The bahh souva had the expected pita bread wrapped around some fantastic lamb fillet, tomato and onion with tzatziki. The only less popular filling were the chips, some salad leaves would have been preferred. 

The meal came in around $14 which was fair and I'd certainly think about trying their other items if I spot the truck again...

Kri Kri

39-41 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
VIC 3000

Kri Kri is named after the Cretan mountain goat and is apparently Australia's first "mezethopoleion" specialising in serving mezethes, small traditional dishes, which are shared by everyone at the table and arrive in a continuous stream from kitchen to table.

Inside the "Mycenaen" yellow painted walls of the interior are meant to echo those of the Minoan palace at Knossos, or perhaps 90's style decorating.

On a visit with work colleagues we had one of the lunch banquets, and the first to arrive were the mixed dips tzatziki, taramasalata and babaganoush which all delivered the expected flavours.

Next to emerge were the "Piperies Xithantes" or thin strips of marinated roasted pepper which had been prepared well.

The third dish was "Calamari Lemonato", deep fried lemon marinated calamari which wasn't all that lemony, but reaasonable all the same.

The "Loukanika", grilled spicy pork and orange sausage, looked a little like sliced frankfurters, but had a bit more flavour.

The "Kotopoulo Scaras" char grilled chicken marinated with paprika and herbs was probably the dish I enjoyed the most with great flavours and well cooked.

I'd been expecting some meatballs or kebabs at some stage and they appeared in the form of "Keftethes" which were adequate if not particularly exciting.

Towards the end of the procession of mezethes the "Patates Sto Fourno" or oven baked potatoes, although seemed more like roast potatoes were delivered, closely followed by salad. It would have been nice to have had these available to eat with the other dishes...

I was quite full by the time the dessert arrived, but did manage to sample some, it was mostly pastry with a small amount of apple I think inside, a little on the dry side overall.

Although the idea of the mezethopoleion is good I found with the types of food and length of time required to bring them out, it took a bit too long on a work day, fortunately it wasn't a problem on this occasion. The dishes were fine and it was good to get the opportunity to try a number of them. It wont go to the top of my list for a re-visit, but I wouldn't object to going there again.




View Foodscrazy restaurant map in a larger map

A La Greque

60 Great Ocean Road
Aireys Inlet, 3231

We ate at A la Greque when we were in Aireys Inlet a couple of years ago, it is owned by the guy who used to run Kosta's in Lorne. We had an enjoyable evening there, good food, a nice location and a relaxed vibe.

Probably the most memorable part of the night was running into the owner as we left, he insisted we joined him for a drink. Over a bottle of Melbourne bitter he chatted to us about the move from Lorne and about the restaurant, a great end to the evening!





View Larger Map