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.

Choks Pot Cafe Williamstown

88 Ferguson Street
Williamstown
VIC 3016

The better half has decided that the Choks Pot was a good spot to check out while we were in Williamstown on a grey day, with our visitor from out of town.

The bright exterior made a strong attempt to conquer the dull weather and inside the modern café boxes were ticked.

The menu covered the normal bases for breaky and lunch with the addition of a few seafood dishes.

There were also various specials available listed on the chalkboard and outside...

Bruce went for the rosemary grilled lamb chump chop with roasted veggies and potatoes which he enjoyed.

The Johgn Dory fillet with quinoa salad was nice but missing some sauce or dressing to add flavour and moisture.

I went for the Chokspot fish curry which was a winner. There was plenty of fish along veggies in a mild but tasty curry sauce.

Our meals did take a little longer than some others to arrive, probably due to the dishes we ordered and the service was friendly from all the team. The meal came in at around $45 with some coffees which was good value and I'd be happy to head back next time we are looking for a feed in Williamstown.

The Stags Head

39 Cecil Street
Williamstown
VIC 3016

Tucked away on the dimly lit back streets of Williamstown, the Stags Head Hotel only stands out due to its size. We entered through the door into the front bar, which had a wonderful old school local feel about it. We headed past a small lounge to the restaurant at the back where our friends were already at the table they'd reserved for us all.

The room was bright and light with simple white walls and a few adornments and classic wooden tables.

We were offered drinks and the menu pretty quickly and took a while to work out what we'd order. We got the waitresses attention and ordered, and despite it being pretty busy, we didn't seem to have to wait long for our food.

Rick took advantage of steak night, and chose a red wine sauce, which went down well.

The salmon looked good, and got good reports, although there weren't many potatoes and the salad was a bit too heavy on the rocket, and missing other flavours.

Nadia enjoyed her lasagna.

I had the fish and chips, the beer batter was crisp and the content fresh and moist. The chips were good and the salad straightforward and wholesome.

The Stags Head had the feel of a traditional Aussie suburban pub, offering basic but good food in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The bill came in around $30 a head including a drink or two each. I think we'll be back again, next time we fancy some pub food fairly near by.

View Foodscrazy restaurant map in a larger map

El Burro

209 Nelson Place,
Williamstown,
VIC 3016

We'd read a bit about El Burro, and it seemed like time to try it out on a hot evening after a visit to Williamstown beach. It sits on Nelson Place in the 'historic heart' of Williamstown, not somewhere we'd eaten out before.

We visited on a Monday and found the restaurant pretty packed out at around 8:30, with the crowds perhaps drawn by the current offer of 8 tapas dishes at $8 each, which they had tweeted and facebooked about.There were a few tables outside but those were all taken so we went for one of the recently added two seater tables right by the bar. There are several Spanish touches to the decor including the tile styled pattern on the front window, the artwork and some of the chairs, which together with warm evening reminded us of trips to Madrid and Barcelona.

We ended up trying 4 of the 8 dishes on special, the first to arrive being the bravas potatoes which were a little less greasy than sometimes, which we appreciated, and came in a spicy tomato sauce, which lifted them to a new level.

Next came the arancini, beautifully presented in their mini frying pan, perfectly spherical, and golden. Breaking through the crisp coating the rice was tender and lightly pesto flavoured, rather than gluggy and too cheesy like I've sometimes come across before.

The calamari was possibly the most tender I can remember having and as with the other dishes the aioli and rocket were great and grilled lime balanced the flavours out nicely.

We are both mushroom lovers, and their flavours came through strongly in the 'Champinones' well complemented by the crumbled feta, rocket, garlic and thyme, with a white wine based sauce.

The service was fantastic, friendly, chatty with the waiters seeming to love their jobs, all this while apparently being a little overwhelmed by the extra tables which had recently been added and were mostly in use! Maybe we'd have like our first potatas more quickly, but the anticipation just made them taste better... I'm sure we will be back again!

View Foodscrazy restaurant map in a larger map