Philhellene

Located on Mt Alexander Road, Philhellene is a warm family restaurant that focuses on provincial Greek cuisine. The interior is homely and rustic with its brick walls adorned with family photos, spitting fire place and heavy wooden features. And Philhellenism, “the love of Greek culture” is what it is all about. 

Straight away, our attention was drawn to their specials board – Stuffed Zucchini Flowers and Lamb & Artichoke Fricassee were just a couple of the dishes that stood out to us. Our lovely waitress patiently explained each and every special in great detail, with her eyes lighting up as she described her personal favourites.

Spinach Feta Kalitsounia

The Spinach Feta Kakutsouni was a dish we could not look past. Crispy buttery pastries filled with a jumble of spinach and salty cheese that was all kinds of delicious. Dipping these in cool and creamy tzatziki, we devoured these savoury goodies in a flash.

Chargrilled Octopus

We also ordered the Chargrilled Octopus, which had just the right chew and char to it. Drizzled in extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, my friend thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

Roast Kid Goat

The 5 hours slow roasted kid goat was superbly tender, with chunks of meat falling off the bone. Together with a warm salad of broad beans and peas and roast potatoes, we felt this dish was cooked marvellously though would have loved for more flavour.

Spicy Seafood Saganaki

This saganaki dish was a fiesta of succulent prawns, mussels, swordfish and cous cous soaked in a garlic-rich spicy tomato sauce. We loved the addition of almond flakes which gave a lovely crunch to the dish. Not wanting to waste a drop, we mopped up the hearty sauce with the crusty bread.

Quince Crumble

At this point, our bellies were close to bursting - but somehow, just somehow, our waitress persuaded us to finish off with something sweet. The quince crumble particularly caught my friend’s eye. Delicate slices of quince soaked in brandy and spices, baked in custard and topped with crumble. Safe to say, my friend was all smiles after this.

All in all, our meal at Philhellene was delightful. In true Greek style, food was full bodied and generous. Service is friendly and attentive, which really further highlighted just how proud and passionate they are about their food. Philhellenism, it’s a thing.


confessions of a little piggy was invited to dine as a guest of Philhellene

Philhellene
551-553 Mt Alexander Road
Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039
 

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That Greek Tavern

It had been a long day, and my brothers (aka cavemen) were famished. And so it only made sense to get them to the Greek, to That Greek Tavern.

Lima Bean Salad

Promptly after ordering, we enjoyed a complimentary Lima Bean Salad. Though it may look like any other salad, this tangy salad was bursting with Mediterranean flavours and only made us hungrier with each bite.

Saganaki

A warm golden wedge of gooey, salty kefalograviera goat cheese laced with lemon juice. This was all kinds of delicious.

Mixed Meat Platter for 2

To satisfy the boys, we ordered the Mixed Meat Platter for 2, to share between the four of us. A platter of charcoal grilled lamb and chicken, keftethes and lamb cutlets. The lamb was noticeably inconsistent - a combination of succulent slices that we demolished, as well as dry pieces that were left untouched. On the contrary, the chicken was absolutely mouth watering - juicy, flavoursome and nicely caramelised on the outside. The keftlethes and lamb cutlets also disappeared off the dish in no time.

Fries

We also ordered a bowl of fries to nibble on. Nothing special - a standard bowl of fries with a side of tomato sauce.

Moussaka

Certainly, comfort food to the next level, this dish was extremely filling. Layer upon layer were slices of eggplant, bolognese and potatoes, topped with a velvety béchamel sauce and backed to a golden finish. Unfortunately, I found this dish to be quite bland, with the bolgenese lacking in herbs and spices, and thus being overpowered by the overly rich béchamel sauce.

Pastitsio

With bucatani in replacement of lasgana sheets, Pastitsio is to Greek cuisine what Lasagna is to Italian cooking. Similar to the Mousaka, the Pastitsio were solid layers of lamb mince, herbs, feta cheese, topped with their homemade béchamel sauce. In the same way, we found that this dish was also lacking the much needed flavour from the lamb, resulting in a dish which felt quite one dimensional.

Though there were a few hit and misses with the food, service here is attentive, speedy, and indistinguishable to that old school slightly scary - where service is loud yet friendly. Regrettably, in my books, That Greek Tavern just didn't cut it to be The Greek Tavern though.


That Greek Tavern

1438 Malvern Rd

Glen Iris, VIC

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Gazi

With A's love of Greek and Mediterranean food, and with Jimmy Grants still lingering at the back of my mind, Gazi was an easy pick. We were ready to get down and dirty for some Hellenic dirty food feasting.

Espressotini  - Vodka, Kahlua, Vittoria Espresso, Coffee & Amerretto Foam

Cauliflower Skordalia

A rich and thick puree of cauliflower topped with chopped smoked almonds, cauliflower and a sprinkle of crispy mince pork.  The dip was smooth and creamy, which we generously lapped up with warm fluffy pita bread. Both A and I enjoyed the flavours of this skordalia, but had the strangest association with childhood favourite, Chiko Rolls.

Eggplant 

Simple and fresh were two perfectly grilled eggplant slices buried underneath a collection of pepita seeds, sesame seeds pine nuts, spring onion, finished with grated salty kefalograviera cheese and Gaia dressing. 

Brussel Sprouts  

Admittedly, this was the first time I tried brussel sprouts. Having heard so many people express their loathing of these leafy green, I was quite intrigued to see how this dish would be executed. Our friendly  waiter assured us there would be none of that soggy brussel sprout business and encouraged us to give it a go. Surprising, this dish turned out to be quite delicious  and full of fun textures. Sweet, crisp brussel sprouts topped with fluffy red quinoa, crunchy fragrant hazelnuts, plump golden raisins, and light fluffy manouri cheese. 

Duck Souvlakakia

Lamb souvas are always the way to go, but feeling like something out of the ordinary, we decided to go for the duck. Smokey thick pita bread supported pieces of deep fried duck, onions, parsley, mustard mayo, quince and chips. It smelt and tasted delicious. Though the duck was a little on the dry side and needed a bit more seasoning itself, the quince and mustard made up for it. The quince added just the right sweetness to the souva and matched perfectly with the mustard mayo. Overall, a delicious little treat.

To top off a wonderful lunch, we were graced with George Calombaris' presence. And when I say graced, I only refer to George. Both A and I were absolutely star-struck and were practically jumping out of out seats. Butterlies and the whole shebang. And to get a happy snap together, we were over the moon.

Gazi, Greek and George - what a lethal combination. We left with massive smiles that could not be wiped off our faces for the rest of the day. 

Gazi

2 Exhibition St 

Melbourne

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Jimmy Grants

The girls and I were ecstatic to hear that George Calombaris had just opened up Jimmy Grants in Fitzroy. Eager for a taste of Greece, we headed over to see for ourselves how good these souvlakis could really be.

The Bonegilla

This was ridiculously delicious. The pita bread was warm, pillowy and super soft. Both the chicken and lamb were tender, moist and absolutely moreish - with the right ratio of fats too. Wrap that all up with crunchy chips, onion, parsley and mustard aioli and you have the best souvlaki ever. 

Grain Salad

I fell in love with this salad - the flavour, the crunch, the sweetness from the raisons. An earthy salad of pulses, toasted slivered almonds, grains, herbs and greek yoghurt. It was doing everything right.

Iceberg Salad

A simple salad of iceberg lettuce tossed with oregano, lemon and olive oil. Though vey easy and not one bit complicated, the salad was refreshing to nibble on between mouthfuls of souvlaki.

Chips

Who would have thought? Chips, garlic oil, oregano and feta as such a killer combination. The crunchy chips themselves would have already done the job, but the crumbled feta and garlic oil made it much more special and memorable.

There is no doubt about it, I would return to this place in a heartbeat. I cannot express how excited I am for Jimmy Grants to open up in Ormond in the next few months. Please hurry. 

Jimmy Grants

113 St David St 

Fitzroy

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