I always look forward to Friday night dinners and was especially looking forward to Hellenic Republic since it had been raved about by a fellow yelper who goes here often as well as my client friend who had been here once and was ready to go back in a heartbeat. I booked for the 6.15pm seating on a Friday which is for two hours. Due to traffic, we got there at 7pm having informed the restaurant beforehand that we were running late. We were told that we would only have the table until 8.15pm and I jokingly said well that's fine as long as the food comes out quickly. It was quite busy and very very noisy and by 7pm, my friend and I were starving. We ignored the drinks menu and went straight for the food. My friend had had the Saganaki, Cauliflower Salad and the Lamb Shoulder before and wanted to have it again. The thick pita bread looked quite enticing but I decided I would save my appetite for the lamb and cheese as my friend had warned me that both dishes were quite heavy. Food arrived quite quickly. The saganaki covered in sweet glazed figs was quite bland and very stretchy. The cold figs were a stark comparison to the stretchy fried cheese that was just impossible to cut. I've had fried cheese in Eastern Europe and Saganaki at other Greek restaurants and this was no different or special. It lacked flavour. Was just fried cheese. Then, the cauliflower salad arrived. It was still quite raw and was surrounded by dollops of wasabi mayo. I could barely taste the wasabi. The fried onion/zucchini like veggie covered in sesame tasted nice but again it lacked salt. My friend kept saying that previously when she had this dish, the wasabi had her nose stinging but that this wasabi didn't even taste like wasabi. I couldn't taste anything either. So, now we had two really bland dishes. Hence, we had to do the most dreadest thing ever - request the salt and pepper shakers. So, we hailed a waitress and asked for some condiments. She crinkled her face and came back with wooden salt and pepper shakers. Both of us took turns at each of the shakers, twisting clockwise and then anti-clockwise, and nothing came out of both of them. Surely, we couldn't both be so hopeless with these shakers. I mean it wasn't rocket science. We even shook them, looked for a hidden opening and nothing. They were empty. We called another waitperson and told him about our predicament. He seemed confused and brought us little saucers of visible salt and pepper. Had the waitress played a prank on us? The salt and pepper made some difference, but yeah the food was still average. Then, the lamb shoulder arrived. Yes, it fell off the bone and was tender but despite the squeeze of lemon and the small garnishing of parsley chutney, it was bland. My friend again said that last time she had had this dish, it had a cinammony flavour. Something was seriously wrong. Why were all three dishes so average? We then asked for the bill. It arrived swiftly and we asked for split payment. 35 minutes passed. We asked to make a payment again. Another 20 minutes passed. Then we asked to pay again, we were told that we could stay in our seats for as long as we wanted as tables had been moved around for us. We said we wanted to pay for our bill. We waited and waited and asked 3 more people. An hour and 15 minutes later, we were able to make our payment. So much drama. Both of us felt full (portion sizes are quite good) but not satiated. What a disappointment for a Friday night! :( read more

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first time back since their renovations... food is still pretty good .. we took out the guess work and went for the $59 set. of the memorable I think would be the cauliflower croquette!! mouth watering soft centre... and the rice pudding desert. very airy and balanced with just the right amount of sweetness... having said that... if after a supposed $59 pp price tag and all I could remember was a croquette n awesome desert!! something's wrong here! I got served bowl of chips, a bowl of lentils and salad.... amongst small serving of swordfish on skewers, 1 scallop each.... and for main slow cooked chicken n lamb shoulder... it's lost the wow for me in all honesty... and for the price tag I think I better go elsewhere for the same non wow but still great Greek food.. YMMV read more

I do love Hellenic Republic. Having dined at the Brunswick store, I remember only good things and I expected the same experience. Well it was a lovely surprise to be presented with menu even tastier than what I remembered from the other store. George is definitely one of my fave celebrity chef for his creations of honest, simple yet delicious dishes. Greek traditional paired with some modern embellishment, there's not a dish I didn't like. The $59 set menu is a pretty good deal, you are fed well and with variety. I was blown away by the Saganaki, octopus and the rice pudding dessert. The toughest choice now is whether to go back to Brunswick or Kew ??? read more

Kew. Lunchtime just became a lot better with the rebranded Hellenic Republic (formerly St Katherine's). $25 Yia Yia's Express Lunch is the ticket for a quick and filling meal - perfect for groups. Succulent chicken, cracked wheat and pomegranate salad with a slices of heated pita and tarama dip, followed with a chunky triangle of baklava. Book in advance to get the group table up the back near the kitchen action! read more

Our 'ladies who lunch' (aka Lunchalots!!) had a delayed booking here last week and had been offered 8 complimentary express lunches. And what a great option this was - really delicious!! Plenty of food - dip, bread, warm olives, amazing freekah & cauli salad, roast potatoes and tasty chicken from the spit. Then a small baklava with a couple of pieces of Turkish delight too. Good service and nice atmosphere. Recommended for a quick lunch of tasty genuine Greek food. Thanks George!! read more

Hellenic Republic - Greek Near Me - Kew, VIC

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The newly renovated space is warm and inviting though it does get noisy when there is a crowd.The food is fresh and tasty with lots of variety. We had the feed me option as we were a party of five indecisive women. My only demand was the saganaki as it is something I cannot go past when eating Greek food. And my lord was it good! It had the right balance of salty and sweet with the lavish helping of stewed figs on top. Prawns were large and cooked perfectly. The lamb shoulder just fell apart however was lacking a little something. Staff are friendly and very accommodating (even splitting the bill 5 ways!). read more

I want to like this place more. The service is fantastic, the food all sounds cool. I just don't really like the flavors of many dishes. Pros: great service, cool atmosphere, fun appetizers/starters (eg saganaki with figs), slow cooked lamb was fall of the bone and tasty Cons: cocktails are not great and waiter couldn't really explain what to expect from the "Greek" ingredients, but I'm willing to try most things, but it was not very good and for $18 you want it to be great. The other dishes were all heavy and oily and we both struggled to finish any dishes (shared saganaki, slow cooked lamb, slaw and potatoes). I hear the donuts are amazeballs so may try again read more

When choosing where to take my wife for our anniversary dinner we decided on Hellenic Republic in Kew. What a great choice as the entire experience was to die for. Friendly, attentive and respectful waiting staff set the stage for a wonderful evening out. The food itself was sublime. First course consisted of char-grilled octopus (tender & juicy) served on eggplant dip as well as beetroot & feta dip with pita bread. The pita was soft and thick and was the perfect vehicle for the great flavours of the dip. Main was a shared serving of lamb, shoulder slow roasted and served with roasted garlic and lemon wedges, grain salad and a serve of chips. The lamb was magnificent. We finished off the meal with baklava, coffee and ouzo. What a night! Fully recommended for couples or groups. read more

Excellent service. Huge food portions. There was something about the slab of cauliflower & slab of lamb shoulder served on the plates. Very little attention to meal presentation & it made the meal feel unappealing. read more

I'd lIke to give a higher rating, but as with many of Melbourne's more popular eateries the service has let them down and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. We arrived six minutes late for a six PM seating (traffic) but needn't have worried as we were barely acknowledged (there was a single index finger involved ) by the 'host' for the next 7 minutes. Yes I timed it as it had become laughable that 4 lovely staff members had taken it upon themselves to assure me that someone would 'be with me soon' - cue the crickets .... When at 6:13 we were finally addressed it was with a "now, after ALL of that (apparently his job weighs heavily upon him) what can I help you with?". We were seated, and ten minutes later, after inquiring as to its whereabouts we had a bottle of sparkling water, menus, and nothing more. Keep in mind, an early booking comes with the explicit advice that your table WILL be vacated within a two hour time frame. Ill wrap this up, roughly 25 minutes in we order mezedes, with a 200ml bottle of ouzo ( my dining companions were actual Greeks, from Greece originally, their starters are perfect for ouzo sipping), the starters appear and are almost finished before we find someone to ask where our bottle was... Anyways, the next hour of service was fine. The food is GOOD quality authentic food. Our wine was served in a timely manner at promptly at 7:30 our sever and a stranger of some managerial position were at our elbows reminding us that our lease was up at 8 pm. Remember the timeline from above.... Final note, we were paid up (I'm American , we even tipped) and off the table by 8:02. That host from the beginning, remember him; never even raised his head to say goodbye. Actually, once our bill was paid, we were dead to them all. Good food, but we won't be back, there's too many other options in Melbourne. Xoxo read more

Different location, same generous portions of delicious Greek inspired food. When we last went to HR1, we made the mistake of dining à deux. The result was waaaay too much food for us to swallow, however nice it might have been. This time, at HR2 in Kew, we were a large group. All the better to share the plates which landed promptly after ordering. Happy days! read more

Far too expensive for what is on offer. The interior is noisy to the point where you almost have to shout to be heard. Interior designers often make the mistake of using surfaces that to not deaden noise. The range, quality of the food and service is very good, and we were not rushed out given that there were later bookings. But both price and noise (when busy), should be adjusted. read more

Exceptional! Our party of 10 got the banquet and boy were we stuffed afterwards! My bottomless-pit friend was even defeated by the amount of food presented. But it is not the quantity that earns this restaurant its stars - its the absolutely delicious food and attention to detail of the flavours. Everything we tried was delicious and unique. I can not wait to return! read more

Rude and condescending Would not recommend this restaurant in Kew to anyone... they would not accommodate for dietary requirements, the only way we were able to order banquets was if we had moved seats to suit the waitress Sarah and were rudely told that if any non-banquet people touched the banquet food they would be dealt with and charged. The staff were so rude and condescending and treat their customers like they are in primary school, to the extent that when we asked for the waitresses name we were give a false name, so we couldn't make a complaint. Very disappointing for a very highly recognised restaurant... I don't even think a customer service training would help the staff... Most of all the food was below average... read more