Dinner with jas at Spitiko, a Greek restaurant that starts with a funny z sign that in maths means "the sum of". Google translate says 'Spitiko' means homemade, which suggests nothing that's packaged in foil or frozen somewhere far far away.The philosophy here is simplicity and freshness of great, home cooked Greek cuisine.
We first started with mixed dips of tarama (caviar dip), melitazanosalata (eggplant dip), and tzatziki (yogurt mixed with garlic dip) served with pita bread. $17*
The bread was a bit oily but other than that all good. I do like tzatziki, I have never (to my knowledge) had eggplant before, though it was ok, like the caviar. Which wasn't fishy, and I like the shimmery finish to it.
Served with the dips & pita was two other dishes including 'Saganaki - fried kefalograviera cheese' $16.50* Cheese I like, so I liked this, especially as it was served like a slice of pizza, as in the shape and size. We sliced this up and had it with the bread and dips.
Our third entree was 'Spetsofai - Sausage with Red Wine' $18*
A rustic spicy Greek dish made with thick country sausages and peppers in a rich tomato sauce.. Perfect over a glass of red wine I am told. Jas liked it very much and ate almost all of it, quite a feat as we were still on entrees. I didn't try this as I don't eat pork.
We were almost 80% full after entrees as cheese is filling and that was a lot of food for entrees. An idea would be to have a meal of only entrees, little dishes, not a small pasta as pasta sometimes does come in two sizes.
The main feature of the evening was well, the main, a "mixed grill including chicken gyro, lamb and pork skewers" $28* per person. The lamb I loved though jas said was a bit dry, we'll take his expert opinion as he loves lamb like le beau loves salted caramel. Chicken was very flavourous too. Jas said the pork skewer was good too.
Patates Lemonates - Lemon Roast Potatoes $8.50. I like my meat accompanied by a carb (though preferably salad says le beau) and so with the grilled meats we had potatoes. These were seasoned well, and with a squeeze of lemon. The lemon I would serve on the side instead, as with all the flavours of the grill and marinade it was too much. I'd also add a big dollop of sour cream.
Dessert was "a serving [for four] of loukoumades - Greek style doughnuts" $13. "A pastry made of deep fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon and sometimes sprinkled with sesame." It was bland really, a bit less if dipped in the syrup (that in my opinion was not anywhere sweet enough to call itself a syrup). I would have served it with a pot of honey. This was completely new as I've never had these savory doughnuts before.
We were very full at this point and as it wasn't sweet enough for me to recognize as a dessert, so that was interesting. I like my desserts sweet, though did like that we had a greek dessert rather than ice cream.
Service varies depending on who you get (we visited 27th Oct 2014). John was great!
The atmosphere was nice, warm and the lighting was varied, half the room was in a shadow, add some candles and it's perfect for a date. There were some couples out to dinner and grandparents. It seems like a place that is marketed at anyone who loves Greek food.
Around the place there were pictures, newspaper cuttings and other memorabilia. And also huge pictures of grandparents, my guess was maybe the founders, or who the recipes came from. But they opened in 2012 and so I think it's the later.
We paid $49 for dinner through a group buy deal/offer, they said it's worth up to $104.80 (depending on which drinks you pick). Great experience and price. I would recommend the grilled meats definitely. On pricing this place is more pricey that where we normally go, though we were very happy with what we paid.
* Means I took the prices from the menu, though we got a set so I'm not sure if you ordered everything on its own if it would still be the same size as in our pictures. I'm looking at the sets and this looks like the 'didimi' set at $40pp (minimum 2 people) but add a salad and minus drinks.
Will we be back? Yes! That also means we do highly recommend Spitiko for a great night out, whether it be with friends, family or for a date. read more
