Elyros

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We didn’t get a chance to visit the island of Crete during our time in Greece. However, being able to enjoy some Cretan cuisine at Elyros back in Melbourne was a pretty awesome experience! We already get excited by new flavours with dishes we’ve never had before. To be spoilt by a whole new cuisine, I felt like a kid at a candy store.

“How did you find this place?” – this is a question which we get asked a lot. Well the answer to this question for Elyros was random Google restaurant searches, along with some cross checking on Zomato. As a matter of fact, this is how we find most of the restaurants we go to, because we like to try different places out. Elyros caught our attention with their menu and reasonable prices. We rocked up and I was shocked to see how nice the place was. We don’t generally look up pictures of the inside, so I found myself severely under dressed again! I felt as though my black runners were discreet, so I puffed out my chest, and walked to the table confidently like they were leather shoes. Fake it till you make it!

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The white walls, big windows and chandeliers gives the restaurant an understated yet elegant look. It has a strong Greek flair without having to resort to scattering photos of Greece all over the place. I certainly didn’t feel like I was in Melbourne during the whole time I dined at Elyros.

With the help of the friendly waiting staff, we finally agreed on the 4 course set menu for $63. Please bear it mind that this is a mid week special, and the prices may vary on the weekend. This set menu even came with alcohol too! You get either a French sparkling, Semillon from Hunter Valley, Greek red, or a beer. Something for all alcoholic preferences, it was very well thought out. The first two courses consisted of multiple dishes, which would be too much to list here. Picking our favourite dishes was a difficult task as they were all so tasty! The Fava – yellow split pea puree, capers & shallots was just to die for. Throw out everything with what you think a pea puree should taste like, this one is totally different. There was nothing artificial with the sweetness of this puree, the capers and shallots give it an interesting twist. This dish singlehandedly upped my carb intake for the night because I couldn’t stop dipping the bread in it!

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Kalitsounia – traditional Cretan cheese pies was also a hit. Little fluffy pillows of cheesy goodness. The cheese was light and piping hot, burnt the roof of my mouth from eating this, but so worth it. The lamb was exceptional, slow cooked for at least 12hrs, it was soft and juicy.

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The fish was cooked to perfection, and it was complimented with black garlic. The only previous interactions I’ve had with black garlic was seeing them at the supermarket and marking them as too expensive to buy. I never would have expected it to be used with fish. Did it work? You bet it did! It accentuated the sweetness of the fish and I thoroughly enjoyed it. By the time we had finished our 3rd course, we were well and truly stuffed! Dessert was overkill. I remembered it to be nice, but no more recollection after that. I was way too full and my taste buds had shut down.

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Upon doing some research before writing this review, I learnt that Elyros was actually a one hatted restaurant. Without knowing this prior to visiting them, I had already thought their price to food quality ratio was tough to beat. We were also treated with the utmost respect from the waiting staff at Elyros. Being totally new to Cretan cuisine, we naturally asked a lot of questions. The waiting staff here always answered with a smile on their faces, and we were never made to feel as though we were a hassle. I found them warm and personable, total opposite of the snobby service you may find at other hatted restaurants. Do pay Elyros a visit if you haven’t been, I’m sure you’ll have a magical experience!

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Elyros
Approx $65 AUD per person
Address: 871 Burke Road, Camberwell VIC 3124
Phone: +61 3 9882 8877
Website: elyros.com.au

Elyros Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Bahari The Hellenic Palate

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If you are craving some amazing, fresh Greek food then look no further than Bahari The Hellenic Palate. With such great reviews we were of course expecting big things and boy did they deliver!

The restaurant had a great modern and rustic funky vibe to it with the combination of the brick floors and dark wooden and white decor. We were given a window seat so had a nice view plus the natural lighting from outside.  First and foremost I have to say that staff were super friendly and on the ball. They were very attentive and were more than happy to provide recommendations and make suggestions, especially when we were indecisive because we wanted to order everything on the menu! Every dish sounded amazing!

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So the menu itself is designed for sharing with small and large sharing plates. We finally agreed on (are you ready for this?) the trio of dips, the haloumi with onions, tomato, roasted peppers, olives and sumac, the wild mushrooms with roasted garlic and crumbed feta, the char grilled octopus, the zuchinni flowers stuffed with garlic prawns, the cured raw tuna, the cauliflower and pomegranate salad AND a chicken souvlaki! Of course we probably over ordered but it was already hard enough shortlisting it down to that final list. So let’s talk about the highlights.

One of my favourite dishes was the haloumi, it was SO good! It was super soft and was complimented well with the tomato, roasted peppers and olives. The wild mushrooms was also mouthwatering and each bite was a burst of juicy and seasoned flavours.

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Davin really liked the zuchinni flowers and garlic prawns. The zuchinni flowers was battered to crispy perfection and the prawns inside were also flavoured really well.

We also loved the trio of tips which came with fresh hot bread and the chicken souvlaki which we heard good things about and did not disappoint! All dishes were just so scoffable and we just ate our hearts out. We could not fit dessert after all that food but have no doubt that would have been nice too.

Overall we were very impressed with the quality of the food and the fantastic service. We would definitely come back again if we’re craving some high quality Greek food!


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Bahari The Hellenic Palate
Approx $50 AUD per person
Website: www.bahari-richmond.com.au/
Address: 179 Swan St, Melbourne VIC 3121
Phone:+61 3 9427 7898

Bahari The Hellenic Palate Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato