Hellenic Republic, East Brunswick

I went through my photo archives and realised with horror that I had forgotten to blog about one of the most memorable meals I had at Hellenic Republic earlier this year. As part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in March, there had been a Home By The Sea degustation dinner at Hellenic Republic that I had enjoyed immensely. At $95 with almost free flow wine and ouzo pairing, how was it possible not to jump on the bandwagon?! The only thing I was sad about was that I had left it too late to take a tram, and had to drive - meaning I had to ration the alcohol.

George Calombaris is pretty well-known for his appearances on tv as a MasterChef judge, but I didn't quite have high expectations of the dinner after eating at Mama Baba, his somewhat schizophrenic (or bipolar?) Greek/Italian restaurant in South Yarra which closed early this year - it reopened shortly after as Le Grand Cirque, which soon closed after it was revealed that GC's group ran into money trouble.

But back to Hellenic Republic, which is a restaurant I sincerely hope will stay open for much much longer, because they deserve to succeed if they can maintain consistency and quality.  Once we got in, seeing the menu got us all excited.

  

The chargrilled octopus that we started with was superb. I have no idea how they managed to get it so tender, and it was cooked to perfection with a smoky flavour.

The fava - split pea dip with some truffle oil and capers. Such a cheap trick to use truffle oil, which sad to say, I lapped up and thoroughly enjoyed. I was trying to go slow on the bread so it wouldn't fill me up too much, and I blame premature fullness on the fava.

Barrel aged feta with herbs and olive oil which was so, so good and tasty.

Olives, which left me most upset about my inability to drink too much.

The dudes at the kitchen keeping their calm under pressure, churning it all out for a full house.

Sardines with peppers and vinegar

Pickled vegetables

Battered whitebait - so sinful and irresistible

With aioli. This was amazing with the wine.

Greek salad with yet more feta

Eggplant and zucchini chips

Egg pasta with mussels, saffron and mullet roe

I wasn't too sure about the mullet roe, which I felt was a bit fishy, and the mussels were slightly underdone for me, but this was a small blip in an otherwise perfect meal. I also agree that it could have been amazing to someone else

And the ouzo, which arrived at the table looking clear

And turned cloudy once water was added. How that worked, I have no clue.

The mains arrived shortly after. The grilled calamari was pretty much perfect, with the right balance of chargrilled flavours and chewiness without getting too burnt.

Stuffed tomatoes

Veggies tossed with olive oil and salt, amazing with lemon drizzled on top. So simple yet so good.

Grilled fish and prawns served with skordalia

Desserts came - watermelon with feta, rosewater, mint and almonds

Kataifi pastry with custard, ice cream, sour cherries and pistachio. All in, a fantastic meal where it was impossible to walk straight after finishing - not sure whether it was because of the quantity of food or alcohol!