Yes, new Yarraville cafe and mezze bar Tzaki is Greek. No, it’s not named after tzatziki.

“It means fireplace or hearth [in Greek],” owner-chef Alex Xinis (ex-Press Club, Hellenic Republic) tells Good Food. So, it’s fitting that the offering at his all-day Athenian diner – opening on Ballarat Street on Tuesday, September 3 – revolves around a roaring wood-fired oven.

By day, takeaway pastries take precedence. Visit from 7am to find tables blanketed in Greek delicacies fresh from the oven. Bougatsa, the flaky, custardy filo pie, comes in both the traditional sweet form, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, and as a savoury version with three cheeses (feta, graviera and stringy halloumi) and egg. And olive-oil pastry is hand-stretched for the large trays of spanakopita (spinach pie), available by the slice.

“There’ll be chefs making cocktails, bartenders plating food, and we’ll be keeping the music vibrant.”

Owner-chef Alex Xinis

You can also caffeinate with a range of Greek coffees, including the summer-fave freddo espresso (or cappuccino, with cold frothed milk), and the classic sand-brewed stuff.

But as Tzaki catches the last of the afternoon sun, it transforms into a mezze bar inspired by those in “modern Athens” – with no bookings, only 15 seats inside and another 15 out, and an artfully stripped-back fit-out that’s all earthy tones and galvanised steel.

Xinis brings to the table not only Greek heritage, but experience at both ends of the culinary spectrum – from Michelin-starred Athens fine diner Funky Gourmet, which was all about molecular gastronomy, to tavernas “churning out 100 litres of taramasalata a day”.

“Food, for me, has really come full circle,” he says. “It’s more about the ingredients you’re using.”

Metsovone – a cow’s milk cheese smoked with herbs from its region of origin in northern Greece – is “the best saganaki cheese I’ve ever tried”, says Xinis, who’s dishing up it golden and molten, with baby Turkish figs on top. He’s also slow-braising capretto (young goat) from Meredith Farm, and serving them simply in their juices.

While about 75 per cent of the menu will change fortnightly, the focus on affordably priced smaller dishes will not, so you can try more than usual and “you don’t have to dedicate yourself to eating a whole lamb shoulder”, says Xinis.

The on-theme cocktail list includes a freezer martini made with coffee-infused Otto’s Athens Vermouth, and an espresso martini with Metaxa Greek brandy.

Because of the close confines, Xinis expects a high-energy experience: “There’ll be chefs making cocktails, bartenders plating food, and we’ll be keeping the music vibrant.”

Open Mon-Sat 7am-10pm, Sun 7am-5pm from Tuesday, September 3.

31 Ballarat Street, Yarraville, tzaki.com.au