Greece is the word: Melbourne’s best Greek restaurants and top dishes to try

Greek cuisine is perfectly suited to local conditions and appetites, and Melbourne is one of the best places in the world to enjoy it.

Top chef Lazaros Tsakiridis at Jim's Greek Tavern. Picture: Hamish Blair

The Greeks like to live life at full throttle. Whether it’s the size of a wedding or other celebration, the passion with which they debate a topic or play music, or the amount of garlic that is added to a skordalia, they don’t do anything by halves.

Anyone who has succumbed to the endless plates of lamb and potatoes in a full Greek banquet will be nodding in agreement.

The challenge is to maintain some control when everything tastes so good. Not that Greek food is unhealthy. Quite the opposite. Like other cuisines that have taken shape along the shoreline of the Mediterranean, it is based on olive oil, plenty of seafood and veg, grilled meats and a smattering of dairy, all admirable building blocks, when balanced correctly, for a sustainable diet.

Your doctor should be thrilled with traditional favourites such as cabbage rolls, stuffed capsicum and a spanakopita laden with spinach (just don’t mention the pastry and custard in

those wonderful desserts such as bougatsa).

Clasic cuisine: Grilled skewers served with tzatziki dip

Given the similarities in climate and laid-back attitude, it is no surprise that the Greek community – and its cooking – have taken a strong foothold here.

In fact, while the exact numbers are a little fuzzy, Melbourne is often said to be the city with the biggest Greek population outside of that country.

Head to the southeastern suburb of Oakleigh and you can observe this transplanted culture in full swing. This is best done while seated at a table on the footpath nibbling a sugar-dusted kourabiethes biscuit and sipping on a frappe, the iced preparation of frothy instant coffee that has become Greece’s national drink.

Dolmades, or stuffed vine leaves, are among the plant-based staples in Greek cuisine.

When more serious hunger strikes, go in search of a souvlaki/gyros (the two terms have become interchangeable but, strictly, the first is a grilled skewer of meat wrapped in pita, while the other uses meat sliced from a rotisserie).

As its name suggests, Kalimera Souvlaki Art takes this hand-held street food seriously and is one of very few to fill its souvlaki with pork (as they do in Greece) rather than lamb.

In the CBD, the legendary Stalactites is renowned for both the formations on its

ceiling (check the name), and for staying open deep into the night for those craving gyros.

Speaking of legends, Melbourne restaurants don’t come better known

than Jim’s Greek Tavern in Collingwood, where menus are non-existent and well-drilled waiters recite what is on offer for the night.

Most people will take the easy option and go for the banquet. Just remember the aforementioned warning.

Jim’s Greek Tavern

This Collingwood institution is the type of relaxed place you can take the whole family and not worry when you drip tzatziki dip and lamb juice all over the paper tablecloth.

In a quirky twist, there is no menu: the waiters tell you what’s on offer and you let them know what you want.

Top chef Lazaros Tsakiridis tends to the grill at Jim's Greek Tavern. Picture: Hamish Blair

For large groups, there is the banquet – sit back and wait for the sizeable portions to arrive.

Jim’s Greek Tavern is now more than 50 years old, its whitewashed walls and timber tables setting a traditional theme that complements the authentic flavours of the dishes – a line-up of Greece’s culinary hits.

“We’ve got our dips. We’ve got saganaki, which is pan-fried cheese. We’ve got chargrilled octopus and specials like fried sliced zucchini,” chef Lazaros Tsakiridis says.

“We specialise in seafood and lamb, which are cooked on charcoal, and this gives better heat, cooks nicer and also gives a nice flavour.”

Customers also love the desserts, such as galaktoboureko (custard pie with syrup) and baklava

(filo pastry with chopped nuts and honey), not to mention, the lively, sociable atmosphere.

“Everybody comes in and gets together. They talk to each other at other tables,” Lazaros says. “We get a lot of families who bring the kids down and everyone has a good time.”