Restaurant review: Greca Street Oakleigh’s mysterious lamb dish will get people talking

It may not look like much, but when a mysterious package lands at your table at Greca Street, Oakleigh, trust it’s worth the hype.

Kara Monssen

3 min read

March 1, 2022 - 12:00PM

Food

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A mysterious package wrapped in parchment lands at our table.

There’s more to this dish than a white bundle on a plate — there’s a story, history and homely Greek cooking that’ll make any yia-yia proud.

At Greca Street, the ancient kleftiko slowly cooks lamb shoulder, fat spuds and tomatoes in parchment until the meat falls off the bone and those potatoes get drunk on lemon, garlic and lamb juice, with salty kefalograviera (sheep and goats milk cheese) hammering it home.

Born in the Ottoman Empire rule, bandits, or Klephts, cooked stolen goat or lamb meat in a bag beneath the earth to prevent smells giving away their location.

But Oakleigh’s new Greek restaurant is far from stealth.

Ancient Greek dish Kleftiko. Picture: Mark Stewart.

Unwrap the parcel to find falling apart lamb shoulder and tender spuds. Picture: Mark Stewart

Mike Horomidis, his life and business partner Vallecia Apolakiatis, and George and Pamela Spiropoulos want their new restaurant to become the suburb’s epicentre of “Little Greece”, replacing what Eaton Mall has done for decades.

They took over the Richmond Oysters site on Portman St soon before the first lockdown to build their biggest project to date.

Horomidis has more than 40 years of hospo wisdom running Santorini beach clubs and restaurants, and most recently at Oakleigh’s casual eatery Meat Me Souvlakeri.

Greca Street takes things to another level, in many ways.

They would have spent a mint on that flashy dining room revamp, which allows for 200 people to fill out many long tables (some seating 30 at once) and cushy green banquettes.

Retractable floor-to-ceiling windows at the front open up to footpath seating.

Waiters in black branded uniforms zip between tables balancing plates on cymbal-sized trays above shoulders without breaking a sweat.

It’s clear Greca Street has a go-big-or-go-home attitude: everything is larger than life.

Even the ginormous menu, which is frightening for a critic.

Housemade dips and pita. Picture: Mark Stewart

There are 100 individual items, including at least 30 types of mezze, meat and seafood platters, dips and bread, gyros, souvas and bites for the kids.

Arthur Katiforis (formerly of Meat Me, Tsindos Greek Restaurant), Phillipa Kambastanakis (Jim’s Greek Tavern) and Anna Monou (Ilios Taverna) share the load of executing this beast of an offering.

So how do they prepare all of this food to an excellent standard?

The mixed gyros is excellent value. Picture: Mark Stewart

Truth is most places can’t and something always gives, and at Greca Street quality takes the hit.

Not everything is made from scratch – the pita is flown in from Athens but is suitably fluffy, warm and tasty when swiped in house-made taramasalata (fish cod roe).

The dolmades, vine leaf parcels of rice tossed in lemon juice, parsley, dill and onion, are also made fresh.

You won’t go home hungry, either, with sizeable mains and share plates.

Double down with helpings of both lamb and chicken in the mixed gyros, shaved from the spit after being slathered in olive oil, oregano, lemon and a “secret” Greek spice.

The tender meat imparts a lovely smokiness and is well-seasoned, plus there’s a heap of chicken salted chips, salad and even more pita. At $24, it’s excellent value.

The baklava (left) is bought-in from Thornbury’s Taki Pastry Lab. Picture: Mark Stewart

Sadly the desserts aren’t made in-house, but are baked by Thornbury’s Taki’s Pastry Lab. Baklava and galaktoboureko (vanilla custard in filo) are one-dimensional, thanks to all that sweet honey and cinnamon, but we polished off both very quickly.

The drinks, which trump modern cocktails, stay on script with Greek spirits and wines including the eye-squintingly tart assyrtiko by the bottle.

Why should all of this matter? Greca Street was fun, well-priced and I left with a smile and a full tummy. Most others packing out the restaurant on this Sunday would seemingly feel the same.

Bigger is not always better, but if Greca Street tweaked its play and injected more soul into its food like that kleftiko, then maybe even more will visit.