Aspro Ble in Melbourne

IN a way, Aspro Ble is a strong analgesic against the painful "new" Greek cooking that mesmerised some diners a year or so back.

melb RR

IN a way, Aspro Ble is a strong analgesic against the painful "new" Greek cooking that mesmerised some diners a year or so back.

It's an amazingly cheap CBD bistro in blue and white (what else? with a name that means blue and white) serving terrific Hellenic favourites that are slightly, and only sometimes, modernised.

A cheerful corner restaurant on Hardware Lane, it offers good service and a canny, cheap wine list.

FOOD

FOR the most part, Greek food doesn't need contemporary tweaking. Why? Because it has developed over centuries the healthy delivery of strong flavours. Lines drawn among meat, fat and vegetables are clear, a lot of accompaniments are raw and olive oil beats butter for your body.

You get it all at Aspro Ble, which are the Greek national colours. Its "bespoke" flatbread and village loaf are baked for the restaurant then reheated in the redgum-fired pizza oven before being served. Three traditional dips ($12) are lean and tasty and want to take your tongue on a taste tango.

Following them are seven dishes costing from $10 to $22 before even huger platings that range from $22 to $25. Beware, servings are supersized.

Pan-seared scallops come with almonds and a pomegranate glaze, lamb-shank "confit" with a wild mushroom sauce and "vanilla scented" mash. But if they're a bit too runaway, moussaka, pastitsio (macaroni, meat and bechamel) cheeseballs, meatballs and dory fillet with sun-dried tomatoes olives and capers are also available.

We opened with five huge grilled prawns ($17) tails bared - that climbed out of a plate on which an "orange and anise reduction" spread. Of honeyed consistency and clarity, the reduction was a little too sweet for my liking, but the prawns were great material, taut and tasty. I was told that the crustaceans are marinated in aniseed, ouzo and orange juice before cooking.

Five big calamari-prawn dumplings ($16) were high, disc-shaped pillows of thin paste containing an exquisite herb-flecked mince of seafood and a white whey halfway between yoghurt and cheese.

Slow-roasted lamb ($22) bakes in the pizza oven for more than four hours, I learnt. A huge pile of it - easily enough for two - dominates a platter that also supports lemon wedges, yoghurt-garlic dip and a fine tarragon "gravy" in a small jug shaped like an ancient Levantine lamp.

Another big serving, the "village" beef stew featured tender meaty chunks, the usual aromatics such as carrot and celery, but also an adept amount of orange rind, which haunted the dish. It came with excellent small orzo pasta.

Sweet beetroot cake, Greek doughnuts and terrific house-made baklava ($8) warmed through in the wood-fired oven are to finish.

STAFF

YOUNG staff here do an excellent job, and the boss, who also serves, visits Greece frequently and knows his way around a tradition he is proud of. One of our wines by glass was poured at the bar, which means, of course, that the customer can't verify what he or she is getting.

DRINK

THE best eating places have got the hang, at last, of what diners need.

A place like Aspro Ble offers on its limited list grape variety and cheapness. No wine costs more than $45, and most are in the $20s and $30s.

Five table whites and six reds come by glass. Totino Estate pinot grigio from South Australia is $9/$32.

X-FACTOR

A CORNER place, Aspro Ble has mostly glass on two sides, a big central bar and open kitchen, white-tiled walls, clothed tables, stern timber kitchen chairs with rush-woven seats and a dark painted floor. Seating is chummy, and some of it is on stools at high communal tables.

VALUE

THIS place offers astonishing value. Servings of excellent food are huge, and the wine list is good and cheap.

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HOW IT RATED: ASPRO BLE

Food 18/20

Staff 8/10

Drink 4/5

X-factor 3/5

Value 8/10

Total score: 41/50

Address: 389 Lonsdale St, City (cnr Hardware Lane); ph 9602 4444

Food: Traditional Greek with sometimes a tweak

Drink: Licensed and BYO (wine only, $10 a bottle)

Hours: 11am-late Tues-Fri; 5.30pm-late Sat

Chef: Loic Le Du

Owners: Jarna Salonen, John Tatoulis

Wheelchair access: Yes

Parking: CBD car parks

Price guide: Small plates: $10-$17; Large plates: $22-$25; Desserts: $8-$9

Green guide: Queen Vic Gourmet Butchers' lamb, George's Smallgoods

Snapshot: Great trad Greek tucker, sometimes with just the right amount of modern tweaking