• Review: Modern Greek restaurant Atalanta

Ipswich's dining scene is on the up with the arrival of Arcadia, a modern Greek restaurant in a former 1920s corner store.

Locals have been enthusiastic customers at the 52-seater, says Arcadia owner-chef Matt Tsalikis.

Tsalikis and his wife moved to the area six years ago and say they've watched the city undergo rapid development.

"In the past two years in particular, there's been a lot of places opening and they're all doing well and offering good food and service," Tsialikis says.

It's the first solo venture for Tsalikis, but hospitality runs in his blood, having worked for many years in the family business with his father Peter Tsalikis at their restaurant Amphora in St Lucia.

The Arcadia name comes from an area of Greece that Tsialikis and his wife travelled to last year.

"We loved the place and while we originally had the idea to open this as a bistro, we were inspired to do something different.

"Ipswich has a strong history of Greek-run cafes, but strangely few of them ever served Greek food, so we thought this would be something new for the city," Tsalikis says.

The menu includes traditional Hellenic dishes, such as lamb stifado, a hearty slow-cooked lamb stew; eggplant and lamb moussaka; and ekmek (a sweet made with layers of crisp kataifi pastry, thick custard and whipped cream), but all are given a contemporary spin.

There's also a rotating beer, wine and ouzo list with a Greek focus.

Open Tue-Sat 11.30am-2pm and 5.30pm-9pm.

37 Warwick Road, Ipswich, 0420 343 918, arcadiarestaurant.com.au