Restaurateur Con Christopoulos is at last creating the Greek restaurant that his customers, friends and family have been demanding for years, opening Kafeneion at the top of Bourke Street on May 24.

Initially operating as a winter pop-up in the space that was Self Preservation and more recently Martinis with Mancini, the casual restaurant will serve slow-cooked dishes known as ladera (meaning cooked in olive oil).

Olive-oil braised peas and artichokes, and pork with leek and lemon will join smaller dishes such as cured bonito, and steamed beets with leaves, plus hand-cut chips cooked in olive oil. There’ll be several offal dishes, too. “Greeks love offal,” says Christopoulos. Affordability is a key concern for the restaurateur, so main courses will come either small (from $17) or large (from $24).

Soups, including avgolemono and fish soup kakavia, will be served on a late-night menu.

The wine list will be half Greek.

Christopoulos has built a reputation over nearly three decades for giving people what they want via venues such as Degraves Espresso, The European and Siglo, but he’d always resisted doing a Greek restaurant.

Visiting Greece three times since pandemic travel bans were lifted struck a match for Christopoulos. “You live a little truer there,” he says.

Christopoulos’ partner in the venture is Stavros Konis, the third generation to operate Salona restaurant in Richmond.

The name Kafeneion is a play on Greece’s original cafes, known as kafenio, but the look will not trade on stereotypes. “We’re not making fun of Greek culture here,” says Christopoulos.

The space will be transformed by new tables, cutlery and artwork that will broadcast an easygoing mess hall look partly inspired by Greece’s mid-century modernism.

Martinis with Mancini, the cocktail bar that replaced Self Preservation last year with great success, will reopen in a permanent site.

Christopoulos is also looking for a larger 150-seat site so Kafeneion can put down permanent roots sometime in spring.

Open Tue-Thu 4pm-1am, Fri noon-1am, Sat 4pm-1am from May 24.

70 Bourke Street, 03 9650 0523, @kafeneion_melbourne