melbourne love

Jen — Mon, 28 May 2012 12:40:46 +0000

I don’t think I could ever get sick of this city. I was lucky enough to spend the week for an Arts Marketing conference. And yes, I did actually spend time learning, and not just finding amazing places to drink coffee.

Top to bottom: Mexican Cousin deliciousness, Degraves Espresso, cool creepers, Peta and her important to-do list, twinnies, Spitiko and his yia yia, the best greek food in south melbourne, apartment views, rainy laneways, a work of art, that poser girl, going out for breakfast might be better than going out for dinner, myself and a frisbee champion, Madame Brussels, Napoleon in neon.

I had about fifteen more pictures of skim lattes from different angles and cafes, but one was probably enough. x

Spitiko

melbournebitsandpieces — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:31:00 +0000

Have you ever found yourself on a Friday night wanting some great food, but having no reservation anywhere? That was my exact dilemma on the day I was introduced to Spitiko. ‘Spiti’ meaning ‘home and ‘Spitiko’ meaning home made.

Spitiko is warm welcoming and doesn’t always require a reservation. This is as you would want your home to be. It has three enlarged and amazing photos of a grandma in different poses, reminding me of my own home where large painting of my grandma adorns the wall.

Upon arrival we were quickly greeted by Harry who is a friendly and energetic guy who oozes confidence and passion for the industry. Harry also co-owns this enterprise and it was obvious he cared about the experience of his customers, as any small business owner would.

After much banter, chatter and lots of Greek words that I didn’t understand, Harry was off to collect our menus. Our menus backed with old pictures. You know the ones? That your nanna and mum pull out when they want to reminisce about the “good old times”.

I spent such a long time staring at these beautiful family pictures that I had no time to look at the menu. Thankfully my plus one took charge and ordered Harry to bring out ‘whatever was good’ – his exact words!

A train of food proceeded to arrive:

- Mixed Dips with pita bread

- Saganaki

- Bouyourdi which was a small clay pot of fetta, kasseri (yellow goats milk cheese), mushrooms, olives & peppers

- Htapodi Skara – Char grilled octopus. One of my favourite dishes.

- Kolokithakia which where sliced pieces of fried zucchini

- Krassomezze – spicy sausage, capsicum, tomato, olives & fetta

- Horiatiki- Greek village salad

- Extra Pita Serving squeezed in here somewhere

- Patates Tiganites – Chips with oregano

- Mixed meat grill

- Greek coffees

- Greek donuts which were absolutely to die for!

The food quality was good but on this occasion not excellent; but you really could feel that in some dishes it was like being in a Greek relative’s home. The only downfall sadly (because I do love meat!) was the mixed meat grill, which came soaking in pool of olive oil and didn’t feel freshly cooked or grilled. But rather it had been precooked and placed under the grill just prior to us dining. Of course, this was quickly forgotten when the Greek coffee and donuts turned up for dessert. They were crunchy and smothered in honey, but so soft and gooey on the inside. I really could dedicate this entire blog to speaking about the donuts… but i won’t, just trust me on this one. They were devine!

So much food had arrived on our table that my plus one, worried about my health (I refuse to leave anything on my plate!) asked Harry to stop the flow with urgency. Our request caused a giant of a man called John, in a chef’s uniform to storm out of the kitchen to our table where he bellowed “Who’s asking me to stop/start/stop/start!? I’m not a traffic light!” Which threw me in a fit of laughter, yet did not stop me from eating while laughing. I’m the only girl I know, that can laugh and eat at the same time!

Describing my dining experience in detail at Spitiko would take hours and many pages of this blog. Despite only dining for a couple of hours, I felt like I had really come into somebody’s home for dinner with friends. John entertained us for hours, joining Foodie Friend in drinking from small bottles of ouzo that kept them merry and laughing loudly. At one stage, John even demanded that there be fire and Harry was more than happy to comply – so of course, Harry merrily proceeded to set the bar on fire (as you do!):

My dining experience at Spitiko was just that – homely.

It was an experience of laughter, craziness and loud jokes with my Greek friends.
If this sounds like something you wish to experience, then head down there and let these two guys make you feel at home.

Highlights:

- One of my personal highlights was the small homely personal touches. Instead of having white linen napkins or paper napkins, our side plates came with small napkins that resembled my tea towels at home. A small touch to create a homely experience.

- The char grilled octopus was deliciously seasoned, tender but still chewy and with a squeeze of lemon, it was to die for!

- The Greek donuts, don’t you dare miss these!

- The front of house service, such amazing friendly service.

Downfalls:

- The mixed grill was a little disappointing, but don’t let this deter you from trying it

- The pricing wasn’t very clear and I think we could have dined at a more affordable option by choosing a banquet, also plus one’s love for ouzo sky-rocketed our bill more than anticipated.

Things you need to know.

Where:
270 Park St. South Melbourne Victoria 3205 Call on: (03) 9690 2600

Reservation:
Not entirely required, but if you’re in need of confirmation for dining they do take bookings. I would recommend booking if you have more than 6 people dining.

Opening Hours:
Dinner from 6pm onwards – Tuesday to Saturday

Lunch from 12pm – Friday and Saturday

Functions:
They do cater for functions and they reserve Sunday for functions only.
Great place for a banquet function if you love Greek cuisine.

Drinks:
Fully licensed, BYO for wine only. Corkage charge at a whopping $7 per bottle.

Price:
You’re looking at about $50 per person for a full dining experience.

Web:
http://spitiko.com.au/

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melbourne love

Spitiko