Baclava toast and ouzo for breakfast

From their clever reuse of industrial fetta tins as seating, to their innovative breakfast menu, Demitri's Feast hits the mark when it comes to finding an original breakfast spot in Melbourne. Demitri's stands out as one of the best in its class, insisting on using local, fresh, seasonal, free range and organic products to serve breaky and lunch with a distinctly Greek influence. Its bright Meditteranean-blue exterior stencilled with white tree patterns quite literally stands out among the drab shop fronts in Richmond's Swan Street. 

You won't find any plain old bacon and egg rolls at this place. Demitri's prides itself on its trademark quirky twists on classic dishes. You won't see a drop of maple syrup in sight when ordering the Baclava French toast ($11)- Demitri's signature dish and a local's favourite. Rather, the two whopping slabs of eggy, toasty goodness come served with a dusting of crushed walnuts, a dollop of the freshest greek yoghurt and a heavenly orange honey syrup. But words don't do it justice. You just must try this Greek spin on a French classic - it is seriously awesome. 

Other menu items include Poached Eggs with ouzo and dill cured salmon and spinach ($15.5), Sage Mushrooms with manouri cheese, toasted almonds and rocket on sourdough ($12.5), Zucchini Fritters with free range bacon and oregano roasted tomatoes ($14.5) and Semolina Pancakes with Greek yoghurt, rose jam, pistachios and orange honey syrup ($11). I could go on, but you get the picture. It's mouthwatering stuff. 

Be prepared to wait for a table for five or ten minutes (they don't take bookings), but  trust me, it's worth the wait - the brilliant waitstaff will ensure you are taken care of with a coffee-hit ready for you in the nick of time. Or, for the more daring / not-yet-sober, a shot of chilled ouzo before breakfast, in authentic Greek style. The Age Cheap Eats named Demitri's as 2010's Breakfast of the Year - and with good reason. Since first discovering it, I have made a cheeky visit every weekend for the past three weeks. Simply nothing else beats it on a lazy Sunday morning. I dare you to knock back an ouzo.

Demitri's Feast

141 Swan Street
Richmond, 3121
Ph: 9428 8659

Pireaus Blues

Oh Melbourne, how I love you. Pireaus Blues is one of those quintessential Melbourne institutions that epitomises what this city is all about.. So impressive in fact, that I was busting to go back there again after my first amazing dinner there, that I revisited six days later. I just don’t think there is anything this good back in Brisbane. A couple of weeks ago, my friends K, S and myself arrived all rugged up on a wintery Saturday night. A short tram ride from the city, Pireaus Blues is situated in the eating and drinking cultural boiling pot of Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. We walked into the cosy, bustling restaurant with sunny yellow walls dotted with framed snaps and memorabilia. Each of the delightful wait staff greeted us with warmth and laughter from the tables of people echoed through the restaurant. Something tells me that this was a great find.

It was almost half past eight and the place was brimming with diners and exuded a fantastic, familiar atmosphere. I almost felt as though I had gatecrashed a big Greek family dinner. Well, that probably wasn’t such a great stretch of the truth. Pireaus Blues is one of Melbourne’s longest-running Greek restaurants and if there are two things I know about Greeks: it is their love of family and their love of food.

For meze (the Greek word for appetiser), we ordered the Pireaus Dips Platter which included five enourmous servings of Tzatziki, Beetroot, Taramosalata (fish roe & pureed potato), Eggplant and Skordalia (garlic & pureed potato) dips and a generous stack of traditional grilled pita. In the centre was a ramekin filled with Kalamata and Volo olives drizzled with Greek olive oil and oregano. All of that for only $19.95 and we hadn't even started on the entrees! The tzatzki was a stand out favourite on our table, with the cucumber's texture and the tangy lemon and garlic flavours really complimenting the creamy (goat's milk?) yoghurt. Tzatziki is often used as a sauce in popular greek dishes like gyros and souvlaki but it can also be served as a side for a meat-based dish. The tzatziki's acidity cuts through the fat of the meat, making it the perfect accompaniment to a perfect greek feast.

Next up, we had the Htaponi Sta Karvouna (Char grilled octopus), the Dolmades (vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs) which came with a beautiful minted yogurt dip and a serve of one of the evening's entree specials: Seared Scallops in a red salsa. The virtually melt in-your-mouth tender scallops were perfectly contrasted by the classic aciditic tomato flavours and was my favourite pick of the entrees.

Despite being absolutely stuffed to the point of an almost unbuttoning of the jeans, we couldn't leave without trying the Paidakia. We decided to share one between the three of us, after realising we'd gone a bit overboard with the starters! All worth it though, of course! Out came our Paidakia: our main (and final!) course. This translated as Frenched Lamb Cutlets with lemon and olive oil dressing, served with zucchini, mushroom, fresh tomato and fetta and topped with a potato fritter. Oh. My. God. I never knew it was possible for lamb to taste that good.

Without a doubt, Pireaus Blues is the most brilliant dining experience I have had in Melbourne so far. On my second trip back there, I couldn't resist ordering those divine lamb cutlets again, just to prove to more friends how absolutely phenomenal they are. And they were exactly that, even the second time around. I also paced myself in the entree stakes this time and managed to squeeze in enough space for the Loukoumades, which are sticky little Greek Doughnut balls served with honey, cinnamon and crushed walnuts. Okay I'll admit, I am a huge fan of any kind of doughnuts, including those cheap and nasty ones from Donut King... but to make something so plain and simple into something so lush, left me delighted and left us all fighting over the last one! It may or may not have seen me waking up drooling after a recurring daydream about those sweet little suckers. Mmmm. Delightful indeed!

 

Pireaus Blues

310 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy

Melbourne

Ph: 03 9417 0222