Birthday Dinner @ Hellenic Republic, Brunswick East

One of my best friends birthday fell on a Tuesday night this year. Not a great night to hit the dance floor, but perfect to hit up a great restaurant.

To my delight, this particular friend chose to celebrate her birthday at Hellenic Republic, yet another venture from George Colombaris. After amazing experiences at both Maha and The Press Club, I had wanted to visit Hellenic Republic for a while.

The surroundings of the restaurant are not all that inviting, so when the doors open and your taken inside into a large loud welcoming dining room, you can’t help but smile.

After settling in with a bottle of white wine we began to discuss our menu choices. The waitress told us everything should be shared.

Feeling a little overwhelmed by delicious choices and the large amount of Greek on the menu we asked for assistance. We told the waitress that we wanted dips and cheeses and breads to start as well as some meats and fish for mains. We also had a few sides in mind and she was kind enough to offer a small serve of these so we could try everything!

Our entrée arrived…

It was a beautiful array of dips of all flavours with endless grilled flatbread. We also received the grilled saganaki with preserved figs.

The dips were chickpea, eggplant, white bean and Tzatziki. While this is somewhat of a standard entree at a Greek restaurant, it was extra ordinary. The dips were so flavoursome and fresh. The bread was char grilled and brought that unique flavour to the meal. The figs on the Saganaki added sweetness and punch, which you usually don’t find.

The staff

I would like to point out here the staff. They were fantastic! Professional, friendly, chatty, educated and helpful. Like all of George Colombaris’ restaurants that I have dined at, there is an element of familiarity that instantly occurs with the wait staff. How this happens, I do not know! Maybe I should ask George…

On to the main…

The first meal that arrived was the crispy skinned salmon, with the portions changed to cater for our table of four. This dish was simple. Skin on salmon, cooked to perfection with nothing else getting in the way. It was beautiful.

Next was the chicken. This is one of the best dishes I have had in a while, and by far the best chicken dish I have ever had. The chicken was succulent and juicy and packed with that signature-grilled flavour. I was struggling to remember to eat the other dishes.

We chose two sides to accompany our meat and seafood. The first was the salad of grains, currents, seeds, nuts and labne on top. This was the perfect combination to the grilled meats. It was crunchy and packed with flavour. I am a huge fan of nuts and seeds and this was showcasing them brilliantly.

Finally, we had a serve of the potatoes. Big fat perfectly crispy skin on chips were happily devoured along with the rest of the meal.

What really blew me away here was the fact that on paper the menu items read very simply, yet when you eat them they literally explode with flavour, texture, and flavour combinations that are expertly thought out. I find myself coming back to Greek family hospitality. The food is simple, delicious, full of the best ingredients and you feel comfortable enjoying it!

To top this off, the birthday girl was presented a birthday dessert as a surprise at the end of the meal.

I am heading back next week for an Up Close and Personal Lunch to meet George Colombaris and head chef Travis McAuley…I’m going to have to try to find out their secrets!

 

For more information:

Hellenic Republic

434 Lygon Street

Brunswick East 3057

(03) 9381 1222

 

 

Uni Break Turns Into Brunch @ Pope Joan, Brunswick East

Pope Joan, located strangely close to my apartment has become a favourite among locals and visitors a like. My street is always its busiest when the weekend brunch crowd wanders sleepy eyed to the welcoming doors of Pope Joan. Popping up out of car repair stores and run down houses, it was a sight for sore eyes.

The venue…

As you enter your welcomed by a warm and cozy dining room, with smiling wait staff, laid back patrons, a cabinet filled with freshly baked goods and a smell that assures you you’ve come to the right place. Take a seat either in the wooden dining room, or open the sliding door and venture out the outside. There are tables lining the undercover deck and then outdoor tables taking you all the way to the homegrown herbs and vegetables found in the garden.

There is an attention to detail demonstrated here that is rare in a small brunch/lunch venue. Each dish is served in its own original setting. The rice pudding is served in an old school jam jar, the fruit toast served in a toast stand and the porridge is served using three matching pieces of crockery. One to hold the porridge, one to hold the fruit and a matching jug to hold the milk. It was just a beautiful sight to see.

The Menu…

The menu, while not your standard breakfast/brunch menu offers so many delicious looking dishes. It ranges from baked ginger bread with maple butter, to rice pudding, to pressed ham hock and lentils with fried egg and sauce gribiche, to even W.A Sardines and tomato on toast with feta, pine nuts and currents.

In addition to this there are a range of gourmet sandwiches including The Cornish: Milawa chicken, stuffing and jalapeño peppers to tantalize those who are in the mood for lunch.

My Meal…

My friend and I had trouble deciding what to order so opted to share. We chose the warmed ginger bread which was served with smoked maple butter and the Boiled eggs, soldiers, bacon bits and herb salt.

Seriously…divine.

As it arrived by friend looked at me and said “I know this is weird, but I need to smell it” as she picked up the plate and brought it to her nose. Of course once she had done this I was unable not to follow suit. It has been a good choice, the ginger aromas filled my nose and it took all my strength not to eat her half as well as mine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ginger bread was amazing. It was light and fluffy with a strong ginger flavour pushing through. Perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, the maple butter was able to add moisture and subtle sweetness without interfering with the bread itself.

Then our eggs arrive. They were adorably served in a porcelain egg carton, eggs in their own section, bread in the centre and the bacon bits filling one corner and the herbed salt filling the other. It was a gorgeous picture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we sliced the top of our soiled eggs, we revealed perfectly soft boiled eggs! The toasted grainy buttery bread, which accompanied it, was excitably dunked in straight away. The bacon, expertly crisped added everything bacon should, while the herbed salt was flavoursome and delicious. I couldn’t tell you which herbs they used, but along with the salt it cut through the richness of the egg yolk and completed the dish!

I should also say here, that my soy cappuccino, topped with love heart coffee art was also lovely. Rich and creamy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the vegetable garden out the back to the gorgeous antique looking crockery, eating here feels like you’ve come home. We sat for hours in the busy dining room people coming and going as they please, not once feeling the sometimes-watchful eye of waiters in a busy venue. I honestly think we could have sat there all day with no one having a care in the world.

All in all Pope Joan offers delicious coffee and exciting fun and innovative food that really hits the spot.

For more information:

77-79 Nicholson Street

East Brunswick

(03) 9388 8858

http://popejoan.com.au/