Review :: Athenian Greek Restaurant

Is it racist if you refuse to eat in a Greek restaurant because you do not see any Greek people working there? I have always been sceptical about dining at Italian restaurants staffed by Japanese people, and everyone knows that you don't eat at Chinese restaurants in country towns staffed exclusively by Anglo-Saxons.

The Athenian, at 11 Barrack St in Sydney's CBD employs a multicultural front of house staff - but none of them Greek. We were served by a combination of Nepalese and Chinese waiters, all very skilled at their craft. The service was prompt attentive and knowledgeable. Yet there was some doubt lingering at the back of our minds as to how authentic an experience we could have.

These doubts were quickly put to bay when the entrees arrived. A delicious assortment of haloumi, rice balls wrapped in vine leaves, taramasalata and white bait completed with a warm soft pita that sent my taste buds into overdrive.

Then engine room of this CBD institution is staffed by Greeks, and at the end of the day this is all that matters. The mains backed up the solid performance of the entrees - generous portions of delicious hearty food. The lamb comes served by the shoulder with mounds of sides - make no mistake, this is a place where the food is there to fill you up - not just to look pretty on the plate. The lack of choice in vegetarian options was disappointing - with only one vegetarian main if you do not eat fish. Speaking of fish, the silver dory fillets were soft and juicy - cooked perfectly for a white fish - a stark contrast to the dismal performance of the chef at Fish Face a few weeks ago.

To answer the question I posed at the outset - it might not be racist to want your Greek restaurant to be staffed exclusively by Greeks, but in this case your prejudice would result in you missing a great restaurant experience.

4/5

Melbourne Shopping :: Captains of Industry

Captains of Industry, at Level 1, 2 Somerset Place (in a laneway off Little Bourke St) in Melbourne's CBD sets the bar high for what a concept store can and should be. Many brands claim to have flagship "concept" stores but fall short. A concept store is meant to be about expressing the virtues of the brand more than purely selling it. Admittedly Captains of Industry is not a brand, but rather a space for a small group of artisans to show off their skills, yet they certainly have the art of not selling down to a tee.

When we arrived the the cordovan* JS Roberts greeted us and showed us into a side room where there were pieces of leather of all colours lying on the ground. The table was littered with strange looking shoe making tools that gave me the eerie feeling that this could be turned into a sadistic torture chamber at any moment. He genuinely wanted to show me around his workshop without any attempts to sell me anything and from the sounds of things they are busy enough anyway. When I asked JS Roberts whether he made many shoes, he answered that "There is a 3 month waiting list for my shoes."

The shoes are truly works of art, mostly one off pieces for gentlemen that want something beautifully made and unique. Below is a photo of one of the pairs he had recently finished. In another side room was the tailor’s workshop, who sadly was not there to show us his work.

Dark Brown Single Eyelet Derby

The main room is sparsely adorned with smoking pipes, and antique machinery. There are vintage ties and sports jackets for sale. A filing cabinet in the corner has old Hendricks Gin bottles that are used as water bottles to be drunk out of white enamelled tin mugs. This space is more a homage to the virtues that the artisans extol, a serene place for them to work rather than a place to agressively sell their wares.

Other than just a space for the artisans to work and show off their talents, there is a bona fide cafe with delicious cakes and coffee made by the same people that make the shoes and clothes. The hot chocolate I ordered was thick rich and dark, the perfect antidote to the brisk Melbourne weather outside. Perched by the window with hot chocolate in hand in the perfect vantage point to do a spot of people watching at all the passers by on Elizabeth St below.

Go here if you value the quality and attention to detail that men used to take in their appearance - even if you only want to admire - you will certainly not be pressured to buy anything.

*For those not in the know, a cordovan is a bespoke shoe maker

Review :: Pellegrini's Espresso Bar

"Beauty in Simplicity"

Many restaurants fail to impress because they can't do the simple things well. They spend too much time devising extravagant menus and impressive decor yet forget to properly cook their food or give prompt service. Pellegrini's is not one of these restaurants. In fact, Pellegrini's only does the simple things. They only serve pasta and coffees and the layout hasn't been updated since the 1950s but what they do serve is delicious and the service is prompt, friendly and unpretentious.

The long narrow layout at the top of Bourke St in Melbourne's CBD doesn't leave room for many tables, so most diners sit at a long narrow table facing the side wall or at the espresso bar. If there is room in this bustling restaurant I would definitely recommend sitting at the bar. This will give you a chance to talk to the barista, who unobtrusively joined our conversation and offered his advice on love, life and women.

Gnocchi is the dish that sets a true Italian restaurant from the pretenders - there are so many things that can go wrong, and often do. Pellegrini's handmade gnocchi was delightfully soft and creamy yet firm enough to hold its own in the rich napolitana sauce - a balance that is rarely achieved and was a testament to the experience of the cooking staff. All the pasta's are cooked by 'grandpa' in the small kitchen out the back that you walk through to access the bathroom.

The pricing is simple and great value - all pastas are $15 and all drinks hot or cold are $3. All pastas are served with a slice of pre-buttered bread to soak up the remaining pasta sauce from the plate - which you will definitely want to do. Their coffee is faultless, but I don't think you can go past the blood orange granita - a perfect complement to any of the pastas.

Pellegrino's, established in the 1950s - found the winning formula a long time ago. So long as they don't change - I will keep returning.

4.5/5

66 Bourke St Melbourne CBD

Review :: Grasshopper

As far as small bars go, the owners of Grasshopper seem to be following rather than leading when it comes to concept. Whilst Grasshopper does nothing to offend - it also does nothing to excite or inspire. We have seen it all before, it is as if the owners have read "the complete idiots guide to setting up a small bar". The bar steals Shady Pine's basement down a laneway and Pocket Bar's seating, bar and wall art. It lacks any defining characteristics to set itself apart from what is becoming a crowded market of small bars in and around the city.

The combination of low ceilings and lots of concrete created for some deafening acoustics once the corporate set filled out the small place which put me off staying for dinner, which I hear is pretty good. The drinks list was short but satisfactory, a handful of wines clumsily measuerd with a beaker that wont break the bank but if you are a beer drinker I hope you like Peroni, since this is the only beer they serve! The cocktails are numbered rather than named - and the recipes seem to have as much imagination as the names. The cocktails come served in old jam jars with vinyl records for drink coasters, which to Grasshoppers credit is the one unique feature they do have.

Nestled down the back of the unremarkable Temperance Lane off George St, this bar/restaurant only just scores a pass - so you will need to make up your own mind whether to go in or simply pass it by in favour of another bar.

2.5/5

Temperance Lane, Sydney (off George St between King and Market, Next to RM Williams)