Memories of Melbourne: Gazi Greek Restaurant

Auckland doesn't have much in the way of Greek eateries. The few that exist tend to be Greek-and-something places like Niko's Pizza (Greek and Italian), Nicolino (Greek and Mediterranean) or Gyros Kebabs (Greek and Middle Eastern). Recently, I came across Greek Mamas, which doesn't claim to be anything other than Greek, but that is the only such place I've seen so far.

In Melbourne, on the other hand, we kept stumbling across Greek food. No doubt this has something to do with the fact that the city has the largest Greek population outside of Greece (after Athens and Thessaloniki). Eating at one of these restaurants was, of course, high on our list of priorities.

We decided to go to Gazi, as a casual Greek canteen in the CBD owned by Australian MasterChef judge George Calombaris. Apparently named after his favourite Athens neighbourhood, he calls this street food venue his playground.

Interior of Gazi.

We turned up without a booking, not really sure what to expect. Situated in the heritage-listed former Herald and Weekly Times building, it was dark and loud, with red lines lighting the way from the bar to the dining area, where the ceiling was covered with thousands of terracotta pots. Fortunately, we got to sit at one of our favourite locations, at a counter overlooking the open kitchen.

Parallels to Depot Eatery and Oyster Bar

Almost straight away, we started noticing things that were very similar to Depot, one of our favourite casual eateries in Auckland. It had the same buzzing vibe, cutlery in tins, and overhead shelving containing bottles of alcohol; there was even the flat bread cut into triangles and served with dips (not free at Gazi, but you get to choose which dip you want).

Cutlery and paper napkins in tins.

Perhaps it was just what we ordered, but the rest of the food also reminded us of Depot. There were no oysters on the menu, but there was the woodfire grill, and an inspiring selection of vegetable sides, including Brussels sprouts and iceberg lettuce.

Open kitchen next to the bar area.

We assumed Al Brown must have come here before opening Depot, until we realised Gazi didn't yet exist at the time (it didn't open until 2013).

The Food

Our Marouli Salad (A$9.50) was the first thing to come out after our drinks. Deceptively simple with only iceberg lettuce, oregano, lemon juice and freshly-grated cheese, we were blown away by the flavour. Our waitress explained that the kefalograviera was made with a mix of sheep and goat's milk, and we looked for something sinilar as soon as we got home, in an attempt to reproduce the dish.

Marouli salad.

This was followed closely by the Garida (A$13): tiger prawns in shredded flaky pastry, perched on a bed of spicy mayo, every bit as impressive as they looked.

Garida - Crispy kataifi pastry, tiger prawn, aleppo mayo, honey, smoked almond.

We made the mistake of ordering from the Wood Fire Spit menu for our main dish. The chicken (A$28) turned out to be an absolute mountain of meat, more suited to sharing with friends. Although it was smoky and delicious, we wished we had gone for the smaller souvlakakia.

Woodfire chicken with white beans, tyrokafteri, walnut dressing.

Instead, we watched as the cone-shaped rolls flew out of the kitchen next to us, and vowed to come back and try them next time.

We had a seat next to where the French head chef was working.

Apart from the food, we particularly liked one of the house-made sodas, the kiwifruit and coconut one (A$7.50).

Drinks with our meal.

On the advice of our waitress, we also ordered a light dessert called Acropolis Now (A$12.50), without even checking what the other options were. This turned out to be something like a strawberry mousse in the shape of a Greek column, and partially covered with chocolate soil.

Acropolis Now.

Overall, the level of cooking and service at Gazi were way up there, and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening. Based on the food we had, we wouldn't have guessed it was Greek, but then again, we've never been to Greece, and its cuisine is diverse. We would love to return and try more from the menu!

Restaurant Details

Gazi
2 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Australia
+61 3 9207 7444

Memories of Melbourne: High Standards for Cafes

We only managed to visit a few cafes in our brief stint in Melbourne. We really enjoyed all of them, though there are no doubt plenty of other excellent ones that we didn't have time for.

Hardware Société

With positive reviews and many lists recommending the Hardware Société (though admittedly, some of these are a bit older), we were not too surprised to find that we would have to wait in line for brunch at this popular cafe.

Not pictured: the queue to get in.

Situated on Hardware Street, the eatery has little references to its name, for instance with the wait staff wearing leather aprons. The meals were beautifully presented, with generous portion sizes and skilfully cooked, so it's no wonder the place rates highly. We would happily go to other good cafes without the queues though.

Huge portions for breakfast: herb roasted mushrooms ($20) and scrambled eggs ($20).

Frances

We stumbled across Frances Food & Coffee around the corner from our hotel. We loved the decor, and the fact that there were plenty of free tables, though the place was by no means empty.

Concrete and wood work together at Frances.

We also loved the food, which was not only simple and delicious, but had more manageable portions at correspondingly smaller prices. The items pictured below cost less than $10 each, and the most expensive thing on the menu was $14, unless you count their unlisted breakfast special ($17), which was a baked dish with sausages and a duck egg.

Field mushroom toastie ($9.50).

Toasted croissant with avocado, Swiss cheese and rose harissa ($8.50).

The service was attentive and it was also the first time I had a chai latte that was not pre-sweetened. Instead, I was given a little jug of honey that I could mix in to my liking. We would definitely recommend this neat little sibling-run cafe!

Original chai latte ($4).

Sir Charles

Unlike the cafes above, Sir Charles was a recent opening in Fitzroy that some friends took us to. Their breakfast menu had some unusual twists that worked surprisingly well.

Cafe interior.

Case in point: the Sir Charles Benedict that three-quarters of our table ordered came with panko-crumbed eggs, Sriracha hollandaise and bacon on roti.

Sir Charles Benedict with panko-crumbed eggs, Sriracha hollandaise and bacon on roti ($17).

The corn fritters turned out to be deep-fried balls, and some other items on the menu looked just as intriguing, with miso scrambled eggs, for instance. This place should be high on your list if you want to have playful and mouth-watering food.

Corn fritters with poached egg, charred salsa and spicy hollandaise ($15)..

Operator 25

Even though we weren't particularly hungry, we couldn't leave Melbourne without checking out Operator 25, which was not only close to our hotel, but was also highly rated.

Sign outside the cafe.

This cafe celebrates its heritage as a former telephone exchange in numerous ways, from the "Over Hear!" and "Pick Up Line" signs over the counter, to the bundle of wires hanging from the ceiling.

Telephone exchange theme inside.

We went for the most basic item on the breakfast ("Wake-Up Call") menu: toast with a spread, in our case Nutella, which came in a little glass jar with a foil-wrapped piece of handcrafted cultured butter.

Sourdough with butter and Nutella ($7).

It was a pity we weren't able to try anything else, because they had some exotic-sounding dishes too, with braised eggs served with ox tongue and corn bread, or a three rice congee with puffed buckwheat, lotus crisps and soy poached egg.

Couldn't fault the coffee either.

Bonus: Closed Signs

We will have to pay Melbourne a return visit to sample more of the city's great cafes, but we still managed to derive enjoyment from a couple of closed places we walked past.

Goneburger.

Not open = nope.

Hopefully, it won't be long before we can come back!

Memories of Melbourne: Impressions of a Grown Up City

After hearing many people rave about Melbourne, we finally took a short break across the ditch. We had no plans in particular, other than to wander around the city, meet friends, and eat lots. But now we understand why people love the place!

A Vibrant Cityscape

Melbourne is a city with character. They've turned nasty alleys into bustling laneways.

Busker in a laneway.

In some places, they have footpaths wide enough for fruit stalls and passers-by to be there at the same time.

Fruit seller on the footpath.

They've embraced their heritage buildings, with amazing works of architecture used for retail as well as public buildings. Their library and train stations are well worth seeing!

H&M retail store.

There is street art everywhere, whether painted onto buildings...

Artwork brings a side street to life.

... or displayed on a pedestal by the waterfront.

Sculpture (and bikes for hire) on the waterfront.

Amazing Malls

Shopping is not everyone's cup of tea, but in Melbourne, some of the malls are destinations in themselves. I love the ornate arcades from centuries past, which unlike the ones in Auckland, actually seem to attract people.

Queue for the Hopetoun Tea Rooms in thev Block Arcade.

Then there are the modern shopping malls in the centre of the city. Melbourne Central was designed around a historic shot tower made of brick.

Looking up at the shot tower at Melboune Central.

Looking down to the foot of the tower sitting inside the mall.

Not far away, the spacious Emporium Melbourne (which cost $1.6 billion to build!) reminded us of the vertical shopping malls in Asia, complete with interesting eateries which are a far cry from the KFCs and Magic Woks you find here in Auckland.

Emporium has been carefully designed to make shopping enjoyable.

Eatery at a mall which actually looks attractive.

Multiple Forms of Transport

It was great to see that Melbourne is striving to give people transport choices, rather than focussing solely on the needs of cars. Case in point: tram rides became free at the beginning of this year, making it painless to get from one end of town to the other.

Horse drawn carriage on the street.

Sometimes, it's not simply about getting from A to B, but rather enjoying the journey. We were surprised to come across the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant while walking to our hotel on our first night in the city, but hey, what a novel idea!

Colonial Tramcar Restaurant.

Other interesting things to know about Melbourne transport:

1. They have hook turns, where cars turn right from the left lane
2. Public transport routing is not available in Google Maps, though apparently that is coming soon

Colourful Markets

No visit to Melbourne is complete without visiting the historic Queen Victoria Markets. Officially opened on 20 March 1878, the massive complex is divided into different precincts, with fruit and veges in one section, meat and fish in another, deli goods in the historic Deli Hall, and general merchandise in yet another area (there were probably a few other parts to the market as well). They've also just started running the Winter Night Markets.

Quinces, courgettes and other vegetables at a produce stall at the Vic Market.

A deli stall with an amazing array of goods.

Shopping in the Vic Market Deli Hall.

Even a random little market we wandered into (held at the Fitzroy Primary School) was more interesting than the ones I am used to. There was live music, handmade craft items (such as Lovely Lady Lamps), vintage clothing, and freshly cooked food, including pierogies and meatballs.

Meatball stall at the Fitzroy Primary School Market.

Diverse Eats

In terms of eateries in Melbourne, the first thing I noticed were the international chain stores that are not in New Zealand (yet): places like Taco Bell and Krispy Kreme; and Hungry Jack's is what they call Burger King over there. (A similar situation applies with supermarkets too, with Coles and Aldi not in New Zealand, and the Woolworths brand used in place of our Countdown.)

For cheap eats, I would generally much prefer to visit little Asian restaurants. There are plenty of these in Melbourne, but they feel different from the ones here in Auckland. They seem more modern and accessible to English-only speakers, for one. There are way more Korean and Vietnamese eateries, and they provide a more complete experience too. For instance, the Korean fried chicken place we stumbled into in a back alley on our first night (we later discovered there were other branches) gave us a complimentary plate of pickled radish cubes, and a Vietnamese meal we ate came with a pile of herbs (not to mention there were gizzards, liver, tendons, and various other bits in the pho). We were surprised to walk past a Burmese restaurant too.

Modern-looking Vietnamese bakery in a hole in the wall.

Herbs and organs in a pho.

There are of course plenty of European options as well. You can taste Eastern European cuisines which we don't see much of here, like Czech and Slovak food, or eat at a high end Armenian restaurant. We came across a couple of Greek eateries, including one where people were dancing. There was a lot more variety in terms of the more familiar cafes and burger joints too.

Bars with a View

A large part of the experience when you are going out is not only what you put into your mouth, but also the people you are with, and of course the surroundings. I enjoyed the rooftop bars which give you a view with your nibbles and drinks...

Naked for Satan has a rooftop area with a great view of Fitzroy.

... as well as the place located at the foot of a pedestrian bridge in the middle of the river. What's not to love about getting fresh air while surrounded by water, at least when the weather is good?

Ponyfish bar and eatery is under a pedestrian bridge in the middle of the Yarra River.

---

Auckland has already improved greatly in recent years. Hopefully we can incorporate more of the great things about Melbourne into our city too!