Ela Pop-Up Restaurant

Overview

Didn't spend the festive season hopping all over Greece? Us neither, but Melbournians can spend January doing the next best thing. The new year doesn't just mean saying goodbye to your summer break and steeling yourself for a return to normality — it also means diving deep into a sumptuous Greek feast at Ela Pop-Up Restaurant. If that doesn't help you ease back into your working routine, nothing will.

From January 3 to 31 at the Gertrude Street Enoteca, Ella Mittas and Mon Ditbunjong will be whipping up a storm of delicious Mediterranean traditional recipes every day, drawing upon Ella's time spent living, working and eating in Greece. As such, the pop-up will be taking hungry customers on a tour of the country, with its changing menu exploring the nation's different regions — including food from the Peloponnese from January 7, Crete from January 14, the Cycladic Islands from January 21 and Northern Greece from January 28.

While dropping by for an impromptu bite is encouraged, so is booking in for a leisurely late Sunday lunch, with the set menu each week taking inspiration from the aforementioned areas of focus. And, that extends to wine as well. Throw in a vibe influenced by the 1983 film Rembetiko, complete with a curate soundtrack, and you'll think you're somewhere far away from Gertrude Street.