Overview
Melbourne's Greek dining scene is in the middle of a serious revival. We don't have the exact figures, but it feels safe to say the city has welcomed more new Greek restaurants in the past three years than in the three decades before.
That's no small feat for a place with the world's largest Greek population outside Greece — and a proud history of institutions to match. But for a long time, the city's Greek eateries were all marching to the beat of a similar drum.
Kit Edwards
"I feel like [Greek cuisine] kind of got stuck in a certain era," says Nik Pouloupatis, owner of Astoria Bar Ke Grill in South Yarra, which opened last year. "Every neighbourhood has always had its little Greek taverna, but it was always that seventies, eighties style, and it kind of hadn't moved away from that."
Migration has a way of freezing a cuisine in time. Diners grow used to the version that arrives with early waves of migrants, and new operators lean into it because that's what customers expect. It's a cycle that repeats across cultures. As Oscar Tan, chef at Greek pop-up-turned-restaurant The Pontian Club in Collingwood, points out: "My grandfather opened a Chinese restaurant in the country when he first moved here from Malaysia, serving sweet and sour chicken and honey chicken — nothing you'd ever find in China."
Now, though, a new generation of Greek Australians is rewriting the story. Former fine-dining chef Ioannis Kasidokostas is bringing contemporary Athens-style cooking to Aegli in South Melbourne, serving fresh spins on dishes like stuffed eggplant, youvarlakia (Greek meatball soup) and bougatsa. In Richmond, Salona has returned after a major revamp, serving a menu that bridges the restaurant's own history with ideas owner Stavros Konis honed while working on Kafenion, another pop-up success story.
Others are taking cues from Melbourne's broader dining scene. The Pontian Club riffs on Greek food through a local lens, leaning into demand for simple, shareable plates that align naturally with the cuisine. "I feel [diners are] starting to pull away from the theatrics of it all," says Tan, who runs the space with Bertie Pavlidis and Al Brunetti. "People are looking for something more simplified across all cuisines and restaurant settings."
That ethos is central at Brunswick East's Taverna, where chef-owner Angie Giannakodakis celebrates seasonal produce and protein with minimal fuss. Pouloupatis is doing the same at Astoria, highlighting vegetarian and vegan dishes alongside the lamb and seafood classics.
"Greek food was pigeonholed to gyros and souvlaki," he says. "Yes, we do like our lamb, but we eat so many other foods."
Thornbury's Capers, run by the next generation of GRK Greek Kitchen and Bar next door, offers its own playful spin, adapting traditional dishes — think mushroom moussaka with vegan bechamel — and shaking up cocktails like the Greek salad martini, built with vinegar shrub, cucumber, tomato and olive brine. The venue has also become a community hub for young Greek Australians and their friends, hosting DJs and artists throughout the week.
Still, tradition hasn't lost its place. Longstanding players like Jim's Greek Tavern in Collingwood and Eleni's Kitchen in Yarraville remain fixtures, thriving on consistency and familiarity. "We're very much about traditional family recipes, we don't muck around — that's basically the shop mantra," says Eleni's co-owner Thierry Amanatidis, who is committed to maintaining family recipes carried over from the Pontian region of Greece, now modern-day Türkiye.
Far from feeling edged out, Amanatidis sees strength in the diversity. "The more places that open up, it's great because it puts us on the map and gets people trying different foods."
Want to do some investigating for yourself? Check out our list of the Best Greek Restaurants in Melbourne.
Images: supplied.