Hellenic Hotel

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant. All opinions are my own

The night before I went to Hellenic Hotel, I drank too much, and stayed out far too late. There were plenty of regrets the next day. I was so terribly hungover, that I was almost worried I wouldn’t survive the drive out to Williamstown, despite drinking about four litres of water throughout the day and sleeping for half the afternoon too.

Fortunately, the night of Hellenic Hotel negated plenty of the night before - and no regrets were had!

Hellenic Hotel has comfortably nestled into it’s spot in Williamstown, recently celebrating it’s two year birthday - and as always - I’m surprised I haven’t been by sooner! The casual,  contemporary and delicious Greek eatery found an unexpected home in the former 106 year old Hobsons Bay Hotel, where they’ve retained a lot of the structure and facade on the outside, but step in and the space is totally transformed. Totally painted white, with graphic applications of bright blue - evoking imagery of beach side Greece (appropriately), tables clustered cosily but not so that you’re on top of the diners around you.

I want to eat everything on this menu, with small things to share, big things to share or individual souva’s if you’re in the mood for something all by yourself - there’s something for everyone.

But start with the grilled saganaki with peppered figs, because who doesn’t like hot cheese? I adore the sweet and savoury play on this dish, with the figs bubbling away on arrival, gorgeously caramelised and so delicious.

I had just mentioned to Brad on the drive over how long it had been since I had fish and chips, so when I saw the Fisherman’s basket with fish, calamari, prawns, mussels and chips...well that just ticked the box perfectly. One thing I do love that Hellenic Hotel gets so right, are their perfectly golden and crunchy chips. Potatoes are forever my downfall.

Another dish I’ve always said I love to eat, but would never make at home, is moussaka. So Mary’s moussaka (George’s mother own recipe) with braised beef and lamb with eggplant, potato and bechamel, was another must order for me. And boy did it hit the spot - it’s exactly what you would hope for, rich, creamy and heart warming.

I don’t often do a big call out for the sides, but the beans with almonds, garlic, and herb butter really hit the spot for me! Could’ve happily eaten just a couple of serves of this with some chips!

The pace of the night was great - service was on point, attentive and so friendly. I was also so impressed they recognised me on my second visit! The vibe and atmosphere the whole night was so welcoming, as the restaurant filled through the evening, a nice little buzz and hubbub of activity built. We did get left a little long on our own towards the end of the night, but could see how busy the guys were!

We had already eaten so much...but we of course had to try out dessert as well!

The guys were sweet enough to make a mini version of their Yo-Chi ice cream sundae, made with frozen yoghurt goodness from Yo-Chi of course. The flavour changes week to week, and when I heard it was peanut butter, with caramel and peanut butter cups...well what’s not to love?

We also, couldn’t resist the HH pavlova, which is exclusive to the Williamstown location and comes out loaded with seasonal fruit.

The pavlova is seriously huge, and perfect for sharing if you’re with a group...or just a fatty like me. It’s so good.

I just overall loved the atmosphere at Hellenic Hotel, it was much more unpretentious than I had thought it might be, and I found it so inviting, and exactly the type of place I would bring my family to for a relaxed shared meal...which is exactly what I did a month later for mum’s birthday (where we were all equally blown away by the perfectly golden crispy chips)!

Hellenic Hotel

28 Ferguson St

Williamstown 3016

Jimmy Grants + N2 Gelato

So I reckon George Calombaris (and the Made Establishment Group) are doing some pretty clever things at the moment. Although it was sad to hear the closing of The Press Club, and have another fine dining giant close it's doors on us, it's definitely been interesting to hear how Gazi is doing, with it's fresher and much more approachable concept. Whilst I'm no industry expert, I can only imagine how much the industry has been changing, especially in these past couple of years and it seems that evolving to a younger and fresher approach, seems to be a fairly smart one. 

Whilst I haven't been to Gazi yet, I would imagine Jimmy Grants is an extension of this new approach, offering tasty and affordable souvlakis, for eat in or takeaway, in a casual and relaxed environment (with a touch of hipster, let's all be honest here).

Brad and I visited Jimmy Grants very shortly after it opened, I don't normally chase after restaurant openings, but I happened to read about it, we happened to not have any plans and I also happen to not have much money on me after visiting America, so cheap and cheery sounded all good to me!

You can spot Jimmy Grants just off Smith Street, with it's neon blue light, beckoning you to grab a beer, and relax in it's slick, but playful fit out. 

Basically, it's all about the souvlakis here, with a little less grease and a bit more delicious, with a selection of five for the adults, and a little something smaller for the kids. You can pair it up with some salads, dips and sides. 

I opted for the Bonegilla, with a combo of chicken and lamb, mustard aioli, chips, onions and parsley. Brad got the Mr Papadopoulous, with lamb, mustard aioli, chips, onions and parsley. 

Both came wrapped in fluffy, fluffy pita bread that was just so light and so delightful (and felt quite wholesome) with the various fillings. The chips in both added a nice crunch (and a bit of naughtiness), and whilst I love how rich and succulent the lamb was in the Mr. Papadopoulous, it was surprisingly rich (even for me!), and I found that the Bonegilla had more complexity in flavours which i found more appealing. I could taste the mustard aioli punching through, which I felt wasn't as prominent in the Papadopoulous. It just had me licking my lips ravenously. I love mustard yo.

But really, picking between the two is like picking whether you want chocolate or caramel ice-cream (to me anyway) and both essentially showcased beautifully roasted meats which you really can't complain about!

 

We got a 'Village Salad' on the side, which came with cucumber, pearl barley, feta, oregano, mint and coriander. It was a lovely cool salad, which would be brilliant in the summer weather, but was also great for lightening up our meal with something cleaner for the palate. Simple, but so good.

And although we tried to be good with the salad, I still couldn't resist ordering a side of the chips, that came with garlic oil, feta and oregano. 

Oh mama. What a beauty. I would have never thought to put feta on my chips, but it's seriously such a delicious combo. Go try them. Go. Go. Go. And never regret it!

Although dessert tempted me, I happened to be in one of those peculiar moods where I just needed to have ice-cream. Even if it was totally freezing out. 

So whilst I originally had Trampoline on the brain, I was really more than happy to find out it had been turned into N2 Gelato. More than happy. Grabbing-Brad's-hand-and-dragging-him-across-the-road-and-nearly-getting-run-over happy. 

N2 Gelato originates from Sydney and I kind of don't want to tell you guys about it because I don't want to be batting with people for this, but it'll happen anyway because this is the internet generation right?

All the gelato is made on the spot, with the joy that is liquid nitrogen, Heston style. It's a concept that's been hanging around in the States and in London (I think) but is still finding it's legs in Australia. 

I'm so happy it's in Melbourne now though. There's always something so magical about watching that smoke just waft out of the kitchenaids and know that something beautiful is being crafted. Just for you. 

Actually funnily enough, I just watched a show where Heston Blumenthal makes the biggest ice-cream cone, probably ever, and he explains that because liquid nitrogen freezes the ice-cream so fast, the ice crystals are very tiny, so you end up with a dessert that is very, very smooth. 

And that's really what you get. I tried the 'Me-So-Happy' flavour, miso caramel with peanuts served on a milk gelato. The milk gelato is so, so, smooth and creamy, dense, without being heavy. If it didn't melt it would make an awesome spread. Like nutella, but smoother. I wish I could put it into words! I also loved the 'miso caramel', it was an intriguing flavour, as you definitely had the caramel, but subtle hints of the miso coming up from it. Bit of a surprising umami hit, that worked quite well. 

Also, N2 Gelato have a totally cute area to hang out back, dressing everything up with a bit of astroturf. How appropriate totally appropriate for Fitzroy.

Souvlakis, beer and liquid nitrogen gelato. A bit of a random food adventure night, but who's complaining here?

Jimmy Grants

113 St. David Street

Collingwood

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N2 Gelato

329 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy

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Mama Baba

Why doesn't Calombaris like us food bloggers? Really, for the most part we're pretty friendly people and I don't think we enjoy belittling restaurants (or at least most of us?) and are quite handy in spreading the word about if we like something. 

But that's okay, because that was back in 2009 I guess and he can't stop us checking out his places anyway. Nyeh! 

It can be so easy for some restaurants to fly under the radar, not because they're not good, just because the Melbourne restaurant market is so saturated and I guess, being in the blogger circle, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of restaurants that tend to be 'hyped up'. 

Which is a shame, because there are still so many great restaurants that maybe don't get as much air time as they could. 

Take Mama Baba, one of Calombaris's joints. It's one of those restaurants that have been on my lists as the menu does look pretty tasty, but I've tended to give it the 'I'll check it out later' as I haven't heard a lot about it.

But this changed when Adrian and myself got to try some of their tortellini at the Taste of Tennis event. One bite and we were convinced we needed to check this place out. And invite Wince along. Of course!

Mama Baba is a cute concept, the menu and it's flavours are inspired by Calombaris parents, his Greek Mama and his Italian Baba. As such, you have a varied menu, although still with a distinct personality and vision. The food here is all heart, all love, all home. And freshly made pastas. 

Located in a slightly awkward spot to get to, down the road from The Olsen, it's actually a very cool space. Below street level, it feels like a large warehouse, with loads of seating space. Utilitarian decorative details (pipes as bookshelves?) are offset with fun and quirky prints with warm colours, striped cloth napkins and warm wood tables. 

Although much of the room was concrete, the high ceilings seemed to do the job of abolishing a fair bit of the noise, fortunately!

To start, although it was pouring rain out, we all decided we'd have a summery cocktail. For me, it was the House Pompelmo that spoke to me, with gin, Aperol and pompelmo, which is grapefruit. Oh. Dangerous. Light, spritzy, summery. I could have downed it in 10 minutes, but I was driving. So had to make it last the night. Sigh!

As we were enthusiastically chatting about trashy reality shows (we discovered we all have a secret love for them!), the bread bag arrived, with lavosh and a few varieties of bread…and little packs of Western Star butter. I guess if you endorse a butter brand, it's got to trail all the way back into your restaurants too hey?

Fortunately it was the only endorsement we saw that night and although the bread came out cold, the rest of the food was an absolute treat that night! 

Adrian and I just picked this dish because we both love figs, but what I hadn't really realised was that when we ate at Mama Baba, it had just hit fig season. So the figs, served with burrata, vincotta and smoked almonds, were just giant, colourful and so sweet! There's really nothing better than having figs served in a fairly minimal way, as they are just such a stellar product all their own. 

The moussaka arancini and polpette followed. The moussaka arancini, with lamb, eggplant and mashed potato was almost a perfect blend of Greek and Italian…I mean, it just makes so much sense! Small, but golden, with a crunchy exterior and a piping hot interior, these were just a treat. The polpette, pork and veal meatballs with tomato and parmesan were, slightly on the flipside, wholly rustic and homely. Just a perfect warming delight as the winds howled passed outside. 

Then our plates were whisked away and it was time for the main event. Bring on the pasta kiddos! 

For me, I ordered from the 'Mama' menu, the Gnudi, which is a the of gnocchi made from ricotta cheese with a bit of flour, pumpkin, sage, honey and mitzethra. Oh my gosh, this was almost like dessert! The honey and pumpkin were definitely the starring flavours here, rolling their sweetness around the creamy gnudi dumplings…it was almost too much! Fortunately I am a sweet tooth, so I quite enjoyed this, but if you were looking for a heartier main? This probably wouldn't be it, definitely not everyone's cup of tea! I did like the texture of the gnudi, it wasn't too mushy and there was a lightness to it, despite looking quite heavy. Loved the crispy sage leaves for a little bit of texture in there. 

Chris kept it old school and went with the spaghetti carbonara. Classic. Says on the menu. Serves what they say. Garnished simply with a bit of porky goodness on top, I snuck a bite and found it just delightfully rich without being creamy or heavy. So velvety and so good. 

So it's normally food blogger sin to have two of the same dish at the table, but Wince and Adrian couldn't help but both order the orecchiette with braised wage, peas, lemon and pangrattato. When placed in front of the boys, I couldn't help but have slight food envy, as the aroma wafted over and tingled the senses. It smelt amazing. And tasted amazing as well. The meat so tender and rich, falling apart, but balanced out by the fresh peas and a hint of citrus. Gorgeous. Kind of wanted to switch. Should have. Damn it hindsight!

I seriously love eating out with these guys, the four of us don't really seem to have much of a concept of using an 'inside' voice when together, with many loud and boisterous bursts of laughter often had. Sorry neighbouring diners. We love you. Really. 

Before long, the very important business of dessert happened. And like, it's real serious with us. With three dessert sub menus, sweets from the trolley, sweets from our kitchen and ice-cream and gelato, it took us a while. I don't think we've all ever been so perplexed over which ice-cream flavours to order!

But we ended up with a milk and milo and a crunchy peanut butter and salt. The milk and milo was subtle, easy, but I would have easily preferred a richer chocolate ice-cream any day. The crunchy peanut butter and salt was the bees knees though. Rich and salty, this is exactly what we all wanted. Needed. Exactly.

From the trolley we ordered a peach trifle…which kind of underwhelmed us all. I don't normally come across a dessert I don't like, but this just was not my cup of tea. It was kind of warm, which I think threw us off, and just not as enticing as I thought it would be. This was the only dessert left unfinished, between a bunch of people who love their sweets. Think it says enough.

Fortunately though, our last dessert was an absolute home run. We initially approached The Italian Mess cautiously. I mean, there's some watermelon (I think) and pear , healthy lashing of marscapone, meringue, pistachios…girl, she was a mess. But totally delicious as all the components just worked together to create an incredibly playful dessert with truckloads of texture, smooth, crunchy, crispy and flavour. It wasn't too sweet either, making it feel not so naughty at the end of a rather filling night. Loved it. You will too. 

The four of us had an amazing evening, although we did have to battle the elements to get to our dinner, it was all worth it at the end. Company that never has trouble moving from one topic to another, ab-inducing (one can dream) laughter and food that was hearty and homely, with a couple of unexpected and slightly different twists. I like what's happening here and I want more of it. 

Mama Baba

21 Daly Street

South Yarra 3141

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