I’ve lived in West End for some time now but have clearly been hiding under a rock or so blinded by my love for Lefkas on Hardgrave Road that I failed to realise that Cyprus House down the far, river end of Vulture St is just as exciting with its deck and the massive skewers of meat being cooked up out the front on the BBQ. From the front, the only clues that it is in fact a restaurant is the small chalk board sign plus the excessive blue painted on the blue and white house is a small giveaway also – but we are in West End so seeing a house decked out in all things Greek is not that surprising.

Inside, it felt like we had been invited into a Greek family home. Although large and very simply furnished the place was homely, with the TV on in the corner and Greek locals sitting at tables reading the paper. Our friendly host helped us pick our food – offering suggestions and making us feel at home.

To begin we had, my favourite, the Tarama (pink caviar) dip with pita. Tarama at Cyprus House was for me,  just as good as at Lefkas - possibly a bit more salty but still fantastic. Knowing we were about to have a good ‘ol meat fest we decided to order the Greek salad to balance out our meal. The salad was not surprising large and fresh.

The Haloumi Saganaki was some of the most melt in the mouth Haloumi I have tried. We were trying hard not to moan as we fell into a happy cheese haze.

Next we had the Sheftalies which are Cypriot pork sausages with onion and wrapped in pork belly. These were delicious little treats and nicely balanced with onion.

A visit to a Greek restaurant is never complete without filling up on a massive serve of lemon potatoes – these oven baked, golden wedges were delightful and nearly ruined our final serve of meat as they filled us up so much.

The finale was the Kontosouvli – marinated lamb and/or chicken pieces spit roasted on the coals. Per serve was two massive chunks of meat straight off the mega skewer and they were insane. There is nothing like meat cooked over coals and served up in big fat chunks. The meat didn’t need anything fancy -  a simple marinade and charcoal flavour and it was some of the best meat I’ve had off a BBQ.

Cyprus House is a must for Greek food lovers – it is up there with my beloved Lefkas as being one of the best Greek eateries  in West End. It is open 7 days for lunch and dinner and is dine in or take away.

Where?

Cyprus House

8 Vulture St

07 3844 5643

The Little Greek Taverna took over the busy corner of Boundary and Browning Street not too long ago and now no matter what time you go past it is a hive of activity and full tables. We went to check it out recently – I would advise not just rocking up expecting a table – they were turning a lot of people away so make sure you book in advance.

As per usual we were hit with the thought that we will never eat again and must order as much food as possible. To solve the problem we got the Northern Greek Platter which is enough for up to 4 people – however we were just a party of two. The Northern Greek platter was all meat so we decided that we must try seafood as well and got some calamari to start. At this stage the waitress who was extremely friendly and helpful was showing concern that we had too much food  however we defiantly said we would soldier on!

The platter came out in segments and they timed it perfectly giving us enough time to digest until the next round came. It started off with the dips – a choice of two we had Tarama (caviar and potato) as well as Melitzano Salata which is roasted eggplant. The dips came out with the Horiatiki  (Greek salad) and also a French stick to dip. We knew pita was coming so we avoided the random bread roll not wanting to fill up on unnecessary filling. When the pita came it was looking very different to the usual stack of flat pita that you get when you order dips. This looked homemade and was crisp yet fluffy on the inside – much better than the typical flat pieces you always get. The saganaki came out with the pita and it was amazing. It was melting in our mouths – straight off the grill.

Next came the char grilled calamari which was very nice and had a good amount of lemon to bring out the fresh flavours. Shortly after came the Beefteki which is a traditional Greek beef patty along with Seftelyes which are pan fired pork sausages. This was delicious and by this stage we were starting to be quite full. The serves are very generous and we still had one more round to go!

With precision the finale was bought out with a bit more of a delay – preparing us for our next meat attack. This was the mixed souvlaki plate of lamb, chicken and pork . This looked like a mountain of meat heaven but we just couldn’t finish it so asked to take it away. We got a knowing look from the waitress – we had tried our best but had failed to consume it all on the day.

We had a very enjoyable experience at the Little Greek Taverna – it is a family owned and run business and we felt like we were part of the family due to the small area the restaurant takes up and the friendless of everyone there. The service was faultless and our waitress would stop in every once in a while to make sure we hadn’t exploded with our adventurous platter. The pricing was cheap and the servings were large. A great night out.

For more information go to their website – it has lots of great information about their family and what their mission is at the Little Greek Taverna. It is very sweet. http://www.littlegreektaverna.com.au/about-us.html

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