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The star of the show: a greek salad as a martini
“Great drink. Amazing food…Rating 10! Sue & Jacq”
Text message from the neighbours after I sent them to The Press Club.
There’s a lot to like at The Press Club. Well, apart from chef George Calombaris’s brutal haircut. He’s dropped all that whacky molecular cuisine and focused on great contemporary Greek food.
It’s a bit like the other relatively new joint Mini in redefining Greek food in Australia in a great contemporary setting. Oh, and unlike other recent openings it’s not set in a casino.
The first thing I like is that there are 18 different types of ouzo on the menu at The Press Club (72 Flinders Street, Melbourne 3000 +61 3 9677 9677), I think. I couldn’t be sure because after the tasting platter of three, each with different balances of herbs, spices and other stuff I almost fell off my chair. The world does seem a better place looking through an ouzo glass. But still, as I said, even stone cold sober there is a lot to like about The Press Club.
The interior design is understated with views of the open kitchen. There is a lot of wood with a floating ceiling of what has been made to look like dark wood beams. The tables are very wide which means there is plenty of space but not a lot of romantic hand holding.
Unlimited mineral water costs $6 a person (I went to the loo three times but this is a great idea) and the fixed menus offer great value at $55, $65 and I think (please correct me in comments if I’m wrong) and $75. You can also order off the menu.
The excellent bread is baked on the premises and I’m eating and drinking excellent Greek ingredients and drinks that I haven’t come across before in Greek restaurants in Australia.
Even without the molecular cuisine there are still plenty of surprises. One is that Jak decides to start smashing glasses. I have to tell her that this isn’t that kind of Greek restaurant and that it’s meant to be plates anyway.
There are interesting varieties of Greek wine on the menu and more are to be added, we are told.
We opted for the $65 menu and got eight courses including a tasting platter if my drunken calculations are correct.
Decorated with rose petals
This being the second night of operation the wait stuff had some fun manipulating the various wood platters. A large one almost the width of the table arrives with my three ouzos. Another smaller platter comes with the bread. Finally, a bit of IQ test style reasoning is required to manipulate the third platter, another large one, onto the table.
The star of the tasting platter is Calombaris’s variation on Greek salad in the form of a (alcohol free) Greek martini. Finely chopped cucumber and olives float in a delicate tomato tea. A skewer of grilled halloumi sits on top of the glass.
A single pasta parcel is decorated with rose leaves. Oysters come in katafi pastry. As I’ve already said, after the ouzos I can’t remember too much detail. By the time the large flavoursome lamb chops arrive with home made sausages were are almost full.
By the time the pudding platter arrives we are defeated. But we can’t resist the chocolate souffle (enough for two or more in itself) and the cigar-like thing stuffed with who knows what Greek goodies.
Spot the cigar
The thing is here to cut loose and trust the staff. Don’t migrate to your Campari and Soda’s and trusted Aussie wines, let them guide you through the Greek stuff.
And by the way, I’d like to see a little shop selling the specially imported olive oil. To be quite frank, in Australia we’ve only been making it for a few tens of years. In Greece it’s been going on for thousands and it’s a lot better for that.
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