Bahari, The Hellenic Palate, Richmond

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MELBOURNE | Bahari, The Hellenic Palate Richmond is the brainchild of Australian MasterChef contestant Philip Vakos and his friend Stell Kaponas. It styles itself as a “Gringlish” restaurant – meaning it’s traditional Greek food with a modern take. It’s about challenging people’s expectations about what Greek food is while staying true to traditional flavours and techniques. The City Lane was invited to sample a selection of dishes from Bahari and were keen to try the Gringlish food for ourselves.

The Swan Street venue is long and narrow – on the night we visited it was packed full of people and had a very lively atmosphere. The white walls, brick floor and soft lighting give the venue a very homely vibe. We had a chat with Philip and the passion for the food that comes out of his kitchen was evident to see. He excitedly explained many of the dishes to us, and when something was being done that was particularly non-traditional, discussed the reasons behind what he was trying to achieve with that dish. It’s simple food at its heart and nothing is done without a reason. In fact, his flair for balancing spices and flavours he learned from his Cretan grandmothers.

In true Greek style the food is all about sharing and there isn’t anything on the menu that can’t be shared amongst those on the table. When a selection of small share plates was brought out, we were particularly impressed by the stuffed fried zucchini flowers and the deliciously decadent pork jowl & Halloumi croquettes. Moving on to the main event, and the slow roasted shoulder of lamb cooked with lemon, rosemary and garlic was perfection – a textbook example of simple food done right with each tender, juicy piece of lamb packing brilliant flavour. The beetroot and feta salad was the perfect way to accompany the lamb. Moving onto desserts, and the halva ice-cream was a real highlight of ours. Having grown up with a seemingly never-ending supply of halva in the fridge at home, it was really interesting to see that unmistakable flavour transposed into a new context. Authentic but new, with a little bit of old school halva inside for good measure.

You can never be exactly certain as to exactly what items you’ll be able to get when you visit Bahari, as the menu changes daily depending on what fresh ingredients are available that day and what the kitchen has been experimenting with. What you can be assured of is quality, tasty food served with passion and a smile. And if you over-order, the staff will happily pack up the left overs so you can bring them home to eat the following day – we can confirm that the food still tastes great microwaved the day after.

Bahari, The Hellenic Palate

179 Swan Street
Richmond
Victoria 3121
Australia

Telephone: (03) 9427 7898
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.bahari-richmond.com.au/

Open
Tue – Thu: 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Fri: 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Sat – Sun: 12:00pm to late