RESTAURANT REVIEW
THE HELLENIC HOUSE PROJECT
If you want to feel special and be part of a big family, then head to Highett.
ADDRESS
515 Highett Road
Highett
Victoria
OPENED
March 2023
HEAD CHEF
Anthony Thalassinos
under the guidance of George Calombaris
OPEN HOURS
Dinner – 4pm-9pm
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
Lunch & Dinner – 11am-10pm
Friday & Saturday
Lunch & Dinner – 12pm-9pm
Sunday
Closed Mondays
It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do four days on home soil after almost two weeks in Greece. But it was time to head to Highett in Melbourne’s south-east to sample the new Greek eatery and the restaurant reincarnation of George Calombaris.
Despite having eaten my own body weight in seafood, feta cheese and yoghurt for the fortnight prior, this dinner was a long time in the making.
I booked six weeks in advance for a 5.30pm booking.
Putting to one side all the media in recent years, there is no question George can cook, and exceptionally well.
There’s a good reason that the 45 year-old Melburnian has represented Australia in global culinary competitions throughout his acclaimed career.
But unlike the prestige of his former Melbourne Press Club, or the hustle and bustle of the famed Gazi, the Hellenic House Project felt more like dinner at a friend’s place.
It was relaxed, it was friendly and it was damn good wholesome home-cooked food.
Split across two levels, “The Kitchen” is on the ground level among all the action with a prime seat next to the chefs hard at work. It offers fast and tasty options including a $59 per head taverna menu. Our booking was upstairs in “The Good Room.”
To our surprise, there was a little balcony with stunning Greek art and ceramics with plants, and given it was an unseasonally warm night in Melbourne, we decided to sit outside and dream of the Greek Islands.
Head chef Anthony Thalassinos is one of the nation’s true up and comers, starting as an apprentice at the famed Melbourne institution, Grossi Florentino and then working his way up to London’s One Star Michelin restaurant St John. He also works with Calombaris at his other special project at the Hotel Sorrento on Victoria’sMornington Peninsula.
With a glass of bubbles to toast my friend for her birthday, we started with Taramasalata with salt and vinegar zucchini chips and the Prawn Kataifi “mini Souvlaki/Taco” with Greek yogurt tartare.
For mains, we shared the swordfish and the lamb souvlaki, along with a side of greens and George’s famed chips (two bowls of chips to be precise). For meat lovers, it’s a dream.
There was no doubt that our eyes were bigger than our bellies as we shared Yiayia’s (Grandma’s) Tiramisu with tahini mascarpone, Melvourni coffee and melomakarona. Grandma’s still have the best recipes.
For those of you that haven’t been into the Melbourne CBD for a while, it’s tough viewing.
Traffic is well down on pre-pandemic levels and a large number of hospitality spaces have shut up shop.
But the city has seen a switch to “staying local” and this approach from Calombaris could be the new path for many culinary greats.
I suspect the local retailers on the Highett main strip aren’t complaining about the extra interest in their neighbourhood with a celebrity chef.
The downside to this Greek masterpiece is the difficulty in securing a booking at “normal” dinner times (which for George is likely a good thing!), so plan ahead.
There are only 48 seats upstairs and bookings are capped at 8 guests which does make big celebrations a challenge. Lunch on weekends is 12 guests.
George is definitely an attraction to these patrons.
He is very visible walking around and mingling with guests in between his time on the tools in the kitchen.
If you want a high-end dinner, then The Hellenic House Project isn’t for you. If you want to feel special and be a part of a big family, then head to Highett.
Who needs to fly to Greece when you can fly to Melbourne for a true Mediterranean feast? I probably could have saved myself some money!
George, a truly fantastic feast.
READ GEORGE’S STORY
