Athenian Greek Restaurant
11 Barrack St
Sydney, NSW 2000
$$$$-

I’ve never really had proper Greek food at a restaurant. Or at least, I can’t remember the last time I did! So I convinced 6 others to join me for dinner at a restaurant that came highly recommended – Athenian. It’s actually just across the road from where I live, and very close to the office as well.. I just never knew the restaurant existed. Was pretty shocked when we stepped in and I realised the restaurant was H-U-G-E! How could I have entirely missed this place until now?! It’s all Grecian themed, with murals of the Parthenon, etc, painted onto the walls. It was fancier than we’d expected, I was thinking it’d be a hole-in-the-wall kind of place.

Anyway, we ordered by just randomly pointing to various dishes on the menu 😉 It seemed sufficient, but then the waiter gruffly pointed out “There’s a minimum charge per person” and pointed at the tiny words at the bottom of the menu. UGH. I think it’s really tacky to have a minimum charge per person, and even more distasteful to point it out when we had a table of 7 (ie. spending more than a small group of people) AND we ordered wine which would have made the minimum charge anyway. Plus it was CLEARLY A LIE because the minimum charge stated is $16 and at the end of the meal it worked out to $35 each. I’m in disbelief that the waiter would so obviously lie to us, but at that time we weren’t thinking and just whacked on another dish. Very angry and feeling quite cheated by the service – and for that reason alone, I’ll never go back.

But on a brighter note, it was really fun eating Greek food! Almost everything was pretty new (or at least new-ish) to me and I always find it exciting trying something different 🙂 I’d say my favourites were the Calamari – soooo tender and tasty, and also the Lamb Casserole – because I’m just a sucker for meltingly soft lamb. It was a nice meal and we were all full afterwards, but the complimentary dessert was definitely appreciated by everyone at the table. The place is good, but COME ON GUYS, don’t blatently lie to your diners to try to get them to spend more.. and get rid of that minimum charge, it’s tacky!

Athenian Greek Restaurant

The menu

The place was huge, this was only 1/4 of the room!

Pretty decor

Herb Bread (AU$6.00)

Tzatziki – refreshing garlic, cucumber & yoghurt dip (AU$8.00)
Taramosalata – fish roe dip with caviar & olive oil (AU$8.00)

Greek Salad (AU$17.50)

Grape Vine Leaves stuffed with Rice & Fragrant Herbs (AU$8.50)

Grilled Haloumi Cheese (AU$11.00)

Greek Lamb Casserole served with Briam (oven baked zucchini & potatoes) (AU$21.00)

Pan-Fried Calamari with Fries and Salad (AU$20.50)

Papoutsakia – stuffed zucchini with minced meat, topped with Bechamel sauce (AU$18.00)

Inside the Papoutsakia

Athenian Special – Greek lamb, stuffed zucchini, stuffed capsicum, cabbage roll & mixed vegetables (AU$20.50)

Greek dessert – minty!

White wine (can’t remember what kind)
Wirra Wirra Rose Wine (AU$36.00)

Made everyone stop eating half-way so we can take a pic 😛

After that, we had the bright idea to go across the road to my apartment so everyone could check out my ferrets! Everyone had a cuddle but I think Star and Misty were a bit shocked/overwhelmed at having so many people there.. the most number of people they’re accustomed to is only about 4 😛 But we were only there shortly before adjourning to Shangri-la Hotel’s Horizons Bar. Situated on the top floor of the hotel, it’s cozy, swanky, and offers panoramic views of Sydney’s famous icons – Blue Mountains, Opera House, Harbour Bridge, etc. It’s pretty spectacular at night because the whole City is lit up and you can see out for miles. Makes you appreciate just how pretty Sydney really is.

The drinks are mind-bogglingly expensive but you pay for the location, decor and view. And because it’s fancy, it’s not packed like the other more normal bars in the City. Which is nice if you want to sit down to chat. A very nice, civilized bar 🙂

Inside Horizons Bar

Beeeeeeer

White Russian and Toblerone cocktail

One part of the view – of the Sydney Harbour Bridge