The Hellenic House Project — Restaurant in Melbourne

Let me begin by saying that the head server James was a treasure. An excellent human being and great server and that's where it stops.

As a Greek I was sympathetic to George's situation and was happy when he came back. But I will be telling everyone not to come here. If you want something that is of better quality and a third of the price go to Greca Street or Theio Theo. The entire meal and price spoke of pure arrogance. Nowhere when making a reservation did it say we need to adhere to a set menu which was $79 per head for a party greater than six. Fine. But with that amount of money paid you expect to be fed that value.

Let’s start with drinks. A can of Alpha cost us $16. A can that was smaller than a coke.

For entrée, we selected the tarama with zucchini chips saganaki and fisherman’s basket. I'm sorry you go to any Greek restaurant in Melbourne and order a zucchini chips and white tarama for the same it is of better quality and arguably half the price. But this was part of a $79 menu and a portion so miniscule barely anyone could try it. Mind you if we were to order it separately it was $28.50 for a small can of pringles and a dollop of tarama. The saganaki was not saganaki, it was baked bocconcini. As for the piece de resistance, the fisherman’s basket. I asked the waiter what was in it. He told us calamari, white bait and school prawns. Again, if we were to order it off the menu it was $28.50. We received three tiny pieces of calamari, a couple of school prawns and 95% was white bait. White bait is so cheap, yet you are charging people $28.50 for something that is the equivalent of a small bowl of chips. And for seven people it wasn’t enough to value for $79 per head.

Now for main we had the lamb and octopus. Mind you, there were seven of us. We were told the lamb serves four but there will be enough for everyone. The lamb came out and it was big enough for 2 people. When it came we all thought “maybe we will get another one”. But no. Again, if you had less than six people you could get this for $61. The major audacity was the octopus. As a main we received one leg! ONE LEG! That is the equivalent of what you may get as an entrée anywhere else. So we all were able to have a tiny little bite each.

The waiter then gave us the dessert menu. But after deliberating we decided not to considering what we had already received. Our bill came to $965.

I would have been better off flying to Greece, having a meal there and...

ORDERED: 🥔 Potato cake, salt and vinegar, taramasalata (2 pcs) ($16.50) 🦪 Scallop ceviche, spicy green EVOO (2 pcs) ($17.50)

🐟 Charcoal grilled rock flathead, caramelised tarama butter & caper sauce ($42.00) 🍟 Chips and feta, garlic EVOO, oregano ($16.50) 🥗 Political salad shaved cabbage, pastelaki, orange vinaigrette ($16.50)

It was $55.00pp for two, which included the card surcharge.

REVIEW: 🥇 I preferred my mains experience over the entrees at the Hellenic House Project (The Good Room - upstairs)! In saying that, let's talk briefly about the entrees. They were undeniably beautifully presented. The layers of the potato cake was amazingly thin and cooked well. Wasn't a fan of the spicy green EVOO with the ceviche because I felt that the bitterness was too harsh against something that's meant to be refreshing on the palate. 😢

🌍 The mains made me feel nostalgic when I went to Greece a couple of months ago. Market fish that was charcoaled to bring out its natural sweetness, a butter and caper sauce that complimented the fish so well. It brought me back to the coasts and islands of Greece with its incredible seafood. 🌅 Would you like some chips with that feta? The feta was strong, and wasn't afraid to find you in the back alley and let you meet your maker. It was brave, and could be found in every crevice of chip. Great for all the feta lovers! 👍👍 Political salad didn't have as many opinions as I was hoping. It was straight laced and a great crunchy (healthy) element to the chips and fish. 💚

The outfit of Hellenic House Project / Good Room - upstairs - was decked out in a deep blue with evil eyes dotted in the interior. 🧿🧿🧿 A beautiful half sphere spotlights the room with natural light which was gorgeous. It's definitely great for the photos! The brunette waitress was great at double checking with us and ensuring our...

My husband and I had an extremely disappointing experience last Saturday night at the Hellenic House Project. We were seated at a table just in front of the kitchen preparation area and shocked to be spectators of staff preparing food in a manner which was definately questionable in terms of hygiene and food handling acceptable standards. After the our order was taken, we watched the haste and haphazard way meat was being sliced from the grill and put on plates to be served other customers. During this time we felt very uneasy and concerned about the quality of food and possibility of contamination.

When I was given my chicken gyros souvlaki I picked it up only to find a liquid (a mixture of sauce and another liquid) dripping from the bottom of the wrap. The pita bread was so saturated with the liquid that it began to break apart. I took one or two bites and noticed that the meat had been cut up in haggard manner, I became put off with the contents of the souvlaki being mixed together with the meat.

I returned the souvlaki and advised the waiter that it is was inedible and the state of the souvlaki unacceptable.

The management did not respond to our concerns. My husband who had an ordered a souvlaki with a kebab was given one with lamb, he described the meat as slightly raw and tough.

When we went to pay for our meal the attendant at the register advised us that my chicken souvlaki was in the process of being remade. I advised the employee that it was disgusting and that I would not pay for it and I did not want another one prepared. He then proceeded to take the item off the bill without providing an explanation or apology.

As former patrons and loyal customers of Hellenic House Projects we both cannot stress enough how disappointed we were, as locals in the south east area we will not return...