Grecian Blue, Mosman

After all the excitement of the swimming carnival we felt it was only appropriate to take the little guy out for dinner to celebrate.  Another motivating factor was that when I unpacked his swimming bag I found his entire lunch and all snacks completely intact.  He’d swum eight swimming races on nothing but a fried egg on toast for breakfast.  I do try.

Outdoor dining

Outdoor dining

And now he was cranky and being difficult because he hadn’t eaten.  I told him I wanted to eat Greek food and that there was a lovely local Greek restaurant close by that I had never been to and I wanted to fix that.

A cosy interior

A cosy interior

The swimming champ was being outright difficult and said he hated Greek food (he’d never tried it) and that there wouldn’t be anything on the menu he would like.

A 'Grecian Blue' backlit bar

A ‘Grecian Blue’ backlit bar

We dragged him up to Grecian Blue kicking and screaming.

View onto the quiet part of the street

View onto the quiet part of the street

Grecian Blue is in a quiet stretch of Military Road and the restaurant has bi-fold glass doors that open onto the pavement where there are tables set for outdoor dining.  As the sun still had a lot of heat, we opted to dine indoors.

The blind comes up once the sun goes down

The blind comes up once the sun goes down

Chef and owner, Dimitri Tsolis has been in Mosman for 10 years and the restaurant is well positioned between other casual eateries that also spill out onto the pavement like the Italian restaurant next door and the Thai restaurant just a few doors down.

The specials

The specials

Grecian Blue is licensed but you can also BYO wine.  Alfie asked for a mocktail and was not impressed when he was told they don’t serve mocktails.  We were not off to a great start.  It was a very hot evening so Drew started with a cold and refreshing Greek beer.

Starting with a Greek beer

Mythos Greek beer $8.50

I ordered some entrees to share.  The first to arrive was the dolmades.  There were five on the plate but the little guy quickly grabbed one saying there was actually one Greek dish he liked.  He liked these so much he had three.

Dolmades

Dolmades $9.50

Next we had the grilled haloumi with olive oil and a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.  This was a beautiful soft haloumi that wasn’t as squeaky as the haloumi I buy.  Alfie loved the haloumi and asked if he could order another plate that he didn’t have to share.  Another dish of haloumi arrived and the little guy managed to eat all of it except for the last small piece because he said too much haloumi was a bit too salty.

Haloumi with olive oil and lemon juice

Haloumi with olive oil and lemon juice $14.50

The homemade spanakopita arrived next and while I found these a little lacking in flavour, Alfie loved them and after eating two, asked if he could order another dish just for himself.  As the five entrees started entering his system his mood changed and he became less irritable and started to enjoy the Greek experience.  He said the cheese triangles were his favourite dish of the evening.

Spanakopita

Spanakopita $11.50

We did have quite a long wait for our mains to arrive but while Drew and I sipped our BYO wine, the little guy was out on the street and doing his favourite thing, climbing.

Climbing poles

Climbing street signs

For a main, Drew ordered the Grilled Atlantic Salmon crusted with black pepper, fennel, tarragon and paprika with medallions of sweet potato and fresh herb aioli.  It was a very generous portion of fish that fell apart with a nudge of the knife and was beautifully complemented with the vibrantly green aioli.

Salmon

Atlantic Salmon $26.50

I ordered the Traditional Oven Baked Lamb slow roasted, oven baked lamb with lemon, oregano and garlic served in yuvetsi style rissoni.  This was the shoulder of lamb and while I thought the dish could have done with a little more colour, I couldn’t fault the very tender and soft lamb.

Slow roasted lamb

Slow roasted lamb $26.50

Alfie ordered one of the specials which was Spaghetti with loukayika, baby spinach, fresh chilli and tomato.  While Alfie loved the slices of Greek sausage, he found the pasta had more chilli in it than he anticipated and couldn’t finish it due to the heat.  But that was fine because then Archie arrived and he finished off the pasta with no complaints.

Chilli pasta

Chilli pasta $25.00

No one felt like dessert except Alfie who ordered the ice cream baklava.  After a few spoonfuls of this refreshing dessert with great honey flavours, Alfie said, ‘I really love Greek food; can we come here again?’

Ice cream baklava

Ice cream baklava

And he thought his favourite cuisine was Mexican!

Grecian Blue is a charming suburban restaurant offering a bona fide Greek dining experience.  Prices are a little high for us to be there every night of the week but as we were there to celebrate Alfie’s swimming efforts, it was an appropriate place to be for a celebration.  The atmosphere is casual, the Greek music heightens the Mediterranean experience and the food is homely and authentic.

Outdoor dining

Outdoor dining

Verdict:  Even the kids will love it.

Grecian Blue:  936 Military Road, Mosman NSW 2088

Ph:  02 9960 2144

 

Comments

  1. After a discouraging start to your Greek restaurant visit it must have been quite a relief that Alfie found so many dishes that he enjoyed and discovered a new cuisine. Loukaniko sausage with its flavour of orange zest is a great appetizer along with saganaki and crusty bread and one of my favourites. I’ve never heard of ice cream baklava though my walnut baklava is pretty good. 🙂

  2. I just can’t imagine not eating my lunch! That is why I am plump and alfie is not! The food looks tasty. Glad alfie liked it!

  3. That’s so funny! Nothing like a good feed to change a young person’s personality. He must have been starving.

  4. Well now doesn’t this sound like a wonderful place! Thanks for the introduction and taste testing!

  5. Well of course you needed to celebrate. I love the alfresco dining and the fried halloumi cheese

  6. I get cranky when I’m hungry too, so I thoroughly empathize with Alfie. 🙂 So glad he found several things to love. 🙂

  7. Hehe well he certainly changed his mind rather quickly! Halloumi always gets me 😀

  8. Sounds like the perfect ending to a perfect day! We love Greek food but often find it a little heavy to have in the summer, your post is a great reminder to check out some new Greek restaurants before this polar vortex is over. The spanakopita looks great, too bad about the lack of flavour. The Greeks here usually make spanakopita way too greasy here and I just can’t enjoy it. I must try to make halloumi at home.

  9. I truly don’t know where Alfie gets his energy! 8 races on breakfast only and then out climbing street signs! He must keep you on your toes. I’m glad you could shift his beliefs about Greek food and make up for some of the energy expended in his day xx

  10. Oh, kids. Love that Alfie loved the Greek food. Looks like a beautiful atmosphere.

  11. OMgosh,
    Lamb.
    Salmon.
    2 of my all time favorite, heavenly foods.
    Charlie, you live like a QUEEN)))
    xxx

  12. The haloumi looked really good to me. I may need to hunt down a good Greek restaurant for lunch, as you’ve made me very hungry! Alfie had quite a day, didn’t he! 🙂

  13. Haha – love how Grecian Blue turned Alfie into a Greek food lover – Charlie – think you could collect royalties on this! 🙂
    But I am boggled that Alfie swam eight races on nothing but a fried egg on toast – now that’s some serious endurance!
    xx

  14. Such a cute post! My kids were always contrary when hungry, too. Who wouldn’t love that fabulous Greek food???

  15. I adore Greek food and at least Alfie made up for lack of day time food:)

  16. I’m not very happy when I’m hungry either, but i would never forget to eat my lunch 🙂 It sounds like Alfie hoovered up all that Greek food- imagine how much he would have eaten if he had actually ‘liked’ it! It certainly looks good. Lamb shoulder is delicious, I would have chosen octopus if they had any as Greek places tend to do it so well – yummo xo

  17. All that championship swimming on no food? Imagine if he’d had a snack! What a cutie he is even at the top of a street sign. I love Greek food too and I would have been very happy with that meal.

  18. I too am cranky when I am hungry but become civilized after getting some food into my stomach. so glad Alfie enjoyed the Greek dishes you ordered and your meal had a happy ending.

  19. So many gorgeous options, everything looks amazing!!! Sounds like a perfect place to refuel! Yum, Hugs, Terra

  20. Grecian food is so great! I love that it’s the perfect example of food that is healthy and flavorful! I love following your restaurant adventures.

  21. Kids crack me up always. How they ‘hate’ it even before they have tried, and then they find ‘the only thing’ that they can eat, before polishing off a good quantity of everything else. It’s adorable, and I can already tell you are going to miss it in another two years. Sounds like a great food experience Charlie 🙂 And I heard you guys are going to have a lot of fun. I am so jealous!

  22. Haha he sure changed his tune on Greek food. I could easily knock off two plate of haloumi on my own too. Oh how I love it!

  23. Our boys have something in common, they like their mocktails! The food looks really great, a nice little local, which does BYO, yay!

  24. Well done Alfie on eating so much food.
    Have a wonderful day Charlie.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  25. Sounds like a lovely dinner – isn’t it amazing how different kids can be once they get some food in them – though alfie must have hidden reserves somewhere to do all that swimming on egg and toast – and I cringe when I see Alfie climbing the street pole – sylvia has taken to climbing a pole holding up the neighbour’s verandah in our units and I could just see her climbing a street pole if she got a notion to! And good to hear that Alfie love greek and has a big brother who will help him with dinner!

  26. Dear Charlie,

    This restaurant has been there like forever!! And congrats to the swimming champ, well deserved dinner!

  27. It seems like the secret to packing his school lunches may be filling his bag with either Mexican food or Greek food! Even though some of the dishes were missing a bit of flavor, it was sure lovely and I always like an open air restaurant. Can’t wait for our weather to get warmer so we can start eating outside or at least in a restaurant with all the doors open like you did.

  28. LOL And looks like your little guy and I have similar tastes! Spanakopitas and I’ve always got room for dessert – especially something so delicious looking as ice cream baklava! =)

  29. Ah, low blood sugar is responsible for so many tantrums. I used dread the drive home from school after sport because everyone would be so snarky.
    I’m glad to see that the little bloke discovered that he enjoyed Greek food.

  30. Greek cuisine is one of my favorites. I’m glad Alfie agrees!

  31. This post makes me realize how very much I miss haloumi cheese, which I can’t get here in Mexico. And baklava ice cream? Yes!

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