George’s Greek Tavern

Taking the reins at a landmark Greek restaurant in Melbourne such as George’s Greek Tavern is an intimidating prospect. Thankfully, new proprietors Nick and his father George (the second!) know the importance of keeping proudly familial Greek cuisine close to home. Nick brings to bear a wealth of experience gleaned from a long stint in fine European restaurants, and together the duo have sensitively renovated this famous Malvern East restaurant’s premises down Waverley Road in a Grecian palette of white and blue, complete with a ceiling fashioned from cathedral glass. When it comes to the food, the traditional charcoal fire pit-and-spit remains central to a menu, meaning plenty of the spiced lamb gyros and souvlaki for the real heads.

Fresh as a Mediterranean breeze, and with service as warm as those same winds, the menu at George’s Greek Tavern may have undergone a few alterations with the changing of the guard, but it remains at core representative of some of the most authentic Greek cuisine you’re liable to find in Melbourne – and that’s a big claim for a city renowned for its sizable Greek population. George’s Malvern East outpost is a true icon, and as popular as a venue for plate-breaking celebrations (there’s a dedicated function menu and room for 130 guests) as it is for a spur-of-the-moment indulgence in Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. Traditional dips with homemade bread to start are mandatory before a shared round of entrees such as prawn saganaki, bouyourdi, fetta melati and spanakopita, horta, and simple lima beans marinated in olive oil, onions, and parsley. At George’s, seafood main courses outnumber meat and poultry options, with our pick being the signature blue eye or rockling fillet with mushrooms, garlic, capsicum, and avocado in a creamy sauce. Seaside specialties aside, loyalists won’t be able to pass up the mouthwatering mixed meat platter: spit-grilled gyros, lamb cutlets, chicken souvlaki, bifteki and sausage… Our most emphatic recommendation is to book!