Astoria Bar Ke Grill opened quietly last spring, but is now coming into its own with a host of dips, stews and a hefty moussaka.
Get ready to upgrade your bread and dips game. At Astoria, you’ll be eating house-baked sourdough – a plate-sized round loaf, scattered with black and white sesame seeds, warm and fragrant, nutty with a touch of rye flour, and cut into wedges for tearing and dipping. It’s inspired by lagana, a home-style Greek flatbread traditionally eaten on Clean Monday at the start of Orthodox Lent.
The bread’s natural accompaniment is taramasalata, also a Lent staple. Astoria’s version is made with white cod roe, lemony and well-seasoned, whipped with mashed potato rather than the usual breadcrumbs, making it so fluffy and creamy that it’s impossible to stop swiping until the plate is wiped clean.
There’s also a dip of roasted eggplant chopped into a relaxed mess that’s tangy with lemon, bitey with garlic and laced with smoke. It’s all good, and because you’re not fasting for Lent, it’s only the beginning.
Astoria opened quietly last spring but the coming summer will be its real awakening. The terracotta-paved terrace, with its greenery and stark white walls, is ready to bring Peloponnesian dazzle to Toorak Road. It’s in a little restaurant cluster near the Como Centre, in a space that used to house wine bar Shadowboxer.
The long dining room is simple and textured, with brick walls and gilt mirrors, a full bar, and linen napkins that signal restaurant rather than rollicking taverna.
You could see Astoria as part of Melbourne’s new Greek dining wave – yasou to Kafeneion, Taverna, Tzakiand Aegli– but really, it’s been on the way ever since Nik Pouloupatis was born, a child of the 1970s, speaking Greek before he learnt English, his dad tending the vegie patch and his mum making magic in the kitchen.
For the first decade of his 35-year hospitality career, Pouloupatis worked as a chef, including a couple of years in Greece. When he opened his first restaurant in 2000, a bistro in Rye called Whitecliffs, he moved to the dining floor, continuing as a waiter at Attica, Vue de Monde and Grossi Florentino. Owning his own place again was a calling, and as time went on, expressing his Greekness felt necessary and right.
That rightness is built into the bones of this business: the expressive joy is palpable, as are the smarts and experience to bring it into being. The food has history and soul, but it’s sharp and contemporary too.
Tiropita (cheese pie) is filled with a creamy mixture that includes feta for bite, ricotta for smoothness and kefalograviera for melt, scrolled into a golden-baked pillow and drizzled with thyme-infused honey. You can hear the crackle of the filo pastry from the other side of the room.
Stifado is a stew characterised by onion, spices and whatever protein you like; here it’s octopus, softened with shallots, brightened with vinegar, and heady with cinnamon and star anise in a tomato-tinged gravy.
There’s slow-braised lamb shoulder, but the vegetarian moussaka has just as much heft, towering on the plate before slumping into a perfect pile of bechamel, tomato and eggplant.
Did you know there’s a way to hide filo pastry in plain sight? Portokalopita is an orange syrup cake that uses torn filo in place of flour. You’ll never detect it, but it’s fun to explore the mystery, bite after sticky, citrusy bite.
As a solo restaurateur, Pouloupatis does what needs doing. You may spot him in the kitchen leading his young food team, clearing plates with aplomb, even mixing a Mastiha Sour, one of the Hellenic-skewed house cocktails, pouring a Greek Alfa lager, or steering diners through the Aussie-Greek wine list.
There are a few ways to read the restaurant’s name. It’s a nod to the Queens neighbourhood in New York known for its Greek population, but Astoria is also Greek for “star” – and that’s where I think it resonates in this context. The guiding light for a restaurant with plenty of sparkle.
Three more spots to try on Toorak Road
Zita’s Focaccia
This cheery sandwich shop’s focaccia is baked in a two-day process that ensures the goods are fluffy and crisp in all the right places. If you’re not up for the whole drippy focaccia situation, grab an easy-to-nibble daily $10 slice. The team has recently opened a cute coffee stop just around the corner.
16 Toorak Road, South Yarra, zitasfocaccia.com
Cecconi’s
Hidden up a flight of stairs on Toorak Road is the Flinders Lane institution’s newer Toorak branch, with a carpeted dining room, marble bar and terrace for aperitivo. The Italian menu – as classy as the CBD original – includes squid ink tagliolini with blue swimmer crab, and grilled spatchcock with salsa verde.
489 Toorak Road, Toorak, cecconis.com
Bistro Gitan
Don’t forget about this bit of Toorak Road, opposite Fawkner Park and close to St Kilda Road. A wood fire sets the scene in winter, augmented by cosy dishes such as a croque monsieur with smoked sausage, and a flaky pithivier filled with mushroom and tarragon.
52 Toorak Road West, South Yarra, bistrogitan.com.au
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
