The Press Club
Reviewed by Tom Neal Tacker
Recollections of meals from my travels in Greece
comprise a mixed bag of fresh delights, cooked simply by the yaya in a rustic
kitchen, to bain-marie disasters cooked by the yaya in the kitchen, a boring
dichotomy of minimal distinction.
It wasn’t until I ate Peter Conistis’ cooking at
his old East Sydney digs and then again at Omega, did I realise that modern
Greek food wasn’t only good when simple or simply dreadful the rest of the
time.
Now after dining at The Press Club I can say that
some Greeks who cook Greek food really do know their souvlaki from a sauté. The
Omega experience wasn’t just a fluke after all.
Chef proprietor George Calombaris has done
wonderful things with the Press Club space. Located on the ground floor of the
old Sun-Herald office building, hence the name, it stretches the length of the
building with window frontage on Flinders Street. A separate bar area is
accessible from the right of the entrance, while the more formal restaurant is
on the left. Both spaces are decorated in warm chocolate tones with splashes of
maroon, grey and dark blue. Seating is very comfortable with adequate space
between tables.
The menu is broken down into small dishes, large
dishes, side dishes and sweets. There is also a “Kerasma” sharing option if the
whole table decides it wants a banquet of mezedes (tastes), orektika
(appetisers), salates & lathera (salads and vegetables), kyrio (land and
sea-main dishes) for $55 per person or with glyka (sweets) for $65 per person
or with soupa (soup) and glyka at $75 per person.
Think about this before dining here or if you’re
like me, ordering may take most of the night. There wasn’t anything on the menu
that I didn’t want to eat. If six other people had joined us, I may have been
able to convince everyone to order the full “Kerasma” and join me in dissecting
the a la carte menu, too. Instead I resigned myself to eight courses shared
with one other and immediately contrived to return for another eight within a
week.
I started with Zucchini Flowers stuffed with horta,
saganaki of haloumi and Byzantine grape salad and was enraptured with them.
Crisply fried, feathery light stuffed flowers with wild bitter herbs, tangy
haloumi oozing into sweet and sour halved grapes with micro leaves and lemon
juice. Another entrée of Cumin Roasted Beetroot, Pistachio Biscuit, Yoghurt
Cheese and Attiki honey is justly popular. Our waitress informed us that it
can’t be taken off the menu. Too much complaining if they do. For a restaurant that
hasn’t been open for all that long, this is a good sign. A Kataifi of Smoked
Ham and Skordalia soup was not like any soup I’ve ever had in Greece. The
pastry strings crunched around good ham, the soup was poured from a little urn
over the kataifi at the table. I was expecting a garlic explosion but instead
was relieved by its subtle sweetness and rich creaminess. Crispy Soft Shell
Crab Mousaka (Press Club spelling for this dish), Smoked Bone Marrow and
Tzatziki came with slow roasted aubergine. This was a slightly confusing dish.
I felt too many flavours spoiled the total impression but ploughed my way
through it nonetheless. Another house favourite: Yoghurt Braised Neck of Lamb,
Olive oil Pomme Puree (mashed potato with olive oil) was as rich as Croesus.
The lamb was cooked for 36 hours according to our waitress, was as tender as an
angel’s kiss and melted in the mouth. An Ox Heart Tomato, Watermelon, Feta and
Olive Salad accompanied the latter courses. It’s a tried and true salad formula
and works perfectly if all the ingredients are assembled at the last moment, as
they obviously were here.
A Baklava Soufflé, Smoked Chocolate Ice Cream was
worth waiting the advised 20 minutes cooking time. It gave us more time to get
through the Dessert Mezedes: an assembly that changes daily. Ours consisted of
small portions of: ‘Feta and Watermelon’, Dodoni Feta cheesecake, Lime and
Yoghurt Sorbet, Hot Chocolate Cake, Raspberry and Chocolate Sorbet and
‘Loukoumi’- Greek biscuits, Hazelnut Rizogalo, full cream milk ice cream and
Chios Mastic Pannacotta, marinated strawberries and Greek Donut. I missed the
Fruit and Nut Stifado Stuffed Baby Tomato, Cypriot Cinnamon Ice cream and the
3-way Brûlée-Greek Pistachio, Cypriot Cinnamon and Orange Glyko. Next time
maybe…
We drank wine by the glass in order to sample more
Greek varieties. I liked the Roditis White Blend ‘Gaia Notios’ ‘04 and the
Katogi ‘Averoff’ from Nemea near Metsovo red blend of Agiorgitiko and Cabernet
Sauvignon. The wine list is literally a joy to read. A huge range from
Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany and Spain adds depth to the
already extensive Greek contingent. I want to try the Xinomavro from Naoussa,
the Moschofilero Boutari ‘Opap’ Mantini and the Assyrtiko from Santorini when I
get those six other people on board.
If you’re feeling truly Zorba-esque, try the ouzo
flight of three from a list of nine. I recommend the Katsaros “dry and
masculine” and the Barbayanni Green “ocean mist and mellow”. A large range of
spirits and liqueurs rounds out the complete bar experience. Leave head space
for a little Mastina or Triantafillo. Maybe a Raki or Tsipouro? If that doesn’t
bring out an “Opa!” or three, there are ten Single Malts, a ‘62 Delord Bas
Armagnac or an ‘80 Domaine de Jouandurot Bas Armagnac.
The service was superb, warm, attentive, informed
and infinitely courteous.
I liked this restaurant. Too bad I haven’t found
its twin in Greece.
Score: 8/10
The Press Club
72 Flinders Street
Melbourne
Tel: 03 9677 9677