Tucked away under an apartment block in Braddon is an authentic Greek restaurant serving some seriously divine food – and wine.

Kivotos Wine Bar opened on Mort Street 13 months ago and is run by business partners Anita Ling and George Giannoulis, who also serves as the co-owner and head chef.

George, who is from Loutraki, which is an hour from Athens, undertook culinary school in Greece, before working in Greece, England, and Australia.

He said reaching the wine bar’s first milestone, a year in business, had been good so far.

“When we first opened, there weren’t many customers,” George said.

“After that, we started to build up to a good level.”

He said it was the only purely Greek restaurant in Canberra.

When asked to describe Greek food, he said it was about the ingredients.

“It’s a lot of fresh vegetables and a lot of herbs. Greek food primarily has lemon, garlic, onions, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves,” George said.

He said the food served at the restaurant was authentically Greek but with a twist.

“We modernise it with the presentation, the plating, and the extra flavours,” George said.

He said the serving of shared plates encouraged the people sitting at the table to connect with one another.

The food

Four CD staff members were treated to tasting 80 per cent of the current menu, sampling dishes from the ‘Share the Love’ option, served via sharing plates.

The wine bar’s goal for every dish is to tell a story steeped in history, tradition and passion – with a philosophy focused on sharing a meal.

We started off with three dips and pita bread. The bread was moreish, but I wanted to make sure to leave space for the rest of what was to come. Some of the dips were sweet which was balanced out with the savoury bread.

It was followed by pan-seared saganaki (kefalotiri cheese) coated in a pistachio dukkah and honey vinegar. The scent of the honey hits your nose right away and it smelt divine. Despite being very thin, it was crispy on the outside, sweet and salty, and soft on the inside.

The meatballs of pork and beef (keftedakia) were accompanied by a rich tomato sauce, it was soft to cut and bite into, and the freshness of the mint and chives shone through.

The moussaka (a Greek-style lasagna) was served with a twist – in the shape of an ice cream, on a stick and coated in panko.

The only thing I didn’t really like was the spanakorizo arancini, which was a shame because I really love arancini!

I was a bit hesitant to try the chargrilled octopus placed on our table because I’d previously tried octopus in a Greek restaurant, and it tasted horrible. But this octopus, which was accompanied by seared baby cos lettuce, dollops of fava bean, preserved lemon and dill, redeemed that. It was meaty. I ate it with some dips for that extra flavour hit.

The last bit of seafood for the evening was the Athenian Prawn Saganaki, which was so delicious.

By the time the main came out – grilled meats (slices of chicken, pork and lamb), roast potatoes and horiatiki (Greek salad) – we were all starting to feel full.

But three desserts were served to us, and they were all incredible. It was the best loukoumades (Greek doughnuts) hands down I’ve had. You could taste the honey and the cinnamon, the crispiness of the casing and the softness of the centre (akin to banana bread). It was accompanied by a baklava cheesecake which had crispy filo pastry wrapped around it and was served with a pistachio ice cream.

Across the table, the favourite dishes were the seafood, the cheese, the octopus and the desserts.

We all loved the presentation of the food, and the explanations and the service of the dishes by both Anita and George.

We were also treated to a sparkling rose, and white and red wines, all of which were delicious and complemented the food.

Kivotos Wine Bar is located at 33 Mort Street, Braddon. Head to their website at kivotoswinebar.com.au

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