Fresh User Reviews in Brunswick East

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

Good food, good tunes. Burgers came out fast on a really busy sunday day which was a surprise for the hungover. Perfect cure for the night before, or the night to come. I'll def get back to you about that!

May 22, 2012

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

Had such an amazing night at Hellenic Republic! The food was authentic and what you would get in a taverna in Greece.

Highlight would be the lamb and the moussaka. The Cypriot grain salad is also a must. For dessert I got the 'Ekmek kataifi pagoto' which is a pastry with cherries, custard and mastic ice cream. Amazing!

Also had a nice chat with a waitress from Greece, she was lovely to talk to her and very attentive. Planning my next trip to Melbourne just to have dinner at Hellenic Republic!

May 16, 2012

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  2      Value  2     

The food is over priced for what it is but it tastes Ok (definitely nothing special) the late hours they are open is the only good thing about the place. The senior staffs come off as incredibly rude and money hungry and given we have known personally some of the staff for many years we know that this is very much true.

The staff are paid $12 per hour, have ridiculous demands made of them and are also not granted any of the liberties that are the normal saving graces of hospitality work such as the ability to give your family and close friends at least some kind of discount.

Over all if you are around the corner and desperate to go somewhere for food at 3am then there it is but we would certainly not recommend a visit otherwise!

May 13, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  7     

I went there on an early week night with a friend. She had a veggie burger which she loved (I thought the patty was excellent and full of flavour and texture although a bit sweet overall) and I had the filthy beast which was awesome! I wanted more chilli and was directed to a chilli sauce display which had more hot sauce varieties than I know existed!

Service was great and food came in under ten minutes. We did want to drink wine but thought the wine list was too expensive.

May 11, 2012

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  5      Service  7      Value  7     

Have been a couple of times, staff are happy and attentive, food is tasty, fresh and good value, ambience is comfy and laid back, try it yourself.

May 10, 2012

6.8 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  8     

My second time here but not as good as the first that's for sure! The banquet was similar but with minor changes which were a mistake they shouldn't stuck to the original banquet!

The dessert wasn't the authentic loukoumades served warm with walnuts and honey instead a custard ball with a sour coating which was horrible. The salmon was too undercooked and more like japanese style and the skin was not crispy at all, the salads tasted indian what happened to a good old horiatiki salata with cucumber and tomatoes? They replaced the beautiful tiganites patates with boiled potatoes and the scallops tasted different too last time they sat on a dollop of garlic skordalia on the shell this time they weren't as tasty.

Overall still nice but disappointing compared to my first experience there.

Apr 01, 2012

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Simply the best Lebanese food my wife and I had since we came to melbourne 4 years ago. Great food, friendly staff, nice ambience and if you get a cedar banquet you will not be disappointed. We will come back for sure.

Mar 19, 2012

6.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  2     

Let me be honest here, I came along for someone's birthday so I can't grumble, but I can say I was pretty appalled at the value of the food. I ordered the special of the day, spinach and ricotta ravioli with lemon sauce for $30. I was disgusted at how much I got for that kind of money! Three pieces of about 8cm by 8cm ravioli, no way worth $30! Don't get me wrong, the food itself was lovely but I felt very enraged to have to pay that much for it! Won't be going there again if I can help it!

Mar 10, 2012

5.5 Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  4      Value  5     

Unfortunately, we had a similar experience to the first poster. I'll just attach below most of the content of an email I was intending to send them but couldn't because they don't seem to have an email address. Anyway, I just checked our bill and it, too, had some additional items on it called "Open Price $12.50" so maybe you'd best check your own bill if you go.

We ate at your establishment last night. We enjoyed the food and drink and thank you for a great meal. We couldn’t help noticing, however, that your restaurant was empty except for us, and for the entire time we were there. We eat in the area quite a like, living nearby, and know that many places are quite full, even on Monday night.

So, at risk of offence, we have some suggestions for you to improve your business. Please accept them as intended, we are only trying to get more people into your establishment.

Firstly, The music was, well, pretty bad. Jazzy lounge guitar music just doesn’t seem the right choice. We’d suggest something contemporary Japanese instrumental groove or alternatively, some classic blues/jazz ala Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, etc. Also, the music was turned up while we were there from a comfortable level initially to too loud for us to talk comfortably.

Secondly, We were sat behind the bar which seemed an unusual step as we were the only people in the restaurant and it would’ve been better to seat us towards the front or at least where other potential patrons might see us and therefore feel more comfortable about coming inside. People hate to walk into empty restaurants.

Thirdly, We were given drink menus first without any food menus. This might be seen as a bit confusing for Melbourne people as we’re used to getting both at once unless the establishment has hats. It also means that patrons are being asked to choose, say, a bottle of wine without know what they might eat. Better to provide both menus at once, we think.

Fourthly, Unfortunately, your waiter, though very friendly, competent and courteous, probably needs a little better English language skills. We had some confusion about what we were ordering which could have been a problem as we are vegetarian and nearly ordered a dish containing chicken.

Other than these things, as I said, we enjoyed the food. And the glass of shiraz my partner had was exceptionally good. We wish you good luck with your establishment.

Mar 06, 2012

4.5 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  2     

Very loud atmosphere in the restaurant and found it hard to communicate with our members of our dinner party. Our table of five chose to go the banquet at $58.00 per head.

Entrees were boring and tasteless. According to George Colombaris, the salmon skin should be crispy and the meat should be pink, not well done. So was quite disappointed with the way the kitchen staff prepared it.

Our dessert was a "hellenic mess" consisting of broken up meringue with cream and a strawberry sauce. Was way too sweet, and something you would serve to a child, not served at a gourmet restaurant.

The highlight if I can call it that was the roast potatoes. Very disappointed with the quality of the food for the price paid. Will not be going back.

Feb 20, 2012

4 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  4      Service  5      Value  3     

Tiny portions, over priced, no ambience - major no no! To top it off, the 'owner' did not respond well to my very polite in person constructive criticism. In fact, undermined my feed back. I would not recommend for the price.

Feb 01, 2012

5.5 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  2     

Wow, really disappointed. Don't believe that the menu is ideal to share, the portion sizes are tiny. Would anyone think that it's appropriate to share one arancini ball between 4 people? Please. Even the mains were roughly a tapas bar size. It's bizarre, they go for all this rustic charm & ambience, and then serve you things that the chef could have sneezed onto a plate. I would definitely not go back, what a farce. Dishes were tasty enough, but if they think one starter, one main & one side should be enough, they're deluding themselves. I'm completely amazed it rates so well.

Jan 21, 2012

5.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  7      Service  3      Value  5      Drinks  6     

I guess all new restaurants have teething problems, and we saw this on display when we went for dinner at Solti last night.

A lovely fitout and the promise of something new in the growing bar and restaurant strip in Lygon St East Brunswick. But the service, and the food let it down on this occasion. After waiting for quite a long time, we got a drinks menu and ordered two Thunder Road draft beers, but nothing came, neither the beers or the food menu. After about 10 minutes, we inquired about the drinks and was told they were on the way, then a few minutes later, ask to repeat the order (later charged for 4 beers).

While looking at the menu, we had a meal delivered to us, and then removed. Ordered 4 dishes which were delivered progressively, and were nice but rather simple (and very small) and not really what you might go out for. One of the more frustrating aspects was that we were given flat plates and chopsticks to eat things like silken tofu, when a bowl would have been much more useful (the eating much less difficult).

When the bill came, it made no sense, so I asked for an explanation, and the cost of dinner when down from $93 to $75, when they removed the things we didn't order.

Maybe is was just a bad night and maybe we ordered badly. I haven't decided yet whether to return to find out.

Jan 19, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  10      Value  9     

This place is one of our favourites. The Best hot chips around, the freshest salads, fantastic range of sauces and most importantly, all chicken is delicious and free range. There aren't many free range take away chicken options either so we'd be devastated if this place ever closed. We have yet to encounter an unfriendly staff member and they are consistently That good!

Jan 15, 2012

7.5 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  8     

Nice venue, excellent staff and service but too much food! not often I complain about it but my girlfriend and I just couldn't get through the trapezi sharing plates that we ordered. I can't fault the value at just $58 per head but we both felt so embarrassed saying we were finished with so much food left. They could cut the portions down by a third and we'd have still struggled. For the big hearty eater who can stomach a lot of garlic marinated meats, this place is for you!

Jan 11, 2012

1.7 Not Recommended

Food  3      Service  1      Value  1     

Ordered delivery and waited 2 hours! Food was cold when it arrived. All we got in return for the awful service was one free chocolate mousse. Terrible. Food was average and having already paid before receiving the food we got no offer of money back. To add to this they ran out of chicken and didn't bother to tell us until the delivery was on its way. Ridiculous. Will Not be a returning customer.

Jan 04, 2012

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Came here with friends a few days ago for dinner. Not being Greek myself and not having much experience with Greek food, I can vouch for its authenticity, but we all enjoyed the food that was served. We had an assortment of appetiser and main dishes and they were all excellent, especially the grilled sausages, the taramasalata dip and the grilled cheese.

We'll certainly come back again if we're in Melbourne again.

Jan 03, 2012

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

Went here for the special NYE dinner. The service was superb. Nothing was too much trouble and staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Entrees were wonderful. Especially liked Saganaki with Figs and Salmon Croquettes. The mains were Ok. Both the Lamb and Chicken were tender but not as flavourful as others I've had. The hand-cut chips and tzatziki were nice accompaniments.

Dessert was the biggest let down. I love watermelon and feta cheese but not together as a dessert. Also the Greek Doughnuts were stodgy and bland instead of light, crispy and sweet. I could only eat 1/2 of one because they tasted like nothingness. Although we had a good night overall, think I will stick with my favourite Greek spot in Moonee Ponds.

Jan 03, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

Brilliant - Together with the old Perama of Petersham they are the 2 best Greek eateries I have been to. Fig saganaki was the highlight, worth the trip to Melbourne!

Dec 31, 2011

6.8 Recommended

Drinks  8      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  6     

The yakatori chicken skewers are succulent and tasty followed by an assorted seasonal vegetable tempura, asparagus, lotus and sweet potato are nice and crispy and light.

Read the full review on my blog

Dec 18, 2011