Xanthi

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

Went to Xanthi for lunch on Sunday. We had the banquet and were pleased overall with food and service. Best dish was the haloumi with figs. Worst was the octopus which was simply not up to Greek standards.

One other thing, we tried to book this restaurant by phone a couple of days ago and again on the following day. We made over 8 phone calls and all were un-answered, ringing to a fax tone. So I suggest you don't bother to call and just show up. If they are not answering their phone then booking are likely to be low and the chance of an impromptu seat are good.

May 27, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  8     

This place is good. Bit pricey, but that's what you would expect to pay at a decent restaurant in the city. Tried to be adventurous and try the watermelon salad. Wasn't a good choice, but everything else was above average.

May 27, 2012 

4.3 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  2      Service  3      Value  5     

We went to Xanthi at lunchtime on a Friday and ordered the "express banquet" plus some croquettes. It started with a trio of dips which were quite good. Extra bread cost just $3. Then a very long wait until we got the next dish of haloumi. Salty and a bit firm, but not too bad. Dolmades were next, again very salty.

The calamari had a spice that was not to our taste, and again was very salty. The lamb skarras was amazing as usual (having had it at Perama many times in the past). The croquettes that were ordered never came, but we were too full to care. The baklava ice-cream was good. Loved the onion and the fetta in the salad, but down the bottom of the bowl there was far too much olive oil.

The service was poor. Very very slow between dishes. There was nothing express about this "express lunch banquet". The restaurant was packed though.

The ambience was slightly better than when we came for dinner about a year ago. Back then the kitchen staff was yelling "service" constantly. Thankfully the volume has been turned down, but we did see him getting angry and berating other staff again. It was, however, extremely busy and he would have been under tremendous pressure.

Overall, we prefer the experience we used to have somewhere else.

May 25, 2012 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Came here for an impromptu dinner a few Friday's ago. We opted for a few of the 'Ouzomezedakia' share plates which consisted of the fried calamari, pork belly, scallops and the lamb wrapped in filo pastry. Unfortunately, the dishes didn't come out at a consistent pace and by the time our last dish came out we were too full to eat it. We also tried on the of the reds which was recommended by the hostess.

Overall the food was great and had a great lively yet intimate atmosphere at the same time. I am looking forward to trying the lamb skaras which has been recommended to me.

May 07, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Went on a Saturday evening and had the banquet option for our group of 6. We were very pleased with the meal. The dips and bread were nice and fresh. The greek salad was great with fantastic fetta. We chose the calamari, scallops, and eggplant for entrees. They were all very well cooked. The texture of the scallops and squid were near perfect. We had the pork belly baklava, which was okay. Not a stand out, but good. The lamb was cooked perfectly. The desserts were nice and the caramel with them was amazing.

We ordered 2 bottles of greek wine and were pleased with the selection. The atmosphere in the back room was great. The service was acceptable. Timing of service was well done considering the restaurant being really busy. There was a lot of food in the banquet option, which makes the cost worth it, however, we would order singles dishes next time. Overall, very pleased.

Mar 18, 2012 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

After having a fabulous meal at Perama, we thought we would give Xanthi a go. We went on a Friday night and as the restaurant was booked out we could only get a seat at the Bar outside. We were shown to 2 seats at the tiled bar and were surrounded by small tables. The bar area is quite dark in comparison to the restaurant and may not suit everyone, but we found it ok.

The shopping centre experience is interesting with lots of people walking by and also lining up at other nearby restaurants. There was lots of hustle and bustle going on around us.

After one of the small tables behind us became available the owner offered for us to move to one of these but we were happy to stay at the bar as we had settled in. The service was ok, it did take a little while for our order to be taken as the staff didn't seem to come outside that often and trying to order more wine was a little slow. The owner also said we were lucky to be outside because the air-conditioning had been out of action for a week and they had been fighting with Westfield to get it fixed.

After previously enjoying the banquet at Perama we again chose the $55 banquet at Xanthi. We also tried some nice Greek wine which was a little pricey at $10 per glass.

We loved the Greek salad and dips which were very fresh and tasty. For some of our other selections we chose the BBQ haloumi, fried school prawns and the Prawn and scallop Apo tin plastira. The haloumi and school prawns were delicious but the prawn and scallop wasn't the tastiest, it was nice just didn't have any great flavour to it. The lamb skaras was moist tender and flavoursome, just beautiful! The dessert of Caramel Baklava Ice Cream and Sweet Bougatsa was delicious.

Overall we had a very nice meal, maybe not as good an atmosphere as Perama but the food was great, maybe service could have been a little better. I’m sure we will return.

Mar 14, 2012 

3.8 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  2      Value  3     

The food I'd just borderline good but not special. The service is simply non-existent and lacking in all aspects of good or even adequate. Life is too short for this kind of experience.

Feb 21, 2012 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  6     

Dined with friends at Xanthi over the weekend and was impressed. We had ordered the banquet menu and walked out full. Generally the food was wonderful. The only bit of criticism I have is the dressing on the greek salad was bland and the wine way over priced. Thoroughly enjoyed every single dish and the service was excellent. I definitely be back again.

Feb 13, 2012 

5.8 Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  8      Value  5     

This was my 3rd visit to Xanthi and probably will be my last. We went on a Sunday night - bad decision! The lamb on the spit was very disappointing and inedible (the weeks leftovers?) and was sent back to the kitchen. Another plate served to us was a bit better but for the price paid not good enough.

The desserts and entrees were okay but again not as good as on my previous visits. The owner was nowhere in sight and I do believe that when he is not there the food and service leave alot to be desired. I agree with some of the other reviews that this restaurants food for the price paid is very disappointing and can not recommend it.

Feb 11, 2012 

6 Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  9      Value  5     

The entrees were very nice, especially the haloumi. The mains were not very impressive and felt as if the meals were not authentic Greek food. The lamb was very dry. The prices are too expensive and the décor is more Moroccan than Greek. The service was good.

Jan 21, 2012