Alpha (Sydney CBD)

The last time I dined at a Sydney Greek restaurant was about a year and a half ago. It was at Xanthi in Westfield Sydney. Suffice to say, once the food buzz was about a brand new Greek restaurant opening up in the city (i.e. Alpha), all the foodies ears and taste buds perked up. As did mine!

My good mate DD was organising a dinner for a decent catch up. After to-ing and fro-ing, I decided we should check out Alpha. Well, what a great decision that was!

To get dinner reservations on a Saturday, we had to decide on a 6.00 pm or 8.30 pm booking. There were 2 seating times and I suppose it is understandable for a Saturday night and it being a very popular restaurant that these booking times were put in place. We chose the 6.00 pm time.

Firstly, I must say that the restaurant is a lot larger in space than I anticipated. There was a openness to the interior that caught my eye and a feeling of being on a Greek island came to my mind. There were cushions on some of the seating areas making it look a little like a summer getaway. Nice!

We both came feeling super hungry. It's quite funny how we deliberately ate very little during the day in anticipation of this dinner. And me being me, of course I perused the menu before I walked in to the restaurant and already had a few dishes in mind to order. :)

So here goes:

Pita with Taramosalata (white cod roe dip) - the pita was so fluffy and soft and the dip had a nice tangy bite to eat. The dish was extremely addictive. Loved it!

Sesame Leaf Dolmades - this was filled with almond rice and preserved lemon. It had a lovely lemon flavour but for me it was not one of the highlights.

Slow Roasted Lamb Spare Ribs with Thyme, Honey and Ouzo Glaze. The ribs were so tender, they were literally falling of the bone. Delicious!

Spanakopita -  this is the very Greek and famous spinach pie. This to me is one of their signature dishes. It was gooood! The filo pastry was amazingly flaky and the spinach and feta had a nice balance. I loved it and coming from someone like me who doesn't like spinach, it says a lot!

Octopus twice cooked with white beans, spinach and red wine vinaigrette. The octopus was deliciously tender and I loved the smoked and burnt taste in the tendrils. It was beautifully cooked.

Baby Snapper grilled over Bay leaves and topped with Oregano dressing. It was perfectly cooked and tasted like summer. But if you are not inclined to seeing a whole fish on a plate, you may want to skip this dish.

Last but not least, we had to have a dessert. By this time we were sooo full but we persevered. :)

Loukoumades was our choice. It was Greek doughnut balls served with spiced honey syrup and a nice serving of candied walnut ice cream. I loved the ice cream and the doughnuts with the syrup were delicious. I found the texture of the Greek doughnuts quite interesting, it was slightly chewy. Different to the American doughnuts.

The service, by the way, was good. The wait team was very attentive and the front-of-house came around a couple of times to check on how we were faring.

I can't wait for my next visit. We were already talking about which dishes we would order the next time. Hmmmm....there is Moussaka, Spit roasted pork, Snapper pie and of course the Pita with the Taramosalata. And so many more to choose from the menu. Getting hungry!! :)

Thanks DD for joining me on this food adventure and for shouting me dinner!



Alpha Restaurant
238 Castlereagh Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Website: alpharestaurant.com.au

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