Saturday night in Sydney and we had no idea where to go but wanted to experience some good food. We also wanted somewhere cheap and near our hotel. Our lovely friends who are Sydneysiders booked Diethnes and so the four of us walked the few blocks there as hungry as hippos.
Diethnes is a traditional greek restaurant. It is situated in this blink and miss it basement type of room in the Sydney CBD. The decor is hilariously bad, featuring plastic plants, false windows and leather booths, and the waiters are all lovely old greek men.
Our friend S had especially booked a booth for us, so we sat down and admired our surrounds. We were immediately presented with a basket of complementary bread and butter. The bread was crusty and fresh and looked delicious however we only had a slice each as we were planning on eating up big.
Our entrees were a Mezze platter (usually for two for $17.90, but we ordered for four people), consisting of two dips (taramasalata and tzatziki), pita bread, zucchini rissoles, lamb kofta and grilled haloumi. The platter was so delicious that it disappeared in about two minutes and was one of the highlights of the night. The other entree was a small plate of calamari ($13.90, also available as a large dinner sized plate). I didn’t partake as I am not a fan of calamari however L says it was tender and crunchy, though the accompanying sauce could’ve been improved.
For main meals, I ordered the Lamb Souvlaki with chips and greek salad ($22.50). The lamb was quite tender, lovely and marinated, but chips and greek salad were pretty standard. L ordered a large plate of grilled octopus for $24.50. I usually get a bit queasy with the sight of the long tentacles, but L loved it.
Our friends ordered the baked lamb with vegetables ($22.00) and the moussaka with rice for $18.80. The baked lamb was amazing! It fell apart in your mouth and had apparently been cooked for 12 hours. The size of the moussaka was HUGE, a massive slab, and our friend S managed to get through the whole thing.
After dinner we ordered a few cocktails for the novelty of it, a Strawberry daiquiri, gin martini and a margarita all about $14 each. They were made by one of the funny old greek men which we laughed at.
We were also presented with complementary mint Turkish delight which was delicious.
Diethnes has a rather homecooked feel about the menu however everything is reasonably cheap and mostly tasty and you have to have a laugh at the surroundings.
Love,
C
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