If you follow me on twitter (which you should, extra Karl photos, go on) you'll know my Dad and I visitied Hellenic Republic for dinnner early this week.
We're suckers for a tasting/degustation menu and as there was one on offer at Hellenic Republic it seemed the logical and easy choice. Little did we know just how much eating we were getting ourselves in to.
Before I go on to what we actually ate, I'd like to take a moment to show my appreciation for how wonderfully the staff at Hellenic Republic handled food allergies. To start with, they asked us if there were any allergies they needed to be aware of as opposed to me having to ask about every dish. They didn't act as if it was an impostion to find alternatives, they just did it. They were even switched on enough to ask about related foods, just to make sure I'd be a-ok. Given the attitude food allergies generally receives this was a delight.
We started with very fresh and warm flat bread, a pickled calamari salad, taramasalata made with white roe and saganaki with caramelised balsamic figs. Dad was also brought some little chicken morsels with some sort of spice mix I wasn't able to eat, as an alternative I was brought LAMB HAM. It's lamb, smoked and cured like ham. It is as amazing as it sounds.
I could've easily sat down with a tub of the taramasalata and the gorgeous bread and been satisfied, it was that good. The pickled calamari salad was very interesting, the calamari had quite a dense texture but was still tender and quite sweet. Figs are not my favourite fruit, but treated as they were with balsamic vinegar and caramelised they were the perfect compliment to the salty, chewy saganaki. By this stage Dad and I were both, how can I put this politely? Slightly engorged.
Next came some seafood delights; swordfish and scallops with a cracked wheat salad topped with smoked saffron yoghurt and pomegranate.
The swordfish was only just cooked, completely perfect. Beyond that it was not particularly fussed with, just a light dressing of tomatoes, olives, white anchovies, some herbs and olive oil. Wonderfully fresh and tasty.
The scallops were also cooked with great precision, topped with a few flavours but nothing too fussy which allowed the creaminess of the fresh scallops to come through.
Although served as a 'side', the cracked wheat salad was scrumptious in its own right. The fresh herbs with the texture of the cracked wheat and pumpkin seeds with the background flavour of the yoghurt and smoked paprika was divine. The touch of pomegranate added a nice sweet accent to the salad.
By the time our next round of tasty things arrived I was regretting wearing stockings. This course presented us with chicken, lamb, delightfully rustic chips, tzatziki and a salad of braised red cabbage.
Both the chicken and lamb were tender beyond belief, gentley infused with garlic and all sorts of other goodies. You could've cut the lamb with a shoehorn it was so tender.
The chippies were incredible - so crispy on the outside and soft, mashy goodness in the middle. My recommendation would be to eat them dipped in the tzatziki, delish.
The braised cabbage salad had a great bitter/sweet balance and a super crunchy texture.
By the time dessert rolled around I was considering a quick nap on the floor. Never fear readers, I soldiered on and gobbled up one of these delightful little Greek donuts, served with attiki honey and walnuts. I really enjoyed these. The donuts themselves weren't particularly sweet, just crispy and light and warm, which allowed the flavour of the honey and the walnuts to really permeate into the dough.
Overall we had a really enjoyable time. The food was above and beyond my expectations and the service was my favourite mix of professional but warm and friendly. Even the decor was lovely! My only criticism, and I must say this is a very mild criticism and only took away for the evening slightly, would be that not enough time was allowed between courses. Barely anytime elapsed between one course's plates being removed to the next course arriving, which made me feel a little bit rushed. Given the high volume of food I think 10 or so minutes between each course wouldn't hurt anyone.
I must extend a thank you to my wonderful Dad for continuing to spoil me silly even though I'm far too old for it. We both really loved our visit to Hellenic Republic and I'm sure we'll be back before too long.
