Newly opened restaurant
Alpha has brought Greek food back into fashion. Alpha gets it right in every way. The food is excellent, the restaurant space is refined and the service is attentive.
I love the atmosphere - it's all about the light woods and shades of white and grey. It's not too dark, the room is spacious and the décor is tastefully minimalist. We arrive at 6pm on a weeknight, so the restaurant looks a little deserted, but by the time we leave around 8pm it's completely packed.
Fetta tou fourno
We're told by very friendly staff that the menu is designed to be shared, so my dinner date and I start off with pita bread, feta tou fourno (baked feta) and organic hummus. The barrel aged feta tou fourno ($10) is small in serving, but makes up for it in flavour. Doused in deliciously spiced olive oil and topped with chilli and roast garlic cloves, it's a stand-out dish. I love the combination of the sweet, soft garlic with the slightly sour but spicy green chilli and smooth, warm feta.
Pita bread
To accompany the feta and hummus, we of course also order pita bread ($2 per person). The flatbread is char grilled and drizzled with a bit of olive oil.
Hummus
Although the organic chickpea hummus ($7) is creamy and light, it's not a highlight on the menu. I'm much more impressed by the baked feta. Next time I'll be sure to try some of their other dip selection.
Scallop moussaka
Next up we have the moussaka with scallops and taramasolata ($24), an aesthetically pleasing dish. Seared scallops are sandwiched between two large slices of eggplant, and finished with diced tomato. The eggplant is beautifully soft and flavourful, the taramasolata is velvety, and the scallops perfectly tender.
Slow cooked lamb shoulder with potatoes
At this point we're considering ordering more food, as the servings have generally been quite small. However, once we have the Greek spiced, slow roasted lamb shoulder, lemon, oregano and potatoes, we're stuffed. We have a small serving of the lamb ($29). The flavours are beautiful and the texture very soft. I also love the lemony potatoes, slightly crispy on the outside but waxy and soft inside.
Greek doughnut balls
We finish with the Greek doughnut balls, spiced honey syrup and candied walnut ice cream ($12). I find this much too sweet, but my dinner date scoffs down the rest of the dish for me. The doughnut balls are breadier and chewier than your average doughnut. The walnut ice cream is a great complement to the warm doughnut balls. For me it's the spiced honey syrup that takes it too far, but I think any sweet tooth would most likely disagree with me.
We leave the restaurant with full and content tummies, convinced that we'll have to come back to try the rest of the menu.
