Think you know ouzo? Homer Rogue Taverna’s new ouzeri reframes it for a new generation, pairing the anise-flavoured spirit – plus wines and highballs – with mini gyros and snacks from the Greek capital.
Sydney’s Greek wave is showing no signs of slowing down with the opening of Volta, an Athens-inspired wine bar and ouzeri in Cronulla. Run by the team behind the beachside suburb’s crowd-pleasing Homer Rogue Taverna, the new venue is promising a roster of classic and not-so-classic snacks designed to go with a Greek-led wine list and 12 varieties of ouzo when it opens on Friday, November 13.
The walk-in only, 60-seat bar will be Sydney’s first dedicated ouzeri. “I don’t think there’s anything like this in Sydney, let alone Cronulla,” says Volta co-owner Harry Kapoulas, who runs Homer with his brother Mario.
They’re most excited to showcase the anise-flavoured spirit’s different varieties and flavour profiles. “Ouzo hasn’t really been explored that heavily in Australia, so it’s a good opportunity to do so,” says Kapoulas.
He also stresses to first-timers that the spirit isn’t meant to be drunk by itself. “In my mind, an ouzeri is a place you go to have a few olives and some salty cheese … it’s our philosophy with alcohol. You have to eat and drink.”
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With this in mind, every 100ml of ouzo ordered will be served with a plate of cucumber, dried olives and feta so customers can get “the full Greek experience.”
The short food menu is made up of small Athenian-style plates to either snack on with drinks, or build into a full meal. Have a glass of ouzo with a plate of lountza, the Cypriot cured pork loin, or croquettes stuffed with the Ionian pasta bake known as pastitsio. Bulk things out with flaky, cheesy tiropita bites and rotating surprise specials, including mini gyros pockets made with house pita.
Kapoulas’s favourite dishes, though, are the mussels cooked saganaki-style in the wood-fired oven and topped with pangrattato, and the hand-cut chips, set to swipe through utlra-smooth taramasalata.
The drinks menu also includes a short list of playful highball cocktails, including the Tsipouro Melon Lemon, which sees the Greek grape spirit fat-washed with yoghurt before being layered into a highball with a slice of rockmelon.
The bar’s first drink special is the Greek Hard Solo, which sees sparkling retsina, an ancient style of wine infused with pine resin, mixed with the popular Greek lemon-flavoured soft drink Espa. “You mix them together and they become magic,” says Kapoulas.
The space, which used to serve as a storage room for Homer next door, leans into the grunge of Athens with some eclectic touches. Plush Guido Faleschini armchairs and a long glass communal table set a living-room tone, which is contrasted with exposed grey bricks and a steel-clad column. “It’s definitely not Greek island vibes,” says Kapoulas.
Punters can also rock up to the sunny, dog-friendly outdoor area, where Kapoulas hopes the community will be able to gather and treat it like a second home. “A lot of Athenian people meet five nights a week in [ouzeris] … You can have a coffee, you can have an ouzo, you can share a bit of rockmelon and some chips and talk about what’s going on in your day.”
Isabel Cant – Isabel is a social media editor for Good Food. Prior to joining Good Food, Isabel worked as a freelance journalist. She was also previously a social media producer for Endemol Shine Australia, working on MasterChef Australia and Dessert Masters.From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
