Yiasou George – Restaurant Review
At its heart, it’s a tricked-up Greek taverna, with tan leather banquettes, timber panelling and a bar stocked with plenty of spirits and ouzo. But the catch-cry of the waiters is defiant – “We’re a Mediterranean restaurant!” Perhaps it’s how they justify some of the menu’s anomalies: potato and cabbage gratin, for instance. In the end, it’s semantics because the food is good, the portions are generous and the vibe is fun so who cares if a few more broadly Euro dishes join the Greek party? Start with the meze: haloumi, tzatziki, taramasalata – the latter is bright and tangy – all served with warm, pillowy pita from the woodfired oven.
In the small plates section, spiced cauliflower gets the popular vote but deep-fried quail, with its light batter and nutty hit of sesame, is also a worthy contender. Whole barramundi established itself on James Street as one of the country’s best contemporary Middle Eastern eateries. Now it’s been joined a few blocks over by Za Za Ta, a 180-seat restaurant and bar that slots neatly into the ground floor of Ovolo The Valley hotel.
Executive chef Roy Ner (formerly of Sydney’s Nour and Lillah) and head chef Dario Manca’s share-plates menu traverses recipes from ancient to modern times. There’s Yemenite butter bread served with goat’s curd and zhug chilli, charcoal rainbow trout with herring tahini and cucumber and chilli salsa, and woodfired cauliflower shawarma with pickled fennel and blood orange. The multi-room venue exists to be explored, with finishes ranging from Queenslander-style tongue-andgroove walls to mirrored ceilings, mural wallpapers and richly patterned fabrics.
Nights here inevitably end at the bar, where servers ply a G&T menu and shared cocktails such as the Arabian Punch and a Smoked Persimmon Negroni. 1000 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley; (07) 3253 6999; zazata.com.au; open Wednesday-Friday and Sunday for lunch and Tuesday-Saturday for dinner QLD Matt Shea SA Jo McKay comes butterflied, with barely a bone, sprinkled with crisp caper leaves and chunks of lemon flesh – it’s a knockout. As is the 12-hour, fall-apart lamb shoulder, finished in the wood oven for a charry crust. And dessert? Even Greek gods with an iron will wouldn’t pass up George’s fluffy loukoumades.
26 East Terrace, Adelaide; 0434 812 023, open Friday for lunch and Wednesday-Sunday for dinner.
