Tzaki

Fantastic addition to the Yarraville food scene – contemporary Athenian Greek tapas, with a regularly updated blackboard menu, all prepared in a wood fired oven. Everything is good and the baked feta cheesecake is to die for. Walk-ins only, no bookings, with limited bar, window and outdoor seating. Groups larger than 4 should probably head elsewhere or be prepared to be seated and served separately. Locals should note they open in the morning for coffee and very limited breakfast snacks including spanakopita and pita sandwiches!

Tried this gem in Yarraville. There has been a bit of hype about this restaurant, and we had to give it a try. What started as a quiet Monday lunch where we had chef Alex to ourselves. He (and Chefanie) chatted with us happily with a good dose of fun banter while putting together some really special dishes. All the dishes bar the mousse, came from the wood fired oven. We started with the flat bread and taramas, saganaki and peppered fig, a delicious bean salad, lamb shoulder, and chick pea. All dishes were prepared in front of us and belying the apparent simplicity, and mouth watering appeal, were full of flavour. Seated at the bar, this was a lot of fun, and huge laughs for a great dining experience. While we were on our own for a while, the restaurant started to fill, and is obviously popular. We finished up with the mousse in olive oil which was light and really something special; as was the baked feta cheesecake. Selection of Greek and a few local wines, and introduction of a new Corovin selection will increase the wine by the glass offerings. All good. No negatives here…the style is small share plates and we took the chef’s recommendations and left satisfied. We will definitely be back…it is that good! Parking in the Yarraville Village could be a challenge when busy, but we found a two hour park in Anderson Street. Many thanks…it was great!

tzaki translates to fireplace in greek - a very relevant name to the style of rotating menu which is centred around dishes mostly fresh off the grill. think (hung and dried) wood-fired octopus, flatbread, loukaniko. they have a solid list of grecian inspired cocktails (including ouzo and mastika) and greek wines to match. their flatbread is fresh and fluffy. i especially loved the well salted burnt edges. doused in their garlic melitzanosalata it was truely perfect. their trout is also incredibly fresh and generous, with the lemon crustacean oil cutting through the fattiness. their smoked cheese with peppered fig is for an acquired taste. using metsovone cheese which is naturally smoked, has a pungent taste similar to swiss and gooey texture - this is one to try if you’re a fan of smelly cheese. their smoked octopus was crispy! make sure to stir it in its oil. i’d been thinking nonstop about their chickpeas, which pays tribute to the famous dish at athens’ beloved diporto. they were the hearty, nostalgic and comforting brothy beans i’d been dreaming of. their zingy olive salad was delightful and the crunch of the pistachios took it even further. we dabbled on dessert for about 0.01 seconds before appropriately deciding the feta cheesecake was the way to go. also freshly wood-fired, this thing was steaming with the fragrance of lemon zest and vanilla. incredibly light, slightly salty and caramelised on the edges…oh boy, you’re in for a treat with this one. no bookings of course, try your luck and walk-in to their 31-seater. with fast service and snacks style of food, people flow in and out quickly. with 2 people you should be able to snag a table. a very loveable spot you should try, and re-visit. alex certainly brings a taste of modern greek culture, whilst being affordable and certainly delicious.

I heard great things about Tzaki before visiting and it lived up to all my expectations. To start, the staff were super warm and accomodating. And the food is outstanding. It’s all cooked in a wood fire oven and tastes just like the best dishes you’d find in Greece. A surprising standout was the tender, oven-baked chickpeas which are so soft they can be mashed and used as a condiment. They pair really well with the lamb cutlets served on a bed of thick yoghurt sauce. The flatbread is another must, smoky and charred with a salty, spiced feta and capsicum butter. Behind wines and beers and cocktails, there are Greek style frappes made with espresso and frothed milk. They’re a great way to end the meal along with the perfectly sweet and savoury burnt feta cheesecake.

Service was great, and food was delicious. Walk ins only. Everything on the menu was great, but only comment was the octopus was really burnt for us, and also the cabbage was too sour for our liking especially with the sour sauce on top. The baked dessert is a must!

Food is great. It was very busy, but the food still came out quickly. Flatbread is really good, as was the Chicken meatball soup!

Tzaki is a contemporary Greek cafe and meze bar located on Ballarat St, Yarraville. It is inspired by the lively tavernas in Athens and led by Alex Xinis' (ex-The Press Club and Hellenic Republic). 🇬🇷 The menu changes weekly (sometimes daily!), to whatever they feel, whatever’s in season, but everything is cooked in the wood-fired oven - they have no gas or electric. Hence the name, which translates to “fireplace”. 🔥 The dishes are greek with a Melbourne twist, and intentionally designed to be small and affordable, so you can try more of the menu. The most expensive dish on our menu was $24. ✔️ Fava, Shallots ⭐️ Flatbread - salted well! For $9 the portion is quite small considering butter or dip is extra ⭐️ Wood Roasted Octopus - a single charred leg, full of flavour, regret sharing ✔️ Oregano Chicken Wings - classic, well cooked, crispy! ✔️ Chickpeas Diporto - very tasty, very simple. Inspired by the famous chickpeas of Diporto restaurant in Athens. ➖ Saganaki - expected more of a char on this. ✔️ Lemon Potatoes - classic Seating is extremely limited (16 in and 15 out) and it is a walk-in only venue - no bookings. Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend visiting as a party of more than 2. The seats at the bar are very comfortable! We visited on a Saturday lunch, and were slightly let down. The service could have been more attentive and interactive given it’s such a small space, which wasn’t lively as we were sold on. There was no music, just an awkward silence, you couldn’t have much of a conversation unless you wanted everyone to hear it. 😅 The food and drinks were simple but undeniably good. 7 small dishes, a cocktail and a frappe came to around $144, we were satisfied. There isn’t much of this calibre in the west so I am glad its here. Will definitely revisit again, next time at night. I’ve heard great things about their Baked Feta Cheesecake. 🙌🏽

Food was DELICIOUS but serves are small. No chai but the hot chocolate was delicious. Octopus was the highlight for me! Would highly recommend.