Greek food always gets a bad rap in Sydney. It could be that many people associate it with stodgy moussaka, sticky, wet dolmades and dry baklava. Quite possibly it's because we don't have many great Greek restaurants.
Enter Medusa - the Greek restaurant with a lot to give. It's in the heart of the CBD, offering fresh simple food in a casual yet polished room. Owner Peter Koutsopoulos works the room, serving jokes and backslaps along with souvlaki and haloumi. The room's mostly filled with blokes in suits eating lamb and drinking red wine, but it's not just a place for corporate canivores.
Start with fava Santorinis – a smooth puree of chickpeas dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. It's not hummus, but it's not far off. And make sure to get the melitzanes – crisp wheels of batter holding tender-yet-firm pieces of eggplant. Kefalotyri saganaki are salty, crumbly fried fingers of goat's milk cheese (perfect with a squeeze of lemon and a little olive oil) while kotopoulo potharakia involves spicy little chicken legs (they call them shanks here) on a bed of grilled fennel. You could probably live without the lamb souvlaki – hunks of lamb skewered and grill served on a bed of chips and salad – but you should really consider the moussaka, which is a creamy, sweet dish of layered beef mince, eggplant and sliced potato covered in béchamel. There's a vego version of this dish, too.
Desserts are a highlight. Ever eaten loukoumades? They're basically deep-fried puffs of dough, which are slightly chewy, covered in honey and chopped nuts. Oh, baby.
Could this be the best darn Greek food in the city? We think so. Myffy Rigby
