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It’s just after 7pm on a Thursday and I can see about a hundred people standing up along Dudley Street in Marrickville. Maybe a hundred is a slight exaggeration, but there’s a lot. I’d think they’re waiting for a possible celeb sighting (is Charli still in town?), but I know why they’re here. And frankly, I don’t blame them.
Sydney's Olympic Meats has only been open for a few weeks, and already the casual Greek eatery is drawing more crowds than Putricia. This boils down to two simple reasons. For one, you can’t book – it’s walk-ins only, so the earlier you get down, the better. And the second?
It’s really bloody good
And affordable, too. Nothing on the menu costs more than $21. (Sorry, that’s three reasons.)
Chef Timothy Cassimatis is the owner of Olympic Meats, which is named after his grandmother, Olympia, as well as being a nod to the Mount Olympus-like journey it’s taken to get here. His CV is impressive – he's worked at Vic’s Meats, Kosta’s Takeaway and Whole Beast Butchery (that’s where the ‘Meats’ come in), and as head chef of Marrickville’s Barzaari. Most recently, he’s been manning his events and catering company, Tim Fresh, from his parents’ house.
Greek food has been having a moment in Sydney. See: the similarly named Olympus in Redfern by The Apollo crew, and Ammos Brighton by legendary chef Peter Conistis. Now, we’ve got Olympic Meats, Cassimatis’ first venue – and what a cracker.
The dishes at Olympic Meats are inspired by those eaten in the Peloponnese in southern Greece, where the Cassimatis family comes from. Everything’s made in-house, including the pillowy, hand-rolled sourdough pita, which takes two days to make and arrives with charred character, thanks to its finish in the wood-fire oven. Also hand-rolled is the spanakopita created using Cassimatis’ yiayia’s recipe, which she brought with her when she came to Australia in 1961. Sliced in two so it looks like a party sausage roll, the pastry is golden and flaky, and I can hear a crunch when I take a bite. Filled with wild greens and feta,
it takes me back to scoffing them on the bougainvillea-bursting streets of Plaka
If you’re only going to order one thing, make it the ridiculously good chicken gyros. Pita is spread with Cassimatis’ creamy, house-made secret ‘Big Mac Sauce’, which features mustard and chopped onions, and tastes like sauce crack. It’s layered with succulent chicken, slices of juicy ripe tomato, onion and zippy pickles, and finished with a paprika dust. There are no chips wedged inside, but never fear, you can add on a side of thick, Jenga-like chips, cooked in beef tallow and finished with Mediterranean seasoning, Nostimini.
The share-style menu also offers up barbecued eggplant with mixed nuts; tomato salad with purslane (a type of succulent), hunks of Kytherian paximadia (which are like crunchy croutons) and soft cheese; pickled octopus with green chilli and onion; and flavoursome grilled meats, including lamb souvlaki.
To drink, there’s traditional Greek coffee and Loux soda, but as it’s BYO, your best bet is to bring along a bottle of your fave vino or cold beers.
At first glance, Olympic Meats looks like your run-of-the-mill takeaway joint, with its shiny metal chairs, bright-and-breezy space and chefs working up a sweat in the kitchen. But look a little closer and you’ll see considered details: olive branches in vases, tiles the colour of the Aegean Sea and art that looks like it belongs in a home.
At Olympic Meats, Cassimatis is serving food with big, fat Greek flavours at prices that feel as welcome as a Spritz after a sweaty day of beach-hopping around Milos. And he’s offering us a window into his past at the same time. I already can’t wait to go back. See you on Dudley Street.
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