13 April 2012

Xanthi: Greek, $30 Lunchtime Express Menu, Westfield Sydney (12 Apr 2012)

Level 6 Dining Precinct, Westfield Sydney
Cnr Pitt St Mall and Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9232 8535
http://xanthi.com.au


Express without cutting corners

A casual monthly club lunch with friends brings me back to Xanthi to try their Lunchtime Express Menu for only $30 per person. It’s served between 12 and 2 pm and includes a glass of house wine or beer making it very good value. Started with some fresh crusty bread and Dips selection which was good. The Tarama (salted and cured cod roe) and Tzatziki were my preferred favourites although I wondered if a small dish would have been handy to pour the Creta Farms Extra Virgin Olive Oil into for dipping the bread. The fresh Greek salad had decent sized pieces of feta and a flavoursome dressing although a spoon with the supplied fork would have been handy to help serve it out of the bowl perhaps. I enjoyed the BBQ Haloumi last time and this time it’s served with figs which works well in the dish. The Vine Dolmathes had nice flavours with melt-in-your-mouth soft texture. I really enjoyed the tasty white sauce it was served with too.

Last time the Fried Calamari were a little bit disappointing but this time they’re thankfully very tender and flavoursome with noticeable pieces of deep fried onions working a treat in the dish. I thought the tiny tongs were a bit stiff and awkward to use so perhaps a small fork and spoon would have been easier to use for me. The main dish of Lamb Skaras was very tender and flavoursome and very much enjoyed by our table. I thought some tzatziki on the side would have perhaps gone well with it to add some extra moisture. For dessert the Caramel Baklava Ice Cream I had last time was good again but perhaps a smaller spoon would have been better to eat with and maybe a fork to help scoop up from the plate. If served in a bowl a spoon would have been fine though. Chef-owner David Tsirekas was in the kitchen and mentioned they’ve discontinued their twitter account and getting back to old school kitchen dedication without the distractions. Also plans to reopen Perama are back off the cards to better focus on Xanthi which is probably a sensible decision.

Other visits to Xanthi:
12 Apr 2012 – Lunchtime Express Menu $30
25 Oct 2011 – Ouzomezedakia

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Flavoursome dishes, Quality ingredients, Lunchtime Express Menu was good value, Friendly and professional service (Rachel)
CONS: I thought some of the cutlery could be better chosen to be more user-friendly for the dishes, Toilets are located outside the restaurant
MUST TRY: Fried calamari, BBQ Haloumi, Revisiting to try other dishes like Seared Scallops, Xanthi Fried Chicken and Pork Belly Baklava

Lunchtime Express Menu $30

2007 Lyrarakis Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Peza, Crete

Craft Microbrewery Red Ale

Bread and Creta Farms Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dips selection - Tarama, Split Pea and Tzatziki

Greek salad

I think if the salad was served with a spoon as well would made it easier to serve

BBQ Haloumi

Vine Dolmathes

Fried Calamari
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Not sure about the tiny tongs which were a bit stiff to use — maybe just a small spoon and fork to serve?

Lamb Skaras

Caramel Baklava Ice Cream

Perhaps a smaller spoon to eat the ice cream would have better suited with a small fork. It just seemed to be at odds having such a big spoon to eat a small slice of ice cream.

Bill $120 for four

Chef-owner David Tsirekas in the kitchen

In case you're curious what Xanthi means: 1. Town on the north-eastern corner of Greece, 2. Mythological name given to the blond-haired, blue eyed children of Zeus

6 comments:

Richard Elliot said...

That lamb does look good. I'm disappointed I didn't make it!

How do you think the value compared to last time? I think we spend $25 per head and had around 10 dishes, including Ouzo. $30 sounds attractive, but I'm not sure if it is actually better value or a marketing ploy?

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

Sounds like an okay deal really, considering lunch downstairs can get quite exxy depending on where and what is ordered.

SarahKate (Mi Casa-Su Casa) said...

I've heard great things about this place... and you can't beat the price for the lunch deal! Will have to go soon just to try that haloumi!

gaby @ lateraleating said...

Looks like a pretty good deal, thanks for the heads-up.

Unknown said...

I've heard good things about Xanthi! It is so close to work, might try and encourage my work mates to try it with me one day!

Simon Leong said...

hi richard, hopefully will go again to try other dishes I haven't tried yet. i thought it was still good value because you get a glass of wine or beer and get to try the lamb which is a higher priced dishes than the others we tried. was still a good way to try a few things, especially for a first timer.

hi joey, i think it might be one of the better deals from the restaurants on level 6.

hi sarahkate, hope you get to enjoy soon

hi gaby, keep me posted if you get to try. feel free to invite me along if you need an extra person at your table.

hi food is our religion, you should definitely try being so close to you. probably best to allow about 1.5 hrs if you can so it's not too rushed but i think at least an hour would be comfortable for a nice lunch out.

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