Located towards the Balmoral Beach-end of Military Road, Dancing Zorbas is just off Military Road thus making parking hassle-free and easy to find as it's lit up during the evening. When I first heard the name of the restaurant when it was suggested for dinner, my mind immediately reminisced the particular techno-pop song in the 90's which starred big-gutted men dancing to a and hypnotic beat (Link). Furthermore, the online site boasted 'dancing' on Saturdays - sadly we went on Friday: Perhaps one of our viewers who has been lucky enough to see this spectacle leave us a comment and tell us what the performance was?
A well-lit bar is always a plus on my list. There are some restaurants where the bar is just dull and uninviting.
Here Comes The Food
BBQ Octopus in Ouzo ($12.90): I was feeling like an entree and this one stood out on the daily specials board for one reason: I had no idea what Ouzo is .. until now. After conversing with the waitress, she described it a liqueur popular in the Greek culture...why wasn't really helpful but I decided to give it a go anyway. Think black licorice and magnify the after-taste by about 10 and the result is the flavour given by Ouzo. I'm not really a fan of licorice apart from the flavoured ones you can buy from Darrel Lea, so it took some time to finish the dish. Though I say that the Octopus had a great texture and cooked to the right tenderness - retaining elasticity but not overdone.
Traditional Mezze Plate for Two ($25): C and cupcake shared this as an entree and after much waiting after they had their share and declared themselves unable to continue - I proceeded to make myself handy. The Calamari Rings are fresh and are coated evenly with a fluffy batter - so good that I was a bit disappointed only one was left ( greedy much?). The grilled/melted cheese is highly dependant on the eater's palette as you either like it or you don't. It was nice but after a few, you could tell that the flavour and texture soon became highly similar singles cheese found in the supermarket.
Traditional Greek Moussaka ($18.90): I was definitely not on top of my game when deciding on 'the right' dishes. Having enquired earlier about Ouzo, I also asked what was a Moussaka. From the description it reads as: "traditional minced meat with layers of eggplant and potato combined with a bechamel sauce", you would think this anybody could easily interpret this to mean lasagne; sadly I was under false pretenses and conjured up a very different image. I was disappointed as the centre hadn't clearly cooked through in the oven as it was slightly cold. The eggplant was gone after two bites and it whole dish lacked any flavour which made me want more.
Baked Lamb ($19.90) served with vegetables and potatoes: pupu ordered this dish and I have the say that after a few morsels I wanted it. The lamb had been cooked perfectly - tender and fell apart without any effort. Highly flagrant with herbs and nicely accompanied by greens. I would highly recommend it for patrons of this restaurant.
Grilled Pork ($18.80)
Lamb Souvlaki ($18.90): Fresh lamb grilled on two skewers served with Greek salad and chips.
Carpetbag Steak en croute ($22.90): stuffed with prawns in balsamic vinaigrette mixed leaf salad & cherry tomatoes. This dish was ordered by cupcake who gave the reason "because it sounds wierd". From what I can gather, it was enjoyed especially the feature of stuffing prawns inside the steak itself.
Steak Romano ($21.90): Eye fillet cooked in brandy, cream, green peppercorns, served with vegetables and potatoes. C's choice for the night, which worked well when accompanied with the sauce. The meat had been served as medium-rare as requested, which places regularly get wrong.
Zorbas Meat Platter for Two ($59.90): FFichiban and Skinny Panda's order - Traditional Greek Style Baked Lamb, grilled pork cutlets, fresh lamb souvlaki, grilled chicken breast & traditional mince meat. Whilst there isn't room for presentation, the focus is clearly on the variety of meat.
Customised dessert chocolates - yum! The friendly staff and company made this a great night.
Dancing Zorbas:
Shop 9, Level 1, 707 cnr of Military Road and Gouldsbury St
Mosman 2088
Ph: 9969 6222; 99551592
Email: restaurant@dancingzorbas.com.au
Website: http://www.dancingzorbas.com/index.html
Lunch: Tues-Sun 11:30 - 3pm
Dinner: Tues-Sun 6 - 10pm
D
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Dancing Zorbas - Mosman, Sydney.
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3 comments:
Ah interesting! I live near here and I've walked past this place always wondering. I was worried it was more of a hen's night kind of offering but obviously I was mistaken (or maybe that's for Saturday nights ;) ).
The cheese on the mezze plate looks like halloumi. Was it squeaky like styrofoam but quite salty? Mmm I could eat blocks of grilled halloumi :P
Some of the dishes seem more retro or Italian than Greek. The lamb looks good though!
Hmm I have a mixed opinion about this place but the traditional baked lamb was obviously the best dish there for me though some parts can be a bit dry. Rosemary has such a beautiful aroma and compliments the taste of lamb so well :) Oh and the carpetbag steak was also quite amusing cos of its name :P
The cheese might be halloumi haha but it wasn't very salty and had more of a rubbery texture imo.
Hi NQN - yep the cheese was very squeaky though it lacked saltiness. I would have to agree that it's retro as opposed to traditional Greek.
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