I LOVED the slow cooked goat. It feel off the bone & was paired with a delicious broad bean & pea salad, plus yummy lemon potatoes. Fava dip was a nice side, along with complimentary bread. The hospitality is super friendly & attentive too! Will def be back! :)
Papa WFYB was turning yet another year older, but instead of commemorating the occasion at our usual trusty Bar Idda, we ventured three minutes north to Greek restaurant Xenia Food Store.
The most delicious vegan banquet we have ever had. We recommended this place to many of our friends after we ate here as we loved the place. The owner was so friendly and genuinely loved food, good quality ingredients and local community.
The food was very nice as well as the service. I absolutely loved the pork sausages. Unfortunately the interior isn’t anything amazing, it’s quite dark as the walls are black. But enjoyed our time and will be back.
The starters were delicious and reminded me of mums authentic Greek home style cooking, starting with delicious bamies (okra) , and the shared platter for 2 which is great value- the highlight being the dips, koupes( both veg and meat are great) and zucchini fritters. The saganaki was a little thin and hard for my liking. For main, the highlight was a yemista. Really recommend a visit and ordering the authentic Greek dishes!
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Absolutely pleasure tonight trying the vegan banquet with my husband, beautiful homemade food made with love and outstanding service.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the banquet is only $30, the rest of the week it’s only 40 for the vegan banquet. It’s a HUGE amount of food so this is a bargain. The owner John is lovely and extremely passionate about using fresh organic vegetables, a lot he grows himself. He is happy to chat for ages about Greek food. He’s been in the food industry a long time and while it’s not a vegan restaurant he is very passionate about vegan food and making it accessible in Greek cuisine. It’s the type of place you can have a lovely night out with people with all different dietary preferences as they cater to all.
Entree course was toasted bread, falafels, stuffed zucchini flowers, YAY feta, fava bean dip, babaganoush (eggplant dip) olives and dolmades.
Second course was moussaka (huge for two people!) roasted potatoes, peas and artichokes, and a cauliflower salad with pomegranate.
And the dessert was delicious loukoumade with a sweet rose water syrup.
I’m so full but so happy from delicious Greek food. Highly recommended.
Solid Greek fare. We had the banquet which was more than enough food, I’m just sorry that I filled up on the entrees. Great mix of seafood, meat and veggies. The salads were the highlight for me. Service was a bit patchy.
Delicious, homely and flavoursome food that made you feel like you were eating at your relative’s house. The stuffed capsicums were well balanced, the calamari was perfectly cooked and seasoned and the lamb was delicate and full of flavour. The serving size is generous too which is great! All in all, a lovely new addition to Lygon st and a great place for authentic food. I’ve been here a number of times now and I can’t fault it.
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Forget George Calombaris, the real King of Queen of Greek food in this city are John and Susie Rerakis. Building on the great success of Philhellene in Moonee Ponds--a restaurant I find myself returning to time and time again--they have now opened Xenia in a very trendy strip of Lygon Street in Brunswick East. All the things that make Philhellene great are here at Xenia, but there are a few notable differences. Xenia is probably a bit more casual, the sort of place where you can just wander in for a drink and mezze plate. There is also an impressive range of vegetarian and vegan dishes at Xenia, just right for the local area.The room itself is open and airy, with a rustic, friendly feel. The bar and kitchen are right in the middle of the room, and the whole organisation runs like clockwork.
Serves at Xenia are hearty! The mezze platter groans with dips, char-grilled octopus, various vegies, meatballs, and so on. You can order a terrific mixed grill plate, goat, buttery tender calamari, stuffed vegetables, saganaki, and choose from a good range of fresh salads.The vegan moussaka is something special, and there is the usual range of disgustingly sweet Greek desserts. Wash this all down with some fabulous and very reasonably priced Cretan wine and Greek beer. This is honest, tasty, hearty, unpretentious home-style food, superbly prepared, and served with a smile.
This should be your go-to stop for excellent Greek food in this part of town.
4 of us shared the vegan platter for 2, saganaki, mixed grill for 2, calamari, small serve of the goat and cauliflower salad. The goat and cauliflower salad were amazing.
Great flavours and friendly staff, food served pretty quickly.
Can't quite figure out why the large screen TV is on during dinner service and front door doesn't close properly sending a cold breeze in whenever the door is open. But apart from that, a wonderful addition to the area.
Loved the food here. Pleasant ambience and great value for money. Food was hearty, and the tasting plates, moussaka and loukoumades are highly recommended. Hope to return!
Super yum, good price, and lovely service! The seafood rice was the nicest thing I've eaten in a long time. The entree for two had great variety and salad was super fresh. The moussaka was really nice as well! Will definitely be back!
As locals we planned to go for dinner after reading the review in The Age - but driving past on our way to the movies we decided to have a quick dinner on the way. It was early so we were able to get in without a booking even though it was Friday night. We shared the meze platter, the baked goat & a Greek salad. The service was great and the food absolutely delicious! We over ate though!! The only slight thing I would suggest would be not to put so many capers in the salad - but overall I would say this is going to be one of our new local favourites.
We couldn’t have had a better visit to Xenia. We were surprised and delighted to see so many vegetarian and vegan friendly options on a Greek Menu! For example, aswell as the traditional meze platter for two they also had a vegan meze platter available! They truly have something for everyone. The service and people were beautiful and our meals came out super fast!
What a delicious destination! From the warm welcome to the delectable dishes on offer! Tried their vegan meze platter for two... YUM! That eggplant dip? An absolutely must try. Just enough smokiness and chunkiness to be so moorish! Soft and tender calamari followed, accompanied by a cauliflower, pomegranate and grain salad. Ending with a well-made Greek coffee. Xenia’s confidence in what they prepare and present to their customers is at the heart of great Greek food and service. Look forward to next time.
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Xenia is the Greek word for "hospitality"....and it absolutely rings true for this beautiful little Greek bistro. Finally they've made their way into Zomato and I can write a fitting review of truly how incredible this place is.
The mix grill for 2 is my favourite to share with my partner. The meat is full of flavour, cooked fresh with authentic Greek herbs and flavours and NEVER disappoints. It's an excellent serving as well, we always leave satisfied. The eggplant dip is my favourite, its chunky and smokey and garlicky and so damn good. I've also had their meat moussaka and chicken skewers and these dishes are also so so tasty, again with decent portion sizes that come with a beautiful fresh tasty Greek salad on the side.
I also love their frappé, which I've never had to wait more than 5 mins for, the girls always whip them up super fast and icy cold, nice and strong.
The loukoumades I've had here are seriously good....dangerously good. Crispy on the outside and fluffy and light on the inside with lashings of honey and cinnamon.
Apart from all the delicious food here the service is what's special. Nina is a wonderful hostess in the evening as well, she's warm and genuinely friendly. Everyone is so wonderful, everything is done with a smile.
Do yourself a favour, forget about Oakleigh for greek food and just go to Xenia ❤️
Authentic Greek cooking in a modern Greek setting. The owners will make you feel like you've come into their home for a meal with their warm and friendly hosting.
Food is absolutely delicious and flavoursome with many vegan options. The goat and lamb are both halal also.
Busy establishment so booking is essential!
Plenty of on-street parking available.
What an amazing meal! The sharing platter was DELICIOUS and my favourite part of the meal. Yemista melted in your mouth. And the loukoumades were soft and lightly chewy inside while lightly crispy outside! We had the vegan banquet for 2. Servings were massive, and would have satisfied 3 people!
great restaurant, lovely staff and awesome food, we had a family birthday lunch there over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the banquet, great variety of wholesome tasty food, definitely recommend the banquet 😁
Vibrant and refreshing atmosphere with lots of energy. Food is tasty, well prepared and thoughtfully presented. Staff are friendly and helpful. A welcome addition to the emerging street culture.
Delicious food, warm atmosphere, excellent service. Would highly recommend the calamari, the goat, and the vegan feta.
To die for. Honestly one of the best Greek restaurants EVER. still can’t get over it!
Absolutely delicious food, taste buds were loving life!. Unique cosy atmosphere with excellent service
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