Review Yiamas - Brunswick

Walked in off the street and lucky to get a table , a very busy restaurant ( a must to book) service was second to none and the meal was cooked to perfection, when in Melbourne and looking for that different restaurant, this would be the one.

My family and I first came here just after it opened - we love Greek food and were excited to have this on our doorstep. We've been coming ever since! It never fails, reliably excellent food and wine and great value. Friendly service, sometimes a little slow but that is really the only criticism I have of this place. Love it. We come all the time now. It's like being in Greece, in Sydney Road. Highly recommend.

I would give it five stars if they had certain items that were on the menu. The excuse was that they had just opened after being closed for the holidays. So I guess there is lack of organisation. Also if a restaurant states that it opens for business at 5pm, I would expect tables to be already cleaned and set and not have to stand around awkwardly while the waiter preps the table. That is the only negative experience I encountered whilst dining in this restaurant. We ordered the meat platter to share and it was delicious. The chips that were ordered as a side were cooked to perfection. Price was reasonable.

Our food was terrible, under cooked, slimy calamari and the chicken had a rotten smell to it. They took our plates and after saying nothing for 10 minutes brought something else out. They then charged us for the replacement meal without asking if we even wanted it. "The cook said the chicken was fine" was their response.

Not the best place. Waitress was on her own in the restaurant, so it took ages to order and get some water (had to ask 3 times). Lamb cutlets were overcooked / well done (perhaps default?) and I did not like the lemon baked potatoes (could just not be my taste).

ooorpa, very nice food & drinks, especially the Greek music, they forgotten a few things on my friends plate & our Complimentary drinks. I enjoyed chatting to the waitress anyway. Thanks for everything. They didn't have the Greek beer Fix, but had it on menu, We wanted that, as well as I wanted the James Beer, but didn't get that, got another beer instead.

Venue: decor is okay and modern but the inside is drafty and cold. The little heater on the wall keep the first half of the room warm but the back door is kept open so the cold air came past the back half and we were pretty cold by the end. Food is okay. Pretty standard to be honest. The dips and bread, lovely bread but the dips were blah. Saganaki was lovely especially with the lemon. The octopus was super overcooked and like chewing on leather. Didnt finish the meal. We just paid and left. Service staff were in a rush being a Friday night. Overall wouldn't recommend it.

Went there twice. First for dine in, portions were quite small for the price, good but not out of this world. We were charged extra for a pita and the service was not the friendliest. The second time we waited 1h for a takeaway souvlaki. I mean. If you know it's going to take 1h to put three pieces of meat in a wrap, tell your customers first.

Been here a few times in the last few years but our last visit was disappointing. <br/>The chicken was a let down! It looked pale and tasted bland and almost mushy. The paleness wasn’t under cooked chicken. It was cooked through but it was almost like it washed. <br/>Not sure what they did to it but we couldn’t eat it and won’t be back. Disappointing because it’s nice to have a few local places.<br/>

Food was not great tasting and food servings were very small, chips had a awful burnt oil smell and taste like they have not changed their oil in a long time

ooorpa, very nice food & drinks, especially the Greek music, they forgotten a few things on my friends plate & our Complimentary drinks. I enjoyed chatting to the waitress anyway. Thanks for everything. They didn't have the Greek beer Fix, but had it on menu, We wanted that, as well as I wanted the James Beer, but didn't get that, got another beer instead.

As one of the above reviews stated, went there a few weeks ago, about 5pm, no reservation, but we were seated and told we couldn't order the yiros as it wasn't ready. We ordered the saganaki which as stated above was most beautifully cooked. Then the lamb cutlets which were rather miserly (4 tiny serves) and dry. The calamari was oily and rubbery. We did make mention about the meal but we're not offered any options, so we ate it. Whilst we were eating we overheard the man at the next table who arrived a little while after us that his yiros when it finally did arrive was too salty. Definately won't be back

I’ve been wanting to come here for awhile and Mothers Day lunch was the perfect opportunity. The table of five ordered the meat banquet and we weren’t disappointed or left hungry with a good selection of the Greek classic char grilled meats. Great service and we look forward to returning.

The food was delicious! Such tender juicy meat. Got the meat platter for 2 which could easily feed more. Generous servings. Will definitely go again!

I love the food here, but a restaurant shouldn’t offer delivery if they can’t deliver. Sadly I’ve experienced three failed deliveries from this place already. At first I thought it was just the delivery provider that was the problem, but this never happens with other restaurants I order from, just this one.

The calamari was slimy and under cooked (not quality enough to be eaten par cooked) and the chicken had strange old/spoiled smell to it. They had happy hour on Sunday, but not the Sunday we happen to be there, we were informed. When we said we couldn't eat the chicken the waitress took the meal away and brought someone else out 10 minutes later after not telling us anything. It was chicken from the spit which was delicious, but we were charged for this dish even though we weren't asked if we wanted it or not. The waitress told us "the chef said there was nothing wrong with the chicken" and didn't acknowledge the customer experience at all. I was so excited to try this place for the first time and I'll never go back- very disappointing.

Dropped in for an early dinner at 5pm no reservation, waitress seated us - food was pretty ordinary- Saganaki was the highlight being beautifully cooked, dolamades were good, mains were a bit disappointing lamb skewers were tough chips seems to have been cooked a few times in the same oil so were not pleasant the lamb cutlets were well cooked - calamari was deep fried and fine overall the mean was simply too greasy

Really enjoyed our dinner here. It was a spur of the moment decision and loved it. The 'Spartan' salad which was a daily special was really delicious. Good news is that it will become a permanent menu item apparently. Dips were great and the charcoal grilled calamari probably the best I've had. The spit also looks great but I didn't try it. Will be back to try out some other dishes. Oh and the pita really moreish!!!

Stumbled across the place and we were not disappointed. We shared a meat banquet and there was plenty food between the two of us. The dips and bread were delicious, the scallops and octopus that we ordered extra (we shouldn’t have given the amount of food in the banquet) and all the meats melted in our mouths. We’ll definitely be back.

Been to Yiamas twice now with the same friends and we've enjoyed our time each visit. We even ordered the same dish as last time, mixed gyros platter. Its a fairly good price for the amount you get and comparing it to other Greek places, these are pretty good. We were planning to go to another greek restaurant but Yiamas is one of the places where they serve their gyros with chips unlike other places. We sat in the outside courtyard this time and the atmosphere was amazing! With acoustic music and a nice outdoor setup. We will definitely come back again. We can't fault Yiamas!

It was an absolute pleasure to be invited along to try the menu at Yiamas, a cosy Greek street food eatery midway down Sydney Road in Brunswick. This is a relatively unexplored area for me, so am always excited to head down this eat street.<br/><br/>Such a nice little venue with solid wooden tables and exposed brickwork. There is a courtyard out back which would be perfect for summer (they do private functions out here too) and although the bar menu doesn't have cocktails listed they do have a great range of wines and beers which I willingly partook. I tried the Fix Hellas & Mythos beers from Greece. <br/><br/>We started with dips and pitas. The breads were sooo good and the Taramasalata the best of the three we tried. We enjoyed the zucchini fritters with feta filling and the saganaki was just delightful. <br/><br/>We enjoyed calamari two ways, one charred and one lightly fried. Both were tender, but for my tastes the charred was the winning dish of the two and one of my favourite dishes of the night.<br/><br/>The Santorini volcano dish was perhaps the unique dish of the night, one I had not heard of or tried before. This dish was a baked parcel of feta, capsicum and had a hint of chilli. A somewhat ugly dish but an absolute delight and was Kelisi's dish of the night, definitely order a side of bread with this dish, you won't be disappointed.<br/><br/>Onto mains and it was all about the meats. Lamb skewers, chicken skewers, chicken & lamb giro meat. These were all served in a similar way with breads, tzatziki, chips and a salad. I was impressed by the uniformity of presentation of these dishes. For me the winner was the chicken skewers... absolutely tender meat that I could have kept eating, eating and eating.<br/><br/>The snapper main was also divine and cooked perfectly. I loved the inclusion of lemon potatoes on this dish (can be ordered separately) and this was the best accompaniment to such tender snapper. In fact the non-fish eater at the table kept stealing the lemon potatoes because they were just so dammed good. Make sure you include them in your order!<br/><br/>What feast couldn't be finished without dessert and what Greek dessert would be complete without baklava and loukamades. The Loukamades came with their dough nutty goodness in batches of 10. We tried classic with honey and walnuts and also tried the Nutella version. Classic was the better choice only because of the generous serving of honey liquid which could be soaked up by these warm little balls. <br/><br/>We were absolutely full from all the yummy food here and thank the team at Yiamas for a great night of dining.

We dined as guests of Yiamas on a Tuesday night and couldn’t believe how busy it was! The place was literally pumping and had a lovely relaxed ambiance. Great atmosphere in the outdoor courtyard too which was perfect for summer. The banquet menu at $45pp represents good value if you are keen to try a wide variety. We opted to go a la cater to best cater for the dietary requirements of our group. The volcano dish on the new menu was recommended so we started with that which was a baked feta with chilli and capsicum. This was wonderfully salty and crumbly. Big tick. The zucchini and feta fritters were also very enjoyable alongside our yummy pita served with a trio of dips. I found the tzatziki pretty garlic heavy and the eggplant dip a little lacking in flavour but everyone was raving about the taramasalata. We also had the saganaki which is an obvious Greek classic as well as both types of calamari seared and fried. I struggled to pick which one I favoured more, would strongly suggest you try both! <br/>For mains we ordered four for the four of us and shared. The fish special which was snapper fillets with the most perfect side of lemony potatoes. These babes should be the star of the show in my opinion and not relegated to the sides menu. Deeeelish! Charcoal lamb was one dish and chicken gyros another. Both came with chips, pita, tzatziki and salad. My favourite dish was the marinated chicken skewers. The dish comes as lamb, pork or chicken (3 skewers) and they allow you to opt for a variety of all three if you prefer. Chicken was perfectly succulent and flavoursome, definitely my highlight. <br/>The desserts were delicious the lokuamades freshly fried, nice and light and covered in deliciousness. The traditional honey have been a personal favourite of mine since I was a kid but the modern Nutella rendition is equally yummy. Definitely a must have and once again they are flexible in that they will give you a serve of half half if you so chose. <br/>Traditional flavours and authentic dishes what’s not to like?

Terrible service but good food. There were five waitresses working in this small restaurant, however they were not attentive to customers at all. I was left waiting 15minutes before my order was taken, ignored by waitresses and had to ask for the table to be cleaned up between dinner and dessert. The food was fresh and delicious, however the service let down the overall experience.

Beautiful rustic decor beer garden & a casual, relaxed bar-like armosphere inside. Food was delicious - reasonably priced & great specials! Only critique is that they were not prompt when attending to customers because there was only 1 waitress taking orders, greeting customers, clearing tables & serving food. I could understand why she was running around the place frantically. I feel they would improve on their customer service if they hired another waitress. Albeit that, I'd definitely return 😊.

This is the second time we’ve been to Yiamas and there is a reason for that..... we love it. Portions are a little big but that’s the Greek way. Little man is a big calamari fan and Yiamas has the best calamari I have tried. I personally am a meat eater and the open souvlaki I had was delicious. Meat cooked well. Kids loved the chips. Staff are friendly, we had a new team member be our server and she was very nice. Can’t believe this place has been open for a few years and I just found this now. Do yourself a favour and visit Yiamas.

Had a light dinner and quick snack here which turned out to be more than just a light meal.<br/>All the dishes we selected was outstanding - grilled saganaki, octopus, eggplant dip and the loukamades with walnut and honey to finish it off. <br/>Reasonably priced. <br/>Will definitely be coming back here 👍🏼

Just been here for an emergency after work summit, and it was yummos. <br/><br/>We had a couple of wines, and an array of snacks: pita with eggplant dip, grilled octopus, saganaki, and topped it all off with some honey and walnut loukemedes! It was all scrumptious and we’re ready to face the last day of the week now. <br/><br/>Especially since it was a massive order of dessert and will be starting my day tomorrow with it.

Disappointed with service and food, I don't usually rate restaurants low I just wasn't too impressed with the selection of foods and didn't feel very welcomed. Chickpea patties didn't have a lot of flavour and were quite standard. Not sure where the souvlaki was?

If i could rate this i would give zero. <br/>My posts have been deleted twice.<br/><br/>Would not recommend it at all.<br/>Food was not fresh, off. I got sick from it.<br/><br/>

I celebrated my birthday at Yiamas in the courtyard out the back, even though it was a cold winters night the heaters were on and it was cosy and warm. We ordered the essentials banquet and the food was sensational and plenty of it. Alex and his team exceeded all my expectations and I thank them for making the night so special for my guests and I. The calamari, meat platters and loukoumades were the stand out dishes.. Yumm!!!

AWESOME TRADITIONAL GREEK FOOD. graet service fro. Alex the greek. Would recommend it to anyone. Easy parking. Lamb souv's excellent. I would go back again and again. Very friendly atmosphere and great dinning area

Ordered the banquet which was ok. Had your standard meats which you would expect from a Greek Tavern.<br/><br/>All the meat was cooked well, apart from the meat balls, which haf spent a bit to much time on the grill.<br/><br/>Good environment. <br/>Fast service<br/><br/>I would say 3.7.<br/><br/>

The best Greek food in town. Excellent service, generous portions and a relaxing atmosphere. Try the gyros or that thing which is like a grilled, flat, lemony cheese disc (the name escapes me). Exquisite.

Unreal! Great food and great service ! So much good meat! Back beer garden is spot on. Cheeky Friday night footy in the background as a plus. <br/>

Delicious food and super friendly staff. Perfect place for a date night or a big group dinner in the courtyard out the back. Highly recommend, you won't be disappointed!

Very tasty food, great if you're looking for some traditional Greek food. We had the banquet and the even for a banquet it was a bit small. Service was a bit slow as well but otherwise a pleasant experience.

Recommended by a friend, highly impressed. As our eyes were bigger than our tummies, naturally we ordered a banquet to try various dishes offered and most importantly have some dessert too. Had the essentials banquet which costed $45pp, heaps of dishes we couldn't finish all of them. <br/><br/>Mixed dips, saganaki, a selection of meze, fried calamari, Greek salad, meat platter (had various meats) and dessert ~ loukamades #yum.<br/><br/>Great atmosphere, service was lovely and personable, owners were friendly.<br/><br/>another great place to try within Brunswick area. Def will revisit.<br/><br/>MG 👌<br/>

I loved it here! Would recommend booking a reservation on eventful days such as Father's Day. We didn't though got seating in the beer garden which was great with heating and quieter which was great. Service was so lovely and helpful in making decisions. They gave us both dips that we were deciding between for nothing extra (our favourites were eggplant and Beetroot). Food took a little long but was so worth it. Platters are generously filled and keep warm well. Will definitely be back!

If you want simple fresh greek food and your on Sydney road, you can't do much better than this place.<br/>They do a lot of the traditional dishes and cook on charcoal which for me is a bonus. Friendly service ,(maybe a little slow when busy) and very reasonably priced. Recommend.

Love the Greek food there, especially the sausage! I will definitely recommend this great place to my friends!

Amazing Greek food and great service.<br/>Came here for an end of year work function and the vibe was perfect. Absolutely loved the meat platter and the saganaki!<br/>We'll be back!

Delicious Greek food, great service and a Greek Taverna style courtyard for those warm nights. Everything off the roaring charcoal grill was yummy- Gyros, octopus, cutlets, rissoles. <br/>We'll definitely be back

ordered through ubereats and the food was amazing. tried the lamb gyros with chips and side . loads of lamb ! chips good taste highly recommended

loved the outdoor  setup, food was good, family was satisfied.. will come again.. prices were reasonable.. ..................................

We went for the essentials banquet.<br/>The dips were full of flavour better than I expected, dolmades are authentic and delicious. Selection of meats meant plenty to go around! Yum! <br/>I thought oh yeh calamari might be aight but honestly it's the Best calamari I've ever eaten!!! Highly recommend the calamari!!! Dessert was great too! <br/>Staff are friendly and prompt! Atmosphere was lovely not too loud! Made for a perfect night out!!

The food is absolutely delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed it. They were short staffed the night we went so service was friendly but also took a while. It felt a little bit like no one was noticing us, perhaps someone was off sick? Meals came out within a reasonable time even though the restaurant was full. The lamb was a tiny bit over-cooked but if they can address that, the food would be utterly flawless - will definitely be going back as it just tasted so so good. I have heard word on the street is their take-away souvlaki is best around. Will have to try that one day soon.

What a wonderful restaurant! We ordered a chicken gyros, vegetarian gyros and some chips to share. Gyros were genuinely one of the best I've ever tasted. Wrap was fresh, fillings were perfectly balanced and not too much sauce! Special mention to the zucchini fritter in the vegetarian, was beautiful! Chips were a bit of a let down, soggy and unflavoursome. The rest of the food was brilliant however!

This place really surprised us. Because of some of the mixed reviews we didn't really know what to expect. What we got however, was quality Greek food at a great price. <br/><br/>The owner was extremely welcoming and helpful. When we couldn't decide between the Sausage or the Rissole, he ended up giving us the Rissole for free after we chose the Sausage. (By the way, if you're in a similar predicament, get the Rissole. It's actually amazing.) <br/><br/>The dips are probably some of the best I've had as well. <br/><br/>I definitely recommend this place and most certainly will be back.

We came here for dinner one Saturday Night. We got bread, tarama (dip), a greek salad and meat platter. Nothing was wrong with the food but at the same time it was nothing amazing. I really wanted to enjoy it more but unfortunately I have eaten much better Greek food. I wouldnt be back in a rush but I would give it a go one more time as it may have just been a bad night for them.

Went for dinner here one night last week and was seriously impressed! From the moment we walked in the service was fantastic. It was a quiet cold melbourne wintery night so the waiter was happy for us to sit wherever we liked. It was a warm relaxed intimate atmosphere.<br/>We ordered the mix dips plate, chargrilled capsicum, chargrilled calamari and the kids lamb gyros and chips plate (even though there were no kids with us). Everything was cooked to perfection and was full of flavour. Serving sizes were generous. Was great to try a variety of things and have each plate hit the mark. The standout dish was the chargrilled calamari. So soft and tender and cooked to perfection.<br/>I'll definitely be coming here again to try out what else they have to offer<br/>

Excellent Greek tavern, food was amazing, authentic to the tastes of Greece. The atmosphere was great and the stuff was very polite and quick with their service. I would definitely recommend anyone to go and try it and I know I will be going back!

This place is such good value for money. The lamb gyros which was gorgeous, plenty of food on the plate for $24. Would definitely return to try some of the other dishes

Great simple and traditional Greek food. A nice addition to the area. Highly recommend the chargrilled calamari which was meltingly tender.

Great food, personable service, generous portions and decent prices means this is now my favorite family and date restaurant in Brunswick. As a local, genuine and unpretentious restaurants like this are very hard to come by.

The Beef Rissoles ($12) smelt absolutely amazing as they made their way to the table, butter still sizzling on the grill marks. These tender patties of grilled beef were folded through with onions and herbs, and were accompanied well by a mustard aioli. Just as delicious was the plate of Chargrilled Calamari ($19), which was possibly the most melt-in-mouth I have ever had. These were simply but perfectly cooked, the fresh seafood needing no more than a squeeze of lemon, and maybe a bit of tartare sauce.

My partner and I ate here for dinner. We ordered the chicken gyros and lamb gyros and it was delicious, we couldn't fault anything on the plate. The wine was also lovely. A great little find, we will definitely be coming back.

Wonderful staff, fantastic food and great atmosphere. Jimmy runs one of my new favourite restaurants on Sydney Road. See you again soon guys!

Was visiting Melbourne for a wedding and extended our stay. One night strolled through Sydney Rd. Excellent food, beers and service. I am trying hard to fault something but I can't! Must go! I didn't like Sydney Rd in general as it seemed a little rough and intimidating but that should have no effect on my score of a perfect 5/5.

Seriously... This is good Greek food. It's about time Sydney Road got a Greek restaurant. Dishes are generous, tasty and the service is more than welcoming. Definitely worth a visit.

Love this place, the food is authentic, fresh and flavoursome. Fantastic courtyard and wonderful vibe. Looking forward to my next visit, I will try and keep some room for dessert.

My friend and I had the lamb souvlaki meal, very tasty full of flavours, the chips were perfect, soft and fluffy, but.. <br/><br/>The lamb was as tender as rubber mallet.<br/><br/>The meat is the main staple of the dish and restaurant.. how can you serve medium to well done lamb with the hardness of tilers knee pad.<br/><br/>Fix this and I'll come back<br/><br/>- bit pricey for the amount you get. <br/><br/>Should be $15 not $24

My partner and I just visited Yiamas for the 2nd time, and it was absolutely delicious.<br/>I'm used to eating Greek food at home, and don't normally enjoy having it at restaurants, but this place reminded me a lot of the great food served in Greece; simple, fresh and tasty.<br/>Standout dishes- the saganaki, calamari, zucchini chips, and those juicy, tangy baked potato chips.<br/>

What a lovely place to eat. We were really happy with our night out at Yiamas. We ordered the banquet (because - why not?) and boy was there a lot of delicious food! Several entrees (zucchini fritters were A.mazing) dips (great bread to dip ratio!), seafood platter and meat platter. All were Delish! We couldn't eat all of it and were able to take a big portion of it home which was great. Dessert was lovely (said we were going to get all three but we missed on on the loukamades for some reason 😞) and the staff were friendly and attentive. The place was packed but we didn't feel forgotten and we literally enjoyed every single mouthful. We will be back - time and time again I'm sure!

Not the first time I've been here but the first since these guys popped on Zomato so I finally get a say.<br/>When you think Greek food you think grilled meat, seafood and salads that are perfection in their simplicity. This place hits the nail on the head. <br/>It's easy to convince no. 2 son to go here - their saganaki is fabulous! Wednesday night we had a selection of small plates- tasty zucchini feta and herb fritters, Kefalograviera (saganaki), calamari, a spicy Greek sausage and salad. Highlight of the night? I LOVED the calamari - two whole calamari with the lightest dusting of flour simply grilled and served with lemon. So very tender and tasty. <br/>Everything was fresh and fast and yum, reasonably priced and a good alternative to equivalent places on Sydney Rd that have more bread / pasta driven choices.

Located on the hip and happening Sydney road. It's a cosy little place with seating indoors as well as outdoors. We went there on a thursday. We tried the tirokafteri dip first, which we quite liked. Was served with a generous portion of pita bread. Next we had the traditional greek parcel " Dolmades". was quite flavoursome. Had the Paithakia, which was cooked quite well. The meat was succulent and juicy. A definite thumbs up to this place..!

Stumbled across this gem on a Tuesday night walk with a girlfriend. Ate everything and regretted nothing. Got mixed dips and a meat platter which was a perfect amount for two people. Perfectly cooked, so tender. Obviously got dessert. our waiter recommended the creamy custard filo. Was nice but once we saw a fellow patrons order of greek donuts come out, we knew that is what we should've got! Gives us an excuse to come back!

My family and i have been to Yiamas now on a few occassions and have left both times very satisfied. The food and service has been fantastic on both occassions and will definitely be back for more.

This place is amazing!! Not only is it a great venue that you could sit in the courtyard for hours, the food is to die for, we got the banquet and I have to say it was just that....the servings are huge and unlike other Greek restaurant that can often substitute quantity for quality, this is one thing Yiamas does not!! they do not drop their quality on any of their dishes. We've been to several Greek restaurants and this is by far one of the best, my partner being Greek complimented every dish, some of the dishes reminded him of his mums traditional dishes:) <br/>The staff and owner, are very welcoming and friendly, we will definitely be coming back!

Was really excited to try this new Greek restaurant in Brunswick - always on the hunt for the best Greek in town. Unfortunately this is not it.  The food is good, the staff are lovely, everything was good. When it came to dessert, we were indecisive and after ummming and ahhhhing for awhile, decided on one of the dessert dishes.  The waiter came out with all three desserts stating 'We brought you a little bit of each!' We thought that was a very nice gesture until when we went to pay we were charged for all three desserts.  I don't know about you but when a restaurant brings an extra dish like that, that you haven't ordered - I just assume it is on the house. I guess I was wrong.  Don't get me wrong, a really nice place and the food was really good - just left us with a bitter taste in our mouth as we left.