Review Salona Restaurant - Melbourne

Bit of a mixed feeling. We wait at the bar for a table. I order red wine and barman suggests a glass on the side which he poured 15 min ago for someone by mistake and insists. So i have to negotiate that i prefer a fresh glass. Then he pours a glass which i could swear is half the required amount( i think i got punished for disagreeing with him). Later on at diner i order another glass which is same size but easily double the wine compare to last one. Put money aside here.... people go to diner for the experience and this stuffed it up for me. Atmosphere s great, food above average, price is fair and acceptable. Some items we ordered were great and some were simply Not. The main manager or owner was lovely and accomodating. Sadly we wont be back as there are more greek restaurants 100 meters up the road.

Just did the cocktail making course. Well worth it, a great experience and some very tasty cocktails. A sampler of the food was absolutely yummo.

We took the cocktail making class here and had a great night learning to make cocktails and understanding the basics of how to make them at home. Simon was very knowledgeable about all things alcohol. This experience was bought on RedBalloon with a matched meze which was absolutely delicious and a much needed snack in between the drinks. Would highly recommend this experience and also this quaint family owned restaurant with quality food.

Great service, great cocktails, amazing banquet (even with a couple of gluten free guests) Small note: Not the best acoustics - possibly a little loud for grandparents / older people.

I never leave a review - but I felt compelled to after the brilliant service and food tonight. Cannot recommend the Chicken Riganato more! Absolutely fantastic.

I went to Salona yesterday for dinner, and to put it shortly the experience was absolutely exceptional. The quality of the food was incredible, the restaurant has a really nice atmosphere, and the customer service was excellent. Simon and Alex who we spoke to couldn't have been more friendly and accommodating. I definitely recommend Salona to anyone! I'll definitely be coming back soon!

I Loved the fresh food here but portion size was quite small compared to the price. It was quite expensive . I felt the service was rushed . We ordered the steak and it was $55 with nothing else to accomodate it.

We had the 5 course degustation with matching wines last night. What a wonderful experience. The food was superb. The wines were delicious. The waiter was attentive and knowledgeable. Nothing was too much trouble. Overall a perfect night. Well done to the Salona team.

Great food and the service is on point. Highly recommend this place to people looking for gluten free food.

This evening, Mary and I partook of an excellent meal at Salona, a Greek restuarant in Swan St, Richmond. Again, the food and service was excellent Yanni certainly made sure of that. Last week John William Irwin and I partook of a similar meal and discovered we both knew of Yanni, our waiter, his house in Chania. Needless to say, the raki flowed.

Had the most AMAZING birthday dinner tonight! Second time at Salona and this time chose the 3 course degustation... my partner and I could not fault a single dish nor could we pick a favourite!!! Beautiful atmosphere on a lovely night sitting outside, mouth watering food and lovely service! Would recommend to everyone!

Best service, best food and Portokalopita cake served with (vanilla bean ice cream)made on site by Yannis. This is unique Greek style food- highly recommend.

Amazing on all fronts.... ambiance, service and seriously delicious food. Degustation all the way and a Stella wine list.

We came back with the family for Father's Day. Love this place, top notch service, food is devine and the Espresso Martini is Mmmmmm. Will back soon 😁

Wonderful service, food and knowledge of wine. We tried the Greek organic wine, one of the best wines I have ever tasted. Will definitely go back! 😁

Intimate Greek restaurant with a lovely host named Alex who made us feel so special! Food was a taste sensation from starter of the best taramasalata dip and grilled pita I've ever eaten to the organic grilled meat and Greek salad to a dessert of a lovely orange zest cake with homemade vanilla bean ice cream with cinnamon. We couldn't have asked for a more special night out. Thank you, Salona!! �

Amazing food and service!! We had a lovely dinner with friends. The menu is very diverse and unique. I highly recommend this place. Thanks so much Stravros!!

We loved it! The food fresh and tasty. Great quality produce and great atmosphere. It was our first time but definitely won’t be our last.

We did the cocktail class, service was fantastic, great demonstration on how to make our own cocktails and they were delicious! Came with a mezze board which we loved also. Would highly recommend to our friends & family, thanks!

Amazing Greek food and wine; and Exceptional service. Roof rop bar is great for cocktail parties/functions.

Awesome food and lovely ambience and service! I totally recommend it!!!

Beautiful meal, thank you for your attention and food recommendations

Best service and food - amazing vegan options a also. Our party had a great time . Loved the service .

A must to visit ..... Excellent food, amazing service. Well done to Yianni & his team! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hands down the best Greek food in Melbourne. Traditional with a contemporary twist! My faves are the saganaki and the grilled eggplant stack.

5 stars to Alex and his cocktail class! We had a great night:) thank you & see you again soon!

Awesome food service and atmosphere...will definitely be going back and recommend it to family and friends

Such a wonderful place. Food is delicious service is phenomenal. Always a better experience than the last. Thank you �

We go to Salona on Swan St Richmond every time we go to Melbourne. Fantastic authentic Greek food and always a cultural dining experience. Family have been going there since 1984 when the boys Grandfather ran the restaurant.

Exceptional food and service. So hard to fault anything. A great restaurant that serves delicious Greek food.

Only came for coffee but staff are lovely food coming past us looks amazing!

Thank you for today Salina, as usual everything was perfect, this is why we keep coming back

Fabulous Cod dish and the orange cake was devine!!

Fresh, organic & curated with passion.

Best Greek food in Melbourne!! I'm so glad I had my birthday dinner at your restaurant. Everyone absolutely loved it, definitely will be back :)

Seriously incredible food and service! Everything was so tasty and the cocktails were delicious! Thanks :)

Great food.. Has updated over the years to represent modern greek food.

Food amazing! Ambience amazing. Service outstanding. First time there and absolutely loved every second of it

Exceptionallt disappointing tonight. Wont be back. Should teach your servers some manners!

Food was outstanding as was the service!! Thank you boys😄

Was there just over two years ago loved it. Went back again tonight on a table for 4 and we all loved it rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great service. Great food. Highly recommend it

Beautiful food and service. Cant wait to go back!

As we tentatively venture back into dining out I literally didn’t know how to select a restaurant given it had been months since we were allowed to visit one and the possibilities are endless. I saw a post on Salona on Instagram and so we ventured forth to their vibrant establishment. <br/><br/>Being a soft opening there was a choice of two set menus and we opted for the more expensive one given it was more protein heavy. There was also an option to tack on a arrival cocktail for $15 which we gladly took up (a very delicious beverage to say the least).<br/><br/>I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but it definitely delivered as there was a huge amount of food and it was all pretty spot on flavour wise. A couple of the dishes were a little salty (in keeping with the authenticity I experienced in Greece) but other than that I can’t really fault anything and the banquet style menu is a great opportunity to sample a cross section of dishes. <br/><br/>Pretty pleased with this discovery particularly as the only Greek restaurants I’ve tended to frequent are the dearly departed George C owned ones so we have now found a worthy successor!

We did the cocktail making class for our anniversary celebration and it was so good! Dani the bartender hosted us and he was so friendly and knowledgeable - a great teacher! We made 3 cocktails and they were all delicious and had ingredients that were unique to the restaurant (e.g. volcanic black salt and grilled lemons). We also had a shared platter as part of the deal (had bread and dips, olives, calamari and fritters) - it was delicious! Highly recommends Salona - we had such a great time. Will definitely come back for dinner one day.

Warm, friendly and welcoming service. Spectacular food. Best spanakorizo I've had in a long time and ceviche kingfish an absolute highlight. Easy to see why Salona has been around so long. Serving sizes are on the small side but quality is top notch which makes the prices easily justified.

Loud place. Slow service. Tiny portion size given the price. <br/>2 Skewers of pork was like $24.<br/>1 tiny octopus tentacle was $20<br/><br/>On the whole the food was nice and well presented. <br/>Apart from the chips which was terrible. Maccas does a far better job with the chips then these guys. Except these chips was $11.

I came in for my husbands birthday and was really disappointed in the portion sizes and the price. It’s not traditional Greek food it’s contemporary.. There was no Greek salad in the banquet considering it’s a Greek restaurant which I thought was strange. The bread,dips and saganaki were nice. I wouldn’t be going back again.

Very good quality food (only the serving fries consisted pretty much of chip ends), albeit overpriced given the sizing of the portions. Staff are friendly and ambience is good. Will be back someday but with the plethora of options in the area, it might be a while.<br/>

One of the best Greek meals I have had for a very long time. <br/><br/>Small, narrow space over two floors - Salona has apparently recently undergone renovations and is generally a lot funkier than before. The menu reflects this contemporary approach - classic Greek dishes may still rear their head, but generally there's less emphasis on slabs of meat or fish thrown on the grill and served with a wedge of lemon (delicious as that generally is).<br/><br/>Four people to share and lots of food ordered - ranging from the excellent dips (the omnipresent tzatziki and my personal favourite, kopanisti - red capsicum) through to octopus, calamari, saltbush lamb kefte (a revelation) and ocean trout. And not a 'Greek salad' in sight! :) :)<br/><br/>Will certainly head back - loved the place.

Visited for Salona's 50th (!!!) birthday. It was hard to get good photos in the dimly-lit, packed out space, so hopefully a written overview will suffice. Menu items I tried included the zucchini kefte (delicious), saganaki (amazing) and various dips. The space is charming with a mix of traditional and contemporary decor, plus bars both upstairs and downstairs. Staff are absolutely wonderful and the menu can be catered to vegans and vegetarians.

Great staff and ambience! The octopus was so good, I wish there was more than just a tentacle.<br/>The drink Alemagou drink was so delish! The pasta was too salty for me and the lamb was good but not the best. All in all, it was still a good dining experience.

We tried Salona for the second time last night and the food was great, freshly cooked, very tasty and well presented. The waiters were attentive and service overall was fantastic.<br/>Overall it was a wonderful meal ( the Hilopites and the zucchini keftedes were incredible ), great value for money we will certainly be going back!<br/>

As we entered this restaurant I absolutely loved the look.. going upstairs to eat I liked it a little less... there were 6 of us eating and thought that we would leave quite content after reading the reviews... Well, we were not ready for what was to come! Please explain how you can justify A TINY bowl of chips ( most were bits left in the fryer) at $14.. or 1 mushroom cut into 6 at near $20?? One beetroot bulb at $18... ( didn’t taste like much) Four YES 4 pork skewers at $76... The food we ate was far from fine dining so I did not expect to pay those prices! <br/>I can only say the reason we came here was because next door was closed!!

4.3. Seriously good place. Highly recommended. We had a great night here. There’s so much to love about the food. The dips were flavourful and bread was excellent. The chicken cooked in the paper was full of flavour, and moist and cooked perfectly. And, the sweet potato mousaka was really well balanced, and interesting. It was crisp, smooth and fluffy all at once. We enjoyed all the dishes. We wouldn’t hesitate to return.

Salona in Richmond. Overall 4.5 for the food served. Recently renovated and decorated with nice bar ambience. Service was good with friendly staff service. Greek food is healthy and nicely cooked. This restaurant is highly recommended for Greek food

After going to a restaurant beforehand and was still hungry, Salona appeared on my Zomato and it looked real good! Called up to see when the kitchen was closing, whoever answered said to pop by as they’ll keep it open until we come. Got there and ordered the lamb and grilled vegetables, oh boy did it not disappoint my tastebuds! The waitresses were so nice and checked up on us throughout our time being there. The owner afterwards gave us complimentary cake which was so lovely of him. Highly recommend this restaurant not only for their great service but for their food as well!

Three of us had a thoroughly enjoyable weeknight dinner here! The food was delicious, and the cocktails were also a treat! I had the Turkish delight cocktail, and it tasted remarkably like the actual sweet. I was blown away by the saganaki (the addition of apricot is genius!), and I was also loving the pumpkin and feta kefte. The feta in the Greek salad was so rich and creamy, and the beetroot salad was just all round tasty! My only critique would be that I wished the main chicken dish had more tzatziki dip on the plate! Great choice for a Greek restaurant with lovely staff.

Finally went to Salona! To be honest, I was expecting a bit more from this place, after reading the reviews and lolling at the beautiful pics on instagram and Zomato. The overall experience was nice and some of you were right, the Tarama dip was absolutely delicious! The calamari dish was ok, although quite dry. It could have been serve with a little salad just to freshen un the palate. The Gyros was nice and tasty but the chicken was slightly overlooked.<br/>I loved the pita bread! Service was ok, some waiters were nice and friendly, some a bit rushed.<br/>Little overpriced I reckon.<br/>Also, the music playlist didn’t really match the Greek atmosphere.<br/>Nice experience but I wish I could have scored a 5!

Great service and delicious food. Shared the dips, chargrilled veggies and haloumi, lamb cutlets, chips and the zucchini and pumpkin kefte. All the food was really fresh and tasty.

Food was great - had the three dips, chargrilled veg and haloumi and the lamb main course to share between two which was a perfect amount.<br/>Only issue was the price of the house wine - it was $36 but the menu didn't say that this was only for a half litre, so that's the equivalent of $54 a bottle! At that price it was well overpriced and we felt a bit ripped off.

Loved the whole experience at Salona. We shared dishes having taken menu guidance from the knowledgeable and friendly staff. We'll be going back.

Easily the best Taramasalata I’ve had in Melbourne! It was full of flavour and the pita was warm from the oven. The halloumi with grilled veg was also delicious and cooked to perfection!

A beautiful feast for all the senses , we could not have asked for a more wonderful spread of food. The chicken gyros was hot off the grill , tender chicken slices accompanied by a tangy mustard mayo & super soft pita bread. The Greek salad was the winner for me - ripe red tomatoes , rich olives & divine fluffy whipped feta - beautifully simple & fresh. Dive head first into some of their exotic cocktails, you will not be disappointed & the staff will do an amazing job taking care of you.

Friday night dinner with Timinmelbourne and our respective plus ones. Another excellent restaurant chosen by Tim. The moment we walked in to when we stepped out, the service was absolutely brilliant. Casual and welcoming, and not forgetting extremely astute - the waiter brought up the matter of allergy even before we had the chance to mention it. <br/><br/>We all agreed on the 4 course degustation, mainly because everything on the menu look so enticing and we wouldn't be able to narrow them down to a sensible number of dishes. That, and the fact that we were too lazy to contemplate any further. We were hungry!<br/><br/>One by one the food arrived, and none of us could fault anything. It's not often that each and every dish suit the palate of all the diners on the table. Both execution and flavour were flawless. The warm pita was light and airy, the cheese croquettes were tiny delicious balls of crunchy skin and gooey centre, and the calamari was tender yet springy. The generously seasoned salmon soutzoukakia packed a punch, and the falling-of-the-bone lamb had an amazing depth of meaty flavour. Not only were the mains superb, so were the desserts! The peanut butter baklava was a combination of flaky, moist, tender, nutty, sweet, and salty - my taste buds were having a party!<br/><br/>Don't forget to make a booking on weekends. The restaurant was still filled to the brim with diners at 8pm, which goes to show that we aren't the only fans of this place!

Sometimes you walk into a place and it just feels right. Well last night I walked into this restaurant and I felt like I was walking into someone’s house in Greece lol<br/><br/>We received a really welcome from the moment we walked in and when we left. This organic and locally based Greek restaurant was fantastic. <br/><br/>We tried the 4 course degustation menu which was perfect!! We were so impressed we ordered 2 desserts to share between 4 of us. There is always room for dessert hahaha<br/><br/>Starting w saganaki cheese and dips, yes yes perfect! <br/><br/>Then onto the best calamari that I’ve ever eaten, the lamb that literally melted in my mouth as it fell off the bone! Wow haha<br/><br/>The pasta dish was excellent as was the chocolate dessert. Everything was amazing! We had a local Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir which was a complex drop which accompanied the meal to perfection, in fact it got better as the meal progressed mmnn. Haha <br/><br/>They did have an extensive Greek wine list too.<br/><br/>Overall I really love this place. Thank you I am coming back soon. I can’t recommend this place highly enough. And thank you Hello. Imnikki it was great to see you and your partner again... Percy food and company. What an awesome start to the weekend yay!! Lol

Absolutely terrible, overpriced, tossey, new aged garbage. Don't bother. Dry meat with no flavour and a boring beetroot salad. This is not real traditional Greek food, go down the road if you want a decent Greek meal.

As this restaurant was in first table and close to where we were staying, we decided to check this place out for an early dinner. Staff are very friendly and some of the dishes we ordered were better than others. <br/><br/>We enjoyed their ouzo lamb ribs and mushroom croquettes but their pork belly and chicken gyros were a bit on the dry side. As much as we wanted to fit dessert, we were too full from a day of eating.

Both my friends and I had a very pleasure experience at Salona. <br/>Thanks for the hospitality. We had chosen the 4 courses degustation and the amount of food was perfect for all 6 of us. From the dips to entree and to the meat, they were all delicious.<br/>Thanks again for this great experience.

Saturday 02.09.17 at 5.45pm. <br/>Salona was an enjoyable experience. <br/>The waiter / barman upstairs at the restaurant was a real pleasure. <br/><br/>We opted for the four course degustation option and were provided with a pleasant array of options. <br/>The zucchini croquettes were a highlight of the dishes 😊😊

Salona serves up great modern Hellenic cuisine. Traditional Greek flavours elevated with great presentation and slight, inventive tweaks. The food portions are all reasonably sized (we had the 5 course set menu & were very full after it) and the two desserts we chose were great twists on traditional Greek flavours. The setting is very warm/cosy, welcoming and modern and we were fortunate to experience superb service from the Hellenic native waiter. Expect to pay $70-80 per head, but well worth it! Highly recommended.

This little Greek place is an absolute gem of a place. Food was amazing and the service was even better. There is a great selection of Greek wine and beer to go with the food. Highly recommend for your next dinner whether it just the 2 of you or 8 of you wanting to go out for dinner..

Excellent Greek cuisine. Perfect for a group dinner at a reasonable price. As a table of 5 we shared the dips platter (Tamara was by far the standout), the special of pickled octopus and two serves of the saganaki. The saganaki was especially fantastic. Still feeling peckish we then ordered the zucchini fritters, the calamari, the grilled peppers and the saganaki prawns. The zucchini fritters were delicious. Definitely worth ordering. I felt that the prawns could have been more generous though. Only 3 tiny prawns to share between 5. Overall a very tasty meal though. <br/>

Details: if you want an idea for a hens or even a fun night out with the girls (or the boys) then definitely give Salona a shot. The cocktail making class was worth the money completely and fully. We received the recipes for three cocktails and made all three with the guidance of an experienced bar person. They also gave us a platter per 3 people. We were so unexpectedly full from the platters. The zucchini fritters, dips & bread, Saganaki balls, even olives were all cooked to perfection.<br/><br/>Lovely staff.<br/><br/>Beautiful venue.<br/><br/>Will be back!!

This is rather a long-pending review, yet a much deserving one.<br/><br/>The Great Planning:<br/>It was my sister's birthday on Dec 9 last year. So my brother-in-law and I had to secretly plan things for her. Boy, it wasn't easy! The ladies are more adept at throwing surprises (the pleasant ones) I reckon, and here we were left on our own to plan something special for the only lady at our place. <br/><br/>We had no choice though. We started our pursuit with a Mediterranean dinner in mind. I spent one full day rummaging through various food portals over the Internet, but nothing worked out - an outlet was either totally booked, or it didn't match our needs. Since the booking was for a Friday evening, things got even tougher. Also we were looking for a reservation very close to the D-Day, which further made it difficult. Finally, after a lot of pain and disappointment, I bumped into Salona on Zomato. The rating, the menu, the pricing, the cuisine, everything looked perfect. Hence, I made an enquiry right away and was greeted very warmly on the call. Quite apprehensively, I checked whether a booking for 4 was available; to my greatest surprise, it was! We were finally making a reservation. Furthermore, the receptionist, after consultation with the chef, agreed to prepare a cake for the occasion - going out of their way - they normally would only offer ready-made muffins or cup cakes. Getting a booking for Friday evening, within 24 hours from the schedule, was absolute serendipity; the cake order, perhaps, was an icing on the cake.:-) At last, everything was all set. The men had accomplished the mission. Although it was only the reservation done, yet a lot of nerves were settled in the process.<br/><br/>On the D-Day:<br/>We travelled from Craigieburn to Richmond and arrived at the venue around 7.30PM, as per our booking. The place was partially filled then. Suddenly, we had a fresh problem; I had forgotten to mention that we would have an 11-month-old baby (my nephew), giving us company. A baby-chair would have blocked the pathway. We even checked on the upper deck, which primarily housed the bar, but didn't find a solution. Sitting outside was not an option for us either. We were getting a bit restless by then, and I a bit embarrassed too. <br/><br/>Then came the first 'WOW' moment of the evening; within minutes, the cordial staff rearranged the furniture to make arrangements for all of us to be seated comfortably. My nephew was all smiles, so were we. I must add, not even once did any staff mention that had I mentioned about the baby during the booking, the matter could have been averted altogether. The amiable staff didn't let things linger for long and got us focused on the order immediately - the food! <br/><br/>Since I had already done a lot of research about the place - the ambience, the food and their specialties, we wanted to try everything that we had on our minds - it was my sister's birthday after all! Now I might not retain the order or the exact names of the items ordered after all these weeks, yet I am certain about one thing - almost everything was just awesome! Nevertheless, let me test my memory a bit.<br/><br/>Besides the special House Made Dips (for starters), Lamb Ribs, Salt Bush Lamb Riganato, Byzantine Calamiri, Prawn Saganaki, Zucchini Kefte were some of the dishes we had in mind, drawing from all the starred reviews we had read on Zomato and Salona's website. Nonetheless, we were advised to go for Degustation: Leave-it-to-the-Chef courses; assortments, we were told, which would cover everything that we had planned for and much more. There was no reason to say 'no'. For the next 2-2.5 hours, we just ate and regaled. On an average each dished took about 15-20 mins for preparation, but by the time it arrived on the table, one would know why. The aroma, the garnishing, the presentation, the colours, the freshness, almost everything was so very enticing. The wait never really hurt! One delicacy bettered the other. MELI-CIOUS, the vodka with Lemon Zest, Orange and Honey worked its magic even on a teetotaller like me.:-) The other folks liked their white wines too.<br/><br/>During the entire evening, the ultra-cordial staff kept on checking regularly with us - seeking our feedback and enquiring if we needed anything. It certainly was one of the best dining experiences I've had so far in Melbourne - absolutely top class service. The food wasn't falling behind either. The ambience was nice too; even after the place was almost full, it never really felt stuffy. It just underlines what people with a lot of passion, and with large hearts can do within a supposedly small space. Salona felt special!<br/><br/>Now after we were done with the expansive dinner and the drinks. It was time for the big moment - the specially ordered cake! One of the waitresses brought it, with sparklers adorning the splendid handmade cake. My sister was totally bowled over and was blushing by then. Her reaction was enough for us. We didn't have enough words to thank the amazing people serving us that evening. The cake was indeed special - a big soft one; not too creamy or 'flashy', a special pumpkin-orange cake. One had to taste it to know how yummilicious it was! It would melt in your mouth within seconds. I'm not much of a desserts-person, yet I couldn't resist the temptation. We had it till we all were satiated. We wanted the rest of the cake to be shared by the staff since it was quite a big one, but they cordially packed it for takeaway. I thanked the chef, Yanni, who had by then made a couple of trips to our table, squeezing few moments out of his pressing schedule to seek our feedback. <br/><br/>Salona literally owns you the moment you step inside. The only thing I could wish for, in hindsight, is the lighting. It was perfect for dining in, but it was a tad challenging - even with an iPhone - to get quality shots of the amazing food being served. But then, we always wanted it to be a dinner and not lunch, so the lighting was secondary. I'm glad we had made the right choice eventually. Hope some of the frames accompanying this writeup do justice to the unforgettable experience we had on the day. In fact, due to Zomato's restriction of 10 shots per review, I was forced to make a selection out of the entire bunch.<br/><br/>The Ratings:<br/>I have nothing more to add, although I would cherish the experience forever, given the importance of occasion. I'm certainly gonna visit this place a few more times. It's time for the ratings, which is more of a formality now. Here we go:<br/><br/>AMBIENCE: 4<br/>FOOD: 4.75<br/>SERVICE: 5/5 (Exceeded our expectations by a mile)<br/><br/>OVERALL: 4.5+ <br/><br/>Thank You Note:<br/>Emma, Yanni, Stavros and others, you guys are rockstars - doing your best, so I hope you keep it up. See you again soon! It was a pleasure dining at Salona and meeting you all. Hearty thanks for a sumptuous dinner and the scrumptious cake, and for making it a memorable birthday for my sister. You all truly vindicated my decision. Sincere apologies for the delay in posting this review; hope I could make some amends with the narration.<br/><br/>Stay Awesome!<br/><br/>Cheers<br/>Partha

Good quality Greek food and wine. However, very disappointed in the service and the price for small meals. We went on one of the busiest nights of the year (valentines day with a group of 4) and it was obvious that only one waiter was trained. If we asked one of the other waitresses for anything (e.g. what the specials were or for the bill) they couldn't provide an answer and had to ask the leader for help. Took 2.5hrs for the meal. They also have a surcharge on all credit cards.

Great place.<br/>Tasty traditional recipes with a twist.<br/>Dont miss the lemony cod dish and the baclava.<br/><br/>For sure in the top 3 Greek restaurants in Melbourne.<br/><br/><br/>Yeia mas<br/><br/>

Everything was perfect. Great food, attentive service, $8 Aperol spritz, and cute little venue. We met the owner who was lovely and they gave us a little shot to taste at the end of our meals 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

We had dinner here last night for a birthday. Service was friendly and we were explained everything on the menu. We ordered the Tarama dip with bread, ouzo and honey lamb ribs, prawns saganaki and the beef main with risoni which was the special. Everything we ordered tasted delicious, especially the dip with warm pita bread. Unfortunately we were too full for dessert!

UPDATED: I came here again the other night & wow, i received the same amazing service & the food was incredible!!!!<br/><br/><br/>For someone who isn't overly a fan of the greek cuisine, I was quickly persuaded to change my mind once I had eaten at Salona. This intimate, little greek restaurant in the heart of Swan Street is definitely the way to go if you're wanting a good quality meal in a peaceful yet elegant setting. <br/><br/>Firstly, the food here was absolutely breathtaking. We began with the house-made dip, Batzari and pita ensemble. This was a very generous serving and actually filled us up prior to getting our main meal. The waiter also surprised us with a tasting of their 'Tamara' dip.. WOW. Both dips were so tasty however, this dip was so flavourful and nothing like I've had before (Definitely a must try). <br/><br/>We also ordered two souvlaki's - the chicken and the lamb. Again, WOW. The meat was cooked to perfection. It was juicy, tender and bursting with flavour. The combination of the salads and the sauces all complimented together so perfectly. It was too delicious to leave given how full I was. <br/><br/>Lastly, a massive thank-you to the waiter on the night. I have never received such fantastic service at a restaurant. The gentlemen was so polite and friendly. It was so nice to see someone who was so passionate about the quality and the taste of the food. He definitely knew the elements of being a great waiter. We will definitely be back!!

Great menu with lots of variety. Highlights were the saganaki and the honey ouzo ribs. Loukoumades were incredible. We also got spoilt with a dessert and dessert wine on the house for our anniversary. The owner (Alex) made us feel very welcome as we waited for a table. Wonderful restaurant which has been in the family for three generations. Highly recommend.

The winning formula for a 5 hour Greek gastronomy marathon.....only midnight closing time beat us.<br/><br/>The winning formula is dining with a superb Greek companion and his wife in a quaint well set-up establishment, lots of tantalising Greek wine (that you won't find at B&W or even Dan's Murphy), hospitality plus and an endless parade of good modernised Greek food prepared by Chef Jani. If I may suggest, it was tender (just needs more seasoning on those Lamb shoulders next time Chef), too plain for my Indonesian palate :-) blame it on my mother who thought me how to eat.<br/><br/>Stavros is an awesome owner operator host & chef who took over this place and converting it into a more modernised Greek fares, which still have its authenticity. He told me his grandfather used to serves grilled lamb heads for the many TAB patron across the road. Can't wait to try those Lamb brains next time.<br/><br/>Efcharistó my bro GK for taking us to this establishment that you've been patronising for more than 25 years.

Went there the second time for a group event (10+ pp). Went for the degustation and size of dishes was decent. We went for course of 4 and that was enough of food and good variation of it. The dips starter was one of the must try; I liked the zucchini kefte and the calamari in the shared dishes and the beef rib stifado in the main. The serving was slow between dishes though. Service was good.

By far The best Greek restaurant in Melbourne! Food is superb! Servings generous and elegant. Do yourself a favor and delight yourself with a degustation!

I absolutely love the food and service at this place. It is our local favourite- great vibe and super cool and friendly staff. This is why we keep coming back! Highly recommend :)

Absolutely love the vibe at Salona, the food is truly delicious and the staff are really friendly and knowledgeable! one of my favourite places to eat.

I've been a few times now and the food has been consistent! It's like you're really eating a traditional home made meal. Although the place is small, I like the cozy feel of it and how on a sunny day sitting outside I feel like I'm overseas! All it needs is some Bouzouki music in the background 😜 Bravo!

I booked a table at Salona for an anniversary and told them that we are going there for anniversary dinner . Arrived there on time and noticed the restaurant was full! So after sevral minutes of waiting, they removed the dish washer trays from a table right on the kitchen entrance and without even bothering to wipe off the table ou putting cutleries on it asked us to sit!! The table was so bad that we didn't bother and left the restaurant. That's how some unprofessional people ruins an anniversary dinner!<br/><br/>

Salona is a Greek restaurant in Swan st right around the corner from Richmond station. Here they had a $16 Groupon for one with a souvlaki (of your choice), chips and beer. The beer is an original Greek lager beer. At lunchtimes they are quiet but during the dinner time they are busy. Hence that is why the Groupon is only valid for lunch and not dinner. I made a booking a few weeks ago and somewhat had to cancel but they didn't mind me walking in on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

The guys running this shop know what they're doing with food.<br/>When I went, they brought out octopus 3 ways which was absolutely mouth watering, perfectly cooked.<br/>They looked after us.<br/>For lunch we tried their new creation, the "Greek Big Mac" do yourself a favour and ask these guys to bring you one. <br/>Honestly loved this restaurant and the vibe and service.

Best, crispiest chips & the souvlaki is the yummiest in town. 100 times better then what you'd get from Jimmy Grants! Service is good as they go out of their way to help satisfy you.

Great location, very friendly staff, happy to recommend some dishes if required, price is good and the food is very nice. Ending up having dips, Grilled saganaki, chips, lamb and beef dishes for main.

Atmosphere 1 - lovely decoration (European feel)<br/>Food 1.5 nothing amazing ... We won't be back again due to poor service ... The signature lamb dish was bland (so, that's the signature dish!??) 🙁 .. Dips and bread were tasty but I'm sure there are other better Greek place<br/>Service 👎🏻 - rude service .. We ordered foods as we eat and the waiter said to us "if you keep ordering like this, the foods won't be out after 2am".. Even my friends in hospitality never say that to customers! 😠 .. Because it's an event, I just didn't want to make a scene ... <br/>Price 👎🏻 - overpriced considering the taste and size of foods<br/><br/>

The DIY souvlaki boxes are amazing! We ordered 4 for a birthday party and they were perfect. Great concept which everybody loved and the food was absolutely delicious! Also very helpful! Would highly recommend!

Fantastic/Friendly Service! 5/5<br/>Food is delicious and generous servings! We ordered the cod roe dip with pita bread and when it came out, my eyes popped out of its sockets because I was so shocked at how many slices of pita bread we got. Enough to feed 4 ppl (even though there was only 2 of us). We also ordered a couple of other dishes to share but the standout were the lamb ribs. Yumm i can eat a bucket of those ribs. Will defs come back!

HALLE-FRACKING-LUJAH THERE IS A PLACE IN THIS FORSAKEN CITY THAT IS HOME TO THE BIGGEST GREEK POPULATION OUTSIDE GREECE THAT SERVES A VEGAN "SOUVLAKI". <br/><br/>I use the term "souvlaki" lightly because in my less than humble Hellenic opinion if it isn't meat cooked on individual skewers over charcoal in fresh pita warmed on the same charcoal (I know I've said it before, but seriously, charcoal or GTFO) accompanied by nothing besides tomato, onion and yoghurt (the addition of chips/fried potatoes is an Athenian thing, where I'm from you don't see it in any souvlatzithiko) then it isn't legit, but I am breaking with tradition here. Soft pita, assorted grilled vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower, pumpkin, mushrooms, tomatoes... and minus capsicum, the ubiquitous "what cheap and overpoweringly flavoured substitute can we use in a vegetarian kebab-type thing?" which is FANTASTIC, because it's the only vegetable I'm not a fan of) along with super fresh baby spinach, and - wait for it - FAVA! Which is, incidentally, native to my home region. Fava is not, as the name would suggest, a heap of fava beans, but a dip made of mashed split peas with red onion, capers, lemon and olive oil. No "hommus as an alternative for the dairy shunners" gets a thumbs from this patriotissa, because hommus isn't Greek (nor is falafel; yes, I'm looking at you, The Real Greek. "Real Greek" like hell. False advertising if ever there was any.) If only Triakosia (the purveyors of Greek charcoaled excellence up the street from my place who also make what are irrefutably the best fried potatoes in the history of fried potatoes) would add something like this to their menu rather than taint all the plant based grill options with that salty fried milk rubber otherwise known as haloumi. <br/><br/>The slaw (yes, it involves quinoa, but I'll ignore the fact that I'm pretty sure quinoa doesn't even exist in Greece) is a marvellous jumble of lemony, grainy, shredded vegetable goodness. Sometimes the supreme joy I get from a good bowl of salad makes me question the state of my mental health/social life. <br/><br/>The chips (as opposed to fried potatoes; there's a distinction, and if you need further proof of said distinction you need to pay a visit to Triakosia and/or Philhellene STAT) are just chips, nothing spectacular. <br/><br/>So, Salona. You're alright. I feel like I might appreciate you more if I were of the omnivorous persuasion, but you're alright.

This place has amazing Greek food - being part Greek it's like do I bother going out to buy it when I can make it at home? But yeah this place has terrific food tonight. <br/><br/>Chicken gyros plate was a heap of chicken off the spit, lemon and herbs with a Greek salad - I didn't have pita to make it a gf option but partner had the chicken gyros and salad in the wrap and it looked terrific. <br/><br/>You can dine in - it's not super cheap but priced well for Greek food but I've had them delivered through ubereats too - still the same quality. <br/><br/>Feeling.... Very full!!!

Salona pleases with flavour-laden, rustic offerings that are inspired by regional specialities from across the Hellenic Republic. An evolution of simple, fresh and flavoursome ingredients, the new winter menu is wonderfully heart-warming - a nod to the venue’s strong roots in Greece, where meals are a fun, social and a celebratory affair.

Simply amazing!! As a group, we ordered a variety of salads/sides and mains to share. Every single dish was delicious, couldn't fault anything. The staff were all lovely and very attentive. Can't wait to go back!

Vegan souv to die for. Absolutely amazing would eat it breakfast lunch and dinner. Reasonably priced and great quality food. Loved it amd would return any day of the week

Probably the best Greek in the area (other than Demetris feast, obviously) - great value and delicious. Would pick this over Jimmy Grants anytime

Great genuine service, exceptional food!<br/>So hard to choose a favourite dish, if I had to single one out the turkey meatballs made with almond meal are top notch!<br/>The bar setting upstairs makes for a great date night option!

The bread and dips were a good start but unfortunately the pork belly and lamb didn't maintain the same standard. <br/>Service was great and a nice feel to the place.

This is one of the best Greek restaurants that I have eaten at.. I had tasted flavors that I had never been exposed to at any other Greek restaurant such as apricot infused saginaki haloumi.the staff are extremely friendly and passionate about the food they are serving not to mention that everything is made on site and the majority of their produce is organic.. Do yourself a favor and try this place out now!!! <br/><br/>

Salina s a really nice Greek place in swan street, we were just a two so were able to sit at the bar upstairs which is really nice. I particularly like the sagnaki, and the calamari. Nice place for a date.

Great restaurant at the quiet end of swan. My partner and i have been here a couple of times and came back because of the fantastic food and friendly staff.<br/><br/>The special Greek orange cake dessert is unbelievable and pretty much everything else on the menu is fantastic flavoursome Greek food.<br/><br/>Highly recommended to anyone especially on a night when you can try some cocktails or the authentic Greek wine!

We visited Salona for the first time today and had a lovely long lunch. There were three of us, all with different food allergies and intolerances, and we were excited to be able to order a number of share dishes between us because of the extensive menu choices. We sat outside so I cannot comment on the ambience in the restaurant itself but the service was great. We'll definitely return for dinner one night soon.

Salona restaurant Richmond, is a great family restaurant with quick service and passionate patriotic staff who cook authentic Greek cuisine.<br/>As a family of three we couldn't fault it and I bet not even Gordon Ramsay could either.<br/>I'll be going again with my mates.<br/>Good healthy meals that cater for vegans and gluten sensitive types of people.<br/>We're neither but it's good to see how passionate they are about the customer groups.<br/>

We had a fantastic night with excellent service, delicious food and a lovely atmosphere. There were seven of us so we shared everything, dips with a generous amount of warm pitta, salona slaw, thick cut chips, smoked grills and the most delicious moussaka.  Desserts were just as good, especially the special orange cake. Can't go wrong here, especially in a group which gives you the opportunity to sample all the delicious food.

A cute little family run restaurant. The food was made and presented with live and care - that you could tell. <br/>The FOH were very knowledgeable about the menu and the food and this came through which is always nice.<br/>I got the lamb Souva and it was a nice big fat serving... not like the other place around the corner!<br/>Great authentic simple family dining. 👍🏼

My girlfriend and I had an fantastic dinner at Salona tonight, from when we arrived we were greeted by extremely friendly staff, and served promptly.<br/>The food was delicious - we had the lamb, chicken and the salad special, which all tasted amazing. The dessert we had could be one of the best I have ever had, seriously yum!<br/>Will be back very soon!

Fantastic place had the degustation for Valentine's Day and the food was amazing. Halva mouse for dessert was to die for! All the dishes were meticulously presented and the sweet potato mousaka was great!

Great meal and really friendly service. We enjoyed lots of entrees and then followed up with the smoked meats selection and a salad and chips. We particularly loved the saganaki with apricot. Worth a trip to itself!

Tasty calamari and saganaki. Saganaki a bit pricey for portion size. Lots of Meat in the sizzler- ideal for 3 - 4 people with sides. Nice Greek wine and unique dessert. Overall delicious.

One of the best foodie finds ever. We always hit this place up for lunch time souvlonas.<br/>The wrap is lighter than your usual souvlaki pita bread & not as heavy as a bun. The patties are infused with so much more flavour than the stock standard meat on a spit. The salad choice & sauce for each meat type compliments it perfectly.<br/>Have yet to be disappointed. Keep it up Salona.

The show stopper from our visit was “The Smoked Grill”, comprising local grilled meats somked in front of you with aromatic thyme and sage. Not to be missed. Our evening concluded on a sweet end with beautifully made Greek biscuits and sweet treats. We loved the traditional execution of these.

Excellent atmosphere up stairs, more crowded looking downstairs. Small menu which is great, was expecting more flavours from the lamb shoulder. <br/>Staff where great, drinks and food had a fast turnaround. <br/>Nothing really jumped out at me, but willing to have another crack sometime.

Everything was fine, heading toward a 3.0 until they took an hour to serve our dessert and when we enquired the girl waitress rudely said 'I've already asked for them to bring it out already'. The other staff were excellent

We had the 7-course degustation, and every dish was original, inspired and excellently prepared. For instance, the beetroot dip was house-made, and included walnuts and feta; the calamari rings were plump and served with an interesting roe dip; etc. On the down side, the serves are quite small, so our $65 per head price filled our appetites, but hit us far too hard in the wallets considering the small, cramped and noisy venue. Service was excellent with all three servers looking after us and keeping our waters filled, and the pacing of the courses was spot on.

I should have researched before purchasing the living social voucher because our experience was similar to many others. They failed to deliver what was advertised. False and misleading. How can they get away with this?. After being served dips, bread, four small saganaki balls and four 3cm calamari strips, one 2x3cm pork belly and four 3cm lamb ribs they asked us if we would like coffee with our desert which was two 2x1cm ice cream sandwiches. I Could not believe that was it. We did not receive olives, salad, prawns, scallops or chips as was advertised. But after tasting the previous dishes it was probably a good thing. I will not be returning to Solona.

Very disappointing experience. Over priced food which we would hardly categorize as "Greek" and the smallest servings we have ever seen. Fatty lamb, over cooked pork belly, tasteless dips and all over priced. If you're in the area there are a number of authentic Greek restaurants that are more reasonably priced and offer much tastier food. We recommend avoiding Salona.

A mix between a burger and souvlaki, souvlonas are a Salona creation. The thin beef patty was accented with saganaki, capers, mustard tzatziki and cos lettuce, all wrapped up in satisfyingly toasty and fluffy pita bread. To go with it were some super crunchy spiced chips. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the souvlona. Althought I would have liked the patty to be a little more moist, the flavour combination was tasty.

Great ambience....great food....great service. Just arrived home from a great dining experience at this lovely restaurant where you can indulge in many Greek specialities like crispy whitebait, calamari , saganaki and zucchini croquettes, lamb ribs with a creamy galic potato mash,and sticky pork belly and slaw on a decadent sweet gooey caramelised reduced sauce ... Yum's the word.<br/>Finish off with the the long cigar shaped baklava and ice cream ...heaven!!<br/>The waiters are relaxed and friendly and professional... Just a great experience and will return many times in the future.<br/>Frederic

Upset. Mothers day lunch terrible food..supermarket type dips..lamb burnt tough grissly thrown on two platters..slaw watery no taste..smart ass waiters..hopeless

Delicious greek cuisine. Friendly staff, great food at reasonable prices. A modern take on greek food. For a busy Friday night we were well looked after and got the banquet. For 2 of us we had to roll out of there thats how full we were! Highly recommend and will def be going back!

Waste of time and effort, incorrect advertising. We drove all the way here to use a Groupon voucher which is advertised as being valid between "Tues - Sun 12pm - 6pm". The door to the restaurant was open and we were turned away on a Thursday as they claimed they didn't open until 4pm.<br/><br/>We had already paid for parking and to be turned away was disappointing - especially as there was someone in the restaurant.

Next to nothing for $55. Myself and a large group booked the room upstairs for a birthday function. Getting a drink on the bar took forever and the amount of food we got for $55 each was appalling. I was still starving and I know the rest of my friends were also. We were suprised when we were told there was nothing else coming out. The bar staff were also very snipey and seemed to have a smart ass response for everything.

Very smart food. I'm a voucher junkie. I search for what I consider good voucher deals and give places a go. Often times I'm not that impressed but today was Salona to try their "Souvlona" their form of a Souvlaki served with thick cut chips.<br/><br/>Man. This was good. Real good. There are options of beef, turkey or lamb as the main protein. <br/>I had the beef with saganaki, capers, mustard tzatziki and cos lettuce. This was incredibly delicious. The wholemeal pita that encased it seemed to almost have a lightly pan fried edge around it that gave it some texture beyond the normally chewy pita's you would get. The capers and saganaki didn't really have too much of a role to play, but the beef was delicious almost like a very well seasoned hamburger patty, but just perfectly matched with the mustard tzatzki. There was a garlicky sauce on the side that was meant to accompany the chips (i'll get to those delights in a minute) but I found it also went perfectly with the Souvlona.<br/><br/>Now the chips. Incredibly thick cut. More so then steak fries, almost the kind of volume as wedges but in standard chip form. TBH not my favourite form of chip in terms of being too thick that you don't often get the right amount of crisp.<br/>BUT...THESE...WERE...AWESOME. They tasted like chips which had been oven roasted to bring the starch to the surface, and then fried at the end just for added crisp. I asked the chap who served me and my suspicions were correct (largely) he said that they were put in the steam oven and then flash fried at the end. Needless to say (sometimes) size doesn't matter...when it comes to your chips.<br/><br/>Very smart and delicious food Salona. I'll be back.

From North. There is no Greek flavours at all. <br/>Totally unsatisfactory. Don't waste your money $55 ahead.

Great Greek Food. We used a Travel-zoo voucher and had an 8 course degustation menu - all of the food was amazing and very flavoursome, the staff were all really friendly and accommodating. We also tried an espresso martini which was incredible! I would definitely return :)

Angus Beef Souvlona – Medium Cooked Beef Patty, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Caramelised Onion, Bacon Jam, Pickles and Dijonnaise: $13.00 Burger Rating: 8.5/10 <br/><br/>There are 3 Souvlona’s on the menu and I tried all 3 of them. The Angus Beef was a huge stand out of the 3 that were tried and is something I will be going back for very soon. If you love a souvlaki, you are going to love this, a melt in your mouth beef mince with a generous serve of mustard tzatziki and shaved saganaki topping off with fresh lemon throughout. <br/><br/>I am a big fan of Greek food and finding this hidden gem of a burger inside a souvlaki was something I would never have thought of and glad I did. At $15 with chips, you cannot go wrong. <br/><br/>Available all day until 6pm and then again after 10pm until close, they have a cocktail bar upstairs which stays open until people decide to leave and the kitchen stays open the whole time which is awesome.<br/><br/>First appeared Burgers of Melbourne .

Located in Richmond, this restaurant posted an offer on Groupon for customers to try their special Souvlona (souvlaki-style burger wrapped in wholemeal pita) with Chips and a Soft Drink.

Enjoyed every aspect of the afternoon high tea with yummy Greek pastries and sweets that my hubby and I absolutely loved, and the service was impeccable with our sparkling wine constantly being topped up and being asked how everything was. Keep up the good stuff!!

Delicious high tea. We came here on a Sunday afternoon for an Athenian high tea with a voucher. The food and service were great! Definitely recommend it!

Dry and tasteless food, real shame as the service was really good.

Highly Recommended!. Four of us went for late dinner at Sunday evening and everything was fantastic.<br/>The owner was very friendly and helpful, we order some dishes to share and they all were beautiful!<br/>Desserts are a must try as well. Go and enjoy!

Great lunch for the girls. My girlfriend And I had lunch today at salona, we had a very special bottle of wine, I had bought home from the napa valley , even they are not generally byo under the circumstances the owner let us bring it in. We were so happy. The food was really good.<br/>We had the zucchini fritter and goats cheese fritter what a start , we then had the calamari , then followed with a special mousaka . All was lovely . Their service was excellent . I would highly recommend this restaurant,!<br/>By the way I'm sure I spotted one of the Greek twins from my kitchen rules in the kitchen . If she has a hand in the food then congratulations !!

Amazing food. Saganaki is the best in melbourne. Brilliant food. Wonderful, easy going, relaxed service. Everything you want from Greek food and more. Best in Melbourne!

Great 25 years ago and still tops. I started going to Salona in the mid 80's and in those days Tony (the owner) had no menus so generally ordered for you. It was a fantastic experience and I must say it is still the very same with Tony's grandson running the business. The food is very great and if you make the effort to engage with the staff and owners then the experience gets even better. <br/><br/>I noticed several poor reviews based around coupons. Sorry the guys at Salona would have tried their best but given you are expecting something on the cheap then the portions maybe smaller. You get what you pay for.

Great food - great service!. We came in for the 9 course degustation meal and were blown away by the awesomeness! The entree Greek cheeses croquettes were to die for and the dips divine. Everything that came out after that just got better and better. The ice cream sandwiches as the finisher capped off a great meal. The service was also fantastic - we'll be back!

Great food, friendly service!. We went last night using a voucher for the degustation menu, slightly hesitant after reading some of the reviews of late. We arrived early for a few drinks upstairs and were thoroughly impressed! A laid-back vibe, friendly staff & delicious cocktails! We moved downstairs once our friends arrived and had a fantastic meal and no issues at all with service. Dessert was especially impressive. The only disappointment was that we couldn't finish everything off as we were so full! Not sure what all of the negative reviews were about... we loved it, and will be back!