Kouzina Modern Greek & Meze Bar @ Southgate, Southbank (Melbourne)

We finally managed to book some time to have a team lunch and it was by chance that we found Kouzina (as the original plan was to go to Hako)...

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by a super enthusiastic floor manager (there were only 3 staff on the floor at the time we were there and probably 3 other tables?)...

The restaurant was fairly quiet but the chirpy manager more than made up for it... (however, since dining here 2 weeks ago, I'm not sure if this place is still up and running as they've taken it out of their website!)

Kouzina happens to be a chain of Greek restaurants and are located in various shopping centres (Westfield Doncaster, Knox Ozone, Watergardens Town Centre [Taylors Lakes] and Robina Town Center [QLD]).

Luckily for us, Kouzina caters for the busy lunchtime people around the city and thus, part of their appeal is their 12 for $12 (12 items, each for $12)

We gleefully made our selections and also Mrs. Awesome Pawsome (hehehe) ordered a few starters for us as well...

Mixed Dips 16.50
Tzatziki, Melitzanosalata, Taramosalata & Feta kopanisti, pita bread

The dips were beautiful, rich and generous in flavour and the pita bread was quite good. Although I'd much prefer Turkish bread (but when in Rome...)

Pita bread with the above dips

DO YOU SEE THE FIRE?????

Flaming Saganaki 15.50
Grilled kefalograviera cheese with green olive kebab, flambéed with ‘Metaxa’

One of the best things to eat whilst dining in a Greek restaurant is Saganaki, and this did not disappoint... The cheese was beautifully salty and a yummy cheesy texture/ There weren't enough olives to go around though...

Lamb Sovlaki
Skewers of Lamb loin, pita bread, lettuce, tomato, onion, tzatziki and chips

A few in the team ordered the Lamb Sovlaki (pictured above) and Chicken Sovlaki which looked really good and healthy (kinda)... and it made me feel a tad jealous... look at those chips!

Lemon-Pepper Calamari Salad
Lightly fried calamari strips, mixed lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, kalamata olives and ouzo aioli dressing

Spamma had the Calamari Salad which she declared a "WIN"...

Vegetarian Meze Plate
Domades, baked lima beans, grilled red peppers, gava balls, eggplant dip and pita bread

The vegetarians opted for this and boy were they glad... their food looked amazing that even a carnivore like me was spotted eyeing this dish dangerously!

Lamb Salad
Grilled lamb loin, mixed lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, capsicum, olives, feta-yoghurt dressing

This was my dish and I was a tad dissapointed, given that everyone else's' dish looked better than mine. The lamb was cooked nicely, but the losing point for me were the amount of tomatoes in this salad. It should have been named the lamb and tomato salad... unfortunately for the tomatoes, majority of them were left on the plate. There was not enough dressing as well (in my humble opinion) and it was quite dry.... (Wished I had ordered the Sovlaki instead *sigh*)

Would I return to try their other dishes? Possibly... it was much better Greek food than Saganaki (in Docklands) and much more affordable as well.

*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: Greek
Dining Style: Restaurant
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 7/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10
Service/ Attitude: 6/10 (Although he was very chirpy, the service was still a bit slower than I liked)
Value for money: 7.5/10 (for the cuisine and area, it was quite good)

Address:
3 Southgate Avenue
Southbank VIC 3006

Tel:(03) 9682 2999

Website: http://www.kouzina.com.au/

Kouzina is open 7 days a week from
11am until late


NOTE: Again I note, the Southbank restaurant has dissapeared from their website listing, so may no longer be there, but the other locations are still available. I'd advise on calling first.

How to get there:

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