Niko's Kitchen, Dulwich Hill

Say yiasou to the cheeseburger gyro. What’s in a cheeseburger gyro? Take one beef patty and wrap it up in soft pita bread with American cheese and bacon. And because it’s Greek, add a load of crumbled feta. You’ll find it at Niko’s Kitchen in Dulwich Hill. Its reopening was rejoiced by locals after the first venue closed in Kingsgrove. And if the pork belly baklava sounds familiar, that’s because Niko’s Kitchen took over Kefi Kingsgrove, initially helmed by David Tsirekas (ex-Perama and Xanthi). It's like Greek musical chairs.


Pork, chicken and lamb gyros on the spit

Kefi’s signature pork belly baklava gyro lives on, a sweet and salty combo of crackling pork belly, flaky filo pastry, apple mastic mayonnaise and date and pistachio paste. So too does the soft shell crab gyro, the deep fried crustacean paired with Greekslaw and coriander in a round of warm pita.


Pork souvla pack $15.90
200g meat with salad, chips, pita bread and tzatziki

Relax. The traditional gyro still reigns superme. And better yet, there’s a choice of four proteins, each spinning slowly on a vertical spit. Take your pick from beef, pork, chicken or lamb, either piled into fluffy pita bread with salad, tzatziki and chips or served deconstructed as a souvla pack.

A thorough burger menu runs from a double beef burger through to pulled pork, crispy chicken, and barbecue lamb. Vegetarians don’t miss out either. The Dully Burger comes with a veggie patty, baby spinach, fried tofu, fried mushrooms and tomato relish. Gluten-free buns are available too.


Haloumi chips $7

Let’s not forget the all important side of chips. Get them plain or drenched in gravy, crumbled feta or molten cheese with bacon. Also on offer: sweet potato fries and strips of haloumi deep fried into chips.


Cheesy chips with bacon $6

Desserts include vanilla bougatsa – semolina custard in filo pastry – and loukoumades donuts. For maximum fun, get them with a syringe injector of white chocolate, chocolate, salted caramel or peanut butter.



You’ll find a happy hubbub of families and hungry blokes traipsing through this casual eatery all day. Much of the interior has been retained from former resident, Psari fish shop, including a very cool feature wall of original newspaper pages from the 1970s, but behind the grill it's all Greek now.


Greek salad in the pork souvla pack






Niko's Kitchen
237 Wardell Road, Dulwich Hill, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9558 9074

Opening hours
Sunday to Thursday 11am-9pm
Friday to Saturday 11am-10pm


This article first appeared in Time Out Sydney. Read this article online or read more of my Time Out Sydney reviews.

Yiro Yiro, Belmore

If cheese is your kryptonite, wait until you discover haloumi fries. Say what? You heard us. We’re talking thick cut batons of haloumi cheese deep-fried until golden brown. Where can you get it? Head to Yiro Yiro, yeeros shop and cheese lover’s dream house.


Haloumi fries $9

You can also get the haloumi plate and savour a squeak-fest of pan-fried cheese. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon for maximum zing. Need more cheese? Get the hot chips with feta. That’s a pile of chips with a blizzard of crumbled feta for that extra salty hit. Even the hot food cabinet is likely to hold a cheese pie or two.


Pork belly yiro, lamb yiro plate and haloumi fries 


Pork belly yiro $12

Meat-lovers don’t need to worry. Take your pick from pork belly, chicken or lamb carved straight off the spit. The pork belly is our favourite but the chicken and lamb are no runners up. Go for the portable option, wrapped up in rounds of soft pita bread with salad and a fistful of chips, or make it a meal by ordering the plate. Basically it’s a deconstructed yiro, letting you eat your meat, chips, pita, tzatziki and Greek salad in whatever order, and combination, you like.


Mixed yiro plate, haloumi fries, pork belly yiro and pita bread


Mixed yiro plate $35
Pork belly, chicken, lamb, tzatziki, Greek salad, chips and two pita breads

Can’t decide on which protein? The mixed yiro plate lets you try all three. It’s recommended to share between two people but they must mean two rugby league players. It’s huuuge. If you prefer your meat on a stick, get the souvlaki lamb, chicken or pork. And of course they do a snack pack, the classic meat and chips combo with your choice of sauce.

This yeeros shop is slicker than most, with an impressive street art mural taking up an entire wall. Fan memorabilia everywhere else will leave no doubt you’re in Canterbury Bulldogs territory either.

Rock up on the weekend for the perfect hangover breakfast, and if you’re hankering for something sweet, try the yiro bites, covered in squiggles of Nutella and fresh strawberry or banana. Do you think they’ll add cheese to that? We reckon they just might.

Yiro Yiro
374 Burwood Road, Belmore, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8084 1874

Opening hours
Sunday to Thursday 11am-10pm
Friday and Saturday 11am-11pm


This article first appeared in Time Out Sydney. Read this article online or read more of my Time Out Sydney reviews.

1821 Greek Restaurant, Sydney

1821? It marks the start of the Greek War of Independence. It's also one of Sydney's grandest Greek restaurants to date, with over $3 million poured into the three-storey extravaganza on the former site of the Vault Hotel and Nightclub. 1821 is the third Sydney venture for Chef David Tsirekas, following on from his 17-year stint at Petersham with Perama, and the spectacularly short-lived Xanthi at Westfield Sydney, closing after just three years.

Tsirekas will be banking on third time's a charm. And his fans will be glad to see the return of Tsirekas favourites pork belly baklava for mains and caramel baklava ice cream for dessert.


Tarama swordfish roe dip $14

We pay a visit for Chocolatesuze's birthday, skipping the group banquets for a DIY mix from the a la carte menu. Our party of six starts with the tarama swordfish roe dip, a luscious and rich spread that we slather on toast. It's so good that we order more bread and scrape out every last morsel.


Ouzo cured salmon $27

The ouzo cured salmon offers a glimpse of summer, the curls of buttery salmon dotted with mulberries, flaked almonds and dabs of skordalia potato and garlic dip. Rough croutons are cleverly fashioned from paximadia, a traditioanl dark barley biscuit.


Sesame crusted haloumi $24

Tableside theatre accompanies the sesame crusted haloumi, with a hot quince syrup poured dramatically at the table. The sweet and tart syrup works a treat against the saltiness of the squeaky haloumi, the confit cherry tomatoes and the smattering of dried kalamata olives.

The haloumi itself is a highlight in itself, far from the usual rubberiness, instead exhibiting a gentler, softer and more springy texture.


BBQ octopus $27

We can smell the smokiness of the barbecue octopus as soon as it lands on the table, with a noticeable blackened char along the surface of each tentacle. The octopus is noticeably tender, served with pickled cucumber and cauliflower and a slick of swordfish tarama.


Pork belly baklava $28 for four pieces

Tsirekas' signature dish, his pork belly baklava, is as good as we remembered, layers of golden and flaky filo pastry atop a sweet and savoury base of pork belly, date and pistachio. A little tile of crackling is the cherry on top.

Don't even think about sharing individual pieces. While a standard serve includes four squares, the kitchen will happily expand the serving size as required.


Seafood saganaki $38

Seafood saganaki goes against Italian rule about mixing pasta, cheese and seafood. Here it works brilliantly. Orzo, the rice-like pasta commonly known as risoni, is cooked in a rich tomato sauce with prawns, black mussels and blue eye fillet. Melted kasseri cheese binds everything together, its sharp saltiness revealing itself in gooey elastic strings.


BBQ lamb shoulder $39

And you can't eat Greek without having lamb. The barbecue lamb shoulder is a twice-cooked hulk of protein, first slow-roasted and then grilled so the skin takes on a caramelised crisp.

The lamb is so tender it falls straight off the bone. Wilted silverbeet and leeks and a puddle of herbed yoghurt provide some relief from the carnivorous feast.


Yia yia's hand cut chips $14

Yia yia's hand cut chips are chips done good, smothered in a mountain of crumbled feta, dried oregano and a quivering fried egg. Dip the chips in that gooey egg yolk and savour the salty feta tang.


Roast duck gyros

A surprise serve of complimentary roast duck gyros arrives from the kitchen, apparently acting on instruction from Chef Tsirekas after noticing Suze's pics on Instagram (busted!).


Duck gyros with chips

The roast duck gyros isn't on the menu but it should be, a delicious mess of juicy roast duck and refreshing slaw on a fluffy mini pita round. Add a couple of chips for extra crunch and it's even better!


Caramel baklava ice cream with baklava

And before we even have a chance to look at the dessert menu, the kitchen sends out a complimentary serve of caramel baklava ice cream with baklava. This is another Tsirekas classic, combining baklava, caramel sauce and ice cream in one frozen mouthful. (Note: We do leave a larger tip that covers the cost of both complimentary dishes)

A comprehensive wine list offers plenty of celebratory drinks for the afternoon. The boys drink their way around Greece with five local beers on offer.

There's plenty to like about 1821 from the cosy banquette seating for small groups to the dramatic high ceilings and ornate features throughout. An accessible menu includes traditional Greek dishes and modern adaptations as well as that irresistible pork belly baklava.






1821 - Made in Greece
122 Pitt Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8080 7070

Opening hours
Monday to Saturday 12pm-12am
Sunday 12pm-10pm


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