We chat to Zeus Street Greek co-founder Costa Anastasiadis
Why join forces and open Zeus Street Greek?
The inspiration for Zeus came from a desire to offer Australian’s an innovative food experience that incorporated our passion for Hellenic food, culture and tradition. Over the past 18 we’ve brought a fast, fresh Mediterranean offering to the streets of Sydney. And now Newcastle and South Bank, Brisbane, too. It’s been a big and exciting time for us and its clear there’s an appetite for more, the response we’ve had to date has been extremely pleasing.
What makes Zeus Street Greek so different to other Greek restaurants?
Zeus is redefining Hellenic street food by challenging the notion of ‘Souvlaki’ – recreating it and highlighting that it can be a fast, fresh and quality meal enjoyed again and again. Our vision is to lead and innovate fresh, casual Greek food within Australia.
What drew you to first open in Drummoyne and now in Dulwich Hill?
We saw an opening for great quality, affordable Greek food and an opportunity to become more than neighbours in those suburbs. At the heart of Zeus is a sense of sharing and a generosity of spirit, not too dissimilar from that found in the local communities. We wanted to create a space where people from all walks of life could come and experience the Zeus philosophy and feel at home. We also wanted Zeus to become a feature of the community and we saw Drummoyne and Dulwich Hill as great fits.
With so many taste sensations on the menu what is the favourite dish among dinners?
The Uncle Tzimmy Lamb pita, Green Bean salad, Spicy Feta drip and Chocolate Loukoumades are the go-to dishes for customers and I’d have to agree.
What is Zeus Street Greek philosophy?
Zeus pays homage to the ‘God of hospitality’ and the Greek custom of ‘filoxenia’ or ‘showing hospitality to all’. This underpins everything we do at Zeus.
Saganaki Salad
Ingredients
Salad
240 g washed Cos
lettuce
100 g drained chickpeas
40 g thin sliced radish
25 g lemon olive oil
dressing
Tahini dressing
15g tahini paste
1.5g crush garlic
30g water
Wafers
1 cup fine grated Kefalograviera
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, evenly place kefalograviera on a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper, and bake for 10 minutes or until light brown and crispy. Set aside to cool.
2. Whisk tahini dressing ingredients in bowl
3. In a large bowl, toss lettuce with lemon dressing to cover. Transfer on to serving bowl adding radish and chickpeas
4. Drizzle tahini dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter wafers over the lettuce.
