Alpha Restaurant

I have been wanting to try this restaurant for sometimes as it looks nice every time I drove or walked pass, finally got the chance to have dinner here tonight with two great friends. The food and wine were wonderful, except the waiter who served our table was very unpleasant. He looked annoyed and didn’t bother the whole night, no smile, no eye contact and was quite rude. Other waiters and waitresses seem very friendly and warm except one. Would love to visit again but with a different waiter!

Probably one of the better Greek restaurants in town seeing as we had a very pleasant, enjoyable evening here recently. The quality of dishes was definitely of a higher standard, the interior was right up my alley: dimming, couches integrated with tables, high ceilings, big windows… the location is fairly convenient also, not far walk from Town Hall station.
I liked their cocktail menu range, lots of homages to Greek Mythology. I went with the Medusa and my partner, the Nymph. The Medusa was delicious, I would order that one again although the drinks arrived so late, long past the mains despite being ordered at the start and they tried to serve me another cocktail that wasn’t the Medusa before they realised they served me wrong. They did apologise for their absentmindedness though.
We went with a two entrees, two mains and shared dessert plus sides route but we shared the entire meal because it was a bit like that due to serving sizes.
Starting with pita bread and red pepper hommus, my partner actually thought the pita bread was the best part of the entire night because it was so fresh and apparently smelt good. For entrees we had the octopus twice cooked with spinach, white beans and red wine vinaigrette and swordfish with a pastourmas crust, celeriac, fennel, yoghurt dressing and pink grapefruit. The crustacean was delicious, a little over charred for my liking but still edible and it was complimented well with the beans and vinaigrette. The swordfish was a bit of a let down, it was drowned in the dressing and tasted predominantly of fennel, which completely overpowered all the other flavours of the dish. Making it taste like fennel fish soup. Disgusting, I couldn’t finish that as we all know fennel is not a forefront flavour because it’s so incredibly strong and gets used incorrectly, especially in this case. The grapefruit addition was a bit random but due to the fennel couldn’t taste it at all. I’d skip that one if I were you.
For mains, we had Greek spiced slow roasted lamb shoulder with lemon, tzatziki roast potatoes and lobster cabbage rolls with braised cuttlefish, saffron and lobster avgolemono. The lamb was definitely a non argument winner, my partner found it very delectable and very much falling off the bone. The lobster cabbage rolls concept sounded fascinating but fell short of expectations. The cabbage was under cooked and I couldn’t taste any lobster within the rolls, it clashed terribly with the bits of cuttlefish or whatever white rubber substance was hidden in the sauce. Very disappointing.
We also had the horiatiki salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, red onions, kalamata olives and fetta for sides, warning it is not side size! It’d be worth for a main meal or entrée.
We ended with their ever famous Loukoumades (Greek doughnut balls) with spiced honey syrup and candied walnut ice cream. Definitely lived up to its reputation, order it if you still have the stomach space for it.
Overall the quality and service was decent, we enjoyed our dinner here but not hurrying to return. Would recommend to others though, best Greek option in Sydney.

Had lunch here yesterday. Food and vibe was very good. Will be back. Octopus, saganaki and dips were the standout.

I have been to Alpha twice for dinner and tried both the banquet and a la Carte menu.
It is definitely great value for money — especially the banquet (yiayia as a few have highlighted already). Although there is almost too much I think… so do not be afraid to ask for a doggy bag !
The food is good yes, but Not amazing — some say I can be a bit picky but I found the lamb a bit overcooked, the haloumi a bit dry, not a big fan about the desserts either.
The warm bread with taramasalat is delicious Though.
Service was very slow the night I went and be also aware that the room can get quite noisy! we were there for a hens party (12 of us) and spent more than 3 hours in the restaurant…
If you compare to the Apollo in Potts point (same type of food/​price range), I would the Apollo is a 4 stars. But if you like Greek food, for the price and quality, Alpha remains a good pick

I went here on the weekend for a long Saturday lunch celebrating a few friends birthdays, and the Yiayia banquet was perfect for our long, long table of about 24! I had seen the warnings to go easy on eating beforehand, and I was glad of the notice.
The toasted flat bread served with the dips was absolutely delicious, as was the dips themselves: hummus, taramsalata (fish roe dip) and the garlic one. It was hard to stop helping myself! Next up were some superb pieces of haloumi, then a spinach and feta pie (although it was mainly pastry). The big deal and the main course was the slow cooked lamb: absolutely divine! It was served with chunky chips and a Greek salad, and the portion sizes were very generous. The Greek doughtnuts were a tad chewy, but the nutty ice-​cream on the side was delicious.
It was also great to see that they had an extensive wine list, with plenty of options by the glass (although I shared a bottle), which was split ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ between Greek and Australian wines. We went for one of the Greek roses, which was perfect for a warm spring day and the various courses. There was also a great selection of Greek beers.
The one down side was the noise. The restaurant was mainly empty, but we were seated next to the engraved wall, and it made it hard to hear what was being said further away than your immediate neighbours. The copious amounts of alcohol and talking also probably didn’t help!

Have been here a couple of times now and every time it has been amazinggg!
Service is exceptional and the food fantastic.
You always warn yourself not to eat too much so you can save yourself for the loukamades! But alas your eyes tend to deceive you and tell you to fill up on everything!
The sparking rose is my ultimate favorite here.
Great for family functions, celebrations and events. They always seem to be booked out in advance!
Great atmosphere and good coffee too.

One of my favorite places in Sydney, Alpha had everything you look for in a good dining experience: delicious food, great décor, great service.
Unfortunately I was not able to take photos of the food as I was there with big boss visiting us from Singapore, but what I strongly recommend is that you order the Yiayia’s menu: $ 55 and you get a lot for your money.
You get to taste the haloumi, the fantastic spinach and ricotta pie, and very importantly the lamb, slow cooked for hours and melting in your mouth. Greek donuts are also included for dessert, but by then you will be full and happy.
I pretty much recommend that you don’t eat for a full day before you come in, because the food is not only plenty but also delicious, and you’ll want seconds.
Great for friends and great for dates, a highlight of the Sydney dining scene!

Definitely a fan of Alpha, having been here a couple of times, but when my Greek buddy also rates it, well it says it all.
With a business lunch party of four we opted for the banquet menu, called YiaYia’s table, mainly because we were all too lazy to choose.
Turned out to be a great option, with all the good stuff — pita breads, taramaslata, smoked eggplant dip, saganaki haloumi, spanokopita, slow cooked lamb and the obligatory lemon roast potatoes.
Died and went to heaven. Especially the lamb, too good, and the haloumi was awesome. Seriously, couldn’t fault a thing, especially washed down with a nice rose.
HIghly recommended, booking a must.

LOUD, SO VERY VERY LOUD.
The reason it is so loud is because it is always busy, doesn’t matter if you visit on the weekend or on a weekday.
The waitstaff are attentive and the food is pretty good, but this is not the place to go for an intimate conversation — maybe for a shouting match.
Avoid the sardines and the falafel — everything else I’ve tried is fine.

What an awesome restaurant! The menu is lengthy and offers a variety of tastes and the portions are large, yet well priced. For the 2 of us, we had MORE than enough food (all shared dishes) and the whole bill including drinks came to only $ 133.
Cocktails we ordered were the «Nymph» (watermelon, cointreau, cranberry, lime, and Kir Yianna sparkling rose) and «The Flying Greek» (Metaxa 5 star, cinnamon liqueur, flamed grapefruit peel).
Meals ordered were:
‘Starters’ — Melitzanosalata (smoked eggplant dip) with pita
’Vintage’ — 1994 Arctic crab and Haloumi Tart with a witlof & cucumber salad
’From the Kitchen’ — Papoutsakia (baby eggplant, braised wagyu beef, caramlised onion and kasseri)… followed by the Spanikopita (spinach pie with leeks, fetta & dill) of which we took more than half home to enjoy the following day.
Each dish was enjoyable and authentic — a nice reminder of my Greek Islands holiday last year! My only complaint was that I couldn’t fit any more food into me! Next time I am in Sydney I will head back there so that I can try the ‘Vintage’ 1993 Moussaka of Eggplant, seared scallops & taramousalata; the Slow roasted lamb spare ribs; and the Chocolate hazelnut baklava!

A solid meal with some stand outs. I recommend the spiced eggplant and quail. Extensive wine menu and good service although they’re a bit stretched having such a large space with not enough staff to cover it all.

Don’t get me wrong — the food is 5 star — the 3 star mark down is for the TERRIBLE service my friends and I received, and the embarrassment we felt. It really ruined the whole experience.
Had a 6.30pm booking but my friend and I hit some traffic. I called the restaurant to let them know we are on our way but will be 20 min late. We arrived at 6.50pm and joined another friend who arrived earlier, and the moment we sat down, the server came along and said «we are running a bit late, aren’t we? Are you ready to order?». It was so rude! So after a few minutes we ordered and ate an amazing meal (the good food lifted the mood!). We had the eggplant and tzaziki dip as starters, followed by lamb shoulder, grilled octopus and side salad. After all that we were really content and looking forward to ordering dessert — only to be told that we CAN’T, because there’s a 2 hour limit on our table. That came as quite a surprise, but apparently that information was on the confirmatory text sent to me earlier. Ok, mea culpa — I did only glance and replied YES to the thing as I was rushing to catch a flight — but it would have been nice if she reminded us when we sat down, rather than go all passive aggressive on us about being late. Plus if we had known about our time limit then we would have hurried through our meal so we can get to dessert! I’m not even sure if we can believe her — we looked around and saw empty tables all around us — and there’s not even a line at the door. Also, we checked our watches and there was still at least 15 min left — did she just want us to leave? There was no offer even to pack dessert to go after we expressed our disappointment.
Really felt embarrassed — quite literally felt like I was being told that I am not allowed dessert for being late to dinner.
Sadly I will not be coming back here again. Such a shame because the food really was excellent. I did read from some reviews that table service was rushed, but I did not expect unprofessional conduct and rudeness.

Andrew O, you had me under your spell from the outset with your scallop moussaka sorcery and gastroporn. When researching places a ‘li’l bit posh’ to take my sister to, I couldn’t go further than your review.
So yes, Veni Vidi Vici. I don’t know how to say that in ancient Greek. The moussaka, a tart [of the edible variety *not* in that way. FOOD people…], prawns, lamb shoulder so soft that fell apart if you looked at it the wrong way. Some green stuff. Because of that vegetable option obligation I saw written somewhere, once, or something. It felt right.
Shared the lot between three. It was «Awesome» as the young ones say these days. Especially the crab and haloumi tartlet, which I would be happy to declare as the stand out dish. I have my two dining companions as back up for that vote.
There was wine. Lots of it. Pink. White. Fizzy.
We were stuffed. Couldn’t possibly even squeeze in one leetle afterrr dinnerrr mint, waffer thin or otherwise. So we had the doughnuts. And the baklava. Just ’cause we were walking back to our City establishment and we needed the extra energy. Or so someone suggested. Not me. Really. I don’t remember, Your Worship. My memory is exhausted.
– End –

Outstanding !!! I can’t … I just can’t. What a space. Where do you settle on first? The gorgeous stone wall with almost diamond precision inscription? The larger than life wicker or canvas lights? The comfy looking lounge seating? Where am I?
There’s no comparison. honestly, this is as good as greek food gets — I’d for sure bring my dad here (try and find fault old man, I dare ya)! So I’ve been here a couple of times now and have ordered both the YiaYia set menu and al la carte. The YiaYia is well worth the $ 55 price tag — you get the full spread here.
Round 1: its the warm up round just to get the enzymes fired up — warm pita bread with tarama, eggplant and hommus dips and the most amazing baked classic kalamata olives. they’re ginormous and have a perfect sheen to them
Round 2: the infamous haloumi saganaki (any dish done saganaki simply means the dish is fried with cheese … mussels saganaki is everything. Alpha, you looking at this? Add mussels to your menu). With this dish comes the spinach pie. a truly decadent dish, you could taste the butter in the flaky pastry and hall yes they have leek in their spinach pie (this is the secret ingredient kids) … mmmmm by now your well ready for the HIIT.
Round 3: this is it, this is what people come here for. roast lamb with potatoes and tzatziki. STOP. I’m salivating thinking about this dish … yup, there’s drool. so what of it !! The lamb falls right off the bone, in fact, just get your crew to grab their forks and pick straight off the plate — there’s no need to get all fancy with knives here. It’s baked with the potatoes and a beautiful lemon, oregano and oil basting, so you better hope you have some of that pita bread left to mop up all that juice. Of course, its not a greek main meal unless theres a Horiatiki (village) salad (again, dip your pita in there to soak up the dressing). You’re now ready for the cooldown.
Round 4: Dessert and coffee … OH MY I love loukoumades, only theres a right and a very wrong way of making them — Alpha nail it every single time !!! They’re the lightest balls of dough I have ever had … clearly a superior frying oil since I find them barely covered in oil. ohh and that honey drenched all up over them — I die !! Of course, you can’t finish this off without a greek coffee,
I haven’t even touched on the drinks — if you’re wanting to go completely Greek, I personally like the Retsina from the Peloponnese or Assyrtiko from Santorini. For reds, any of the Kir Yianni ones are good.
Nothing else to say but get yourself there stat and kali orexi !!!
Ohh and on a side note: during business hours, pop into the Alpha Foodstore next door and grab yourself a jar of their honey infused with thyme !!

This is one of the best Greek restaurants in Sydney. It is on the expensive side — so more of a special occasion Greek, rather than every-​day-​eat-​off-​the-​street Greek. But this place is generally packed out, so if you haven’t reserved (especially for dinner) I wouldn’t bother trying to just rock up.
For starters, you have to order the pita bread, and as many dips as you can muster. Each dip is as good as the last.
For main, the Lamb literally falls off the bone. We used a spoon to cut it up, instead of a knife, that’s how tender it was. But the winner of the meat was the chicken. Delicious! But you can’t go past the mousaka and the rabbit and olive pie!
And for dessert, chocolate baklava with plum ice cream. So good! But also try the coffee, Will & Co roasters, and so good.
Yes, I’m a fan, and will constantly come back here.

I was shocked when my boyfriend surrendered and put his fork down…
Vibe: Hellenic modernism — Alpha is impressively spacious, brightly lit with high-​ceilings and partially distressed Greek-​inscribed walls… Ancient Greece meets Sydney CBD.
Will impress: It’s versatile and for all occasions, small or large. My bf and I came here for a dinner date but I’ll definitely be back with my gf’s. It’s also a prefect venue for group bookings with the Yia Yia’s table menu option, $ 55pp for 4 or more people. I was really hoping to have my 30^th here but they are booked out on the night — Devastating! It’s also the type of venue I would bring my special clients for lunch.
Spend: $$ Amazing value for what you actually get! I was shocked when my boyfriend surrendered and put his fork down because he was too full — we ended up doggy bagging the pie — which I never saw again !
Dress code: Lunch or dinner you want to look polished, bold yet elegant just like my dear friend Sahar Khorram, designer and owner of Love & Anarchy
Must try dishes: Be prepared to unbutton your tailored shorts ladies. The food is delicious. We had the Melitzanosalata (eggplant dip), the Spanakopita (spinach leek fetta dill pie) — YUM! And the slow roasted lamb shoulder — freaking delicious! Wild greens as a side and for dessert the Hazelnut Baklava #drooling. I’ve heard great things about the Greek Doughnut balls — will definitely try this next time.
Loved: Everything about this place– second to Chiswick — It’s become one of my favourite Sydney restaurant. It’s so impressive when you walk in, I was expecting it to be a lot more expensive then it was and the staff were very honest and helpful with our order (they deserve a mention).
Love Bangers x

Wow, I am definitely impressed by this place. Hearing and seeing the rave reviews made me curious to try this place. I would say it’s a place is a place to frequent if you have a bunch of people otherwise you won’t get a chance to sample all the awesome modern Greek food on show and would be such a waste!!. We decided to go the 4 course banquet menu with matching wines and must say that this was excellent value for money. When I first walked in, I loved the ambience — clean, wide open spaces. Nicely spaced out tables and a variety of diners. Large groups of friends, family and couples. Our table wasn’t ready so I was asked to sit at the bar until we got called. The bartender was very nice as I wanted to try a Greek red wine and he poured me a tasting before I made my final selection (plus!). Afterwards, the waitresses who served us was attentive and came around a lot of check in on us. I drink a lot of water and liked the fact they came around lot of top up everyone’s waters. I can’t stand places who don’t have carafes or leave you a jug of water then forget you! Okay back to the food, starting with ouzo (went down very nicely I must say with a dash of water! Warmed me up straight away). Olives, pita breads and dips. The eggplant dip was my favourite — could taste the chargrilled part of it. Some people may not like it but I’m a fan. Next was a glass of red wine and out came the spinach and leek pie which was cut up for us plus scallop and eggplant moussaka (loved this dish) then haloumi dish… best haloumi I“ve tasted! I love a chilli and this came with chillies on top with this beautiful olive oil (yummo), another red wine next the slow cooked fall off the bone lamb and feta/​Greek salad. I must say we were all pretty stuffed at this point — the lamb didn’t get finished at all. :(. Final course was the greek doughnut with ice-​cream dessert that came with this delicious dessert wine. All in all, I think we all rolled out fully satisfied and slightly drunk. Nice way to spend a Saturday night don’t you think? :)

Don’t get me wrong, the food is great, the service and the layout just didn’t make it go wow what an experience
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Scallop moussaka.
A fantastic renovation job. The outside is like it always was — the inside is chic, very chic. A bit noisy but… scallop moussaka.
Service was fantastic, our waitress brought a scallop moussaka, and… who cares what else.
I had the scallop moussaka.

I have no idea what used to be where Alpha is now open, but I’m glad Alpha has decided to spend a lot of money renovating this space. I love the walls that give the impression you are in the middle of an Ancient Greek ruin. The large slabs on marble (doubling as tables) would have cost a princely sum of money and not to mention the bar area. Looks like the owners are in the for long haul given the initial layout.
We were a large group of 12 and got the set menu with a few additions. The fresh pita bread and dips were good as were the marinated olives. The classics of Halloumi, Dolmades, and leek pie were very popular with our group. My rating of a Greek restaurant always comes down to how well they do their lamb. We had the slow roasted lamb shoulder which was well cooked but probably lacked a little flavour — good but not a standout. If I had been won over by the lamb, I would have rated this fine establishment a full 5 stars.
The service staff were great, friendly and efficient. The recommended red wine we ordered went extremely well with the dishes, it was definitely a less harsh variety.