Koutouki Greek Restaurant
138 Norton St
Leichhardt, Sydney
What strikes you initially as you walk into Koutouki is just how nice and homely it is. The place has a nice cosy comfortable feel to it. You know immediately that you can relax, forget about the world outside and just enjoy yourself. On Friday and Saturday nights they have live traditional Greek music too - a real family affair with singing by owner/musician Georgia and with the band including her husband. Live music can also be arranged for other days.
The restaurant seats around sixty people and out the back is a separate function room seating a further sixty to sixty five. Both areas are popular. It was a Saturday evening and a drink seemed like the right way to start things! Sir had a cool beer - Alfa Mythos Ezra Keo Fix Vergina and Mlady had a refreshing Lemon lime and bitters.
We love our dips, so no surprises we had the mixed dips. They come in a serving of four different ones and it makes a perfect sharing starter. These were, Tarama (cod roe dip), Tirokafetri (a spicy feta dip), Tzatziki (made from yoghurt, garlic and cucumber) and Meltzanosalata (an eggplant dip). They were all so vibrant and tasty, each with their own distinct flavours.
The pita bread that accompanied the dips was soft with a really nice delicate crunch. It was so irresistible we just kept devouring it.
Our next entree was Lahanodolmades. These were cabbage rolls filled with spicy onions, beef mince, parsley, dill and served with an avgolemono sauce. This was a really interesting entree that we just had to have. Again it was so flavoursome and the avgolemono sauce was Incredible! Mlady looked this up and it is ‘a soup or sauce made with chicken stock, egg yolks and lemon juice’. It was such a divine sauce!
Our last entree was Saganaki - Kefalograviera cheese, lemon, honey and sesame seeds. Loved this. It was delicious. You could taste everything. They were all subtle tastes with nothing overpowering anything. Could not stop eating this.
As a main Sir had Chicken Souviakia served with pita bread, tzatziki, grilled capsicum and chips. There was lots going on with this dish and there was plenty of it too. The chicken was cooked so well as were the lovely homemade chips. And dipping everything into that tangy tzatziki was so nice. It was a lovely hearty meal.
Mlady went with the Mousaka. This was minced beef, potato, eggplant and bechamel sauce. It was such an incredibly light dish. It’s like a Greek version of lasagne but with certain key variations. It all combined so well and Mlady certainly enjoyed it all.
We did fit in dessert but only just. Mlady just had to try the Baklava. This was so good. It is filo pastry, nuts and ice cream. It was not too sweet - in fact it was just right!
Sir decided on an old favourite of his,the Galaktobouriko. This was filo pastry and semolina custard. As Sir likes vanilla slices, it was no surprises he enjoyed this. It was a nice soft dessert with light subtle flavours.
Being in a Greek restaurant, Mlady had an after dinner drink and of course it was Ouza. Such a lovely way to complete a scrumptious dinner with its distinct aniseed flavours.
As it was a Saturday, we experienced their wonderful live music and the singing was from our host/owner Georgia. The music was lively and fun and patrons including us joined in the clapping and stamping of feet. What a great atmosphere!
The food at Koutouki is fresh and vibrant and the servings are very substantial. It really is amazing authentic Greek food where the recipes have been handed down from generation to generation. You are spoiled for choice and you certainly won’t leave hungry.
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Koutouki. We would like to say a big thank you to the host/owner Georgia for taking time from her busy schedule to talk to us, take care of us and also for entertaining us (and everyone) with her live entertainment. Thank you also to Kelly for caring for us on the night. Special thanks also to the wonderful Chrissy from Creative Little Soul for arranging this visit.