Greek & Delicious ...just like its name

When we returned from our summer holidays from Greece , we knew we carried the Mediterranean jewel with us back to our table at home . And we are always looking out for traditional Greek dishes that can be savoured here. And so we came upon Greek & Delicious , Cluster J , Gold Crest Views Tower ,Jumeira Lakes Towers , Dubai . The food here just blew me away.

As you step in , the decor , says it all. Very simple , transporting you to any Greek tavern in one of the many magnificent Greek Islands. Often love the simplicity of restaurants that do much of their talking by the quality of their food .

The restaurant has a display of some Greek products for sale that are made in-house or imported from different parts of Greece. From Cretan Honey to pure edible 24 carat gold leaf olive oils, marmalade's , jams to soaps and a cooking olive oil.There was a counter of bread and cheese too .

We ordered a Dip platter and a Santorini Salad to start with.

Beautiful triangles of freshly baked Pita , with four flavorful dips :

Tzatziki : the famous Greek yoghurt and cucumber dip laced with garlic and extra virgin olive oil ...so delicious that I could eat all of it .

Eggplant : Smoky Eggplant dip with garlic , red capsicum , pickles , vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Tirokafteri : means feta spicy ; this spread is made form Greek feta cheese , yoghurt , red chilli peppers ,red capsicums and extra virgin olive oil. This was a bit spicy but complimented the rest of the platter .

Fava : Yellow split peas dip topped with onions , finely chopped parsley and extra virgin olive oil.

Enough for 4 persons , these would be the local favourite dips one would find in any restaurant in Greece and in the local homes.

The pIta doused in the Greek Olive oil was my highlight ...simple flavours at its best .

The Santorini Salad , named after the famous Volcanic Greek Island known for its fantastic food and stunning views and so apt for this simple yet stunning salad .

Delicious rocket leaves combined with cherry tomatoes , sundried tomatoes ,capers ,crumbled feta, extra virgin olive oil , oregano drizzled with a balsamic glaze ..and a very generous portion .

As described this dish would make anyone love eggplants ! very smooth and melt in the mouth dish ..Papoutsakia or small shoes ..

Don't go by the oil on the periphery of this dish ...it was very light in taste ...

The Spanakopita or Spinach and feta pie is a regular at our home now and it had to be ordered here. the flakiness and the freshness of the crust with the dense flavours of the spinach and feta with hints of mint and dill was a winner. This is a meal in itself . While in Greece , we had these and the cheese pies for breakfast which is the norm...very very Cretan!

The Mix meat platter for two ( 4 could eat this easily !)was tweaked a bit for us since we prefer chicken. It usually consists of a beef patty and kebab , but it was replaced with a chicken fillet . It also consists of Chicken Gyros and Chicken Skewer or Souvlaki. With option of pita bread ,hand cut potato fries ,onions and tomatoes and yogurt and tzatziki sauces or lettuce , mustard and cocktail sauces .

Succulent pieces and fillets of chicken ..all marinated perfectly to give very subtle flavours.

The Gyros and Hand cut fries with the Yogurt Sauce

The Chicken Souvlaki

Chicken filet ... and feast on the entire platter

After this gorgeous platter we wanted to try the desserts . Greek desserts are very traditional and have a very home made feel to them and that's exactly what we were served .

You could try a Ekmek Kataifi (clockwise) ..which was my favourite ..Layers of Kataifi dough known as a cousin of the Baklava,its baked and immersed in a lemon scented syrup topped with creamy custard and garnished with cinnamon and pistachios .

Chocolate cake .. trust me this is unlike any have had ever , the sponge , actually ,living up to its name !

Greek Halvas which is a semolina pudding with raisins and walnuts and cinnamom much like the Indian halwa , just in solid form .

And Portokalopita or a very traditional orange cake made with shredded filo, oranges , Greek yogurt and extra virgin olive oil.

The ice cream at the centre was Kaimaki which is prepared from the thin top layer of milk that is formed when you boil milk. These are considered to have lots of nutrients and flavour. Apart from the usual flavours , they have an aniseed flavoured ice cream too called Mastic ....will save that one for next time .